Southwest State Aid Policy Senior Technical Advisor (STA)

PROJECT: EU – Somalia Technical Assistance and Partnership Facility [NDICI Africa/2023/451-029] 

for a specific assignment: Formulation of a Southwest State Aid Policy (Restructuring Aid Architecture, Fostering Localisation, and Operationalising the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus)

DAI is looking to recruit: Senior Technical Advisor (STA) for Formulation of a Southwest State Aid Policy (Restructuring Aid Architecture, Fostering Localisation and Operationalising the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus)

BACKGROUND 

The European Union – Somalia Technical Assistance and Partnership Facility (TAPF) is a five-year initiative designed to support the European Union Delegation (EUD) to Somalia’s engagement in, and cooperation with, the Federal Republic of Somalia, and to expedite progress towards achievement of the 2030 global Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

The project is being implemented through a service contract, signed between the EUD and DAI Global Belgium, and operates from DAIs offices in Mogadishu and Nairobi.

The project duration was initially scheduled to run for 36 months from 1st January 2024 until 31st December 2026, but this was subsequently extended to 31st December 2028.

OBJECTIVES 

Specific Assignment Objectives

Development and formulation of a Southwest State Aid Policy (inclusive translation from English into the Somali language) is foreseen as a 3 to 4-month exercise that will feature a participatory, evidence-based approach to policy development, including a series of four 2-day stakeholder consultations in selected districts.

The overall objective of NKE deployment will be:

• To formulate, validate and operationalise a comprehensive, evidence-based State Aid Policy for Southwest State (SWSS), under the leadership of the Ministry of Planning, Investment, and Economic Development (MoPIED), which policy will establish a unified, legally binding regulatory framework that serves as the mandatory operational roadmap for all government ministries, international donors, UN agencies, and civil society organisations, and that will ensure that all humanitarian and development assistance is strategically aligned, transparently managed and effectively coordinated to support long-term state resilience, economic transformation, and poverty reduction.

Specific objectives of the assignment will be fourfold:

• To mobilise and integrate specialist technical expertise (NKEs) who will conduct a rigorous desk diagnostic, extract existing coordination typologies, and lead the legislative drafting process for preparation of a Southwest State Aid Policy, in strict alignment with international best practices, the NTP 2025–2029 and the STP 2026-2030.
• To institutionalise bottom-up legitimacy and stakeholder consensus by conducting highly participatory, district-level consultation workshops across four diverse operational environments (Baidoa, Barawe, Dinsor and el-Barde), ensuring that local vulnerabilities and community priorities are directly codified into state legislation.
• To develop a highly actionable, evidence-based strategic framework that includes a clear Theory of Change (ToC) and a comprehensive State Performance Monitoring Plan, ensuring the policy is measurable, adaptable to security and climate risks, and seamlessly integrated into the broader SWSS M&E Framework and the federal AIMS platform.
• To secure high-level state endorsement, and to institutionalise compliance through a multi-stakeholder validation summit, culminating in official translation, publication and executive launch of the State Aid Policy.

The Senior Technical Advisor researching, preparing and drafting the Southwest State Aid Policy, will work closely with the TAPF State Level Coordinator (SLC) and the Southwest State MoPIED senior management team (Minister, DG, departmental Directors, etc.) to collect and review both fact-based and anecdotal data, using it to formulate a comprehensive State Aid Policy that establishes the legal framework needed to streamline and coordinate future aid flows, and reaffirms government legitimacy across all districts in the state. Additionally, the STA NKE will collaborate with a specially constituted Technical Task Force, to ensure that the State Aid Policy aligns with other sector development policies (where they exist). 

SCOPE 
General: Working closely with appropriate authorities at state level (the MoPIED senior management and the Technical Task Force), and with TAPF Key Experts (KE1 and KE2) and Non-key Experts (the Southwest State Level Coordinator – SLC), and coordinating between the Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development (MoPIED) and other concerned ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), the NKE will assist in the design, preparation (through data analysis), draft formulation and subsequent validation of the Southwest State Aid Policy, thus helping to generate a comprehensive, inclusive and fully formed state-level aid management regulatory blueprint. 

Target Groups

The work of the TAPF benefits Somali citizens through increasing the effectiveness of EU cooperation with Somalia, including (in this case) support for the policy development process.

The State Aid Policy STA NKE will work with and be based in the Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development in Baidoa, but will liaise and coordinate with other relevant FMS institutions.

To ensure the SWS State Aid Policy is legally robust, adaptable and highly inclusive, the Joint Technical Task Force will conduct systematic bottom-up consultations in four strategically selected districts representing Southwest State's diverse socio-economic, security and ecological profiles.

District / Region:

• Baidoa (Bay Region)
• Barawe (Lower Shabelle Region)
• Dinsor (Bay Region)
• el-Barde (Bakool Region)

The STA NKE will also interact with non-state actors, such as civil society organisations and interest groups (women, youth, private sector and the business community), and international donor representatives, facilitating their participation in policy dialogue activities, e.g. state-level consultations and validation events. 

Specific Activities

Preparation and formulation of the SWS State Aid Policy will be carried out through a phased process, moving from mobilisation / inception to grassroots consultation, and finally to validation and official launch.

