Consultant – YEMERA IV Proposal Development – Remote for Yemen

Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

Mercy Corps seeks to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression around the world and has worked in the Middle East since the 1980s. Yemen is in the midst a major humanitarian crisis impacting the entire country. In response to acute and increasing humanitarian needs in Yemen, Mercy Corps opened its office in Yemen in 2010. More than 22 million people are need and reliance on humanitarian assistance continues to grow. The main thrust of the work of Mercy Corps along with its national and international partners is to meet urgent humanitarian needs across the country while building resilience and social cohesion. Strategies to enhance the resilience of communities to the harsh environmental and social conditions in the country cut across the portfolio.

Purpose / Project Description:

Yemen continues to suffer from the 2015 conflict, with its resultant humanitarian crisis leaving 22.2 million people in-need of humanitarian assistance and 8.6 million people classified as severely food insecure; who without food assistance, risk sliding into famine conditions. At the same time, Yemen has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world with almost half of children under five diagnosed with stunted growth. The other fundamental challenge faced by Yemenis, even prior to the current conflict, is access to adequate water and sanitation services. This has been exacerbated by the conflict, with the 2018 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) stating that 14.5 million people currently experience constrained access, as a direct result of the conflict, to suitable water and sanitation services. This is in part a result of the damage to critical infrastructure, but also due to poor or nonexistent maintenance and operational capacity. This constrained access to safe drinking water and sanitation services points to an ongoing public health crisis.

Consultant Objectives:

Support the Mercy Corps Yemen team in the development of a final proposal product for a multi-sectoral emergency assistance program to USAID-BHA, in alignment with national and local priorities as well as with donor and Mercy Corps’ strategies.

Consultant Activities:

The Consultant will:

• Lead design workshop(s) remotely with Mercy Corps Yemen to identify problem statement and to articulate logic of intervention.
• Develop a conceptual framework of initiatives for Mercy Corps Yemen’s YEMERA-IV grant application for USAID-BHA by engaging with current YEMERA-III program staff, researching programmatic and contextual background in collaboration with Mercy Corps teams, and analyzing MC and BHA sector and cross-cutting priorities to identify potential areas for enhancing and expanding on existing work or piloting new initiatives.
• Work with Mercy Corps Yemen staff to identify information collection and needs assessments input required for the grant application and analyze information received from this process.
• Lead writing of the Technical Activity Narrative for the YEMERA-IV Emergency Grant Application.
• Support review of the Budget Narrative, particularly to ensure it aligns with Technical Activity Narrative.
• Respond to draft comments from Mercy Corps technical staff and leadership and amendment requirements upon submission to BHA.

Consultant Deliverables:

The Consultant will provide the following:

1. A well-articulated theory of change along with an advanced draft logical framework (excluding indicators)
2. A finalized draft of the main proposal document including context analysis, technical narrative and cross-cutting areas narrative
3. Needs assessment and gender analysis report Draft budget narrative in alignment with the proposal technical narrative
4. Reviewed tools and annexes as required.

Timeframe / Schedule:

• The proposal development efforts will be conducted between October and December 2022, for a duration not exceeding 20 working days including background research, proposal write up and review/contribution to annexes.

The Consultant will report to: Director of Programs

The Consultant will work closely with:

Program teams in country, Country Director, Grants Manager, Regional Program Teams and other regional support teams as well as global and regional Technical Support Unit as well as Mercy Corps Yemen Senior Management Team.

Required Experience & Skills:

• 5-10 years of experience in relevant technical field (required)
• Experience in Yemen or any other conflict affected contexts is preferred
• Experience, knowledge, and clear understanding of Yemen’s humanitarian context.
• Experience with evaluating USAID-funded projects.
• Good people skills and understanding of cultural sensitivities.
• Excellent verbal and written communication in English is required, Arabic is an advantage.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.