Consultant - Cash and Voucher Assistance Specialist

Terms of Reference

No. days: around 23 days

Dates:  May-August 2023

Location: Hargeisa

These terms of reference form part of the procurement exercise to support the selection of a consultant to provide expert advice and support to enable Plan International Somalia (PIS) and partner organisations to expand the cash and voucher assistance portfolio.

This document also provides information about evaluation criteria and the selection and appointment process. 

Background to Plan International

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.  We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination.  And its girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all children at risk.  We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood.  And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years and are now active in more than 77 countries.

Plan International opened an office in Somalia/Somaliland in 2019 and has started programmes that focuses on child protection, education and youth economic empowerment programming, working with/through partners and providing technical support to INGOs, Somaliland NGOs and the Government of Somaliland in Plan’s areas of expertise.

Somalia HRP Excerpt

Somalia is currently facing a rapidly unfolding humanitarian catastrophe, driven by the longest and most severe drought seen in at least 40 years. It is expected to continue well into 2023. The current extreme, widespread, and persistent multi-season drought is unprecedented, and follows the historic failure of three consecutive rainy seasons. The current drought has surpassed the 2010/2011 and 2016/2017 droughts in terms of duration and severity, and is driving growing humanitarian needs. The number of people affected by drought has more than doubled since the beginning of 2022. Displacement has increased fivefold since early 2022, with more than 1.3 million people displaced due to drought alone. The number of Somali people who need humanitarian assistance and protection has increased from 7.7 million in 2021 to about eight million in 2023.

This unprecedented level of need within Somalia is driven by the impacts of five consecutive seasons of poor rainfall, a likely sixth season of below-average rainfall from March to June 2023, and exceptionally high food prices exacerbated by concurrent conflict/insecurity and disease outbreaks. In addition to the famine projection in the Bay region and Mogadishu, several areas in central and southern Somalia have an increased Risk of Famine between April and June 2023 if the 2023 Gu season rainfall turns out to be poorer than currently predicted and humanitarian assistance is not scaled up to reach the country’s most vulnerable populations.[1]

Project outline

In response to the severe hunger crisis taking hold in Somalia, Plan International is implementing a project alongside partner organisations aiming to improve food security, reduce hunger and improve outcomes for children experiencing deteriorating food insecurity.

Project Title: Famine Prevention response in host and IDP communities affected by drought in Somalia/Somaliland. 

Objective: Enhanced food security and child protection response mechanisms for drought affected populations with a focus on the most vulnerable individuals, especially women and girls in Somalia/Somaliland.

Dates: 2nd March 2023 - 1st April 2024

Locations: Bay Region (Baidoa district) and Togdheer Region (Buuhoodle district) in Somalia 

Targeting: 970 households with cash assistance

Purpose of the consultancy

A consultant is required to support the team/s to ensure quality and accountable implementation of the cash and voucher activities through the updating of standard operating procedures; providing training to teams at Plan and partner organisations; and supporting the planning of monitoring activities including PDM scheduling and impact evaluation design.

Consultancy schedule of activities / deliverables

Ethical and Safeguarding Statements

The selected consultant must comply with Plan International’s Framework for Ethical MER, Global Policy on Safeguarding Children and Young People and Code of Conduct, and principles of ethical monitoring evaluation, research and learning, ensuring at all times that gender, age, ability and culturally appropriate formats are followed and all measures are taken to Prevent Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) or exposing affected communities and stakeholders to any harm through the completion of the evaluation activities.

Reporting Line

The consultant shall work under the joint supervision of Plan International Somaliland Programme Manager and Plan International UK CVA Advisor supported by the designated Plan UK Programme Specialist.

Skills and Experiences

The desired specifications and qualities of the consultant(s) are:

• University degree in political science, sociology, international relations, anthropology, public administration, development studies, gender studies or other relevant fields.
• A minimum of 4 years’ experience implementing cash and voucher assistance in Somalia.
• Good understanding of evaluating sudden-onset emergency response and recovery projects with in-depth knowledge of Cash and Voucher Assistance, Protection, Child Protection, GBV, Safeguarding, PSEA and Gender Sensitive and Inclusive programming; knowledge of humanitarian response programming in Somalia is a plus.
• Strong facilitation and communication skills.
• Knowledge of safeguarding procedures when working with children and youths and adolescent girls, as well as experience of collecting data with child and/or young people.
• Experience of effective interaction with local and national organizations, government departments, and marginalized communities in rural and urban areas.
• Conversant with gender transformation and analysis, child rights and advocacy.
• Excellent spoken and written communication skills in English.
• Somali consultants are welcome and encouraged to apply.

BID REQUIREMENTS

Applicants are required to submit the following: 

1. Letter confirming that the applicant can carry out the consultancy in the timeframe given in the Terms of Reference (ToR);
2. CV detailing previous experience and current references
3. Clear budget (in USD) detailing all proposed costs needed for undertaking this consultancy (travel, accommodation, transportation, translation etc.) including ALL taxes liable to be paid or any exemptions and including the daily fee rates and number of days for each team member.
4. Details of three references (with two no older than two years old);
5. Three samples of outputs from previous relevant work delivered.

N/B: The entire bid should be a MAXIMUM OF seven (7) pages including the detailed budget. Bids not meeting this requirement will not be considered.

DEADLINE: proposals should be submitted no later than 19 May 2023 addressed to [email protected].

Submissions to this call for proposals will be assessed based on the technical quality and the proposed budget. For technical quality, the following will be considered: understanding of the ToR, relevance of experience and budget.

Scoring details:

• Educational/professional background (0-30).
• Experience in the sector (0-30).
• The completion of the submitted docs (0-10).
• Budget (0-30).

Interviews will take place from 22 May. It is expected that this work will be contracted by 24 May 2023. 

Application Procedure

• The closing date for this post is 19 May 2023.
• We are committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organization.
• Qualified women are highly encouraged to apply.
• Plan International procurement policy and procedures will be followed which may require additional checks or provision of information.

Payment

• Payment will be made monthly on receipt of invoice from the consultant based on completion of deliverables.

Confidentiality Of Information

• All documents and data collected will be treated as confidential and used solely to facilitate analysis. All guidelines under GDPR must be followed.
• All those contracted by Plan must agree to sign and abide by the Global Policy on Safeguarding Children and Young People.