National Training Consultant for Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) - (VA Extension)

Vacancy Notice No. IC/2021- 010 (Extension) 

Terms of Reference 

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s strategic plan (2018-2021), focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. 

The National AAP training consultant is responsible for developing a core set of AAP training materials aimed at strengthening AAP and PSEA implementation among local non-governmental organisations in Myanmar.  

In his outgoing press release in April 2021, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, identified that ‘one of the biggest failings of the humanitarian system is that agencies do not pay enough attention to what people caught up in crises say they want, and then trying to give that to them.’  Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) is not only a commitment by humanitarians to ensure communities have the power and influence to determine and act on their own priorities for preparedness, response and recover, but it is also grounded in the rights, dignity, capacity and safety of people.  It is a responsibility of all aid agencies, and included in this is the responsibility is to ensure that community feedback systems are in place that are safe and accessible, including for allegations such as SEA.  

Mark Lowcock’s concern has been echoed in Myanmar.  In a meeting of international NGOs operating in Myanmar in January 2021, concerns were voiced that staff consultations with communities both within IDP camps and in villages were limited, in addition to having no representation of Rohingya communities in any platforms concerning durable solutions.  

UNICEF identified training and capacity-building of its partners in an assessment conducted in 2019 on AAP.  The report noted that workshops and discussions with partners and UNICEF staff indicated limited and diverse understanding of AAP.  It acknowledged that while partners were actively collecting information from communities, there was little understanding of the type of information that should be collected and how.  The report suggested that capacity for coordination and implementation of AAP needed to be strengthened, and to ensure a common understanding of AAP with a focus on practical application and tools such as needs assessments, accessibility and inclusion, communication tools and two-way communication processes, tracking, coordination and sharing of data, and complaints and feedback mechanisms, including closing the feedback loop.  The UNFPA Asia Pacific Regional Office has also recently developed AAP Operational Guidelines in line with a corporate priority to more systematically include AAP into programming, which was noted as a weakness in the evaluation of UNFPA’s Humanitarian Programming from 2012-2019. 

In light of the current political situation in Myanmar and new and emerging humanitarian needs, the UN and its partners including MHF partners must rely on new actors to meet the needs of affected communities.  This is also impacted by the evolving COVID-19 situation in-country and movement restrictions affecting aid agencies’ ability to reach populations in need.  Building capacity of local organisations in AAP and PSEA will not only contribute to localisation of humanitarian action, but will also be more sustainable in terms of ensuring that community voices are heard in emergency preparedness, response and recovery efforts as different crises emerge in Myanmar.  

The AAP area of work in Myanmar is guided by the RC/HC and the HCT on behalf of the humanitarian community, and the Cooperation Partners Group (CPG) ensuring alignment of efforts on AAP across humanitarian, peace and development pillars. The AAP training consultant will provide a contextualised, shared resource package for all organisations in Myanmar, including implementing partners and national and international NGOs, and will lead in the roll-out of the training package and foster a community-of-practice among trained focal points. 

The Consultant will report directly to Humanitarian Response Specialist. She/he will also work closely with the AAP/Community Engagement Specialist in OCHA, the PSEA Coordinators and PSEA Co-Chairs in Myanmar.

 The AAP training consultant will: 

• Contextualise a core set of training materials for AAP including powerpoints, assignments, games/quizzes relevant to Myanmar to assist learning.  The package will be available in digital format and designed to be adapted by any organisation either in-person or online.  It should be practical and aimed at local organisations with a focus on inclusion of AAP in the program cycle.  In addition to the key principles of AAP, it should also include:
  • Material on the inclusion of PSEA reporting channels in feedback mechanisms
  • Referral systems and the need for inter-agency AAP
  • Information regarding the AAP and PSEA MIMU resource pages and provide examples of collective AAP systems 

• Conduct at 4 Training of Trainers sessions online of the AAP training in Myanmar language to AAP focal points, reaching target 120 (60 female/60 male) aid workers in Chi, Rakhine, Kayin, Northern Shan and Kachin States.  This includes: 
  • Advertising the availability of the training through different channels
  • Selecting training participants
  • Conducting the training online, including managing training assignments, sharing resources, conducting quizzes etc.
  • Maintaining a database of trained individuals
  • Maintaining a Community of Practice of trained individuals (e.g. WhatsApp group, Facebook group or other chosen method) and supporting the group
  • Revising the training package as necessary

The Consultant will be engaged for 6 months from October 2021 – March 2022 for 43 working days.

The consultant will work closely with the AAP/Community Engagement Specialist in OCHA and the UNFPA team to review the progress of implementation and any new development to ensure that the consultant’s work plan is appropriate and strategic over the duration of the consultancy.  

Terms of Payment               

Compensation will be based upon submission of the following deliverables with an indication of the amount of time required to complete each deliverable as per set deadlines in the above working schedule.

Payment will be made with 3 installments based on completing of the above deliverables as per ToR.

Education:  

• Advanced University degree in Social Science, Development Studies, Education, Law, International Relations or a related field or relevant professional experience

Knowledge and Experience 

• For those with advanced degree, minimum two years of professional experience is required.
• For those with Bachelor’s degree, minimum four years of professional experience is required. 
• Extensive experience in conducting in-person and/or online training;
• Experience in capacity-building of local NGOs in the humanitarian or development sector; 
• Adept at explaining complex concepts in ways that a non-technical audience can understand and relate to;
• Previous experience working on communicating with communities and/or prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse;
• Familiarity with using online platforms such as Zoom (including using breakout rooms), Google Classrooms, Google Forms, Mentimeter etc. 
• Work experience from a humanitarian setting with relevant professional experience in the field of gender or protection an asset;
• A passion for sustainable learning and skills transfer.

Languages

• Fluency in English and Myanmar language is required; knowledge of an ethnic language would be an additional asset

HOW TO APPLY 

Applicants with the required qualifications and experience should submit the application with the UN P11 form (http://myanmar.unfpa.org/vacancies/un-p11-personal-history-form)​, completed and signed by the applicantalong with the education certificates and the names and contact information of three references. 

Applications should be addressed to: 

Email:              hr.myanmar@unfpa.org

Attention:        International Operations Manager,  

            Room A07, UNFPA, No.6, Natmauk Road, Yangon 

Note:

UNFPA reserves the right to offer comparable assignment to those qualified candidates that may not have been selected for this consultancy assignment which they applied for. These offers will be based on the needs of the organization, appropriateness and relevance to the candidate’s educational backgrounds and work experience. Only those candidates in whose qualifications and experience the Office has further interest will be contacted for subsequent interviews. 

 (i) This vacancy is open to applicants of either sex.

(ii) There is no application, processing or other fee at any stage of the application process.

(iii) UNFPA does not solicit or screen for information in respect of HIV or AIDS and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status. 

(iv) UNFPA regrets its inability to reply individually or to attend to telephone queries on the above advertised post.