Job Description

Terms of Reference

Loss and Damage in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States (FCAS) Research 

BACKGROUND

ActionAid International Somaliland (AAIS) is part of a global federation working to end poverty and injustice with thousands of communities and millions of people across the planet guided by its strategy ‘Action for Global Justice’ that ensures coherence, aligning with the poor and excluded people, reasserting women’s rights, strengthening accountability, and building resilience against shocks & hazards. AAIS has been operating in Somaliland for over 28 years, implementing integrated programs on women’s rights, humanitarian response, resilience building, food security, and education.  

OVERVIEW:

ActionAid International Somaliland (AAIS) is an organization that supports vulnerable communities in identifying and addressing the risks and vulnerabilities they face from natural disasters and climate change.

Climate change is causing more frequent, intense, and widespread extreme weather events such as storms, floods, and heatwaves, as well as gradual changes such as sea level rise, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, and desertification. These changes result in loss and damage, both economic and non-economic. Economic loss and damage may include harm to crops, homes, or infrastructure. Non-economic loss and damage may include harm to human health and mobility, loss of access to territory, cultural heritage, and of indigenous and local knowledge.

The issue of loss and damage is especially important for Fragile and Conflict-Affected States (FCAS) because they have the lowest capacity to cope with climate-induced loss and damage while being the least responsible for causing climate change.  AAIS recognizes that women and girls are the most affected by climate change impacts and have valuable knowledge and skills to enhance adaptation and resilience. However, there is a lack of systematic and comprehensive evidence on how loss and damage affect the lives of women and girls, especially in FCAS.

Therefore, AAIS plans to conduct field-based research that will highlight the community voices and experiences of loss and damage and the disproportionate and often hidden impacts on women and girls. The research will adopt a gender transformative and human-rights-based approach to examine how loss and damage funding should be designed and implemented to be locally led, long term, and focused on resilience building. The research will cover three countries (Somaliland, Nigeria, and DRC)

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY

The research consultant will work with ActionAid International Somaliland to conduct a study on the impact of climate change and conflict on women and girls in fragile contexts, as part of ActionAid UK’s climate program. The study will build on previous research by ActionAid on how women and girls cope with loss and damage caused by climate shocks in unstable situations. The study will collect and analyze data from communities in Aynaba District, as well as key informants in Hargeisa, to produce a final research report. The main objectives of the study are to:

• Understand the challenges and needs of women and girls in communities affected by both climate change and conflict, especially those related to loss and damage.
• Identify the barriers that prevent women and girls from accessing loss and damage funding and programming.
• Provide policy recommendations on how to improve loss and damage funding and programming for women and girls in fragile contexts.

TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE RESEARCH CONSULTANT

The Research Consultant will work under the guidance of the AAIS MEAL Coordinator and in collaboration with ActionAid UK to conduct the research on the loss and damage in FCAS in Hargeisa (Marodi-Jeeh Region) and Aynaba District (Sool Region). The main tasks of the Research Consultant are:

• Designing and implementing the data collection and analysis plan for the research, following the proposed methodology and design from AAIS and adhering to the feminist research guidelines and participatory research approaches.
• Coordinating and overseeing the survey team in the field, including the research assistants and the enumerators, and ensuring the quality and timeliness of the research activities and outputs.
• Performing primary research (literature review) and secondary data collection methods (KII, FGD, and qualitative survey) and triangulating the data during the analysis process.
• Drafting the research report and incorporating feedback from AAIS.
• Facilitating the validation workshop with AAIS partners after completing the research and writing a comprehensive report on the recommendations suggested by the partners.

OBLIGATIONS OF AAIS

• Provide the Research Consultant with all the necessary documents for the literature review.
• Ensure that the data collection tools are accessible and clear.
• Prepare an official letter of introduction to facilitate the key informant's interviews. 
• Coordinate with the consultant to train the research assistant and the enumerators on the survey tools and data collection procedures.
• Maintain regular communication with the Research consultant throughout the process.
• Review and provide feedback on the draft report in a timely manner.

DURATION OF THE CONSULTANCY:

The contract will commence on the date of signing and will last for 16 days.

WORKPLAN

The following is a tentative workplan for the project, outlining the main deliverables and the estimated time required for each task. The workplan is subject to change depending on the availability of resources and the progress of the project.

-          Preparation: This involves setting up the objectives, scope, methodology and tools for the project. It also includes identifying and contacting relevant stakeholders and partners.

-          Literature review: This involves conducting a comprehensive and systematic review of the existing literature on the topic, identifying the knowledge gaps and the best practices.

-          Field data collection: This involves collecting primary data from the field using various methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, etc. The duration for this task is 5 days.

-          Data analysis: This involves processing, cleaning, organizing and analyzing the data collected from the field using appropriate statistical and qualitative techniques.

-          Report writing: This involves drafting, editing and finalizing the report based on the data analysis and the literature review. The report should include an executive summary, an introduction, a methodology section, a results section, a discussion section, a conclusion section, and a list of references.

-          Validation workshop report: This involves organizing and facilitating a validation workshop with the stakeholders and partners to present and validate the findings and recommendations of the report.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

1. Documentation of the interviews, FGDs notes, and Survey answers.
2. Final research paper with all gathered data examined (20 pages maximum) based on the structure below:                       

-                       Summary

-                       Introduction & Background

o   Review of literature

o   Definition of loss and damage

-                       Research Approach/methodology

-                       Country situations and policy gap (national and international)

-                       Research Outcomes

-                       Explanation of the outcomes

-                       Recommendations and Conclusions

-                       Appendices

3. Report of the verification workshop with AAIS including feedback and comments.

Experiences and Qualifications

• A relevant BA/S degree, preferably MA, in fields such as development studies, research methods, statistics, economics, social sciences, public policy, monitoring, and evaluation.
• At least 5-7 years of experience in managing and implementing qualitative and quantitative research projects for international development/humanitarian programs; resilience-focused programs experience is an advantage.
• Proficient in qualitative methodologies and techniques (in-person and remote), including designing and conducting semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions.
• Experienced in leading fieldwork activities and managing field-based data collection for research purposes.
• Expertise in using qualitative data analysis software.
• Excellent written and verbal English and Somali communication and interpersonal skills to interact with diverse respondents.
• Experience working in hard-to-reach areas with strong community engagement/participatory research skills.

Skills Required

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