Rapid Assessment-International Consultant UNFPA South Sudan

UNFPA: South Sudan Country Office

Job Title: International Consultant-Rapid Assessment

Contract type: Individual Consultant (Equivalent UN grade –

Closing date: 26 Feb 2024 (5pm-South Sudan Time)

Duty Station: Juba, South Sudan

Purpose of consultancy:

Ending gender-based violence is a prerequisite to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, is committed to delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

The Government of South Sudan has received funds from World Bank towards the cost of implementing the South Sudan Women’s Social and Economic Empowerment Project (SSWEEP), a four-year project effective until 12 December 2026; in line with an approved World Bank Project Appraisal Document (PAD). The SSWEEP will (1) provide essential social and livelihood skills for women and adolescent girls in communities; (2) support women to grow their businesses; (3) provide services for survivors of GBV; and (4) strengthen the institutional environment for women’s empowerment.

Pursuant to the PAD, the Government of South Sudan, Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare has contracted UN Women to administer the received funds and implement the project in 10 states and 2 administrative areas (Pibor Administrative area and Ruweng Administrative Area) over a period of four (4) years.

The contract between the Government of South Sudan, Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare (MoGCSW) and UN Women have engaged with UNFPA on implementation of Component 3, Services for survivors of GBV. The component is targeted specifically at survivors of GBV and will have two subcomponents. One subcomponent will support the establishment of a functioning national GBV helpline with a new hotline number, and the other subcomponent will set up a new safe house (shelter) in Juba. The current consultant contract is requested for output 3.1 “a national hotline is established to facilitate timely reporting and management of SGBV cases”.

The objective of the engagement is to ensure that survivors of GBV across the country have access and referred to quality, timely and integrated survivor-centered services, including access to a safe house for temporary shelter.

UNFPA South Sudan Country Office is seeking the services of two consultants, one international consultant as the lead consultant and a national consultant as the team member, to assist with the data collection through conduct the field missions, support in finalisation of the tool, prepare the list of organizations for the interview and prepare the list of all states and Administrative Areas’, undertake the analysis and propose recommend dations for the design of helpline . a national consultant to conduct a helpline rapid needs assessment of personnel and materials for the establishment, expansion, and gradual transition plan to the MoGCSW

Scope of work

The consultant will be stationed at the UNFPA South Sudan Country office, The incumbent will closely work with the Gender and Social Inclusion

Key Deliverables

The consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs:

• Conduct a mapping of the currently functioning helplines across the country (10 states and 2 Administrative Areas: Pibor Administrative area and Ruweng Administrative Area) and develop an action plan for the coordination, scale up and functionality of the referral pathways across the country.
• Assess the functionality, reach, and effectiveness of existing helplines, considering factors such as responsiveness, confidentiality, language accessibility, and cultural sensitivity.
• Analyze the referral pathways of the national helpline, identifying strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
• Benchmark the national helpline against established international standards and best practices.
• Prepare a comprehensive report detailing findings, recommendations, and an action plan for immediate support and the scale up and functionality of the referral pathways across the country.
• Make recommendations on an interim model for the management of emergency GBV cases arising from the hotline operations.
• Responsible for the overall management, oversight and completion of the assignment
• Ensure meeting all the accountabilities of the assignment.
• Undertake the review of literature and existing helplines and their operations from at least two relatable countries.
• Lead the designing the strategy for undertaking this assignment, including data collection, designing the tools, overseeing the data collection
• Work closely with the national consultant – design the tools, methodology for data collection and support the national consultant for data collection to assess the functionality, reach, and effectiveness of existing helplines, considering factors such as responsiveness, confidentiality, language accessibility, and cultural sensitivity.
• Undertake the data analysis from the quantitative and qualitative data received from all the 10 states and AAs
• Produce the final report, including the recommendations on the interim model for the management of the helpline to support the GBV survivors
• Incorporate the recommendations and suggestions made by Project Management Unit of MoGCSW, MoGCSW, UNFPA and UN Women.
• Produce the final report, four page synthesis paper and a presentation about the rapid assessment findings.
• Present the findings of the rapid assessment to the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, PMU, World Bank, UNFPA, UN Women and other stakeholders

Expected Deliverables

The consultant will report to the Gender specialist and operate under the overall guidance of the Deputy Country Representative

Required expertise, qualifications, and competencies, including language requirements.

Skills:

Strong research and analytical skills, with the ability to gather and synthesize information from diverse sources

Education:

• Master’s degree in gender, in the field of Gender studies, sociology, public health and other relevant field of enquiry.

Knowledge and Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in the relevant field in gender and social inclusion programme, preferably in GBV response and prevention /project management in the public, development and/or humanitarian sector
• Good interpersonal and communication skills.
• South Sudanese national
• Extensive knowledge and experience of working on gender issues, women’s empowerment, and social protection in South Sudan.
• Strong research and analytical skills, with the ability to gather and synthesize information from diverse sources.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to present complex information in a clear and concise manner.
• Understanding of international best practices and standards for helplines and referral pathways and GBV support services.
• Knowledge of the South Sudanese context
• Experience in carrying out UN assessments will be an added advantage.

Languages:

• Fluent in written and spoken English, knowledge of Arabic will be an asset.