Democratic Republic of the Congo: Consultant - Conflict Assessment in Kasais Region - DRC

Background:

While the Kasais region of the DRC was historically spared from violent conflicts (common to other parts of the country, particularly Eastern Congo), the region transformed into an epicenter of violence over the course of 2017, with indications that this will continue in 2018. Since August 2016, an estimated 2.2 million inhabitants of the Kasais (that encompasses 5 of the 26 provinces of the DRC, including Kasai, Kasai Central, Kasai Oriental, Lomami and Sankuru) were forced from their homes, escaping violence perpetrated by a variety of militias and the Congolese armed forces. In 2017, the conflict in the Kasais region doubled the number of displaced people in the country, making DRC the country with the most IDPs in all Africa (4.35 million). While some returned home in July 2017, the situation remains highly volatile due to the presence of militias, regular fighting with the FARDC, and continuing intercommunal tensions.

Reports indicate that over 3,000 lives have been lost to date, with the UN documenting over 80 mass graves in the region, massive internal displacements and increasing protection and unmet basic needs, in terms of shelter, food, health, water and sanitation services. As of January 2018, an estimated 1.9 million individuals were still in need of humanitarian assistance in the Kasais. With the continued insecurity in the region, fleeing populations are at an increased risk of human rights violations, including physical and sexual violence and arbitrary arrests.

To date, the response has focused on providing emergency humanitarian aid to address basic needs. This response has been hindered by a lack of resources, with only about 425,000 of the current 1.9 million individuals in need of emergency assistance who were actually assisted with humanitarian aid, and as the current appeal for resources funded at only a meager portion of the total funds allocated to the country as a whole.

Purpose / Project Description:

Given that the Kasais are an emerging locus of violence, local dynamics are poorly understood. In spite of considerable attention to addressing humanitarian needs over the last year, the increase of humanitarian actors in the areas, and the number of humanitarian needs assessments conducted, there is still limited knowledge about the drivers of violence and the evolving dynamics between ethnic groups in the area. This is a critical gap in the current response. A deeper understanding of the root causes of the conflict is foundational to developing effective program recommendations and to shaping the strategy for the Kasais response. Given our global expertise in analyzing and addressing the root causes of conflict, our experience working in DRC over the last 10 years, including on conflict-sensitive programs, and our policy and advocacy capacity in Washington DC, London and Brussels, Mercy Corps is well placed to lead efforts in the Kasais and provide evidence-based recommendations to key donor governments.

In this context, Mercy Corps DRC is launching a research project to understand the unique dynamics of the emergency conflict in the Kasais region of the DRC, in order to provide evidence-based recommendations to better address conflict and, more importantly, to prevent future waves of violence. The two core objectives of the research are:

• Identify the root causes of conflict in the Kasais region; and
• Provide gender- and conflict-sensitive evidence-based recommendations for local, national, and regional policy makers and relevant influencers, international donor agency, multilateral organizations, and implementing organizations to mitigate conflict and prevent future violence, enabling communities to rebuild ties and recover.

Consultant Objectives:

The Consultant will lead research to deepen understanding of the root causes of the conflict engulfing DRC’s Kasais region, as well as to provide a research-driven, gender- and conflict-sensitive foundation of knowledge upon which to build effective and adaptive program strategies.

Consultant Activities:

The Consultant will:

Remotely – before conducting the assessment:

• Define an activity timeline.
• Conduct a secondary data review to gather information on historical, political, social, economic and environmental features of the conflict areas, as well as current impacts of the conflict and past and current interventions.
• Plan the assessment to be conducted on the ground:
  • Define the number of KIIs and (single-sex) FGDs to be conducted and the identification of the main stakeholders (present both inside and outside the DRC).
  • Elaborate a plan to develop data collection tools, including time for review by Mercy Corps.
  • Develop a plan to train enumerators (and potentially staff from local civil society organizations) and pilot data collection tools.
  • Select the location(s) where the assessment will be conducted.
  • Define the approaches and methodologies.
  • Develop data collection tools (in French), building in time for review by Mercy Corps.

