JOB OPPORTUNITY: Consultancy to support VAWG action research in Uganda and Lebanon

Research Consultant – Violence against Women & Girls in Humanitarian Settings

Terms of Reference
The Global Women’s Institute at the George Washington University (GWU) is a university-wide initiative dedicated to improving gender equality and supporting the rights of women and girls worldwide. With a particular expertise in applying feminist and participatory research methods to address gender-based violence (GBV) during conflict and post conflict periods, GWI documents experiences of women and girls during times of crises and generates evidence on what works to reduce the violence they experience. By strengthening the global knowledge base on gender issues and being a catalyst for change, GWI aims to make a difference in the lives of women and girls in the US and around the world.

The Research Consultant will support GWI’s projects, Empowered Aid: Transforming gender and power dynamics in the delivery of humanitarian aid and Building GBV Research Capacity in Refugee Settings in refugee-hosting areas of Uganda and Lebanon. These build on feminist research methods and participatory principles.

Empowered Aid: Transforming gender and power dynamics in the delivery of humanitarian aid
Since its magnitude first came to light in 2002 the aid community’s focus on addressing sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) has primarily rested on establishing reporting mechanisms and punitive actions against perpetrators of such violence, and only recently shifted toward documented, pro-active measures to mitigate risk and prevent abuse and exploitation from occurring. This project seeks to further examine:

• the mechanisms through which material aid (food and non-food items) is delivered, and
• how these processes might inadvertently increase the risks of SEA within affected populations, in order to address them.

Its goal is to support the creation or adaptation of aid delivery models that actively work to reduce power disparities and give women and girls a sustained voice in how aid is delivered. The project will utilize participatory action research (PAR), a method that proactively acknowledges and addresses power imbalances between the affected population & researchers/humanitarians. Just as participation lies at the center of humanitarian response, it is a critical element in applied, operational research. The project is grounded in formative ethnographic work with refugee women and girls, to safely take an active role in asking and answering questions about their own lives.

Together with GWI and operational partner agencies, members of the affected population will help guide the identification and prioritization of ways to improve the modalities used for distributing humanitarian aid. These new distribution models will then be tested in small-scale pilots in ongoing humanitarian aid operations in Uganda and Lebanon; and eventually applied to a third context (expected to be Bangladesh). Lessons learned from these pilots will be documented and shared with the global humanitarian community – in order to improve practice and reduce the risks for women and girls when receiving aid distributions.

Building GBV Research Capacity in Refugee Settings
GWI worked with GBV experts to develop a manual and toolkit on GBV Research, Monitoring and Evaluation with Refugee and Conflict-Affected Populations, which then formed the basis for capacity building workshops in Uganda and Lebanon with representatives from NGOs, Civil Society, Government and UN. These included a participatory process through which representatives of the GBV humanitarian community identified knowledge gaps that inhibit their ability to better prioritize and target their programming, thereby setting out a localized learning agenda.

Participants were invited to submit proposalsto address these knowledge gaps, and four partners are now being supported to undertake research projects. In Uganda, a national university and INGO are implementing a mixed methods study in two districts on forms of GBV affecting South Sudanese refugees and host community populations, as well as the drivers and consequences of  this violence. In Lebanon, the partners are two national women’s rights organizations, one leading a mixed methods study on GBV and mental health, and the other leading qualitative research with women in detention and trafficking. Through these projects, participants from the capacity building workshop are supported to apply what they’ve learned – leading to sustained higher capacity to conduct quality research in the GBV sector.

