UNICEF recruits 01 Consultant Inetrnational
Consultant Inetrnational – Child-sensitive disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)/environment, SSA, P-4, Home based
Job Number: 521249 | Vacancy Link
Locations: Africa: Congo, Dem. Rep
Work Type : Consultancy
BACKGROUND
UNICEF’s the Participatory Empowering community-based Approaches to Resilience (PEAR Plus III) programme in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), currently in its third phase, has evolved from a humanitarian response for returning populations (known then as the Programme Elargi d’Appui aux Retournés) to an integrated programme anchored in a community-based approach seeking to increase resilience of communities in transitional zones.
PEAR Plus III is a multisector programme that proposes increased access to, demand for, quality and governance of social services as a peace dividend and opportunity to promote improved cohesion while building community resilience. With interventions in the sectors of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), education, health, nutrition, child protection and conflict transformation, the program focuses on the multiple, intertwined and variable risks and vulnerabilities faced by communities through context specific programming. Detailed analyses feed into a community-based approach seeking to break the cycle of violent conflict and shift from a context characterized by repeated crises and humanitarian interventions towards one that is more stable and conducive for development interventions. The program prioritizes multi-year assistance to communities with support to existing community structures, re-establishment of social contracts with state institutions and capacity to address drivers of conflict in order to lay the foundation for resilient development.
PEAR Plus III is currently being implemented in three health zones , reaching approximately 300,000 beneficiaries. While the zones of implementation each have specific social, economic and environmental characteristics, as stabilization priority zones there are similarities, especially amongst the drivers of conflict, which are rooted in dynamics or conditions which can be exacerbated by climate change; these include the management of natural resources (including the Virunga National park), weak institutional capacity/presence, poor economic opportunity (but great potential through agricultural production), and an absence of infrastructure. As the zones have suffered from conflict and poor development, local practices focus on daily subsistence, some of which have been identified as having a negative impact on the environment. For example, poor access to proper sanitation structures, which is common in the zones of intervention, can lead to water contamination through open air defecation, which increases the risk of child morbidity and mortality, especially during times of natural disasters. Almost complete reliance on charcoal as fuel for cooking not only contributes to deforestation and air pollution, but also fuels conflict by providing income to armed groups who control the charcoal trade in the zone. Burgeoning demographics and pendular population movements due to violence and inter-community tensions increases pressure on both available agricultural land and the natural reserves, like the Virunga National park, contributing to conflict as well as deforestation.
JUSTIFICATION
With a mission geared towards ensuring that children are able to grow to their full potential, UNICEF is committed to increase its contribution to environmental sustainability, given both the importance of the issue to children and its global commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. UNICEF recognizes that children are the least responsible for the causes of climate change and yet are most vulnerable to current and projected impacts. Globally and in the DRC, UNICEF recognizes the necessity to integrate environmental sustainability and considerations throughout programming, as a means to positively contribute to conservation and reduce the exponential increases to communities’ multiple risks and vulnerabilities which can be caused by climate change. These include epidemics, natural disasters, extreme weather fluctuations, displacement and conflict. UNICEF’s added value is its focus on children and capacity to engage on this global issue through a child centered lens. The comparative advantage is the multiple entry points provided by UNICEF sectors of programming, which can all serve as an entry point for contributing to environmental sustainability.
Thus, in consideration of UNICEF’s global commitments to climate and environmental sustainability, as well national and context specific challenges and opportunities in DRC, UNICEF DRC has identified the opportunity for the PEAR Plus programme as an entry point towards strengthening the inclusion of environmental sustainability in UNICEF programmes. This is especially relevant as the country office and the government of the DRC prepare to develop the Country Program Cooperation Agreement 2020-2024. Environmental conservation and disaster risk reduction (DRR) needs a comprehensive and strategic approach in the DRC. While poverty, an exploding demographic and insecurity render the situation a challenge, community-based initiatives such as the PEAR Plus programme have shown potential.
In the current context, transformative and even adaptive resilience is weak in the zones of intervention of PEAR Plus III; years of conflict, displacement and humanitarian crises have rendered reactive coping mechanisms an ingrained social norm, serving to perpetuate repetitive and vicious cycles of violence and stagnant development. Social fabric and the contract between the population and the state is fragile or non-existent. As a result, even slight environmental or social changes have a tendency to have a disproportionately negative impact on communities, with children bearing a large brunt of the burden. PEAR Plus III is thus an appropriate mechanism to integrate preventative as well as resilience building initiatives that can effectively reduce communities’ vulnerabilities to climate-induced shocks and stress. PEAR Plus also provides an occasion to leverage opportunities to positively contribute to environmental conservation by addressing certain drivers of conflict and promoting the adoption of good practices.
