Community Engagement International Consultant

Introduction

Since 2011-12 the central Sahel region has experienced widening conflicts between state and non-state armed groups, with thousands of civilians killed. Violence is largely centred in the ‘tri-state border region’ of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Violence escalated in Mali and Burkina Faso during 2022, and has started to expand to include parts of Benin, Ivory Coast and Togo. The prevalence of armed conflict has triggered displacement, mass school closures, multiple coups, and strangled trade.

Adding to structural causes is the impact on communities of the consequences of climate change. While climate change may not lead directly to conflict, it can magnify other factors that spark or worsen conflict, thereby influencing armed conflict and acting as a ‘crisis multiplier’. There is a need to elevate the local communities’, marginalised groups in particular, and authorities’ role in identifying, evidencing and addressing the significant risks deriving from climate changes in this heightened conflict context.

Through this newly implemented project, CSOs and communities members will work together through a collaborative experience to build a shared understanding of climate change and environmental issues to help trigger best practices at local level to facilitate the access to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Community members will be able to identify early signs of disruption of normal activities due to climate-change induced shocks that could potentially lead to a deterioration in the living conditions of the population and escalate into atrocities, and work with stakeholders to respond.

Objectives of the consultancy

We are looking for a highly motivated and experienced consultant to lead the development of a comprehensive training program aimed at empowering communities with the knowledge and skills needed to advocate for environmental rights and navigate the unique conflict dynamics of their region.

1. Provide expertise on the programming approach 15% Month 1 to 6

The consultant will technically advise the project team on conflict analysis and mass atrocity prevention, environmental rights, and more specifically on prevention of climate-change induced mass atrocities through a community-based approach.

2. Develop a training programme for the communities 60%

The training programme is structured around two pillars

• Building a shared understanding at the community level of climate change and environmental issues to help trigger best practice at local level to facilitate the access to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
• Identification of early signs of disruption of normal activities due to climate-change induced shocks that can potentially lead to a deterioration in the living conditions of the population.

The training Programme includes

Month 1: Design a comprehensive training curriculum that addresses the core concepts and practical aspects of both pillars. This includes developing training materials, including presentations, handouts, case studies, and interactive activities; and soliciting community feedback and input.

Month 2 and 3: Create a specialized curriculum for training two facilitators as trainers (ToT) to effectively deliver the program at the community level, and develop training materials and resources for the ToT program. Train the 2 facilitators in person.

Month 3 to 5: Supervise delivery of the training program to diverse community groups. This includes coordinating with our partners for engaging with the communities and preparing the logistical aspect of the training. It also includes working with our MEL team to support the implementation of the monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the effectiveness and impact of the training, including the preparation of pre and post training test.

3. Support the development of local plans (6) to gather ground-sourced data to elaborate on climate-change induced shocks and its consequences on the population and social fabric 15% Month 4 and 5

4. Advise on the elaboration of the community-based early warning system 10% Month 5 and 6

The consultant will provide an interim and final report about its overall works.

Experience and skill set required

• University degree in the fields of Environmental rights, International law and responsibility to protect, Climate Changes, and/or Community based approaches (M.A. or PhD in relevant field is an advantage)
• Minimum eight to ten years of experience working in programs related to environmental rights, climate changes and environment issues at community levels, mass atrocity prevention including climate change induced mass atrocity prevention, community-based early warning systems
• Experience in developing and conducting similar training programs
• Strong analytical skills
• Good facilitation, presentation and communication skills
• Experience in working with marginalised and vulnerable communities
• Ability/willingness to travel internationally
• Language skills: working knowledge in French and English
• Desirable: previous working experience in Africa