Once in the DRC:

• Finalize the research methodology, including an explanation of steps that will be taken to ensure that the research activity does not place community members, staff, or local partners at risk (ie, adherence to Do No Harm best practices).
• Incorporate methodology and tool feedback from Mercy Corps’s DRC technical team.
• Identify specific study target geographic locations through participatory approaches (by ensuring that local civil actors that have been actively working in the Kasais are engaged throughout the data collection and assessment process, and that their capacity is built on data collection tools/methods, data analysis and formulation of recommendations).
• Work in partnership with each selected Civil Society Organizations (CSO, one organization per targeted area) to conduct assessment activities (including recruitment/training of enumerators, data collection, identification of local key informants, conduct KIIs and FGDs).
• Conduct data collection following gender-sensitive protection guidelines.
• Conduct a preliminary workshop with the DRC team to present and discuss the findings.

Remotely – after the assessment is conducted:

• Analyze the data collected, and draft a report on findings and recommendations aiming at informing future response programming in the Kasais Region.
• Assist Mercy Corps in the dissemination of the research findings and report to key donors and policy makers (in the DRC, Washington DC, potentially London and Europe) in order to encourage funding and response to the conflict in the Kasais region.

Consultant Deliverables:

The Consultant will provide the following:

• Activity timeline/workplan, including time for review by the Mercy Corps DRC technical team
• Secondary data review report and resources
• Research methodology, including:
  • Sampling strategy (including respondents or respondent profiles and locations)
  • Data analysis plan
  • Plan to develop data collection tools
  • Plan to recruit and train enumerators
• Develop French-language data collection tools
• Train enumerators and members of CSOs
• Report in English (two drafts will be expected before the final version)
• PowerPoint presentations of key findings
• Raw data and analyses (quantitative datasets and calculations; qualitative notes and analytic matrices as appropriate).

If possible, the Consultant will provide support attend at least the dissemination event in Kinshasa. The Consultant should include one additional trip to Kinshasa for 5 days for the dissemination event in their proposal.

Timeframe / Schedule:

• Mercy Corps DRC (months 1-2): Recruitment of the consultant and administrative tasks
• Consultant (month 2, remotely): Define an activity timeline
• Consultant (months 2-3, remotely): Conduct a secondary data review
• Consultant (months 2-3, remotely): Plan the assessment (cf: activities listed above)
• Consultant (month 4, field): Finalize the research methodology
• Consultant (month 4, field): Conduct assessment activities
• Consultant (months 5-6, remotely): Analyze data and draft a report
• Consultant (months 7-8, remotely): Dissemination of the findings and the report

The Consultant will report to:

• Caitlin Snyder, M&E Director, Mercy Corps DRC

The Consultant will work closely with:

• Deputy Director of Programs, Mercy Corps DRC
• Emergency Programs Director, Mercy Corps DRC
• Program Quality & Development Manager, Mercy Corps DRC
• TSU Peace & Conflict Director, Mercy Corps
• Gender Manager, Mercy Corps, DRC

Required Experience & Skills:

The ideal consultant will have the following experience and skills:

• MA in international development, public health, peace and conflict, or a related discipline.
• Practical experience applying a conflict lens to programming, monitoring, evaluation and/or research.
• 5-10 years of experience conducting qualitative and quantitative field research in volatile contexts.
• Successful experience in designing qualitative methodologies and data collection tools for conflict-sensitive context analysis.
• Experience coaching and training local partners and enumerators to provide effective translation and/or facilitation as appropriate.
• Demonstrated ability to consider gender and protection dynamics in the broader context environment.
• Knowledge of Do No Harm (DNH) best practices in data collect ion and research required. Candidates who cannot demonstrate practical knowledge of DNH minimum standards during interviews will not be considered. Candidates will be expected to adhere to DNH minimum standards throughout their contract.
• Knowledge of the DR Congo context and constraints on the ground (or similar conflict contexts) preferred.
• English and French fluency (written and spoken) required; Swahili language skills are an added advantage.

To Apply:

In addition to your CV, please submit a cover letter including: relevant projects/experience, expected fees/daily rate, and availability. Applicants are encouraged to include in their CVs links to examples of past work if publically available online, particularly conflict assessments if applicable. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until September 30th.

To apply please go here:: http://app.jobvite.com/m?3e3Y1kw5