Consultancy team - Iraqi government conference

Objectives

To prepare, organize and facilitate the Conference for Iraqi central government, governors and representatives of 18 governorates of Iraq

Overall

To introduce a platform for dialogue and coordination between the Governorates of Iraq in the field of emergency preparedness and response.

Specific

- To review the GEC concept with the governors and capture governors understanding of the GEC concepts and expectations
- To discuss existing and future coordination mechanisms, and to learn from other models. To facilitate a preliminary dialogue between the Governorates and the central level on disaster management in Iraq
- To discuss citizen participation in the field of emergency response and community based emergency coordination and risk reduction, including lower level of local governments – Qaadas and Nahiyas.
- To facilitate the harmonization of the Governorates’ work in the field of emergency preparedness and response.
- To identify the objectives and priorities for the project next phase and develop an action plan

Background

The main objective of DRC’s Iraq program is the protection and promotion of durable solutions to displacement affected populations on the basis of humanitarian principles and human rights. DRC focuses primarily on: Protection, Shelter, Self-Reliance and Emergency Distributions.

In early 2007 DRC recognized that one of the key gaps in providing protection services was the capacity of the local governments to provide assistance when faced with an emergency. In late 2007, DRC designed a program under which training, technical support and coaching will be provided to the Governorate Emergency Cells (GEC). The GEC is a “governmental humanitarian coordination body” composed of representatives of the Governor Office, the Governorate Council and the line ministries departments involved in emergency preparedness and response. The GEC mandate is designed to cover emergency preparedness, coordination of humanitarian assistance, and to a lesser extent disaster risk reduction. In this program, DRC currently supports 17 out of the 18 Governorates.

The GEC’s role is to provide the following:

Before the emergency situation

• Preparation of contingency plans
• Raising awareness (civil servants and general public)
• Follow-up on the preparedness measures due to be implemented by each ministry/department
• Monitoring potential emergency situations and adjusting contingency plans as necessary

During the emergency situation

• Coordination of humanitarian efforts and delivery of assistance
• Centralized communication with third parties (central government, international aid agencies, UN, national NGOs, media/general public)

After the emergency situation

• Evaluation of the contingency plan on the implementation of the preparedness measures and their effectiveness
• Adjustment of the plan as necessary

The involvement, role and influence of the Governors are essential to the GECs’ success and recognition. The GEC is headed by a governor or his deputy when responsibilities are delegated to him/her, therefore success of GEC as a coordinating body directly depends of governors’ understanding of the process and their commitment to the collaboration with other stakeholders. The Government of Iraq is currently working on the establishment of a central level knowledge management, information sharing and coordination mechanism. The preliminary, and then ongoing, consultation with local governments at governorate level will be crucial to the broad acceptance of the role and authority of the future central structure.

Duties

Expected outputs

DRC will contract the consultancy team or firm for the entire planning and execution of the conference, including all logistic aspects and expenses. DRC therefore expects that outputs include the following:

• The Governors conference is designed and planned, in very close collaboration with the DRC GEC project staff. The conference is expected to last two to three full days.
• All aspects of the logistics of the conference are well organized and delivered. This includes:
- Location, lodging, per diems
- Flights and other movements
- Translation Arabic-English and English-Arabic is ensured (simultaneous translation, with the appropriate equipment)
- All other logistics aspects
• The budget of the event is executed as planned.
• The conference is held with success and covered by Iraqi media.
• A final dynamic report is delivered, including a summary of all discussions and detailed action points. The report should be delivered in both languages (English and Arabic).

Indicators

• Number of participants and speakers
• Results of the satisfaction assessment run at the end of the conference
• Number of Governors’ commitments and action points
• Coverage by Iraqi media

Target group

The attendees to the workshop will primarily be the Governors of the 18 Governorates of Iraq, together with one of their deputies (in most cases, the head of the GEC). It is expected that the Governors will request to be accompanied by their bodyguard.

DRC would like to promote the contributions and participation of some members of the Iraq Central DRR Committee (3 members).Other major stakeholders, such as the UNDP, will be invited to the conference.

