Consultancy for the Job Creation Program

TERMS OF REFERENCE

UNRWA is the largest United Nations programme in the Middle East. It provides assistance and protection to Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic and the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). It does so by offering to a population of some 5 million registered refugees a range of human development and humanitarian services in primary and vocational education, primary health care, social safety net, community support, camp improvement, and microfinance. UNRWA’s role also encompasses advocacy and actions to address the human rights and protection needs of Palestine refugees.

Consultancy for the Job Creation Program UNRWA - West Bank

BACKGROUND In a context of rising poverty and widespread unemployment, UNRWA is implementing a Cash-for-Work Project (CaWP) for the most vulnerable refugees in the West Bank. The project helps beneficiaries cope with economic hardship and loss of livelihoods by providing a subsidy in exchange for low-skilled labour.

CaWP is an emergency project: beneficiaries receive a limited sum of money for their work, which allows them to pay for basic essential expenses but does not permit saving or investment. Most often, beneficiaries use the subsidy to purchase food or to pay off debts incurred for daily expenses. UNRWA has developed a database (Project Da’am) which measures the socio-economic vulnerability of each household in detail, thereby tackling the complex and multilayered issue of poverty in the West Bank. As part of its job creation activities, CaWP will target the most vulnerable families identified by Project Da’am offering them community-based work opportunities most suitable to their profile. In accordance with UNRWA’s mandate to assist all refugees, whether they reside in camps, CaWP is implemented in both camps and municipalities across the West Bank.

Between April 2010 and March 2011, JCP will create 80,000 short-term job opportunities (directly helping 40,000 households or 230,000 people), of which 28,000 jobs will be for women (35 percent of total), 2,400 for herders (3 percent of total) and 400 for people with disabilities (0.5 percent of total). JCP also caters for the specific needs of refugees living in Area C and the Seam Zone by providing resources to help them resist forced displacement and cope with land confiscations and settler harassment.

OBJECTIVES The overall objective of CaWP is to mitigate the number of refugee households living below the poverty line in the West Bank. Specifically, the project aims to support household incomes through subsidies, and combines emergency assistance to vulnerable households with improvement of basic public services for both refugees and non-refugees.

TARGET BENEFICIARIES AND PROJECT SITES According to its implementation plan for 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011, CaWP aims to target a total of 7,100 beneficiaries per month. Beneficiaries in municipalities and camps work on one-month contracts; while some skilled labourers in municipalities (300 beneficiaries) and Camps (350 beneficiaries) have three-month contracts. The chart bellows shows the number of participating UNRWA camps and installations and municipalities in the last three months.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES The Consultant will be expected to provide and submit the following proposal and reports to UNRWA during the term of this assignment: • Draft proposal in coordination with Emergency Appeal Unit; • Draft weekly, monthly and quarterly progress reports of activity (monitoring & evaluation); • Draft quarterly report on programme’s impact; • Draft project proposals/ concept papers; • Draft project interim reports for donors; • Draft project final reports for donors.

ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE • A university degree in Development Studies, International Relations, Management, Business Administration, or other relevant field; • Master degree in relevant discipline is an asset; • Minimum 3 years similar experience; • Sound experience in social assistance or community development projects; • Sound experience in project proposal/report writing; • Relevant experience in monitoring and evaluation; • Self supporting in IT (Windows, spreadsheets, word processing); • Driving license is an asset; • Proficiency in the English language (native-level spoken and written); • Proficiency in the Arabic language is an asset.

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE 1. The Consultant will report principally to Job Creation Programme Manager. 2. The consultancy will be for the period 1 November to 31 December 2011 with a remuneration of US$2500/month. 3. UNRWA will provide the necessary support to the Consultant to facilitate the work (transport within WB, visa, etc.).

APPLICATION PROCESS Applicants should submit a cover letter and CV or UN Personal History Form via unrwa-ahr@unrwa.org clearly indicating the title of this consultancy “Job Creation Program” in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 26 October 2011 (late applications will not be considered).

UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified and experienced female candidates. Only those applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.