ECHO Regional Proposal Development/Modification- Asia

Purpose of the Consultancy

The Danish Refugee Council’s Asia Regional Office based in Dhaka is seeking a Consultant to support in the writing/development of a modification request that will build on the existing regional project design focusing on a protection-centered response to Myanmar refugee displacement, from a regional perspective, informed by research and analysis, further feeding into coordination, advocacy, and policy outcomes.

ECHO has announced the regional HIP (Humanitarian Implementation Plan) 2023 for South, East, South-East Asia and the Pacific region and has invited partners to submit a full proposal for the “Regional Refugee Crisis” by 09 January 2023. As such, DRC is soliciting applications for a consultant to support in the development of a full modification request, building on DRC Asia’s ongoing regional project, while also incorporating the requirements of the regional HIP 2023. Submissions are expected to cover the following 3 axes of interventions from a regional and cross-border perspective:

• Protection Information Management (data, evidence, research, analysis)
• Protection Programming
• Coordination & Advocacy

Objective of the Consultancy

The main objective of this consultancy is to support DRC Asia and it partners in developing a high-quality modification request (including e-SF, budget, workplan, and risk matrix) for the ECHO regional HIP 2023.

Specific tasks include:

1. Review donor guidelines and instructions to ensure the proposal is developed in full alignment with donor expectations, formats and regulations;
2. Review all key documents, reports, assessments shared by DRC Asia and partners; Research & review additional relevant documents & information (e.g. sitreps & assessment reports by OCHA, HNO, etc.) and any other potential relevant technical sectoral guidelines to be building on and referring to into the proposal;
3. Review and ensure the technical input from each of the partners and across the 3 axes of intervention links coherently one into the other in order that the overall design clearly articulates the intended outcome and impact.
4. Write the modification request and all required annexes as per donor formats and requirements.
5. Develop and follow a mutually agreed timeline for the submission of two (2) draft versions of the modification request and budget before completing the final version, with sufficient time for review and feedback by the partners, as well as, technical feedback from DRC HQ.
6. With support from DRC Asia finance staff, contribute to the budget development and ensuring the budget and the proposal are aligned: DRC will take responsibility for finalizing the budget but the consultant is expected to clearly list and detail the different costs and budget lines required to support the suggested activities of the proposal

In the development of this modification request, DRC requires that the Consultant coordinate with technical staff from ADSP, MMC, and partners, as relevant. All the necessary primary data required at the design stage and in the proposal will be provided by DRC and its partners. However, the Consultant will be required to provide secondary data as much as possible.

Scope of work and Methodology

The Consultant will be required to prepare a detailed methodology and work plan indicating how the objectives of the project will be achieved, and the support required from DRC.

At the start of the consultancy, the Consultant will review and familiarize themselves with DRC’s existing documentation, reports, assessments, etc. The Consultant will be provided with a debrief on the ongoing regional Protecting Rohingya Refugees in Asia project.

The Consultant is expected to hold regular, scheduled coordination meetings with DRC and partners, both individually and jointly to ensure technical coherence and relevance of the design. Apart from regular online meetings with partners, the Consultant will facilitate a minimum of two (2) virtual joint meetings to discuss/present the suggested initial design of the overall proposal and to finally present the proposal with budget and annexes (draft 2 stage) for input and feedback.

The consultant will be expected to develop the full modification request in a MS Word template provided by DRC as well as convert it to the offline ESF version ensuring adherence to the required page/word-limits; annexes must be developed per ECHO guidelines. The budget template will be provided by DRC.

The final offline ESF format submitted by the Consultant must be developed to a standard that can be uploaded to APPEL, following technical bite-size/count and ECHO guidance.

Deliverables

The Consultant will submit the following deliverables as mentioned below. The Consultant will provide all documentation by email as well as upload to DRC’s Share Point site, to which access will be provided.

Deliverables includes:

• Draft 1 Modification request with budget outline
• Draft 2 modification request with budget
• Final modification request with budget ready to be uploaded in APPEL.

Duration, timeline, and payment

The consultancy will run from December 15, 2022 – January 7, 2023. This consultancy includes 14 (fourteen) working days. The consultancy will be home-based, not requiring travel. However, the Consultant will require significant interaction with the DRC Regional Office in Bangladesh (GMT+6) and is expected to manage time zones suiting partners and DRC staff based in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and in Europe. 100% payment will be done after completion of the task (7th January 2023)

Eligibility, qualification, and experience required

Essential:

• A minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience related to protection programming and protection proposal development, with clear strengths in linking analysis with protection programming and advocacy and policy outcomes
• Experience developing ECHO HIP proposals with multi-partner submissions; and ability to keep all partners informed, coordinated and supported with meeting deadlines
• Demonstrated knowledge of the use of the latest version of ECHO Single Form

Desirable:

• Master’s Degree in International development, International Human Rights Law or related higher degree
• Understanding of forcibly displaced communities and their context/needs in South and Southeast Asia
• Previous experience developing similar multi-country, regional ECHO proposals and budgets
• Strong and practical understanding of ECHO’s policies and donor guidelines
• Strong facilitation skills and ability to coordinate, collaborate, analyse and draw out technical input from partners, working remotely.
• Excellent analytical, interpersonal, communication and reporting skills
• Ability to work across multiple time zones.
• Very good English writing skills.

Interested consultant is expected to submit the following items in response to these terms of reference:

• Updated CV(s);
• A technical proposal (no more than 5 pages) that covers: (i) the consultant’s suitability for the assignment, (ii) suggested process, approach and methodology, and (iii) Workplan
• A budget covering daily consulting fees in USD inclusive of applicable taxes
• A statement of availability for the duration of the consultancy;
• One or more work sample(s) of similar assignments; and

Technical Supervision

The selected consultant will work under the supervision of Regional Head of Program, Asia.