Agency: Save the children Ethiopia Country Office Old Airport, near Bisrate Gabriel Church Dire Complex Building, P.O. Box. 387 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia website

Project: Sustainable Reintegration of Vulnerable Returnee Children in Eight Woredas in North Wollo Zone (Amhara Region) And East Hararghe Zone (Oromiya Region), Ethiopia

Project Budget: EUR 1,052,321.35

Duration of the project: 20 months

Duty Station North Wollo

Donor IOM – International Organization for Migration

Background Information on Save the Children

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. We endeavor to ensure children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share. Save the Children operates across all regions of Ethiopia with a vision of creating a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. Its mission is to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

Save the Children has long-standing experience and particular expertise in implementing programs for children on the move globally and in Africa, including cross-border programing targeting children and young people in irregular and forced migration; and targeting sending, transit and destination areas. In Ethiopia, we have multi-sector programs that address particular issues of highly vulnerable children including children involved in unsafe irregular migration and their host communities. Our program uses multi-sectoral and coordinated approaches that deliver integrated services for children at-risk of irregular migration, those in transits, and upon arrival to longer-term destinations.

Background Information on the Action

Save the children International has been implementing a project entitled “Sustainable Reintegration of Vulnerable Returnee Children in Eight Woredas in North Wollo Zone (Amhara Region) And East Hararghe Zone (Oromiya Region), Ethiopia” funded by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Save the Children Italy.

The project is a 20-months project is designed with two complementary outputs. The first is that child protection mechanisms and services for returnee children and their families are strengthened and become accessible in the project target areas. Under this output, the project will further assess and build on available structures, and seeks to strengthen the capacity of the government and other civil society actors to respond to the protection concerns of returnees. Duty bearers will be trained on existing policy and response mechanisms; community based structures will be strengthened and referral pathways are developed between actors. Through the second output, the Project aims at empowering returnee and other vulnerable children and youth through skills training, supporting their successful transition to young adults.

This output, on one hand, focuses on developing soft skills, such as their self-confidence and self-awareness; cooperation skills and peer relationships; capacity to adopt positive coping mechanisms to deal with stress and aggression, thus fostering both their resilience and employability while on the other hand, provides support with market relevant technical skills (including vocational and entrepreneurship), business start-up support and mentorship linkages.

The project is implemented in North Wollo (Amhara Region) in the woredas of Gubalafto, Habru, Mersa, Woldeya and in East Hararghe (Oromiya Region) in the woredas of Bedeno, Deder, Girawa, and Gole Oda, it started on August 01, 2019 and will end on March 31, 2021.

The project has two main components (results) as follows:

1. Child protection mechanisms and services for returnee children and their families are strengthened and become accessible, in the project target areas
2. 600 returnee and other vulnerable adolescents in the target areas have attended skills training supporting their resilience and successful transition to young adults

The target groups of the project include estimated 400 returning migrants and 200 vulnerable adolescents from the local community are primary beneficiaries of the project.

The project will also reach their parents or caregivers and 370 community protection workers and representatives of existing community based structures (such as community care coalitions and Iddir, and other child protection structures and stakeholders), government authorities (such as Women and Children Affairs, the Health, Education, Labor and Social Affairs, Police/ Justice Office) and other service providers in the concerned areas will also be targeted by this project.

Additional documents produced by the project to be reviewed for further analysis are:

• A baseline analysis
• A Situational Analysis on specific vulnerabilities and challenges, risk and protection factors of unaccompanied returnee children after they return back to Ethiopia

Objective of the Needs Assessment

Save the Children is looking for a consultancy firm/team of experts to conduct an multisectorial need assessment in order to determine the most relevant and urgent needs at the woreda level in North Wollo, a geographical area that is strongly affected by different factors (poverty, seasonal droughts, lack of access to water, school dropout, distance from markets, lack of decent livelihood opportunities) leading to irregular and or risky migration of children.

