Background

Ethiopia has more than two million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Of these 1,623,716 IDPs are conflict-affected and 499,336 are climate-induced IDPs (50.8% female).[1] In addition, 680,861 refugees (360,175 women and girls; and 292,770 school-aged children (including 138,214 school-aged girls) from neighboring countries are hosted in Ethiopia[2].) In the last three years, the number of People in Need of Emergency Education services has remained consistently above two million[3]. Key challenges exist with equity, inclusion, gender parity, quality, relevance, retention, transition, protection, and poor capacity of the system, which negatively affect learning and have been captured in the most recently published EMIS Abstract.

The regions (Somali, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP), Benishangul-Gumuz, and Amhara) currently affected by emergencies and hosting forcibly displaced populations have limited local government capacities, strained social services, and limited economic and infrastructural development. The impact on hosting communities in these contexts is significant as local resources and services struggle to cope with the additional burden. (Ethiopia ECW MYRP 2020-2023 program document). The situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic containment measures and desert locust infestation which has seen household income diminishing leaving communities struggling to meet education related costs.

As indicated in the OCHA Financial Tracking Services (FTS) 2021, the education sector has a total of $4.404.310,00 against the needed $43.400.000,00[4] for the response- a funding gap of $38.995.690,00. (https://fts.unocha.org/appeals/936/summary). It is also worth noting that of the total $165 million required for ECW MYRP, only $27 Million seed funding was provided.

This makes clear that there is a high need for exerting additional efforts in the area of advocacy and resource mobilization for Education in Emergencies.

So far, there are three distinct education architectures with associated funding streams and resource mobilization processes. The Education Technical Working Group (ETWG) brings together the MoE and sector development partners to oversee the development and implementation of major national sector programs and funding mechanisms such as the ESDP and GEQIP. The education in emergencies architecture is built around a Cluster system co-chaired by MoE, UNICEF, and Save the Children, with a regional layer led by the REB and humanitarian partners. The refugee education system is coordinated by the Agency for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) and is largely supported/funded by UNHCR with the support of operational and implementing partners. These three distinct planning structures and funding streams undermine efficiency and effectiveness. Different planning cycles and funding mechanisms lead to disjointed resource mobilization efforts. Stronger integration amongst these structures and joint planning would create opportunities for greater coordination and efficiency. Furthermore, the Ethiopia Education Cluster needs a clear strategy on resource mobilization, and advocacy for prioritizing Education in Emergencies in the humanitarian action and integration into national plans.

Objective and scope of the work

Governments, donors, agencies, and civil society have to ensure that all children, particularly the most marginalized, can return to school and have access to equitable quality education. To make this a reality there is a need to have a clear advocacy and resource mobilization strategy for the education in emergencies sector; including advocacy products identified within the strategy. To support these efforts, we are seeking a consultant to develop an advocacy and resource mobilization strategy needed to ensure safe, equitable, and quality education for the most marginalized in Ethiopia.

The anticipated strategy will show why decision makers and implementers should focus on resourcing and better coordinate EiE in Ethiopia. In addition to gaps in resources, the advocacy strategy and tools are expected to identify key gaps in areas such as teachers’ needs, attacks on education (attacks on education are any intentional threat or use of force carried out for political, military, ethnic, religious, or criminal reasons—against students, educators, and education institutions), quality education, etc… to urge decision makers on prioritizing EiE in strategic decisions. The strategy also needs to reflect evidence-based advocacy products to support the greater integration of EiE into the Education Sector Development Plan-VI[5]  

The major objective of this assignment is to develop:

1. An advocacy and resource mobilization strategy for the Ethiopia Education Cluster (EEC) that shows how to prioritize EiE more in the humanitarian response and why donors, the humanitarian sector and other key stakeholders should prioritize EiE.
2. b)   An implementation/action plan suggesting how the strategy should be put into practice and proposing specific fundraising actions and activities
3. c)   Evidence-based advocacy products which includes developing templets to produce evidence based advocacy brief, policy brief and communications materials for resource mobilization to support greater integration of EiE into national sector plans and policies

Roles and Responsibilities

Save the Children will:

• Provide briefing about the assignment and on how to prepare an inception report to the winning consultant
• Provide all relevant background documents and data to the winning consultant
• Provide feedback on inception report and data collection tools
• Supervise the process of data collection and analysis to ensure quality
• Review the draft report in light of the ToR, signed agreement and inception report.
• Arrange/ facilitate meetings with beneficiaries and stakeholders
• Effect payments pursuant to the agreement signed with the consultant.

The consultant selected for the assignment will:

• Attend SCI’s briefing session about the project and on how to develop an inception report.
• Prepare and submit an inception report (as per SCI guidance) along with the tools.
• Deploy pertinent qualified and experienced team members for the assignment.
• Be responsible for the collection, entry, and analysis of evaluation data and all costs associated to this.
• Work on and submit draft deliverables (see below) to Save the Children
• Present summary of deliverables and recommendations to a validation workshop.
• Produce final deliverables as per the inputs of the validation workshop.

