Pastoral Situational Assessment

Application deadline: 30th March 2011
Vacancy contact
Please send applications to vacancies@hornrelief.org with copy to hrbossaso@hornrelief.org


ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND
Horn Relief is an African based international development and humanitarian organization that aims to improve the lives of those who are living in marginalized areas in the Horn of Africa. We strengthen rural livelihoods through environmental awareness, training, technology transfer and innovative humanitarian projects in pursuit of a peaceful, self-reliant, and greener future. Horn Relief works in the following sectors: food security and livelihoods, natural resource management education (formal and non-formal), water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and humanitarian programs, and sources its funding mainly from institutional US and European donors as well as from multilateral donors such as the UN.

ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY
Horn Relief is seeking a national/local consultant with experience in surveys and very good knowledge of specified regions of Somalia to assist in a situational assessment of pastoral needs. The assignment is for a period up to 30 days and will include advice to the technical consultants on the survey, training and supervision of enumerators, field data collection including quantitative survey data, Focus Group Discussions, and supervision of data entry.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The protracted complex humanitarian and livelihoods crisis in Somalia has resulted, among other problems, in increasing socio-economic vulnerability and worsening poverty. According to the United Nations (UN), Somalia represents one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world with almost 50% of its people in need of urgent external assistance and close to 1.5 million internally displaced, approximately 16% of Somalia’s 9.3 million1 people. Livestock and their products account for 80% of export income in normal years, but trade has been significantly interrupted by drought and international bans in the last decade. The cycle of drought in the last 4 to 5 rainy seasons has led to a significant loss of livestock, severely affecting the livelihoods of pastoral communities, with a rise in pastoral dropouts.

In education, Somalia has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world at ranging between 19.2 to 34.9 % for rural and urban populations respectively2. The overall enrollment rate in primary schools is less than 30%3 with significant gender and region based differences. While there has been some progress in recent years, there is also a marked divide between education provision, enrolment and quality between urban areas and rural areas. Many rural locations have no schools and often children cannot access formal schooling. Differences in access to education also exist within the rural areas where the lowest levels of provision and investment for education are found in pastoral communities as opposed to rural settled communities.

It is estimated that pastoralists constitute 65% of the Somali population yet their needs are often not taken into consideration. The proposed intervention intends to assemble a comprehensive knowledge base on pastoralist communities in Somalia to gain an understanding of their livelihood, environment, health, sanitation, protection and education needs. The knowledge base will benefit future planning by the government, local and international NGOs as well as donors. The assessment aims to create the knowledge base through an efficient use of funds and through maximizing the use of resources already deployed in the field by coordinating with a wide range of implementing agencies and drawing on whatever knowledge and analysis currently exists.

OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The overall objective of this assignment is to conduct a comprehensive study on the pastoral community needs in Somalia with a focus on education. Information gathered will form a baseline and will be used for programming by government authorities in Somalia, implementing partners, UN bodies and donors.

DELIVERABLES
Participate in regional stakeholder meetings.
Complete training on survey protocol, data collection tools and data entry procedures.
Participate in survey, ensuring completion questionnaires and interview protocols.
Supervision of data entry/cleaning with project teams.

SCOPE OF WORK
The following key areas of work are included in this position. The list however is not exhaustive and additional issues might come up during the mission.

The Field Supervisor will:

Facilitate and participate in stakeholder meetings at government and regional levels.
Participate in training for the survey.
Supervise all survey activities such as data collection, focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews and data entry for the duration of the fieldwork in Somalia.
Supervise data entry during and after field data collection.
Provide technical assistance when and where required.
Oversee correction of complete surveys, packing them properly, meeting the team, etc.

ACCOUNTABILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Overall coordination of the assignment and liaison with any partner agencies will be ensured by the Programs Coordinator based in Nairobi, Kenya. The enumerator will work closely with their supervisor and team leader throughout the length of the assignment.

Horn Relief is responsible for:

Overall responsibility and accountability for the assignment;
Guidance throughout all phases of execution; and
Approval of all deliverables.

The Field Supervisor will report directly to the Lead Consultant.

QUALIFICATION PROFILE
At least university graduate and/or above. Background in education would be an advantage.
Proficient in Somali, English an advantage.
Somali nationals based in Somalia preferred.
IT knowledge an advantage.
At least three years of hands on experience in participating in baseline surveys/assessments.
Must have knowledge of pastoral livelihoods, education and other related fields.
Familiar with the livelihood context in Somalia.
Must be aware of gender sensitivity.
Must be ready to travel around Somalia.
Good experience of carrying out surveys.
Knowledge of Somali people, culture and the Somali political dynamics an advantage.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS:
All the deliverables produced by the project will be made available to the Education Sector Committee, education partners and other interested sectors. All other project documents will remain as the property of Horn Relief and partnering agencies. The visibility of donors and implementers will be ensured on all product outputs.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Applications should be submitted no later than 30th March 2011. Horn Relief will conduct interviews on an on-going basis. The selection committee will review all applications as they arrive. All applicants must meet the minimum requirements described above. Only short listed candidates will be contacted. Horn Relief is an equal opportunity employer.

Each application should include the following:

An application letter addressing the selection criteria including how the candidate’s previous experience matches the consultancy objectives as well as his/her interest for the position. It should also indicate the candidate’s availability and consultancy rates. The letter should be no longer than two pages.
An updated CV including relevant work experience and qualifications.

Only short listed candidates will be contacted.

All applications should be sent to Horn Relief at vacancies@hornrelief.org and copy hrbossaso@hornrelief.org with the subject line: “Field Supervisor - PSA. Applications should be submitted no later than 30th March 2011.