The organizer should therefore:

• Deliver visa, flights, transportation, lodging and other relevant services to at least 57 people coming from Iraq – all relevant costs should be planned in accordance with best practices.
• Plan and deliver the conference for a total audience of approximately 50 people

Methodology

The conference’s organizer should:

• involve DRC GEC project staff for all aspects of the conference
• consult the Governors and other stakeholders for the design of the agenda and the identification of the contributions

The agenda of the conference could include:
- presentations as well as participatory and interactive sessions
- room for group works (e.g. per topic of interest, per region, etc.)
- discussions that ensure the contribution of the Governors in DRC’s future programming
- assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current collaboration and identification of future collaboration’s priorities (SWOT)
- identification of Governorates’ needs and ideas for the improvement of coordination mechanisms, including these at the national level
- assessment of the possibilities to reinforce coordination between the GECs and other stakeholders at Governorate level
- discussion on the potentials of community based disaster management and the roles of local government and civil society

• learning from other models in other countries and regions
• any other issue identified by and discussed with the facilitator, DRC, the Governors or other stakeholders

The facilitator is very much encouraged, aside from more traditional workshop methods, to use or adapt some innovative and extremely participatory approaches (e.g. open space, world café or other) in order to ensure open and constructive discussion.

The final report is expected to be delivered no longer than 10 days after the end of the conference, in both English and Arabic. It is essential that the report becomes the basis for further discussions with the Governorates and central level authorities. It is therefore expected to be comprehensive, exact reflection of the discussions and action points agreed upon. It should be user friendly, dynamic and well structured. The use of annexes is encouraged (including documents of reference).

The facilitator will also be asked to deliver face-to-face and written debriefing and recommendations to the DRC GEC project staff. These should include an analysis of the group dynamics assessed during the conference, recommendations for future steps, topics that need further discussions with identified stakeholders etc.

The conference should all along the process be considered a further step in dialogue and programming rather than a one-off event.

Qualifications

Essential Requirements

• Advanced University degree in disciplines such as social science, disaster management, development economics or similar;
• Excellent facilitation ad communication skills, proven experience in organizing, budgeting and facilitating large events;
• Regional experience in facilitating dialogue/coordination mechanism and events;
• Work experience in disaster management, or a similar field, is an advantage;
• Good knowledge of the political and humanitarian situation in Iraq and the related challenges
• Good proficiency (spoken and written) in English & Arabic (for at least the main facilitator)
• Proficiency in using relevant computer applications

Desirable

• Good interpersonal skills, team-oriented work style
• Experience working in disaster scenarios preferred
• Good written and oral communication skills
• Self-motivated, ability to work with minimum supervision

We encourage all qualified candidates to apply, irrespective of nationality, race, gender or age.

Further information

For more information, please contact Yves-Kim Creac’h, Country Director; Email: yves-kim.creach@drciraq.dk; phone: +962 (0) 65 66 58 64. For general information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult www.drc.dk.

DRC is seeking a team of at least two organizers/facilitators. The consultancy team must be able to conduct the conference according to international standards. DRC will accept individual applications with the understanding that the eventual delivery team will consist of at least two consultants. The conference is expected to be happening as soon as possible but not later than end of December if security circumstances allow. In the case of security constraints conference could be optionally held mid January.

Please note that only applications sent by email will be considered. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

About DRC

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a private, independent, humanitarian organization working on all aspects of the refugee cause in more than twenty five countries throughout the world. The aim of DRC is to protect refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) against persecution and to promote durable solutions to the problems of forced migration, on the basis of humanitarian principles and human rights. DRC works in accordance with the UN Conventions on Refugees and the Code of Conduct for the ICRC and NGOs in Disaster Relief.

The protection and assistance to conflict affected population is provided within a long-term, regional and rights-based approach in order to constitute a coherent and effective response to the challenges posed by today’s conflicts. Assistance consists of relief and other humanitarian aid, rehabilitation, support to return and repatriation as well as promotion of long-term solutions to displacement and its causes. In addition, support and capacity building of local and national authorities and NGOs form an integral part of DRC’s work.