Needs Assessment Consultant

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONDUCTING A NEEDS ASSESSMENT ON HEALTH, PROTECTION, AND LIVELIHOODS IN ISTANBUL, MERSIN, AND ADANA

Title: Needs Assessment Consultant
Location: Türkiye
Reports to: MEAL& Technical Director
Duration: 30 calendar days

ABOUT Relief International.

Relief International (RI) is a leading nonprofit organization working in 16 countries to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and chronic poverty.

Relief International 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-Europe. Under our alliance agreement, we operate as a single, shared management structure. RI is active in 16 countries around the world, including some of the most fragile: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen. Often, RI is the only organization providing assistance to highly vulnerable communities.

RI employs 7,000+ staff and auxiliary workers 97% of staff are local nationals. We only have some 90 ex-pat staff out of 7,000+. RI spent $150 million in 2019 on our programs. Often, RI is the only organization providing assistance to highly vulnerable communities.

About our Country Program/ Regional Programs:

Middle East Region

RI in the Middle East has programs in six countries – Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Yemen, with a focus on the 4 main RI sectors: Health, WASH, Education and Economic Opportunity.

Relief International currently employs 3900 staff (direct and indirect) in the region and has a range of emergency response and development programs valued at 70 million USD on an annual basis.

Position Details:

• Background

Relief International (RI) specializes in relief and development programs that benefit people in acute distress. A registered non-profit in the US, UK, France and Belgium, our work targets those fragile countries or communities that suffer from recurrent man-made or natural crises that impede human development. The people that we serve live in seventeen countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia where the debilitating effects of political instability, forced displacement, and natural disasters are pervasive. Often, RI is the only organization providing healthcare, education, logistics, energy, capacity building, economic development, sanitation, and many other forms of assistance to these highly vulnerable communities.

Relief International (RI) has been working in Turkey since 2013. Currently, RI implements activities in nine provinces across Turkey, providing specialized health service delivery for refugees, focusing on mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS), physiotherapy, prosthesis & orthotics, community health and protection, and livelihoods support;
According to the latest available figures from the Turkish Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM), there are more than 3.6 million foreign nationals present in Turkish territory, 300,000 of whom are seeking international protection. Most of those refugees are Syrians (3,00,000 individuals) who are granted temporary protection status in Turkey. In addition, international protection applicants are most frequently nationals of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq constitute another group of foreign nationals

RI is looking for a Needs Assessment Consultant to carry out a comprehensive needs assessment of the health and livelihood sectors through a protection lens to understand the needs of refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants (Syrian and non-Syrian) in Turkey with a specific focus on persons with disabilities. The assessment will analyze the current needs, gaps, and barriers to access health and livelihoods services exploring at the same time the impact of the earthquake hit Turkiye in February 2023 on the target population.

• Purpose and Objectives of the Assessment

The purpose of the assessment is to support RI in restructuring, expanding and increasing the impact of its programs and activities in Turkey, specifically in Istanbul, Mersin, and Adana.

Specifically, the assessment aims to:

1. Provide a detailed overview of the severity of humanitarian needs in the health and livelihoods sector through a protection lens among the target population (with a focus on persons with disabilities) in the selected areas to inform the program strategy of RI;
2. Identify variation in the needs across the areas, population groups, and vulnerability profile (including gender, age, disability) to inform prioritization and strategic planning of activities;
3. Map the stakeholders working with non-Syrian and Syrian refugees/migrants in health, protection and livelihoods sectors, and actors working with persons with disabilities in the selected areas;
4. Analyze how the earthquake impacted the access to services of refugees, especially for people with special needs;
5. Comparing the assessment findings with the last NA implemented by RI two years ago to understand the dynamic changes and their effect on the needs of refugees in Turkiye.

• Scope of Work and Research Question

The specialist will conduct the assessment in Istanbul, Mersin, and Adana, selecting the sub-districts for the data collection in collaboration with RI technical and MEAL team.
The study should include/cover a detailed analysis of current gaps in accessing health, protection and livelihoods services based on the needs of the target population, especially for persons with disability. The assessment is expected to incorporate secondary and primary data.

Main research questions:

• What is the severity of humanitarian needs across the identified sectors? Any unique needs for people with disabilities?
• What are the most common overlapping needs for the households?
• How do the findings differ among geographic areas, population groups, and vulnerability profiles? (with focus on disability and gender)
• What are the key actors providing assistance to the target population in the selected areas?
• How did the February earthquake impact the access to services for the target population?
• How did the inflation impact the livelihood opportunities in the targeted locations, and what was the impact on people with disability?
• What is the participants’ perception of social cohesion in the target areas?

The specialist is expected to:

1. Develop the assessment methodology and tools in coordination with the relevant RI teams.
2. Training RI enumerators on the tools.
3. Supervise the data collection process.
4. Clean and analyze the raw data and provide a final data set of the assessment.
5. Compile and analyze the findings of the desk research, the stakeholder mapping, the assessment findings.
6. Draft and produce a final document outlining the process, findings, and suggested actions and recommendations related to the four main objectives of this assessment.

Note 1: Recruiting enumerators and ensuring access to the targeted population is RI’s responsibility.

Note 2: The process should be gender sensitive and a gender lens should be applied to the analysis and recommendations.

