Revised Terms of Reference

 

Federal Government of Somalia

Shock Responsive Safety Net for Human Capital Project (P171346). 

Grievance Redressal Mechanism and Social Risk Management (GRM/SRM) Specialist

Terms of Reference

 

BACKGROUND

 

A Grievance Redressal Mechanism and Social Risk Management (GRM/SRM) Specialist is required to support the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) in the implementation of a World Bank-funded Shock Responsive Safety Net for Human Capital Project (SNHCP). The SNHCP project development objective is to provide cash transfers to targeted poor and vulnerable households and establish the key building blocks of a national shock-responsive safety net system. The project was approved on August 8, 2019 and became effective in September 17, 2019.  In support of activities under SNHCP, the MoLSA seeks to hire a GRM and Social Risk Management Specialist as part of the project implementation unit (PIU).

Project Overview

  The SNHCP consists of three components.

Component 1 – Nutrition Linked Unconditional Cash Transfer: This Component will  provide unconditional cash transfers to households that are chronically poor and vulnerable to drought and malnutrition and link them to complementary nutritional support programs. The objectives of the component are: (i) support households to strengthen their resilience and avoid negative coping mechanisms (e.g. selling off existing households’ assets) to meet their basic needs;  and (ii) promote human capital investment in the medium to long term by linking beneficiary households to complementary nutrition services (where they exist) and continuing to smooth consumption gaps through predictable and reliable provision of cash transfer. Around 200,000 beneficiary households (approximately 1.2 million individuals) with children under five years of age will receive a monthly payment of US$ 20 delivered on a quarterly basis, initially for a one-year duration (initially). Mothers or female caregiver of the children would be the direct recipients of the transfer. This component will be implemented by the World Food Programme (WFP), on behalf of the MoLSA.

 

Component 2 – Delivery Systems and Institutional Capacity Building: This component will support the development of cash transfers delivery systems and support to SP policy implementation, as well as strengthen institutional capacity of relevant government ministries. . The objective of the component is to build capacity of the FGS, particularly MoLSA, to institute, implement and monitor the national cash transfers program and form the foundation  for a broader SP system in Somalia. The component will provide policy support; technical assistance and operational support. Cash delivery systems will include: a unified social registry, MIS, targeting approach, operational procedures for registration, enrollment, targeting, grievance redress, payment delivery, monitoring, community outreach and information campaign; and capacity building activities. Component 2 will be supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

 

Component 3 – Project Management, M&E, and Knowledge Management: This component will establish a Project Implementation Unit (PIU) to support MolSA with the day-to-day management, implementation and monitoring of the Project’s activities; support coordination, promote learning and knowledge management through robust M&E and support the design of a pilot productive safety net targeted at youth. Focus will be given to strengthening MoLSA’s coordination arrangements within other ministries and stakeholders at the federal level, and between the federal level and the Member States at the local level.

 

 

Project beneficiaries

 

The SNHCP is expected to target 200,000 poor and vulnerable households (approximately 1.2 million individuals) with children under five years of age in selected districts across the Federal Member States, and provide them with nutrition-linked cash transfer. Targeting of beneficiaries will be conducted in three stages: (1) selection of districts, (2) selection of communities in the targeted districts, (3) community-based targeting (CBT) of households in selected communities based on the household eligibility criteria.

 

Implementation arrangements

 

The project will be implemented by MoLSA with a PIU embedded within the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in Mogadishu.

The PIU will be headed by a Project Manager, and will include an Operations Officer, Communication Specialist, MIS Specialist, GRM and social risk management Specialist, M&E Specialist, Financial Management Specialist, and Procurement Specialist. Other staffing of the PIU will depend on the need, content, and the scope of the procurement and work plans.

 

OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF WORK:

 

Under the overall guidance of the Project Manager, the objective of the assignment is to support MoLSA  with  the preparation,  implementation and monitoring of project related social risk management activities to enhance the social sustainability of the SNHCP.

 

The GRM/SRM Specialist, will be responsible for supporting and overseeing the implementation of an efficient, fair, and accessible GRM/SRM measures for mitigating potential risks, address risks if materialized, and resolving beneficiaries’ and other stakeholder’s complaints, including establishing GRMs to enable safe and confidential reporting of incidence of sexual exploitation and abuse and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV).

 

As part of social risk management, the candidate will ensure that the project’s activities and interventions, particularly in relation to the implementation of Component 1, comply with social risk management/safeguard policies, laws, regulations and guidelines governing both national/Country and World Bank safeguard requirements, as detailed in the relevant project safeguards instruments.

 

In addition, he/she will be responsible for providing input and supporting the development of a social accountability strategy, including the design and operational requirements of a GRM for the  Government-led national cash transfer program, working closely with UNICEF.

 

Lastly, the GRM/SRM , will also be responsible for monitoring and updating potential risks and the effectiveness of mitigation measures, as well as overseeing the project’s overall compliance with the environmental and social safeguards framework and triggered safeguards instruments.

 

The candidate is expected to participate in intensive capacity building to ensure capacity to fulfill requirements of the assignment, working closely with the GRM/SRM  and social risks staff of WFP and UNICEF to observe and learn from their grievance handling practices. The GRMSRM  Specialist will report to the Project Manager.