However, there is limited amount of data available in literature concerning North Wollo zone and its relevant needs on the thematic areas of Protection, Livelihood and Food Security, Education and Health, and the objective of the assessment is to also collect and analysis primary data to inform donors about potential interventions in the assessed area.

The assessment will be conducted with a multisector perspective and with the aim of providing an in-depth analysis of current community-level gaps and needs.

The assessment will be conducted through qualitative methodology and it will be focused on the thematic sectors of Protection, Livelihood and Food Security, Education and Health, including crosscutting gender and COVID-19 analysis. Hence, it is expected that the assessment will provide insights on the impact of COVID-19 at the community level, with special emphasis on girls.

The specific objectives of the assessment is:

• To assess the main gaps and community-based needs in the sectors of Protection, Livelihood and Food Security, Education and Health, leading to irregular migration.

Methodology

The Assessment is implemented through a combined process of secondary and primary data collection, joint analysis and reporting.

The first step is a systematic inter-sector review of available secondary data from different sources as media, government, national statistics office data, cluster/sector completed and ongoing assessments and remote sensing.

Secondly, the consultant will be coordinating the data collection in North Wollo, through enumerators trained by the consultant himself/herself.

The collection of primary data[1] will be implemented using the following tools:

Key informant interviews (KIIs) using an open-ended questionnaires, for the interviews with local authorities and private sector.

Focus group discussion (FGD) using open-ended questionnaires will be used when interviewing IDPs community members.

Direct observation will play a relevant role.

The data collected should be emphasizing the perspectives of the population in need, with a special focus on children, youth, parents and service providers acting in the area of intervention (Women and Children Affair, Labour and Social Affairs, TVED…). The consultant will be required to conduct the assessment with a specific child lens, in particular, from girls’ perspective.

The data collated from secondary sources will be checked in order to assess if they fit for the purpose, size and time period; credentials; past record of accuracy; the degree to which different information sources corroborate. A proper bibliography of sources consulted and validated will be annexed to the assessment report.

Specifically, the Consultant will:

1. Design and plan the assessment methodology;
2. Design and plan the assessment workplan;
3. Coordinate the data collection;
4. Analyze and interpret assessment data;
5. Mitigation measures for COVID-19

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ethiopia, the assessment team will take into consideration the following steps for protecting themselves and people involved in the activity:

Before the data collection:

• If the person or any member of his/her family shows symptoms related with COVID-19, promptly inform Save the Children in order to allow the Organizations to protect staff and the people involved in the assessment.
• Inform Health Authority before the starting of the activity and ensure to follow their advice.

During the collection of data, it will be mandatory to:

• Wear protection equipment (K95 mask) during the interviews;
• Bring protection equipment for external people involved in the activity (mask and sanitizer)
• Keep 2 meters distance from the people participating to the activities, including meeting among assessment team, people participating to KII and any situation where this applies;
• Conduct the FGD in open spaces, ensuring proper social distancing measures (2 meters distance between each person). Ensure provision of PPE for people participating in the FGD.
• Avoid any physical contact with the people interviewed and assessment team members (this includes greetings);
• Make sure hand sanitizer is available and ensure to use it frequently;
• Ask consent to people participating in FGD for pictures as mean of verification of their attendance (avoid the use of attendance list, but write down age and gender of participants for each FDG).

After data collection

• Wash hands and ensure personal hygiene.
• Report any issue you encountered during the activity to the Team Leader.

Activities and timeframe

The present needs assessment will be implemented in selected woredas in North Wollo, Amhara Region. The selected woreda of intervention are the following:

In North Wollo: Habru, Mersa, Woldyia, Gubalafto

The needs assessment is planned to be implemented over the week starting on the 15^th of May, though actual dates will be finalized closer to date. The work will be developed as in the table below:

Activity - N. of days - Tentative Deadline - Output

• Revision of the methodology, including revision of questionnaires for KIIs, Survey and FGDs with the team in the field. Detailed planning (identification of sites and related logistics) - 2 days - 15^th of May 2021 - Document containing draft methodology/ Revised Questionnaire. Logistic Plan
• Data Collection (including movements among different areas) - 12-14 days - 31^st of May 2021 - Data collected and systematized; Preliminary findings notes
• Compiling of notes and draft report writing - 1 days - 4^th of June 2021 - Draft report
• Inputs from technical staff on the draft report and report finalization - 2 day - 15^th of June 2021 Final Report

Deliverables

One needs assessment report. The report shall be concise and not beyond 15 pages, excluding annexes. The report will have the following structure: Introduction; Methodology; Limits and Constraints, Findings; Conclusions and recommendations; List of annexes (people met and places visited, documents consulted, photos, other annexes as deemed relevant).

