Job: Needs Assessment Consultant

Location: Amman, Jordan 
Deadline: Wednesday, 16 October 2013 

Description

Organization: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

Country: Jordan

Closing date: 16 Oct 2013

TERMS OF REFERENCE

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5.3 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA's services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions. UNRWA is the largest UN operation in the Middle East with more than 30,000 staff.

Needs Assessment Consultant, Amman, Jordan

BACKGROUND

Palestinian refugees from Syria in Jordan UNRWA provides humanitarian assistance and protection services to 9,100 Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS) in Jordan. These individuals are mostly self-identifying and approach UNRWA for services. Interviews with PRS indicate that they fled Syria for the same reasons as their Syrian counterparts, including the destruction of their home, conflict-related violence and overall insecurity, persecution of family members, targeted killings, torture and lack of food and services.

The vast majority of PRS recorded with UNRWA reside in communities with host families or in rental premises, mainly in Irbid, Zarqa and Amman and have been assessed as living in poverty. The most critical self-declared needs of PRS are shelter, food and health services.

PRS who have crossed into Jordan are a particularly vulnerable group. The Government of Jordan (GoJ) has publicly announced a policy of non-admittance of Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Syria (Jan. 2013). The precarious legal status of PRS compounds their poverty and means they endure a considerable degree of insecurity: they face difficulties in relation to civil processes such as registration of births and in access to services; many are unable to work and left extremely vulnerable to high risk survival strategies; and they are at constant risk of refoulement. In contrast to their Syrian counterparts, Palestinian refugees have fewer opportunities to regain a sense of 'normalcy' and community life.

UNRWA assistance to PRS

UNRWA is providing education and health services that are normally provided to Palestine refugees registered with its Jordan Field Office (JFO) by managing the new PRS caseload on to existing programmes with donor funding specifically earmarked for the emergency response. UNRWA also provides cash and food assistance to PRS.

Despite the limited number of PRS in Jordan, UNRWA faces a number of challenges in managing increasing demands and operational complexity of the response, including: increasing economic, legal and social vulnerability as the emergency deepens; strain caused by increasing numbers on UNRWA's existing capacity and programmes; and increasing concerns about the ability of the international community to provide this highly vulnerable group with adequate protection and assistance. PRS are also widespread, sheltering over all nine governorates in Jordan. This restricts UNRWA's ability to respond to their needs in a location-specific manner.

Needs assessment

UNRWA's is looking for a consultant to conduct a rapid multi-sectoral assessment of the needs of PRS in Jordan - focusing on its core programming areas of relief, health and education - to inform UNRWA's 2014 Syria crisis response plan, ongoing advocacy on PRS issues and programming decisions. The goals of the assessment are the following:

1. To provide an overview of the situation of PRS in Jordan.
2. To understand their coping mechanisms (and how these evolve over time).
3. To identify and prioritize their humanitarian needs.
4. To identify gaps in services (provided by UNRWA and other agencies).
5. To identify vulnerability criteria and develop a targeting strategy for UNRWA's relief programme.

This assessment will be complemented by in-depth qualitative research on protection issues in Jordan, currently being carried-out by a local partner.

In line with industry practice the assessment should use mixed-methodologies for the collection of primary data. The needs assessment expert should use the wealth of available secondary data on PRS and PRS issues in Jordan and methods and tools that allow for some comparability/compatibility with joint needs assessments involving UNRWA in Lebanon (with WFP) and Syria (with OCHA) and with the planned common refugee vulnerability assessment in Jordan (UNHCR/WFP/UNICEF).

