Technical Expert - Community-Based Protection Systems Strengthening

Location: Damascus

Result of service

The consultancy is expected to last for a period of eight (8) months

Work location

Unrwa - syria field office - protection programme

Expected duration

8 months

Duties and responsibilities

Working under the supervision of the protection team leader and in close coordination with protection programme staff, area offices, mccs, and relevant stakeholders, the consultant will undertake the following tasks: a. Community assessment and stakeholder engagement
1. Conduct a comprehensive review of existing assessments, protection monitoring data, community profiles, and relevant programme documentation. 2. Map and analyze formal and informal community protection mechanisms, leadership structures, capacities, available skills, and existing community initiatives within target camps.
3. Analyze community power dynamics and barriers affecting women, men, girls, boys, older persons, persons with disabilities, and other at-risk groups.
4. Conduct stakeholder mapping of un agencies, ngos, cbos, community groups, service providers, local authorities, religious leaders, and other relevant actors operating within or serving the target camps.
5. Identify opportunities for coordination, referrals, partnerships, and community engagement to strengthen protection outcomes.

B. Participatory protection risk analysis
1. Design and facilitate participatory focus group discussions (fgds) and other community consultations across the five pilot camps.
2. Identify protection threats, vulnerabilities, risks, negative coping mechanisms, and community self-protection capacities.
3. Ensure meaningful participation of diverse community members using age, gender and diversity (agd) principles.
4. Present findings back to communities and support community prioritization of key protection concerns.
5. Produce camp-level and consolidated protection analysis reports with recommendations.

C. Community volunteer network development
1. Develop selection criteria and facilitate identification and vetting of 50 community volunteers representing diverse community groups.
2. Establish and support a community volunteer network across the five pilot camps.
3. Strengthen linkages between volunteers, existing community structures, community leaders, civil society organizations, service providers, and relevant humanitarian actors.
4. Support volunteers to conduct community outreach, protection awareness activities, safe identification of vulnerable individuals, and protection monitoring.
5. Strengthen volunteers' understanding and use of available referral pathways, including unrwa services and external service providers where appropriate.

D. Capacity building and technical support
1. Develop and/or adapt training materials on community-based protection, protection principles, code of conduct, psychological first aid (pfa), safe identification, referral pathways, confidentiality, and data protection.
2. Deliver structured training sessions for volunteers and relevant mcc personnel.
3. Provide ongoing mentoring, coaching, and technical guidance to volunteers and mcc staff.
4. Support unrwa frontline personnel in strengthening community-engagement and community-based protection approaches.

E. Participatory planning and community-based response implementation
1. Facilitate participatory planning processes with community members and structures to identify priority actions addressing key protection risks.
2. Support development of five camp protection action plans reflecting community priorities and capacities.
3. Coordinate with mcc management and community structures to implement ten community-led protection activities.
4. Monitor implementation and document results, challenges, lessons learned, and good practices.

F. Sustainability, handover and scale-up 1. Develop an operational transition plan for handover of community-based protection activities to unrwa field staff.
2. Document lessons learned, promising practices, and implementation challenges emerging from the pilot.
3. Develop recommendations and a strategic roadmap for scaling community-based protection approaches to additional palestine refugee camps in syria.
4. Provide monthly progress briefings and reports to the protection team leader.
5. Prepare a final consultancy report summarizing achievements, findings, recommendations, lessons learned and proposed next steps.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in social work, human rights, international law, social sciences, development studies, psychology, community development, or a related field.

Languages

1- excellent command of written and spoken english is required. 2- knowledge of arabic is highly desirable.

Additional information

Competencies:

1- strong analytical and strategic thinking skills. 2- excellent facilitation, communication, and interpersonal skills. 3- strong stakeholder engagement and partnership-building abilities. 4- ability to work effectively with diverse communities and…