TRANSFORM Roadmap Report – Consultant

Background of the project

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity, and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.

The IRC’s vision is to lead the humanitarian field by implementing high-impact, cost-effective programs for people affected by crisis and using our learning and experience to shape policy and practice. To achieve that vision, the IRC’s Technical Excellence team provides technical assistance to the IRC’s country program staff and shares what we learn to influence policy and practice. 

The Violence Prevention and Response Unit (VPRU) is one of 6 Technical Units within Technical Excellent. VPRU works to reduce people’s vulnerability to and support their recovery from violence, and promote transformative work for a future free from violence. The unit houses expertise in the fields of Child Protection, Protection and Rule of Law, and Women’s Protection and Empowerment to support women, children, and other marginalized groups through violence prevention programs that help stop violence before it happens and violence response programs that ensure lifesaving services for people affected by violence. VPRU has programs across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. 

Scope of work

Building on a growing body of evidence – including IRC’s Cycles of Displacement report and other reports, including The Only Way Is Up – in 2022, the IRC launched a flagship technical innovation project ‘TRANSFORM’ to develop mechanisms for humanitarian organizations to systematically embed diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) considerations in conflict and displacement response. Through this BHA-funded project, the IRC seeks to address the systemic reluctance/capacity issues holding back the humanitarian sector from SOGIESC inclusion. We seek to do this in a way that models a deep involvement of diverse SOGIESC CSOs and extends diverse SOGIESC inclusion across the humanitarian architecture. The TRANSFORM project will develop and socialize new approaches to advancing conversations and furthering commitments to diverse SOGIESC inclusion in the humanitarian sector and architecture.  

As part of TRANSFORM, VPRU is looking to write a report outlining a “roadmap” to institutionalizing diverse SOGIESC inclusion in humanitarian action; this roadmap may be inclusive of recommendations for changes in the realms of policy, research, capacity sharing/strengthening, programming, funding, and coordination. This report should be responsive to the fact that, despite multiple changes in recent years to the capacity of humanitarian actors to respond to the needs of and provide support to marginalized communities during times of crisis, knowledge around working with diverse SOGIESC communities remains fragmented, and capacity gaps persist. To ensure the transferability of the report to other organizations and diverse operating contexts, this roadmap will build on the learning from TRANSFORM and other work across the sector. The roadmap will also acknowledge the political and technical challenges likely to be faced along the journey, and offer ways to overcome them. IRC hopes this report will be utilized by overall humanitarian coordination mechanisms and provide a framework through which the sector can collectively advance its work around diverse SOGIESC inclusion. 

The final report will be delivered by July 2025.

Objective of Consultancy

This Consultant/Consultant Team will deliver the report that details an overview of the current ecosystem relating to diverse SOGIESC inclusion in humanitarian action; programmatic, coordination, research, capacity, funding, and policy gaps; identified best practices; and short-, intermediate-, and long-term recommendations for improvement and advancing the inclusion of diverse SOGIESC communities in humanitarian responses. This roadmap report will be shared with USAID’s BHA and disseminated throughout interagency coordination mechanisms. 

Deliverables

1. One (1) report outlining a roadmap to institutionalize diverse SOGIESC inclusion in humanitarian action.
2. Dissemination and advocacy materials, including up to 2 policy/advocacy briefs and a report presentation.
3. To deliver this report, IRC anticipates that the Consultant/Consultant Team will provide a detailed methodology on the process by which they will collect data/evidence, including such activities as:

• Mapping of current engagement with diverse SOGIESC inclusion within clusters at the regional level;
• Conducting Key Informant Interviews with experts on diverse SOGIESC inclusion, inclusion in humanitarian response, technical areas of humanitarian action (inclusive of refugee and IDP contexts), funding mechanisms, members of interagency coordination spaces, and local diverse SOGIESC actors (both activists and representative organizations).
• Conducting Desk Research of available material (including grey literature and learnings from TRANSFORM) on diverse SOGIESC inclusion;
• Conducting analysis of available data sources;
• Others as appropriate.

Please note that once contracted, the Consultant/Consultant Team will work with the IRC to finalize a work plan for the realization of the Roadmap Report. 

Working relationships

The TRANSFORM Roadmap Report Consultant/Consultant Team will work closely with and report to the Global Lead for Protection Policy and Advocacy within VPRU. They will also collaborate with the TRANSFORM team and VPRU’s Inclusive and Transformative Pillar. In addition, the Consultant/Consultant Team may engage with IRC’s Directors, Global Practice Leads, Technical Advisors, and the TRANSFORM Advisory Group members as necessary.  

Minimum Qualifications:

Requirements

• Demonstrated expertise in analyzing and knowledge of diverse SOGIESC inclusion and/or inclusion in humanitarian action;
• Demonstrated expertise in mixed-methods research design and policy analysis;
• Demonstrated understanding of humanitarian coordination mechanisms and knowledge of donor landscapes;
• Demonstrated experience creating clear recommendations for policy, programmatic, research, and/or coordination changes in the humanitarian and/or related fields;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• Fluency in English required; proficiency in French, Arabic or Spanish an advantage.

Please note there is flexibility on working days/hours and time zones, however the consultant would need to have the flexibility to participate in meetings with people in different time zones.

Working Environment

This position will be home-based and remote. The consultant will provide their own working equipment (computer, internet, etc.). 

All IRC consultants, staff, or anyone working for the IRC are required to adhere to ‘The IRC Way’ Standards for Professional Conduct.  

Application process

To apply for this consultancy, please provide the following:

• CV
• Cover letter (including daily and/or whole-of-project rate)
• Two samples of relevant written work

Please note, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and the position will be closed when a suitable Consultant/Consultant Team is identified. Any applications which do not include all of the above will not be considered.

Prior to making an offer, the IRC may ask for up to 3 references from previous employers.