Job Opportunity, Cameroon: International Rescue Committee needs the services of a Needs Assessment Specialist in Buea
6 min read
Deadline: 29 May 2021
Requisition ID: req15841
Job Title: Consultant – Needs Assessment Specialist
Sector: Protection and rule of law
Employment Category: Consultant
Employment Type: Full-Time
Open to Expatriates: No
Location: Buea, Cameroon
Job Description
The IRC started operations in Cameroon in 2016 to respond to the increasing concerns for people affected by violence linked to Boko Haram, in the Far North of the country. Assistance to displaced populations extends across the Far North, notably Mayo Sava, Mayo Tsanaga and Logone & Chari, delivering lifesaving programming to increase access to water and improving hygiene practices in vulnerable displaced and host communities, cash programming to enable poor families to meet basic needs and improve food security, and protection programming, including meeting specific needs of women and girls. The Coordination office is located in Maroua, with a field base in Kousseri and a representation office in Yaoundé.
Following the increasing crisis in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon, the IRC expanded its operations into the South West region in August 2018. The IRC is delivering lifesaving humanitarian assistance to internally displaced populations, with a field base in Buea.
IRC Cameroon is committed in its 2020 Strategic Action Plan, to continue to provide essential humanitarian services, with a focus on safety in communities and ensuring affected populations can meet their basic needs, whilst also building the resilience of beneficiaries, especially women and girls. IRC Cameroon is funded by European and American donors.
Scope of work
The purpose of this position is to provide lead on conducting Rapid Protection Needs Assessments for the Cameroon Country Program, focusing on assessing protection risks and of persons of concern in accessible areas in southwest and northwest Cameroon to inform strategic programmatic decisions and response options. The assessment should identify needs and service/assistance availability, gaps, and barriers to access at the village level, considering the different protection risks and severity of needs of women, men, girls, and boys. The assessment should also identify existing capacities and resources of persons of concern, including positive and negative coping mechanisms, as well as at the community-level.
The needs assessment should ensure a do-no-harm (DNH) approach which protects information sources in compliance with best practices regarding privacy and confidentiality and ensuring informed consent of all participants. This includes, but is not limited to, safeguarding of all information, with an assessment approach that include mitigation measures for identified risks, including increasing community tensions through the conduct of the assessment. The consultant should also ensure that all data collected is relevant and linked to specific objectives and decision-making as per the scope of work.
Under the direct supervision of the Cameroon Deputy Director – Programs (DDP), the Protection Needs Assessment Consultant will collaborate with the Cameroon country program team, including the Deputy Director of Operations, Field Coordinator, Technical program coordinators, M&E, Supply Chain, and IRC Headquarters (including the regional team and technical advisors), and will be responsible for supporting the design, coordination, conduct of a needs assessment reflecting identified information gaps, contextualized do-no-harm approach, and industry best practices in data collection and analysis.
Methodology:
The needs assessment methodology and design should reflect analysis of contextual factors, including access, security, and DNH considerations, as well as information gaps. The needs assessment should aim to incorporate participatory data collection practices, include a desk review of available secondary data, as well conducting key informant interviews, Focus-Group Discussions (FGDs), direct observation, and individual surveys as feasible and appropriate.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Conduct desk review of existing available needs assessment and available programmatic data to identify information gaps.
- Based on identified information gaps, validate existing terms of references, methodology, and assessment tools developed by IRC’s protection teams and technical unit, taking into consideration the objectives of compatibility and comparability with existing assessments, protection and privacy of data.
- Conduct testing of assessment tools and apply adaptations as needed
- Draft assessment & analysis plan, validating existing plans, budgets, and ensuring all required logistic inputs are included (along with daily movement plan)
- Validate and clear assessment & movement plan with Field Coordinator and head of base in Buea
- Ensure recruitment and training of assessment teams as needed.
- Work with identified team leader to ensure conduct of data collection in line with assessment plan and security SOPs
- Conduct daily debriefs with data collectors and quality checks on data received
- Based on daily debriefs, apply needed changes to data collection tools based on review of quality of inputs received
- Lead on analysis and interpretation of data collected.
- Conduct workshop with technical coordinators, field coordinator, and DDP, presenting initial key findings of needs assessment for objective of program design and response planning.
- Produce first draft of needs assessment report and submit to DDP for review and validation
- Produce final draft of needs assessment and suggested programmatic recommendations incorporating feedback from DDP
Deliverables:
- Summary report of information gaps based on desk review;
- Inception report, including proposed methodology, assessment tools, analysis plan, and needs assessment implementation plan;
- Daily debrief notes;
- Workshop/presentation notes of main findings and recommendations based of the needs assessment;
- First draft of needs assessment report after data collection
- Final draft of needs assessment reflecting inputs from DDP, technical coordinators, technical units, and members of the senior management team and field coordinator (as applies)
- Recommendations of short, mid, and long-term interventions
Assessment duration
The duration of the evaluation including the writing of the report and other deliverables is 45 calendar days or 33 working days.
Payment Rate and Schedule: Payment of fees will be made as follows by bank check:
– 30% before the start of the evaluation work
– 70% after submission of all deliverables
Qualifications
Education background: Master’s degree in social sciences (law, sociology, psychology) or an advanced degree in project development and management, monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian programs, or any other relevant/related field.
Professional Experiences: 5 – 10 years of field experience and proven experience in conducting multi-sectoral needs assessments. In addition, demonstrate proven experience in conducting similar assignments,
Skills: Having a good understanding of IRC’s mandate, core principles and integrity in line with the values and ethical standards of the IRC; competence in gender analysis, accountability mechanisms, participatory processes, results-based management; a strong motivation for international humanitarian and development issues is desired, having a good understanding of operational context particularly in South West and North West, Be dynamic, responsive, with a good strategic vision.
Language requirements: Excellent command of French and English is required.
Technical and financial offer:
The application must be sent in computerized format or in a sealed envelope and must include:
A technical proposal including: a note on understanding the issues and expectations of the evaluation; a proposed approach to the hypothesis and response questions; a descriptive note on the proposed evaluation methodological approach; a work plan and flow chart; a presentation of the information collection tools to be used; and a timeline for each planned task The technical proposal may also include a list of materials required to complete the assignment and a list of documents required for consultation prior to the assignment.
A financial offer: denominated in CFA francs and in dollar ($), presented in all taxes and including the words “firm, global, lump sum, unit and final price”. This one must make appear, the following headings:
- Fees.
- Transportation and miscellaneous travel expenses.
- Mission expenses and accommodation
- Design and reprography of tools
- Other expenses
The CV of the consultant and his or her team, if applicable, updated, including 3 references and the CVs of collaborators; a copy of copies of similar evaluations carried out; a photocopy of the certificate or attestation of good performance for each of the evaluations/contracts; an example of a similar report.
Application:
The application form, duly signed, must be sent, with the subject line “Technical offer Assessment of protection needs in the South West and North West no later than 29 May 2021
Apply through the link below: https://rescue.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/15841?c=rescue&source=unjobs (Copy and paste the link)
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