Scope of Work for the Consultancy
The Research Consultant will support the research leads in overseeing project activities in both countries, with a focus on conducting participatory action research with refugee women and girls. Primary responsibilities include the following:

Research and Technical Support
1) To provide technical assistance to GWI Research Scientists and other GWI staff supporting these projects, including remote support for operational partners in Lebanon and Uganda as well as in-country travel during periods of intensive fieldwork, including data collection. 2) Through collaborative processes, assist in the design and development of materials for the “Empowered Aid” study as well as partner studies within the capacity building project; including but not limited to research protocols and tools, referral materials, research briefs, meeting notes, guidance documents, IRB applications or modifications, and project reports.
3) Support operational partners to organize and co-facilitate 1-3 participatory action research workshop(s), as well as an in-person meeting of Technical Advisory Groups (TAG). These will most likely take place between March and April 2019, and may require visiting each country for 1-2+ weeks each.
4) Lead on organization of global TAG meeting, to be held in Washington DC in mid-2019.
Project Management Support
5) Support the Research Scientists with reporting, administrative and operational tasks to ensure project activities move forward with the agreed timeline and principles.
6) Monitor the implementation of the project through setting up a system to collect relevant data and contribute to project reporting requirements.
7) Support Research Scientists in managing relationships with various stakeholders important to the project, including the operational partners, TAG members, government at various levels, humanitarian actors, other researchers, etc.
8) Undertake other research or administrative tasks as needed, in line with GWI’s needs.

Expected Outcomes:
• Participatory action research workshops in Uganda and Lebanon supported (travel to country, attendance at workshops, logistic and technical support request from GWI and partner staff as needed).
• Support to drafting research tools (participatory action tools, survey tools) for Empowered Aid (with GWI and partner staff).
• Final report from Global TAG meeting drafted (consultant will lead this).
• Support to data collection for Empowered Aid and Building GBV Research Capacity projects in Lebanon and Uganda (travel to countries to support data collection, review of data collected by in country research managers/partners, troubleshooting as required).

These are indicative of deliverables to be completed during project support period.

Period of Performance
The work described above will take place from February through August 2019, with possibility of extension through August 2020 based on performance and funding. The estimated workload is 20 days/month from February through April, and 10-15 days/month from May through August.
This is inclusive of travel to project locations, with trips lasting anywhere from 1-3 weeks.

Qualifications Sought
• Supports and believes survivors and is an enthusiastic champion of women and girls.
• Master degree desirable, particularly in public health, anthropology, social work, or related field. Candidates with a Bachelor’s degree will also be considered if they demonstrate strong field experience in all of the areas below.
• Experience with qualitative or participatory methods related to GBV or gender issues and preferably in humanitarian settings (i.e. ethnographic methods, focus groups, key informant interviews, community/body mapping, safety audits).
• Experience working directly with refugee communities and with humanitarian or development agencies, preferably in Lebanon and/or Uganda.
• Demonstrated ability to employ a variety of participatory training and capacity building techniques, related to research and/or gender-based violence.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including verbal and written communication skills in English. Proficiency in Arabic a plus.
• Flexible, detail-oriented, able to work well in teams and individually. Outstanding organizer.
• Works well with collaborative creative processes—where ideas and plans may change—while ensuring timeline, budget & reporting requirements are met.
• Preferred: Familiarity with data analysis software or remote data collection tools (i.e. KoBo).
• Optional: experience providing GBV or child protection services or managing programs in humanitarian or development contexts.
• Optional: Existing professional networks of humanitarian actors in Lebanon and/or Uganda.

Supervision: The position will be supervised by Alina Potts, with additional technical oversight and support provided by Maureen Murphy (GWI Research Scientists). The consultant will work in close alignment with GWI Senior Research Associates and other members of the GWI team.
Compensation: A daily rate, based on experience, will be agreed upon and travel (flights plus accommodation) will be paid directly by GW, with food (exclusive of alcohol, tax on alcohol, and tips) reimbursed based on itemized receipts. Please include a daily rate in your cover letter.
Proprietary Guidelines: The Research Consultant must obtain written permission from the Global Women’s Institute to utilize their materials, findings, analyses, and other results for other academic and/or professional purposes outside the scope of this project.
TO APPLY: Send CV and cover letter via email to gwomen@gwu.edu with the subject line “Application for Research Consultant – Violence against Women & Girls in Humanitarian Settings.” Please note that only candidates selected for interview will be contacted. We do not have the capacity to respond to individual inquiries; to ensure receipt you may wish to cc yourself when sending.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis throughout January 2019, we encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.