CVA Advisor

Duty Station*:* Remote with frequent travels to Ukraine

Supervisor / Reports to: Caritas Switzerland Head of Programs

Expected Start Date: 1 August 2023 or as soon as possible

Duration: Approx. 10 months, renewable upon the agreement of both parties

Expected Workload: Approx. 65 days

Background

Caritas Switzerland (CACH) is one of the leading Swiss NGOs in the field of poverty reduction in Switzerland and abroad. International Cooperation programmes focus on humanitarian aid, income generation, climate change and migration. The Programme Ukraine Crisis Response is currently operating in the Ukraine as well as in neighbouring countries providing emergency assistance to people affected by the conflict. Caritas Switzerland works through local implementing partners, taking the localization of aid approach in its response, and focus on bringing technical value-added specifically in the field of cash and markets, income, shelter, MHPSS as well as protection in addition to supporting partners in financial controlling and compliance standards.

With the technical support of CACH, our two local partner organizations Caritas Ukraine (CUA) and Caritas Spes (CS) have significantly strengthened and expanded their capabilities in response to the challenging situation in Ukraine. Reaching over 124’000 individuals with 21.5m CHF in 2022, CUA established themselves as the largest national CVA actor in the Ukrainian response. Likewise, CS has recently incorporated cash-based assistance to their programming – conducting some successful pilots, and are now looking to broaden the scope and scale of their cash based programme.

With new projects set to start in the coming months, CACH is seeking a CVA technical advisor on a consultant basis to support the delivery of high quality programming.

Objectives of the Consultancy

The key objective of the CVA Technical Advisor will be to contribute to the effective delivery of cash based programming through appropriate and effective technical guidance to Caritas Switzerland and its partner organizations Caritas Ukraine and Caritas Spes Ukraine. In terms of overall CVA support to the respective partners, the CVA advisor should understand localization approaches and focus on support in capacity building of partner staff, and provision of technical oversight for the delivery of high quality cash programming, including the areas of basic needs, shelter and protection.

Scope of Work

• Contribute to programme and proposal development including analysis of context and needs, and providing input on theories of change, log frames etc.
• Provide technical guidance and support to partner organizations on cash assistance programming, to ensure the cash projects are delivered in a high quality manner.
• Provide training and capacity building to CACH and partner organizations on cash programming, according to their needs.
• Develop technical guidelines, SOPs, and tools in coordinaton with the partners, for the delivery of cash programs, in line with best practices and standards.
• Support the development and implementation of MEL plans for cash programming, in coordination with the MEAL Advisor, including appropriate indictors, data collection methods etc. Support partners to interpret, utilise, and communicate cash related monitoring data results.
• Keep up to date with contextual analyses, crisis data, donor policies, and other sector and country trends related to CVA within Ukraine. Provide feedback on same to programme management for programme adaptation and development.

Time frame

Ca. 65 days over a period of approximately 10 months, with the possibility of extension.

Location

The location of the assignment can be either remote, or in person in Ukraine. In your application, please specify your location. If you are based outside of Ukraine, please indicate your willingness to periodically travel to Ukraine to work on site with Caritas Switzerland and our Partners – in Lviv, Kyiv, and Eastern/Southern Oblasts (security permitting).

Deliverables

At the start of the consultancy, a specific set of deliverables will be defined with the consultant. This will centre around the startup of a new multisectoral cash based project, involving CACH and it’s two partners. Some preliminary deliverables are as follows:

1. In the upcoming humanitarian and livelihoods projects, support the project partners to develop or refine SOPs and tools used across beneficiary selection, and monitoring (in coordination with other relevant CACH technical advisors). This will include emergency cash assistance, stabilisation cash assistance, cash for protection, cash for rent, and income.
2. Undertake a capacity assessment in relation to cash programming for both partners, identifying areas for training and technical support – develop and deliver a technical capacity building plan accordingly.
3. Provide training to partners on reporting to CWG or clusters where necessary.

Line of Communication

The primary lines of communication will be the with CACH head of Programmes and programme Coordinators – and close cooperation with other technical advisors. The consultant will also work with CACH partners’ project management and technical staff.

Competencies and Qualifications

Education

• University degree in Humanitarian or Development Studies, International Relations, Business Administration, Social Work, or a relevant field.

Professional Experience

• Essential
  • Minimum of 5 years experience in a CVA related role
  • Ability to work both in an advisory and a hands-on implementation capacity; team player.
  • Proven capacity to supervise, train and coach staff as well as ability to facilitate/conduct large technical trainings for staff
  • Strong focus on localisation processes; gap analysis, solution presentation and knowledge transfer and ownership
  • Proven work experience in emergency response and fragile state contexts.
• Desirable
  • Sound understanding of the Ukrainian context is an advantage
  • Experience working with Caritas or other faith-based organizations is an advantage

Skills & Competencies

• Essential
  • Excellent communication skills with motivation to work in close partnership with national partners
  • Experience in capacity building and training on CVA related matters
  • Excellent writing, reporting and analytical skills
  • Demonstrated interpersonal and cultural communications skills and experience working in collaboration with multiple stakeholders
  • Computer skills, in qualitative and quantitative tools including proficiency in Microsoft Office suite
  • Sound understanding of humanitarian standards
  • Ability to work independently, with minimal supervision and to cope with time pressure

Language and Other Requirements

• Essential
  • Excellent written and oral English
  • Willingness to frequently travel within Ukraine
• Desirable
  • Ukrainian or Russian language skills are an advantage