Resilient Livelihoods in Protracted Crises Consultant

Work to be undertaken between March and November 2017 ActionAid International - Humanitarian Action and Resilience Team (IHART)

Background

ActionAid has been working in contexts of protracted crises for many years. This rootedness is reflected in the new ActionAid International strategy: “The rights of women and other groups made vulnerable by disasters, and protection from violence, exploitation and abuse in times of crises will also be strengthened through community-based protection mechanisms and improved accountability of humanitarian actors. We will build the resilience of rural and urban communities to climate change, disasters and conflicts through transformative actions from the local to the global level, led by women living in poverty and exclusion. The active engagement of young people will be priority to prevent the worst effects of emergencies.”

The new AAI Strategy has identified ’building resilient livelihoods’ as a one of the key intervention areas to support women and youth living in poverty and contexts of protracted crisis. Resilient livelihoods are important as they provide a stable source of income that will improve people’s food security, enable people to thrive and act as a buffer in times of shocks and stresses. Building resilient livelihoods also allows us to link humanitarian with development programming.

ActionAid has an extensive humanitarian and resilience programme that promotes resilient livelihoods. The initiatives are wide and varied but currently lack the evidence base on what makes a livelihood programme ‘resilient’. This issue becomes even more evident if we want to identify solutions for resilient livelihoods in protracted crises or fragile contexts. These contexts tend to be politically unstable and see weak governance, limited basic service provision and limited economic opportunities for its citizens. The question then arises how ActionAid and other actors can support poor women and youth in these contexts to build resilient livelihoods that prevent them from depending on humanitarian aid and ideally build a better life for themselves and their families.

This consultancy assignment will support ActionAid to better understand the scope of our existing work and that of others; exploring what works and what doesn’t in building resilient livelihoods of women and youth in protracted crises; and how women and youth can have meaningful engagement in the process. This will feed into the development of a manual or handbook to guide our work in the future.

This consultancy piece of work will run concurrently with a similar piece of work on women-led protection in protracted crises with the aim of, towards the end of the year, looking at the connectivity between the two areas of work.

Scope of Work/Overview

The consultant will undertake desk and field research to document and analyse good and bad practices in promoting resilient livelihoods with women and youth in protracted crises, common challenges and solutions. The research and case studies will form the basis of recommendations to be discussed at a multi-country ActionAid workshop. The consultant will use the recommendations, to develop a manual or handbook for ActionAid staff and partner use.

Outcome of the work

As a result of the work, key ActionAid countries (including ActionAid Denmark and ActionAid Bangladesh along with programme implementation countries), and the International Secretariat, will reach a shared understanding on ActionAid’s approach in promoting resilient livelihoods for women and youth living in protracted crises. The manual or handbook will explain this approach, illustrated by field research and case studies.

Key activities

The consultant will conduct the following activities:

1. Desk based review to build an understanding of how ActionAid and other actors have been trying to build resilience of women and youth in protracted crises, identify suitable resilient livelihoods approaches in protracted crises contexts, common challenges and solutions in these contexts.
2. Develop a research methodology including questionnaires for the field researches.
3. Conduct field research in 2-3 countries on resilient livelihoods in protracted crises, looking at both ActionAid’s work and also the work of other leading actors in resilience in those contexts.
4. Develop a minimum of 2-3 case studies of good practice demonstrating the role of women and/or youth in building resilient livelihoods.
5. Write a 10-15 page report on overall research findings highlighting good practice and making recommendations for ActionAid.
6. Work with IHART to co-design a multi-country workshop to share the findings, and develop common agreement on ActionAid’s approach (to be held in September but consultant’s participation is uncertain pending available budget).
7. Develop a Resilient Livelihoods in Protracted Crises Manual or Handbook in agreement with IHART focusing on women and youth.

Timeframe for work

This can be negotiated, but hard deadlines exist for (1) finalising the case studies and 10-15 pages report by mid-August, (2) multi-country workshop in September, and (3) finalising the manual/handbook in November 2017.

Work location

The Consultant will be home based with occasional visits to the ActionAid office in London (if consultant would be based in the UK) and field visits of around one week to 2-3 countries in Africa and/or Middle East that could see some security concerns (countries that are currently being considered for the project include: Palestine, Jordan, Kenya, Somaliland, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda). The Consultant will work closely with IHART’s Resilience Programme Manager who will also conduct as least one field research.

Budget

The maximum available budget for this consultancy assignment is £14,000 (inclusive of all taxes and VAT).

Person specification

Education & certifications

• Master degree in a multidisciplinary study such as development studies, conflict studies, sociology, environmental or political studies (candidates with a Bachelor degree will only be considered in case they are able to demonstrate extensive experience and expertise in resilience and/or peacebuilding programming and/or policy).

Knowledge & Experience

• Technical expertise in resilience as well as a multidisciplinary background to make the necessary linkages with a range of areas of work.
• Experience with designing and implementing programmes in conflict affected contexts.
• Strong understanding of women and youth’s rights.
• Demonstrated experience with developing toolkits, manuals and/or guidelines. •Ability to conceptualise and understand new subjects outside the formal education and working experience.
• Strong analytical and writing (in English) skills, including the ability to present complex issues clearly and concisely.
• Creative - you can think outside the box!
• Working experience with a variety of international agencies.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and resourcefulness.
• Experience of working on programming in protracted crises contexts
• Knowledge of relevant Microsoft office software.
• Familiar with adult learning.
• Some experience with ActionAid will be a plus.