Expected deliverables

The consultant is expected to be as inclusive as possible in data collection. Four regions in a different emergency context like Somali (drought), Oromia (conflict), Afar (flood, wind, and recent conflict) Amhara (drought and conflict) for the primary data collection. The consultant needs to select two representative Woredas and collect data from each region and two representative schools from each Woredas. Roughly, six FGDs and KII from each Woreda and online survey from the Cluster partners is expected. Online Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with focal points from UN agencies, Education Cluster Partners, INGOs, NNGOs and Ministry of Education.

The consultant should produce the following deliverables:

Tasks/Milestone: - Deliverables/Outputs: - Timeline

A short inception report - Inception report with the initial needs/gaps and opportunities analysis + detailed consultation plan, tools and timeframe. - One week from the date of signing the contract

Data Collection - Data Set - 14 days

Draft report. - Report that includes a mapping of existing and potential resources and donors for EiE resources - 5 days

Draft Advocacy and Resource Mobilization Strategy and implementation plan - Presentation of the final report, advocacy and resource mobilization strategy and an implementation plan to the key stakeholders (ECW MYRP team, Education Cluster etc) - 5 days

Advocacy and resource Mobilization strategy and implementation plan - Revised Strategy and implementation plan - 2 days

Validation workshop - Validation workshop with cluster partners to validate advocacy and resource mobilization strategy and related products - 2 days

Advocacy and resource mobilization products which includes developing templets to produce evidence based advocacy brief, policy brief and communications materials for resource mobilization for key audiences (Donors, Government etc) - Final advocacy and resource mobilization Final Strategy and Plan - 2 days

1. DTM Ethiopia Dashboard (June 2019) https://data.humdata.org/dataset/ethiopia-baseline-assessment-data-iom-dtm
2. UNHCR Infographics June 2019
3. HNO February 2021
4. HRP 2021
5. Education Sector Development Program VI (ESDP VI) 2013 – 2017 E.C. 2020/21 – 2024/25 G.C.1.   Evaluation Criteria

Payment modalities

The consultants shall be paid the consultancy fee upon completion of the following milestones.

1. 20% after completion, submission, and acceptance of inception report;
2. 50% after completion, submission, and acceptance of detailed reports describing the proposed Education in Emergency (EiE) advocacy and resource mobilization strategy, which reflects evidence-based advocacy products to support greater integration of EiE into national sector plans and policies
3. 30% submission of the final consultancy completion report.

Job Requirements

Specific qualification and competency required

The application needs to include examples of prior proven experience and the delivery of undertaking similar assignments. The applicant should have knowledge and expertise in advocacy and resource mobilization. The consultant will work with the Education Cluster team and the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) Multi Year Resilience Program (MYRP) Coordination Unit for this

In general, the consultant should have the following expertise and qualifications

• Postgraduate or related advanced university degree (at least MA. or equivalent) in the area of education, international development, or similar.
• At least 3 years of demonstrated experience in advocacy, communications, and resource mobilization in humanitarian settings
• Experience in working and collaborating with stakeholders including governments, civil society and communities in Ethiopia
• Experience in undertaking advocacy and resource mobilization  studies and development of related documents
• Sound knowledge of the humanitarian architecture, humanitarian funding mechanisms, in country (Ethiopia) donor governments, their criteria and in country (Ethiopia) priorities
• Extensive conceptual and practical knowledge of national government operating strategic principles including plans and policies
• Demonstrated ability of analytical and report drafting work
• Well-developed core consulting skills of research including qualitative data collection and analysis, presentation, and attention to detail
• Strong facilitation skills and hands-on experience of working in participatory ways with staff groups, partners, and communities
• Strong gender and inclusion analytical skills and knowledge/experience of different gender and inclusion tools
• Good report-writing skills are essential

How to Apply

Application procedures

Qualified and interested candidates are hereby requested to apply (Team applications are encourage). The application should contain the following:

• A technical proposal with a brief description (350 works maximum) of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment, and a detailed clear methodology (750 words maximum), on how they will approach and complete the assignment
• An accompanying letter or email of confirmation of Interest and availability
• Their CV, indicating education background/professional qualifications, all experience, as well as their contact details (email and telephone number) of the candidate and at least two (2) professional references
• A financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs. That is, the consultant is expected to submit details of the total cost based on unit costs and disaggregated by line items in a separate sealed envelope. The total cost needs to be inclusive of VAT
• Copies of 2 final products for similar work conducted in the last 5 years

Ownership: All data and products of this assignment are the property of Save the Children. Therefore, the consultant shall not be entitled either directly or indirectly to make use of the report for other purposes without the prior written consent of Save the Children.

Submission

The technical and financial proposals should be submitted separately using sealed envelopes labelled with the title of this assignment. The submission should include an application as a cover letter. Evidence of legal registration and tax payment, at least two relevant credentials from former clients. Interested applicants should submit the application to Save the Children Ethiopia Country Office Front Desk before or on August 31,2021 close of business,

Contact Address

Queries regarding this terms of reference shall be referred to: Name: Lizzie Rushwaya Position: Education Cluster Coordinator Telephone: 251 984145406 E-mail address: Lizzie.Rushwaya@savethechildren.org Save the Children, Ethiopia Country Office

Dire Complex Building, Old Airport, near Bisrate Gabriel Church