With technical and financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), in partnership with the government of the DRC, UNICEF has led a participatory environmental assessment of the PEAR Plus programme. This analysis has provided an opportunity to review concepts of environment and climate change, share previous experiences and best practices, and identify entry points and considerations for a programming that is increasingly sensitive towards and inclusive of environmental considerations. The objective of this environmental assessment was to lay the foundation for a more clearly articulated strategy to mitigate potentially negative programmatic impact and leverage opportunity for positive contribution towards environmental protection.
SCOPE OF WORK
Thus, the objective of the consultation is to lead a review of current implementation of PEAR Plus III programme with a focus on mainstreaming and environmental sustainability and a child-focused and gender sensitive approach to DRR.
Building upon the entry points, risks and environmental degradation mitigation strategies, as well as opportunities for environmental conservation contributions identified during this assessment, UNICEF DRC seeks to carry out an operational research to review if recommendations made in 2016 environmental assessment are still relevant, propose new recommendations on how to integrate child-centered DRR and environmental sustainability, and develop an action plan on how to immediately integrate the proposed recommendations into PEAR Plus implementation.
The consultant is also expected to capitalize on UNICEF’s current initiatives both at global and country level.
– Strengthening environmental education and child-focused DRR in schools covered by the PEAR+ programme). The consultant will collect, adapt if needed and share available environmental education packages for children and teachers. Examples of available materials and links to be made are the World’s largest lesson, UNCC:learn, the children in a changing climate coalition and ongoing efforts in this area by UN agencies and development partners, as well as the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (programme “le gardien vert-bleu” )
– Reviewing existing analytical work on climate and environmental sustainability conducted at in DRC and “downscaling” it for the PEAR+ provinces, i.e. North Kivu, South Kivu and former Province Orientale (Climate Landscape Analysis for Children and the PEAR+ strategy and synthesis report on climate change and environment).
– Ensure collaboration with implementation of the pre-urban WASH strategy (especially the links to waste management, energy and environmental health, climate-resilient WASH) as well as the application of WASH’s note “Engagements minimums Eau, Hygiène et Assainissement pour garantir la protection et la préservation de l’environnement” and that international standards for excreta management and solid waste management are consistently met.
1) Methodology
The methodology should remain framed within UNICEF’s mandate and within the context of PEAR Plus, focusing on a multi-sectoral approach, social protection and access to basic services. The methodology to be proposed by the consultant must place the wellbeing of the child at the forefront of interventions.
The consultant must propose an inception report that reflects an appropriately designed methodology, including desk and field research.
2) Specific objectives
• Review recommendations made by 2016 environmental assessment to see if they’re still relevant, and if they’ve been integrated into current programme implementation.
• Propose new practical recommendations to be integrated into PEAR Plus programme and that could also be mainstreamed to all UNICEF programmes.
• Propose an action plan to immediately integrate and operationalize the proposed recommendations.
3) Deliverables and timetable
The duration of the consultancy is expected to last 45 days of work. The time line below does not take into account time associated with travel to the DRC, or time spent organizing logistics traveling to the DRC.
MANAGEMENT
The consultant will report and work under the technical guidance of the Chief of the Social Policy Section (PSE) and work closely with the Chief Field Operations and Emergency Section. As PEAR+ is a cross-cutting theme program, the consultant will also work closely with all the Sector Sections and the concerned Chiefs of Field Offices in Ituri and North Kivu.
Work conditions and institutional arrangements
The consultant will be recruited by UNICEF in accordance with HR policies and in accordance with terms and conditions of consultancy contracts. The consultant may be required to submit a number of supporting documentation with their proposal prior to deployment, including proof of insurance.
The consultant is expected to work with his/her own equipment, software and materials. When in country, UNCIEF will provide the consultant with shared office space. Additional logistical and administrative support can be negotiated between parties, in line with terms and conditions outlined in the contract.
All data and information that will be produced in the context of this analysis belongs to UNICEF and cannot be published or used without formal authorization from UNICEF. The consultant will be required to provide UNICEF all intermediate work material (preliminary analysis, qualitative/quantitative data, interview notes, etc.).
PROFILE OF THE CONSULTANT
Desired competencies, technical background and experience
• Master’s Degree in social studies, international development, ecological economics, sustainable development or in one of the UNICEF focused sectors, or more than 10 years’ experience with BA/BS.
• At least 7 years’ experience working in disaster risk reduction (DRR) including environmental sustainability and climate change in contexts of conflict and protracted crises, and large scale, multisector emergency response.
• Expertise in gender sensitive, child centered programming, resilience and risk-informed programming.
• Experience and knowledge of UNICEF programming on DRR is an asset.
• Qualitative research experience, with demonstrated capacity to analyses quantitative and qualitative data.
• Professional level French and proficient in English.
• Highly developed written communication skills.
• Experience in the DRC desirable
To apply
To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter and financial offer. Please ensure to provide a list of published works and consultancies with references.
Closing Date Sat Apr 20 2019 23:55:00 GMT+0100 (Afr. centrale Ouest)