United Kingdom: Research Consultant- GESI and Climate in the Sahel, UK, United Kingdom

Dec 26, 2023 | Development Alternatives, Inc.
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The Centre for Disaster Protection plays a unique role in the global risk management and crisis financing architecture. The Centre was established to address major challenges to effective disaster risk financing and promote more impactful and more equitable disaster risk finance at scale, that leaves no one behind.

The Centre is helping to grow the emerging evidence base on how to better reach and support people in need to help ensure that money and plans are in place before a disaster strikes. It work with governments and organisations to create practical and policy solutions, incentivise proactive risk management and risk financing and support risk informed decision making. It are the only international organisation focused on providing impartial technical advice and training on disaster risk finance – it does not implement or sell financial instruments.

The Centre deliberately multidisciplinary. Its team comprises experts in risk management, actuarial science, basic service delivery, public financial management, economics, risk modelling, finance, policy and strategic communications, humanitarian delivery, gender, and inclusion. All of its work is guided by its core values of impartiality, quality, creativity and challenge.

The Centre is funded with UK aid through the UK government. Find out more at www.disasterprotection.org .

About the Sahel project

The Centre has established a UK Aid funded project to support five countries in the Sahel region (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger) to strengthen their adaptive social protection systems.

The Centre works closely alongside the second phase of the World Bank’s Bank’s Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Programme (SASPP) to provide support to country teams in laying the foundations for stronger policy, practice and financing for social protection systems in the Sahel that are more adaptive to climate-related shocks. The Centre’s efforts seek to ensure that further improvements to Sahelian social protection systems are informed by principles and practices of good disaster risk financing, and that long-term financing and early warning systems are linked to suitable triggers.

The project is expected to run from July 2022 to December 202 6, during which time the Centre will provide high-quality technical assistance, capacity building and evidence support to ensure that:

  1. National social protection systems in Sahel countries are better able to adapt to shocks, like droughts or floods.
  2. Weather and early warning data are utilised to improve disaster risk preparedness.
  3.  Financing strategies are put in place for social protection systems.
  4.  Social protection systems are more inclusive, avoid doing harm and contribute to gender equality.

About the role

The Centre and DAI are seeking to engage a supplier (individual consultant) for a technical consultancy to lead a study on gender equality, social inclusion and climate vulnerability in the Sahel.

The transition towards more climate-adaptive and shock-responsive social protection systems, as envisioned by the ASP programmes that the Centre aims to support, will benefit from more nuanced information on the context and conditions underlying vulnerability as experienced by different groups of people. This will help to ensure that future efforts to build and deliver social protection systems and responses will better support reducing existing vulnerabilities and avoid risks of exacerbating them. Locally informed, context-specific, research is also needed to deepen its understanding of how different types of shocks are experienced by different groups of vulnerable persons. And in turn the strategies they use to cope or support they need for adaptation.

The purpose of the study is to develop a clearer understanding of how gender equality & social inclusion (GESI) and climate vulnerabilities intersect in specific Sahelian contexts. The study aims to answer the following research questions:

  •  To what extent, and under what circumstances, do gender equality and social inclusion considerations intersect with climate vulnerability in specific Sahelian settings?
  •  How can the risks and vulnerabilities that specific types of people and communities are exposed to be clearly differentiated and captured in qualitative or quantitative measurements?
  •  How could such measurements be utilised to inform social protection programmes and responses aiming to provide support in the face of shocks?

The following deliverables are anticipated to be produced as part of the first phase of this study can be found on the original job posting,

The consultant will be expected to:

  • Support the development and drafting of the first deliverable (literature and data review) : a review of relevant literature to define key concepts and map out the different social groups in specific Sahelian contexts, and which types of risks and vulnerabilities they are exposed to .
  • Lead the development and drafting of the second deliverable (a GESI and climate vulnerability framework) ,: developing a framework drawing on an in-depth review of the existing and growing body of literature and data (both quantitative and qualitative) on gender, social inclusion, vulnerability and adaptation to climate related shocks
  • Present findings, notably internally to Centre of Disaster Protection Staff as well as to selected stakeholder audiences working on social protection in the Sahel.
  • These activities will be delivered with support and guidance of the Centre’s Research Lead and the Sahel Project Lead.

Delivering this project will require consistent coordination with the Centre’s Evidence and Sahel project teams. The contractor should be able to work closely with the project team and will be expected to attend key meetings or workshops as they relate to the presentation of country level methodologies.

The consultant will also be expected to uphold the Centre’s values and contribute to building the Centre’s external reputation through managing relations with clients and partners across the development, humanitarian, financial and academic sectors.

