Iraq Scoping Mission Leader

Consultant Position: Iraq Scoping Mission Leader

Location: Iraq – consultancy based out of Erbil with travel within Iraq (travel, accommodation and transportation in Iraq will be provided by RI)

Reports to: Regional Director – Middle East with dotted line to Regional Program Director

Direct Reports: N/A

About Relief International:

Relief International (RI) is a leading non-profit organization working in 15 countries globally to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and chronic poverty.

RI combines humanitarian and development approaches to provide immediate services while laying the groundwork for long-term impact. Our signature approach – which we call the RI Way—emphasizes local participation, an integration of services, strategic partnerships and a focus on civic skills. In this way, we empower communities to find, design and implement the solutions that work best for them.

RI includes the four corporate members of the RI Alliance: RI-US, RI-UK, MRCA/RI-France and RI-Belgium. Under our alliance agreement, we operate as a single, shared management structure.

About our Country/Regional Programs:

RI operates in five countries in the Middle East region: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Yemen, with a focus on the four RI sector pillars: Health, WASH, Education and Economic Opportunity. RI currently employs more than 4,000 staff (direct and indirect) in the Middle East region and implements a range of emergency response and development programs valued at approximately $70 million USD on an annual basis.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Relief International has a history of implementing programming in Iraq since 2004; however, RI fully closed its program mission in mid-2021 and RI’s current presence in Iraq is now limited to i) operational hub in Erbil supporting our Syria mission, and ii) Microfinance Unit that operates across Iraq. For various strategic regions, RI would like to explore re-entry into Iraq and rebuild its program portfolio to support vulnerable communities inside Iraq. Special focus will be for programming in KRI, but programming in other areas of Iraq would also be desirable. Having been out of the Iraq programming space for almost two years, RI is seeking a consultant to lead a scoping mission in order to support RI in identifying potential entry point(s) to rebuild and in developing a proposed roadmap for so doing. RI will prioritize consultant candidacy from individuals with recent experience working with INGO(s) in Iraq who comes with pre-existing knowledge of the context and relevant networking channels with other INGOs, UN agencies, donors and/or other key stakeholders.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Proposed Timeline and Deliverables for Consultancy:

• Week One: Preparation for RI scoping mission through orientation meetings with key RI staff and internal document review

• Weeks Two – Four: Travel to Iraq and conduct scoping mission, including weekly check-in with Regional Director and Regional Program Director during scoping mission

• Week Five: Draft report and recommendations submitted to Regional Director

• Week Six: Presentation of report and findings to Regional SMT and finalizing report and recommendations

• All deliverables must be completed before the end of 2022

Considerations for Scoping Mission in Iraq:

• Spend three weeks in Iraq to implement scoping mission that will consist of many meetings to be organized directly by the consultant in order to acquire the information required to complete the objectives of the consultancy
• Conduct comprehensive stakeholder mapping of currently operating INGOs, UN agencies, INGO Coordinators, Sector Coordinators, donors and other key stakeholders
• Identify entry-points for RI focus future program development initiatives, considering sector, locations, and key gaps that RI could attempt to fill
• Identify upcoming opportunities for various donors (both humanitarian and development) that RI could consider pursuing
• Identify organizations that RI could foster relationships with to later develop partnerships and/or form or join consortia as relevant
• Ensure to highlight any key considerations gleaned from scoping mission that RI should take into account when planning future

Safeguarding

• Uphold and promote RI’s commitment to ensuring the safeguarding and safety of the vulnerable communities we serve
• Consistent with RI’s safeguarding and protection policies, ensure all people who come into contact with Relief International are as safe as possible

Position requires:

• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills
• Ability and willingness to travel to Iraq and within Iraq
• MA in international relations, business administration or other relevant field
• 10 years minimum experience in INGO context, experience in Middle East desired
• Successful experience with similar assignments (whether as a consultancy or part of another organization)
• Recent experience in Iraq highly desirable
• Demonstrated experience with at least half of RI’s key donors: USAID – BHA, USDOS – PRM, ECHO and various UN agencies
• Proven success in grant writing, networking and liaising with country and GSO staff

RI VALUES:

We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities.

We value:

• Inclusiveness
• Transparency and accountability
• Agility and innovation
• Collaboration
• Sustainability