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The proposed assignment will involve the following activities:

• Complete a desk review of available secondary data on PRS and PRS issues and methods/tools used by UNRWA and its partners for assessments in Lebanon and Syria and by other humanitarian agencies in Jordan;
• Develop standards and thresholds based on industry-accepted criteria and UNRWA strategic plan, taking into consideration that not all industry-accepted criteria will apply to the PRS population in Jordan, which is not clustered in a specific part of Jordan and thus do not have homogenous situation of housing, finances, access to survival necessities;
• Develop a sampling strategy. The household survey should be implemented nationwide with a representative sample of men, women, boys and girls. Anecdotal evidence suggests that refugees who arrived in Jordan more than six months ago appear to have quite different circumstances, and therefore have different needs, than those refugees who have recently arrived to Jordan. The option of using a stratified sample – according to date of arrival - should therefore be considered to give a more nuanced understanding of how PRS needs evolve over time and inform targeting;
• Create a multi-faceted needs assessment, which allows for comparison across fields. Mixed methodologies should include questionnaires for staff and potential beneficiaries individually as well as focus groups on the following topics: a. Coping strategies, income and expenditure, b. Needs in all areas in which UNRWA could provide services or referrals (relief, health, education – protection being covered by a companion piece), c. Barriers to services, d. Gaps in services, e. Risk assessment, particularly for vulnerable groups such as female head of households, f. Beneficiary priorities. g. Available resources and services from other organizations.
• Implement assessment in all areas, among a representative population including men, women, children, and any other vulnerable groups (female head of households, populations at risk of deportation).
• Work in partnership with other organizations serving PRS, such as the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations.
• Develop a targeting strategy from this information. Use a matrix which employs a weighted calculation of factors contributing to need/vulnerability to calculate a priority level 'score' for the beneficiary family or group. Factors can include:

a. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics, b. Risk factors and special vulnerabilities c. Prioritized needs as determined by JFO d. Coping strategies

This matrix should be harmonized to the extent possible with UNRWA's Poverty Means Testing Formula which is used by all UNRWA fields to target poverty support.

h. Enter, clean and analyse data to prepare a draft final report;

I. Present the draft report to key stakeholders, incorporate feedback and finalize the needs assessment report.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• An advanced froma an accredited educational institution in a relevant discipline;
• Ten years of relevant experience in complex humanitarian emergencies;
• Proven mastery of both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods;
• Proven experience leading rapid multi-sectoral assessments;
• Proven experience developing targeting strategies, particularly for cash programming;
• Full proficiency in statistical analysis software packages;
• Full proficiency in English and excellent writing skills (as demonstrated by a writing sample);
• Good knowledge of Palestinian refugee issues and of the Syria crisis.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• Prior experience in Jordan or the Middle East;
• Prior experience with UNRWA;
• Proficiency in Arabic;
• PhD in social sciences and specialized studies in humanitarian affairs.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

• The rapid assessment should start no later than 1 November, 2013 and the final report handed over no later than 15 December 2013.
• UNRWA estimates a level of effort of 40-50 working days.
• UNRWA will put at the expert's disposal:

a) 12 numerators and 4 data clerks (from four area offices) to implement the survey and enter data [nb. for a period not exceeding 10 work days]

b) An advisory committee comprising the Senior Emergency Coordinator, Deputy Emergency Coordinator, Senior Protection Officer, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, and research focal point for JFO and potentially external stakeholders to advise the process and review tools, findings and report outputs.

c) Translation services will also be provided.

• Additional support needs could potentially be negotiated.
• The expert will report to the Senior Emergency Coordinator.
• Remuneration for this consultancy will depend on the qualifications and experience of the candidate.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applicants should submit a cover letter and CV or UN Personal History Form demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements via consultancy@unrwa.org clearly indicating the title of this consultancy 'Needs Assessment Consultant' in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 16 October 2013 (late applications will not be considered).

UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified and experienced female candidates. Only those applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.

How to apply:

Applicants should submit a cover letter and CV or UN Personal History Form demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements via consultancy@unrwa.org clearly indicating the title of this consultancy 'Needs Assessment Consultant' in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 16 October 2013 (late applications will not be considered).

UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified and experienced female candidates. Only those applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.

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