The focus of this work is expected to be on Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania. The assignment is expected to contribute to strengthening donor programming and delivery on adaptive social protection in the Sahel. This role is expected to be largely desk-based, with incidental travel to Sahel countries. The level of effort expected for this role is up to 40 fee days, to be delivered between January 2024 and May 2025.

Required skills and Competencies

The ideal candidate should demonstrate the following skills and experience:

  • Relevant qualifications at master’s degree level in gender and development, economics, development studies, or other relevant social sciences.
  • Demonstrable track record of at least 10 years research experience across at least one of the fields of gender equality and social inclusion, social protection, disaster risk financing, and climate and vulnerability.
  • Demonstrable track record designing and delivering research in fragile- and conflict affected settings.
  • Experience working in the focus countries of the study defined above will be considered an asset. d84oC4U BIpnb
  • An excellent grasp of integrating gender equality and social inclusion in policy and practice.
  • An understanding of ongoing debates in either the design and delivery of adaptive social protection in response to climate shocks and disaster risk management and financing.
  • Proven ability to work independently with occasional guidance and oversight, and as part of international teams often working in different locations and time zones.
  • Fluency in French and English is required. Fluency in Arabic will be considered an advantage.

Fee rates, payments & eligibility

Remuneration will be based on individual experience and skills while, as the Centre is a UK aid-funded project, all rates for consultants and staff are subject to controls. Applicants should propose a gross daily fee rate in their submission (see instructions below), which should be inclusive of any applicable taxes. (NB, as one exception, any applicable UK VAT should be separately indicated).

Any applicable expenses approved by the Centre/ DAI will be covered. This includes travel related expenses and others as relevant and mutually agreed. Approved expenses will be billable exclusively on actual costs incurred, as evidenced by receipts.

Payment

Fees will be payable on actual usage of days evidenced by timesheets, subject to completion and approval of key deliverables due at the invoicing point. Any expenses will be paid on actual costs (against receipts) using an agreed invoice and timesheet template.

Correctly submitted invoices will be paid within 30 days of receipt of invoice and/or approval of relevant work (whichever is the later).

Negotiation and finalisation of commercial terms

DAI on behalf of the Centre reserves the right to negotiate on any aspects of the proposed costs and payment and is not bound to accept any offer.

Application Process

Please submit the following by 12pm UK time, on 22nd January 2024 through the DAI careers portal at https://www.dai.com/careers/search

  • CV (max. 3 pages).
  • Covering letter indicating how candidate experience and interest aligns with this work, and how they will approach this work (max. 2 pages).
  • Indicative gross daily fee rate expectations inclusive of any applicable taxes (except UK VAT which should be separately indicated).
  • Please note that candidate’s data will be stored confidentially on DAI’s corporate database, which has restricted access for necessary DAI corporate staff only. DAI takes privacy seriously. If the candidate chooses to, they may opt out of inclusion in its database at any point in time by sending an email togdpr@dai.com. See the Privacy Policy for details. Candidate data may be held outside of the EU and/or UK by one of the other DAI group companies with sufficient safeguards in place regarding security and use.

DAI Eligibility Criteria

All individual(s) shortlisted will undergo an initial eligibility criteria assessment. This includes vetting of the organisations in line with terrorism checks, company history of improper conduct, any legal acts against the organisation(s) and initial vetting of proposed personnel. Where disqualification factors are discovered, the application may be rejected without notification.

Successful individual(s) will be subject to detailed vetting analysis and relevant reference checks, and, in the case of organisations, also a due diligence assessment through DAI’s Management Capacity Assessment Tool (MCAT). This will include an assessment of:

  • Organisational details
  • Safeguarding policies, procedures and systems
  • Financial management policies, procedures, practises and systems
  • Duty of care
  • Modern Slavery policies and procedures.
  • Final award of contract will not be confirmed until these checks are complete.

Intellectual property

Any foreground Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) arising out of the performance of project will belong to the Managing Agent of the Centre for the purposes of awarding to the Centre perpetual, irrevocable licence to use, sub-licence or commercially exploit such IPRs in the delivery of its mission and likewise to the Centre’s funder, the UK FCDO.

The Management Agent, on behalf of the Centre, will provide the Service Provider right to use such IPRs and other Centre IPRs to the extent needed to perform their obligations under this project. IPRs relating to any background intellectual property drawn upon by the Service Provider in delivery of the assignment shall remain with the Service Provider, who will provide the Centre (through its Managing Agent) and FCDO rights to use such intellectual property to the extent it is integrally required to enjoy their rights to use the results of the Project and the foreground IPRs.