24 January 2014
IFRC Haiti Operation
Strategic Relations and Cooperation Unit
Settlement technical brief consultancy
Background
Forty-eight months after the devastating earthquake, the Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC)
working in Haiti have achieved significant results and reconstruction is gaining a fast
foothold despite the challenging context. There have been increased efforts in more
permanent or long-term solutions including housing repairs and retrofitting, permanent
housing, moving families from camps to neighbourhoods, improving community
infrastructure as well as building and rehabilitating schools and hospitals. Skill development
trainings have been provided to households and communities to enhance their
competitiveness in income generating activities. We have also witnessed sustained
collaborative efforts with local and national authorities, effective partnership with external
partners or agencies and increased participation of communities in the recovery and
reconstruction process through community platforms and community based organisations.
In addition, results have been achieved in other programme areas such as water and
sanitation, health, livelihoods and disaster risk management thereby complementing RCRC
efforts to providing sheltering solutions to help families rebuild their lives and to create
resilience in communities. . Settlement is not just about emergency and temporary shelter
solutions. It is about providing appropriate inputs to help people resettle in appropriate and
more permanent environment.
Settlement technical brief
With focus on recovery and longer-term community development, the RCRC through its
integrated approach is promoting a coherent and integrated response in the recovery
operation. The overall goal is to increase access to sustained basic services and improved
infrastructure through proven participatory techniques to increase community ownership.
Today, many settlement projects and programmes are still underway while some have been
completed. It is against this background that RCRC membership working in the urban and
rural settings in Haiti decided to document and share their experiences including best
practices, challenges and lessons learned during this operation. This documentation will be a
continuation to the shelter technical brief that was produced twenty-four months after the
earthquake.
The shelter technical brief mainly focused on emergency shelter support and improved shelter
solutions that were provided in the early phase of the operation. It outlines to some extent,
RC partners’ recovery and reconstruction initiatives that were planned or were already at
their inception phases. Some of these initiatives have been completed or are underway and
thus the rationale for documenting the progress and results achieved so far. The settlement
technical brief will therefore complement the shelter brief by looking at the transition from
providing shelter products to beneficiaries in the months following the earthquake to a more
comprehensive and integrated approach in assisting communities in both urban and rural
contexts.
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Objective
As RCRC partners continue to implement long-term recovery and reconstruction activities in
urban neighbourhoods through its Integrated Neighbourhood Approach (INA) and provide
support to rural communities in a comprehensive manner, there is a common understanding
to document and share the progress and challenges in implementing these activities. It is
expected that this document (technical brief) will serve as a tool in the current context and
future urban disaster response to address information needs of integrated programme planners
or managers to design and implement urban/rural recovery and development programmes. It
will also constitute an overarching document that conveys available information and
knowledge about RCRC shelter and settlement experience in Haiti to relevant delegates and
inform the RCRC learning and capitalisation process currently underway in Haiti.
Consultancy purpose
The consultant, under the direction of the settlement movement coordinator will draft a
settlement technical brief. He/She is expect to collaborate with Partner National Societies
(PNS) and the Host National Society (HNS) implementing integrated programmes in order to
produce a succinct but comprehensive report on RCRC settlement activities.
Methodology
The technical brief will review and synthesize RCRCs’ core programmatic components of
their recovery and reconstruction activities implemented or still underway. The brief will
describe the process, progress and results of these activities including best practices with key
lessons learned and recommendations for future responses. The document will focus on the
thematic areas of RCRC activities (e.g. community infrastructure, community mobilisation)
while elaborating on the different settlement aspects of their programmatic interventions in
urban and rural settings. The following steps will be taken to prepare this brief:
1.
Consultation and brainstorming session will be organised with implementing RCRC
partners to articulate some of the key elements/aspects of the content of the technical brief.
This will be based on a proposed draft outline or plan of the report which will be shared with
RC partners for feedback and inputs.
2.
Collect, compile and analyse information from RCRC partners related to core areas
of activities including assessments, community mobilisation, community infrastructure,
housing solutions – return and relocation, repairs and retrofits and permanent housing,
permanent housing construction – and training.
3.
Prepare initial draft of report and circulate for review and inputs. The draft should
describe among others, the outcomes of the analysis including best practices, case studies and
lessons learned.
4.
Finalise the draft, integrating the inputs/comments received from RCRC partners
including key recommendations.
5.
Edit, format and present final draft to RCRC partners for validation.
Location and Timeframe
The position is based in the Strategic Relations and Cooperation Unit, IFRC Operation, Port
au Prince, Haiti. It is expected that this report will be prepared over a period of three months
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starting from the 03rd February to the 23rd of April 2014. The consultant will be expected to
dedicate the first 6 weeks of the consultancy to data collection, analysis and production of
first draft. The draft will be circulated for review and feedback for 2 weeks and 4 weeks for
integrating the inputs from the review process, editing/formatting and the layout of the final
report.
Deliverable
The output expected is a concise and well documented report that elaborates implementing
RCRC’s recovery and reconstruction activities with statistical data presented in tables and
charts, compiles information on methodologies, best practices and lessons learned and offers
recommendations for future responses.
Job duties and responsibilities
1)
Collect and analyse information from HNS and PNS related to the core areas of
settlement activities including community mobilisation, housing repairs and retrofits and
infrastructure construction works.
2)
Compile information on best practices and methodologies in settlement focus areas
and draft the settlement technical brief report, describing the outcomes of the analysis with
statistical data presented in user-friendly tables and charts.
3)
Identify issues and challenges regarding the drafting of the brief and liaise with PNS
and other stakeholders on the report’s progress and take corrective measures to address them.
4)
Ensure report is well documented according to sound social sciences research
practices and assist with the editing and formatting of final report.
5)
Participate in meetings and discussions related to RCRC settlement project activities
in the neighbourhoods of Port au Prince as well as in the provinces.
6)
Liaise with project managers and delegates as well as external partners implementing
recovery and reconstruction programmes in Haiti.
7)
Liaise with IFRC Haiti communication department and America Zone Office
(Panama) for editing and finalising the layout of the report for publication.
8)
Perform any other duties related to this consultancy as requested.
Position Requirements
Education
Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in social sciences, international
development, political sciences or related field
Experience
Three years’ experience in working for a humanitarian aid organisation in a low-income
least-developed country is an asset.
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Familiarity with Movement and International Federation policies and guidelines or volunteer
and/or work experience at national and/or international level in the RC/RC
Experience with Non Profit Organizations
Knowledge and Skills
Good analytical skills and solution focused person
Ability to work well in a multicultural team
Self-supporting in computers (Windows, spreadsheets, word-processing, email, etc.)
Knowledge of SPSS, SAS or equivalent
Skills in writing report or documentation
Synthesis skills
Languages
Fluently spoken and written English
Fluently spoken and written French
How to apply
Applications are to be submitted by 29th January 2014 to IFRCEvaluationsHaiti@gmail.com
The email subject should read “Settlement Technical Brief Consultancy”
The following should be submitted with the application:
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Curriculum vitae (CV) with three professional references (names and full contact
information)
A cover letter of no more than one page
A writing sample (recent report or similar) relevant to this area of work.
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