INVITATION TO BID FOR CONSULTANCY for Third-Party Monitoring and verification for FFO Nexus Project, Cash Transfer

Save the Children International (SCI) Somalia program hereby invites interested consultants to bid for the consultancy assignment detailed below

ANNEX 1 : Consultancy Terms of Reference

TERMS OF REFERENCE

CONSULTANCY FOR THIRD-PARTY MONITORING AND VERIFICATION FOR CASH TRANSFERS FOR VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN SOMALIA/SOMALILAND (FFO NEXUS)

1. Background

For over 90 years, Save the Children has been making a difference in children’s lives in more than 120 countries. We are the world’s largest independent child rights organization, underpinned by a vision in a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation. Our mission to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

The project finances the implementation of the humanitarian priorities of Save the Children’s Country Strategic Plan (CSP) for Somalia. The focus of the project funding will be on the humanitarian components of goal 1 (562,000 Most Deprived Children 0-5 Have A Strong Start in Life  – “Crisis affected children under five have access to timely and adequate health, nutrition, WASH and child protection services and their families can meet their basic food and non-food needs in times of crisis”) and goal 2 (473,000 Children (6–14yr) Have A Better Foundation for A Bright Future -“473,000 Children (6–14yr) Have A Better Foundation for A Bright Future. Children between 6-14 affected by crisis are protected and enjoy uninterrupted access to education”) of the Save the Children’s Country Strategic Plan.

For children under five, SC, through this project, provides mobile and facility based health and nutrition services ensuring access to preventive and curative health service throughout the emergency period. To treat and prevent malnutrition, the project applies the Provision Community based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) and the promotion of optimal Infant & Young Child Feeding practices in emergencies (IYCF-E). Measures are complemented with rehabilitating climate resilient water sources for communities in crisis as well as unconditional cash transfers for families with children under five.

To ensure protection of children in crisis, SC, under this project, sets up child friendly spaces, provides psycho-social support and family tracing and reunification services and conducts child resilience and community sensitization sessions. To ensure uninterrupted access to education, schools in communities with high numbers of IDP and returnees will receive temporary financial and material support.

2. Overall objective

• To contribute to a world in which every child in Somalia attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation
• Crisis affected children under five have access to timely and adequate health, nutrition, WASH and child protection services and their families can meet their basic food and non-food needs in times of crisis

3. Project FSL target beneficiaries

Food security and livelihoods: SC provides Cash to 1500 Households in Somaliland and Southern States people (900 in Somaliland and 600 in Southern States)

4. Purpose of the third-party monitoring

The purpose of the Third Party Monitoring Consultancy Services is to conduct independent monitoring of quality and verification of services delivered to assess the achievement and progresses against the target plans, processes followed to implement activities, accountability to beneficiaries and government engagement,

5. Specific Objectives will include:
6. Proposed Methodology

The consultant will come up with their preferred and suitable methodology, but the proposed methodology involves:

1. Survey, observations and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), to assess the achievement and progresses in improving the food security of the target beneficiaries against project performance indicators, accountability to beneficiaries, selection and overall beneficiary engagement process and fairness and document any gaps, concern and/or lessons or best practices
2. Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with Local Authorities, and local structures, to assess the engagement with the government through line ministries, engagement of the local structures in delivering the life-saving assistance in this project.
3. Document review for sites and beneficiary selection processes to assess the selection process especially beneficiary selection and re-verification process, appropriateness and fairness of the targeting criteria and to the extent it was applied.
4. Monitoring and Verification focus areas

Beneficiary selection Process

• Hold interviews with beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries and other stakeholders to document the beneficiary selection process specifically community participation including women and marginalized groups in the selection and verification of beneficiaries.
• Document the process of selecting beneficiary’s committees and establish the role of the committee members and SCI staff in the selection and verification of project beneficiaries.
• Assess the appropriateness of the targeting criteria, the extent to which it was followed and overall fairness of the process.
• Identify if there were any shortcomings in the process of food distribution.
• Determine how the targeted communities have benefited from the food voucher and food for work intervention in their respective communities.

Information Sharing

• Assess the extent to which the beneficiaries are informed and aware of key project information such as project objectives, activities, timelines, entitlement, number of cash transfers, expected results, targeted beneficiaries, criteria for selecting beneficiaries Establish whether beneficiaries have been informed and are aware about opportunities/activities in which they can participate.
• Establish whether there is information that beneficiaries would like to have about the project and its implementation but they are not getting.

Complaint and response mechanisms:

• Establish beneficiaries’ awareness of mechanisms through which they can give feedback or make complaints to SC. (how to complain or raise concerns about activities, what they can complain about, who can complain to, how and where they can complain and issues of response effectiveness, appropriateness and confidentiality).
• Assess the acceptance and level of confidence that beneficiaries have in the existing SC complaints response mechanisms
• Generate ideas for improving the existing complaint handling mechanism

Participation

• Generate Information about how beneficiaries including children would like to/ are participating in the project implementation.
• Assess the overall participation with regard to all beneficiaries at all stages including mobilization, structural establishment, selection, verification, re-verification

Other Project Interventions

• Collect data on the other project interventions including WASH, health and child protection
• Assess the progress made in these areas against target
• Identify implementation gaps and bottlenecks and suggest recommendations

8. Deliverables

The following outputs are expected of the consultant

• Third party Monitoring and Verification report capturing the findings on achievement against target, accountability to beneficiaries, engagement with the government and challenges and bottlenecks to implementations if any with actionable and evidence-based recommendations
• Detailed methodology, sampling and data collection tools
• Both row and cleaned data sets
• A set of pictures with GPS coordinates taken during the monitoring exercise shall be appended separately.
• Three case studies that demonstrate change in the lives of target beneficiaries including children

9. Management and Logistics

The consultant will be supervised by the MEAL Manager for Multi-Area Programs. The consulting firm will be responsible for organizing logistical issues with limited facilitation from SCI and as per the consultancy agreement.

10. Duration of the Assignment

The assignment will be 15 days inclusive of travels. The anticipated dates of the third-party monitoring are June 15-30, 2020.

11. Qualification

• Post graduate qualifications (MA level) in social science, particularly economics, agriculture, food security, entrepreneurship or related fields
• Minimum of 5 years of demonstrated professional experience delivering Monitoring and Evaluations services
• Proven experience in conducting quality project Monitoring and Evaluation including third party monitoring particularly on Food security and livelihood projects in Somalia/land
• Proven experience in food security, cash transfer programming
• Experience in applying participatory tools especially when interviewing/collecting information from children
• Knowledge of Save the Children and its internal processes will be beneficial but is not essential
• Knowledge and understanding of the social and cultural context of Somali people will be an asset.
• Solid analytical, result based planning, report writing, communication and diplomacy skills with ability to correlate different data sets to actionable conclusions.
• English language skills (report should be written in English).
• Ability to make clear presentations and disseminate findings to both technical and nontechnical audience

12. Payment Details

Payment will be in accordance with a detailed budget breakdown as submitted through the proposal, and invoices will be expected from the consultant prior to payment

13. Application Process

The consultant is expected to submit the following documents which will form part of the pre-selection recruitment process:

1. Company Profile/Registration
2. CVs of all involved consultant(s)
3. Technical proposal, outlining the methodologies including sampling, analysis, management and tools to be used
4. Work Plan
5. Proposed Budget
6. Proven samples of the previous similar work with INGOs and/or UN agencies preferably