Implementation is expected to run from October through December 2026, and into January 2027. 

Activity Type / Description

• Consultant Recruitment and Mobilisation: Sourcing, selection and deployment of two Non-key Experts (a Senior Technical Advisor and a Junior Non-key Expert) under the EU TAPF framework.
• Desk Review by Non-key Experts (NKEs): Conducting a deep-dive aid diagnostic, analysing SWS macro-economic profiles, mapping current official development assistance (ODA) flows from AIMS, and identifying coordination / legislative gaps. 
• District-level Consultations: Executing four participatory 2-day workshops in target districts (Baidoa, Barawe, Dinsor and El-Barde) engaging 70 stakeholders each, to capture grassroots realities and ensure localisation.
• Validation Workshop: Convening a 2-day multi-stakeholder validation workshop in Baidoa for 80 officials (Ministers, UN Heads, INGO Directors, CSOs) to review and discuss the draft policy. 
• Translation and Official Launch: Securing certified legal translation of the ratified policy from English to Somali, high-quality printing of 50 official copies, and hosting a state launch to disseminate the Somali version of the policy document. 

DELIVERABLES AND REPORTING 

The formulation process is designed (and expected) to generate a long-lasting, structural impact on governance and coordination of international aid in Southwest State, mapped across three strategic domains:

• Legislative & Regulatory: Official ratification and adoption of the State Aid Policy, by the SWSS Cabinet, will, effectively, eliminate the currently existing sub-national legislative void and establish binding, state-led standards for aid coordination, that connect federal frameworks (NTP and MAF: the Mutual Accountability Framework) with SWSS realities.
• Data & Financial Transparency: Full integration of sub-national aid data reporting into the federal Aid Information Management System (AIMS), resulting in a measurable increase in transparency and the predictability of development financing, and drastically reducing the risk of aid diversion.
• Programmatic Impact: The systematic realignment of fragmented, siloed humanitarian interventions across the HDP nexus, prioritising sustainable local water, health and agricultural systems, enhancing urban resilience for IDPs, and ensuring more tangible and direct community ownership over aid design.

Assignment beneficiaries will consist of the following:

• Direct Beneficiaries: Primary direct beneficiaries of this intervention will be Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development (MoPIED) civil service / technical staff, who will receive intensive, on-the-job capacity enhancement, and will be equipped with a legally binding operational mandate. Additionally, approximately 350 individual stakeholders across Southwest State (comprising the 70 participants in each of the four district consultation workshops and the 80 high-level validation workshop participants) will directly benefit, by gaining a formalised, transparent platform on which to codify their specific community priorities into state policy.
• Indirect Beneficiaries: Ultimate, indirect beneficiaries of policy development will be the broader population of Southwest State, estimated at over 4.15 million individuals. Specifically, internally displaced persons, vulnerable smallholder farmers, and marginalised pastoralists will benefit from the policy's systemic impact: improved aid coherence, the elimination of redundant programming, optimised resource allocation and a deliberate, structural shift toward sustainable, long-term resilience investments that address the root causes of their vulnerability.

EXPERT QUALIFICATIONS / SELECTION CRITERIA

The Senior Technical Advisor (STA) for State Aid Policy formulation should possess:

• A university degree (preferably a Master’s) in one of the following fields: Public Administration, International Development, Public Policy Development, Economics, Peace and Conflict Studies, Political Science, Social Science, Monitoring and Evaluation, or a related field. 
• 8 or more years of practical work experience in a senior advisory capacity with an international organisation, private sector company, non-governmental organisation or government institution, including at least three (3) previous assignments in policy development or as a planner, preparing regional, organisational or company-level plans. 
• Previous work experience as a TA or CTA (technical assistant / chief technical advisor), embedded within a host government department, inclusive mentoring and capacity development experience, leading development programmes and / or the implementation of policies, strategies and operational plans. 
• Previous experience (in at least two (2) work assignments) of workshop organisation and facilitation, inclusive in-depth knowledge of, and familiarity with, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and other interactive data collection methodologies, preparation of PowerPoint presentations and handouts, and moderating workshop plenaries. 
• Strong communication, negotiation and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent written and spoken / verbal communication skills in both English and Somali (and translation skills, translating technical documents from English into Somali).
• Strong organisational and analytical skills.
• Extensive knowledge of the local (Somali) development context (especially as pertains to Southwest State).
• Ability to work in a stressful, fast-paced environment, managing multiple priorities simultaneously and effectively.

Start date and duration: The role is expected to commence in October 2026, and to be implemented as a single, continuous assignment, counting from the date of first deployment of the expert. 

Inputs: A maximum of 37 working days (extendable, subject to assignment need / requirements and resource availability), delivered over a period not exceeding four (4) calendar months.  

Location and travel: The main place of assignment shall be Southwest State, Somalia, based in the state capital Baidoa. 

Travel within the State will be required and will be subject to relevant project and EU rules and regulations, including security protocols and the outcome of contemporary security assessments. 

Deadline for submission of CVs: not later than 2nd of October 2026

Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.