Consultant - Policy, advocacy and influencing work

Requisition ID: req45331

Job Title:  Consultant - Policy, advocacy and influencing work

Sector:  Advocacy & Government Affairs

Employment Category:  Consultant

Open to Expatriates:  Yes

Location:  Nairobi, Kenya

Work Arrangement:

Job Description

Background

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflicts and disasters to survive, recover, and gain control of their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities which support them, as well as those who remain within their homes and communities. At work today in over 40 countries and 25 cities in the United States, we improve outcomes in the areas of health, safety, economic wellbeing, education, and power.

The IRC is currently implementing a five year urban livelihoods program: Refugees in East Africa: Boosting Urban Innovations for Livelihoods Development (Re:BUiLD). Re: BUiLD program is funded by the IKEA Foundation and is currently under implementation in Kampala and Nairobi cities. The IRC is the Lead Partner and has been coordinating a consortium of local and international partners to deliver the program interventions. Re:BUiLD seeks for urban refugees and vulnerable host residents to achieve economic self-reliance and benefit from strengthened urban economic, regulatory and social environments. The program aims to enable change at varying levels, from better access to livelihoods opportunities and inclusive services within communities, to improved refugee-related policies and more targeted and effective service delivery by national, regional, and global actors. Some of the key features of the program’s approach are flexible funding, adaptive design, and continuous knowledge and evidence generation. 

The objective of Re:BUiLD is to enable positive change in the lives of urban refugees and generate evidence of what works in both Nairobi and Kampala cities. Our approach in delivering this objective is by identifying client-centered approaches and practices that have the potential of building economic self-reliance for the refugees and their host communities. We will continuously test effectiveness of these approaches, and regularly promote the findings through diverse platforms as a strategy for championing the cause of urban refugee with governments, donors, civil society, and other stakeholders to facilitate adoption of successful interventions at a large scale, with the aim of creating transformative opportunities for millions of people in East African cities and beyond. 

Our approach in delivering this objective adopts an integrated multi-stakeholder program with three core pillars:

1.Service Provision: delivering livelihoods services and community- and market-oriented interventions to 20,000 clients in low-income neighborhoods in Nairobi and Kampala cities; 

2.Evidence and Learning: gathering evidence and learning through an iterative process of testing involving pilots, randomized control trials (RCTs), monitoring data, and other tailored methods that help build the picture of what works to improve urban refugee livelihoods; and 

3.Influence and Adoption: establishing a bold influencing agenda aimed at changing policies, practices, and investments at national, regional, and global levels by encouraging adoption of program evidence and learning. 

Scope of Work

The overarching objective of this consultancy task is to provide guidance to the Re:BUiLD program in effectively measuring the impact of their policy and advocacy endeavors and thus , facilitating informed decision-making. The tasks at hand encompass advising on policy and advocacy measurement strategies, furnishing expert recommendations to IRC on adept methods to gauge the impact and success of the Re: BUiLD program's policy and advocacy initiatives. This entails an assessment of existing measurement tools, an analysis of their efficacy, and the proposition of the most efficacious measurement approaches for day to day monitoring, as well as the endline evaluation, in close coordination with Re:BUiLD measurement and influence & adoption colleagues .

Assignment Objectives

1.Review and strengthen the intended outcomes and proposed key performance indicators (KPIs) that correlate with identified outcomes, outputs, and proposed activities. Identify any gaps, limitations, and propose areas for improvement in the current measurement methods.

2.Collaborate with the program team to review and strengthen the Influence and adoption M&E Framework, particularly:

I)Review and strengthen goals, sub-outcomes, and milestones.

II)Review and strengthen all indicators and their related means of verification to ensure they are pertinent, quantifiable, and harmonious with the objectives of their policy and advocacy influencing. These indicators should encompass both quantitative metrics (such as alterations in policies or regulations) and qualitative gauges (such as shifts in public perception or awareness).

III)Review and strengthen process and outcome targets to ensure feasibility and effectiveness.

IV)Review and strengthen the indicators’ means of verification indicating where and in what form information on the achievement of the overall objective, the specific objective, and the results can be found.

3.Design, develop and test data collection tools as required for indicators tracking and program monitoring.

4.Establish baseline guidance for each chosen indicator prior to the full implementation of policy and advocacy initiatives. This foundational data will serve as a reference point for evaluating the impact of these initiatives over time.

5.Develop a comprehensive framework detailing how each indicator will be assessed, encompassing data sources, methodologies for data collection and measurement frequency. This framework must uphold data precision and uniformity.

6.Set up a methodology for how the endline program evaluation should be conducted and recommend tools and systems that could be used for ongoing monitoring and reporting.

Deliverables

1.An inception report encompassing the consultant’s interpretation of the task and the proposed methodology delineating how the assignment will unfold. The inception report will be subject to discussion and approval by IRC before the commencement of the assignment.

2.A comprehensive work plan outlining the suggested activities and pivotal milestones, culminating in the final deliverables.

3.Regular meetings with the Re:BUiLD team to assess each milestone before progressing to the next.

4.A detailed final report containing recommendations for measuring policy and advocacy work, accompanied by an appended improved/strengthened I&A M&E framework including:

a.reviewed goals, sub-outcomes, related indicators, baseline, means of verification and targets

b.Detailed description of recommended monitoring techniques, routines, and data collection approaches.

5.Be part of the dissemination workshop (organized by Re:BUiLD) to help staff understand the recommended measurement approaches

Qualifications

Skills and Experience

It is anticipated that this assignment will be conducted by a skilled and experienced consultant(s) or a firm which should possess the following qualifications:

a.Minimum of a Master’s degree in Monitoring and evaluation, Political Science, Social Sciences or related fields of study with 10 years demonstrated experience in policy and advocacy analysis and measurements.

b.Demonstrated experience in setting up policy& advocacy M&E systems and frameworks. knowledge of key evaluation methods applicable to policy and advocacy work.

c.Demonstrated successful practice in setting up and implementing measurement strategies for policy and advocacy work (demonstration of previous work required)

d.Excellent understanding of global and East Africa specific policy environment and discussions.

e.Skills in qualitative data collection and analysis approaches,

f.Quality analysis, presentation, and ability to meet deadlines.

g.Good organizational and communication skills. 

Confidentiality of Information

All materials, data, content, and output associated with this assignment will be the property of IRC and will be treated as confidential and used solely to facilitate analysis. The respondents will not be quoted in the reports without their permission.

Assignment Timeline

This assignment will be delivered within20 days between in September and October 2023 from the time the contract is signed with the successful applicant. Actual timeline will be developed after discussion with the selected individual or institution. Applicants are therefore highly encouraged to confirm immediate availability in their applications . 

How to Apply

Qualified consultants or firms should submit their expressions of interest by 22nd September 2023 in no more than 5 Pages for the technical proposal excluding annexes to IRC covering the following areas:

a.Understanding or interpretation of the assignment and the proposed delivery methodology including the work plan.

b.Relevant skills and experience in delivering similar assignments including summarized CVs of the technical personnel and similar assignments undertaken with referees which should be shared as annexes. 

c.Previous experience in undertaking similar work (annex two reports done in the past five years).

d.Financial proposal with daily costs and total costs for the assignment.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants based on merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.