• One two-pagers document, produced with easy-to-read tables, infographs and ready to be shared to donors.
• Raw data (in digital format) collected
• Photos

Responsibilities of the Consultant/entity

• Hold the overall management responsibility of the assessment,
• Liaise with Save the Children and staff throughout the process, providing regular updates and seeking their input and advice where necessary;
• Develop the methodology, including stakeholders to be interviewed, tools to be developed, timeframe for the assessment
• Develop checklists and tools for field interviews and data collection. The tools will be reviewed by Save the Children and consulted with before finalization;
• Coordinate and oversee the data collection based on agreed workload;
• Train enumerators for data collection
• Present the draft report in English to Save the Children staff
• Integrate Save the Children’s feedback into the final version of the document as appropriate and present the finalized report to Save the Children
• Cover all expenses linked with the delivery of the service (accommodation and any other related expense, except transport)
• Adhere to the timelines of the consultancy & ensure ethical child/parent participation.

Responsibilities of Save the Children

• Provide all required background materials in a timely manner (project proposal, MEAL plan, progress report, monitoring reports, baseline reports and its follow up reports);
• Provide the outline/structure of the inception report/protocol and final report template; 
• Monitor adherence to specified deadlines;
• Facilitate access to required information;
• Facilitate logistical and administrative support to the consultant
• Provide guidance throughout all phases of execution, approve all deliverables, and facilitate access to the project site and interventions;
• Facilitate access to required information and organize meetings in the field.
• Facilitate payment of instalments upon milestones completion

It is mandatory for the assessment team to follow the COVID -19 mitigation measures agreed in these ToR

Job Requirements

Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge/Experience of the Consultant/entity

• Extensive experience in conducting assessments;
• Solid experience in the field of Need Assessments;
• University degree in Sociology or other relevant areas linked to the object of the exercise; 
• At least 5 years of work experience in the assessments field;
• Familiarity with the Ethiopian context, policies, strategies, laws;
• Proficient in crosscutting issues (gender, resilience);
• Fluent in English; all documents will be produced in English

Duty station and timeline

Duty Station: Ethiopia, in North Wollo.

Timeline: Estimated 30 working days required to complete the tasks.

Data collection and field visit are expected to be done at the same time into both locations.

Indicative assignment dates: May 20^th – June 20^th, 2021

The Final Report should be finalized within the 15^th of June, 2021.

Save the Children Child Safeguarding Policy

As a condition of entering into a consultancy agreement, the individual/s or agency must sign Save the Children International Child Safeguarding Policy and abide by the terms and conditions thereof.

This requirement not included in the criterion of 7 pages submission.

How to Apply

Submission of application

Interested candidates/agencies should present the followings and should not exceed 7 pages (in total): I.e. Technical and Financial proposal must be sealed in to two separate envelops  

• Proposed approach and outline design of the assessment including work plan reflecting the key outputs/deliverables and proposed timeframes;
• CV and at least two References;
• Written evidence[1](e.g. assessment reports attached) of previous work meeting the requirements laid out in this Terms of Reference
• A statement of availability and commitment to undertake and complete the consultancy within indicative assignment dates in both regions;
• Detailed complete budget with all foreseen costs, including Fee per working day for all the members of the team (including taxes and local transport)

DEADLINE for submission: by Close Of Business day on the 17th of May 2021 to Save the Children International Ethiopia Country office Located at Old Airport Near Bisarate Gabreal Church Dire Building Telephone 0113206345