• Key Tasks

The essential tasks to be performed by the specialist include but are not limited to the following:

1. Develop a comprehensive assessment proposal.
2. Develop and submit an inception report that details the process, methodologies, framework for analysis, and the different tools to be employed for the assessment. It should include a work plan including fieldwork, interview schedules and list of stakeholders to participate in the exercise.
3. Undertake desk review of all relevant documents including Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO), Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), UN and NGOs reporting, RI assessments, Government of Turkey (GoT) regulations on access to relevant services for the target population, and any other relevant documents.
4. Design data collection methodology as appropriate, including best practice approaches and relevant frameworks. Relevant RI staff should comment on the data collection tools before finalizing and using them for actual data collection.
5. Conduct close supervision on the data collectors in field.
6. Key stakeholder mapping, specifically focusing on associations serving Persons with Disabilities with the support of RI-relevant teams.
7. Conduct a comprehensive field-based assessment based on the purpose and objectives of the assessment.
8. Write and present a draft report, capturing key findings against the objectives of the assessment, with a summary of suggestions and technical recommendations.
9. Submit a draft report to RI for feedback to facilitate sharing of the assessment result with a view of incorporating inputs from RI in the final draft
10. Compile and submit a final assessment report to RI

• Target Population of the Assessment

The assessment should explore the needs and challenges of the following target groups:

• Syrian and Non-Syrian refugees, migrants and asylum seekers living in the Istanbul, Mersin, and Adana.
• Refuges with disabilities
• Local organizations assisting refugees and persons with disabilities in the geographical areas target of the assessment.
• Relevant local and national authorities and stakeholders

• Timeframe

The total duration of assignment shall not take more than 30 calendar days including inception report preparation, field assessment and report write-up, which counts from the date of signing of the agreement.

The specialist should indicate a breakdown of timeframe showing the detail work plan including:

• Inception activities (e.g. inception report, desk research)
• Check-in meeting with RI technical team
• Tools development and review
• Data collection
• Analysis of findings, preparation of report

• Key Deliverables

The key deliverables expected are:

• Inception report including desk review and methodology before the start of the fieldwork for feedback of relevant RI staff members staffs.
• Rationale for the selection of specific sub-districts in the target areas
• Stakeholder Mapping
• Data collection Tools and any other documents that is used during the assessment.
• Raw data set
• Preliminary findings after data collection
• Final assessment report (one electronic copy in PDF format and one in DOC format) including strong data visualization.
• Debriefing meeting presentation of main finding with RI staff

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 your job related activity and practice is compliant with safeguarding standards.
• Qualifications

The specialist must demonstrate the following qualifications:

• Relevant university qualifications, preferably in a field related to development studies, health, refugees’ studies, and livelihoods. Master’s degree (or equivalent) preferred.

•A minimum of four years of experience with strong and demonstrable research techniques and skills, data collection and analysis, and especially in similar assessments and surveys

• Demonstrated understanding of refugee, disability and gender issues, particularly in the Turkish context.

• Ability to work with a group of diverse stakeholders and produce results.

• Familiarity working with Humanitarian Organizations

• Political, cultural and gender awareness.

• Fluency in English language, both written and verbal.

• Applicant Responsibilities

The selected applicant will be responsible of:

• Selection of the sub districts for data collection in collaboration with RI.
• Access to target population for data-collection, including securing the needed permission from relevant authorities.
• Supervising the data collectors and providing them a training about the instrument/s.
• Securing the needed technology tools such tablets and phones.
• All the logistic support such as transportation, accommodation, printing, etc.

• Equipment for the Assignment

RI is responsible for providing the enumerators with the needed equipment for the data collection issue. RI will not provide the specialist with IT equipment for her/his work.

• Remuneration

Payment will be released upon RI’s acceptance of final deliverables following constant review by RI. RI will not cover extra costs for any accommodation, transportation (including transportation to and from project locations within and between cities), per diem or any other kind of allowances.

RI TÜRKİYE CANDIDATE PRIVACY NOTICE

This Privacy Notice was drafted by Relief International Türkiye (“RI Türkiye”) as a data controller in accordance with Article 10 of the Turkish Law No 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (“Law”) and the Communiqué on the Principles and Procedures in Conforming with the Obligation to Inform.

On the legal bases referred to in Article 5/f processing of data is necessary for the legitimate interests pursued by the data controller, provided that this processing shall not violate the fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject.” RI Türkiye shall process your name-surname, e-mail address, mobile phone, references, and CV/resume personal data for carrying out selection and placement processes for job candidates, and transfer them to third party suppliers through your applications to published RI Türkiye job ads via employment agencies or sending your CV/resume to RI Türkiye directly by wholly or partly automatic means. Additionally, RI Türkiye is going to get in touch with your references assuming that all obligatory information is given, and consents are obtained by your side about sharing their personal data with RI Türkiye.

You may submit your requests to RI Türkiye under Article 11 of the Law concerning the rights of the data subject in accordance with the Communique on the Procedures and Principles of Application to a Data Controller.

For more information please click here.

“Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.”

Relief International is committed to protecting our staff and the communities we work with from abuse and harm including sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and sexual harassment.

All staff are expected to abide by our Code of Conduct.

Recruitment to all roles in Relief International include a criminal records self-declaration, references and other pre-employment checks, which may include police and qualifications checks.

How to apply

Applicants who wish to apply for this opportunity must submit an application that contains the following:

1. Resume or CV of person with details of experience, qualifications, telephone number and names of three references.
2. Financial proposal providing relevant cost estimates for the work including VAT and taxes.
3. Samples of past work.

No later than 6 December 2023 via email to [email protected]. The subject of the email should be stated as “Need Assessment Consultant”

Please apply immediately we will be reviewing applicants on a rolling basis, therefore may withdraw the position for the job board closing date.

Relief International has a zero-tolerance policy for unlawful harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse. Relief International is committed to protecting our staff and the communities we work with from abuse and harm including sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and sexual harassment.

• Note: Relief International is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

  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, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability, marital status, or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

  If needed, Relief International will submit a work permit application on behalf of the selected candidate after the job offer is accepted – Failure to provide the required documents or rejection of a work permit application by the Government of Türkiye will result in the employment offer being rescinded

Due to limited resources, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.