 

Under the leadership of the Project Manager, the duties of the GRM and Social Risk Management Specialist, will include:

1. Support activities designed to manage social risks in the project as elaborated in the Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP), Social Management Plan (SMP), Labour Management Procedures (LMP) and all other social risk management action plans as may be developed over the life of the project.
2. Support continuous stakeholder and community engagements and consultations, including the implementation of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan.

• Facilitate the immediate reporting of any severe safeguard incidents as per the Projects Operations Manual and the Environmental and Social Incidents Reporting Toolkit protocols, including providing input as required to the Root Cause Analysis and supporting implementation of the relevant corrective action plans as agreed upon between MoLSA and the World Bank.

1. Ensure that all activities related to effective GRM functioning and grievance/complaint retrieval flow and redress responsibilities for cash transfers carried out by WFP for Component 1 meets project safeguards requirements per the Project Operations Manual (POM) and project safeguards instruments mentioned above.
2. Engage with WFP for the successful administration of project GRM across all subsequent processing steps of (i) uptake, (ii) sorting, (iii) processing, (iv) following up, (v) verification/ investigation, and (vi) assessing and reporting, and (vi) responding to complaints.
3. Working closely with UNICEE under Component 2, provide input to the for social accountability mechanisms for a national cash transfer program, including technical specifications and operational requirements for participatory citizen engagement and the GRM, ensuring compliance with FGS social accountability principles and standards.

• Assist in the development of an GRM module in the planned project MIS based on the above strategy, working closely with UNICEF and applying lessons learned from Component 1 cash transfers.
• Contribute to the development and updating of a procedural grievance management manual that establishes service standards, including prompt and clear processing guidelines/procedures for grievance/complaint resolution, working closely with UNICEF.

2. Facilitate decision-making within PIU regarding the various strategies, manuals, modules etc. to be developed under Component 2.
3. Provide inputs and participate in the capacity development plan to build self and staff capacities for the effective management of social risks at MoLSA, working closely with UNICEF and WFP in the initial stages of project implementation to demonstrably learn, understand, and eventually provide quality assurance and reporting to processes and practices being implemented to manage social risks in activities implemented by the two entities.
4. Compile regular monitoring and reporting on integrated feedback/grievance management by WFP and overall project performance on safeguard and social risk management, including GBV issues, as input to regular project progress narrative reports (quarterly, semi-annual and annual) and presentations, as outlined in the ESCP. This includes regular grievance reports and logs under Component 1 and any other reports as may be agreed between MoLSA and World Bank.

• Ensuring adequate social safeguards and social risk mitigation records and documentation are kept.
• Ensure inclusion of findings and lessons learned from SNHCP project grievance system under Component 1 in the refinement of operational design and approach for the national cash transfer program.
• Communicate GRM findings and safeguards issues to the PIU, in particular the Project Manager and SP Coordinator and M&E Specialist, as well as the World Bank, implementing partners, donors, and other stakeholders, direct and indirect beneficiaries, as agreed upon with senior management.

1. Participate in all joint implementation and supervision missions monitoring missions, and project related workshops, consultations, meetings as required conducted by the World Bank. This may include travel to project sites throughout the country.

 

STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

 

The candidates should have the following qualifications:

 

1. Undergraduate degree (Preferably master’s degree) in Social Science: Law, Political Science, Sociology, or social science.
2. At least five years’ experience in the social development field with a focus on stakeholder and community engagements, inclusion, gender and GBV, complaints and grievances management, vulnerable and minorities, disability, displaced populations and refugee/returnee influx.
3. Broad understanding of the national policies, laws and regulations social issues above, with familiarity of World Bank Social Safeguard Policies and Procedures a plus.
4. Ability to analyze large amounts of data and identify emerging trends would be an advantage.
5. Experience in supporting social risk management in development projects, with experience in cash transfer programs an added bonus.
6. Excellent inter-personal, communication and problem-solving skills as well as negotiation skills.
7. Capability to prioritize work and mitigate risks.
8. Ability to work with minimum supervision and deliver under pressure
9. Excellent communication in English as well as in Somali languages.

 

 

CONDUCT OF WORK:

 

Reporting: The GRM/SRM Specialist will directly report on a day to day basis to the Project Manager. He/she will be expected to closely work with the Operations Officer and M&E Specialist to support smooth management of GRM/SRM activities.

 

Work plans:    The assignment will be managed through a work plan process allied to the quarterly program work plan. The GRM/SRM Specialist will need to be available for quarterly project reviews either in country or in Nairobi.

 

Deliverables include:

1. A clear work plan on GRM and social risk management related activities, prepared in full consultation with the Project Manager within one-month of the contract, formally approved by the Project Manager.
2. Regular reports to the PIU, implementing entities and to the World Bank on key issues affecting the operations of the project communications activities.

• Summary quarterly progress report on the assignment in the context of the approved work plan. The progress report should identify key milestones and related tasks undertaken within the quarter, emerging risks and challenges, recommendations to mitigate the risks and a projection of the key activities to be undertaken in the ensuing periods.

 

Language: Reports and other documents shall be submitted in English.

Duration of assignment: The GRM and Risk Management Specialist shall be contracted for one-year period with possibility for renewal for up to three years, based on performance. All the monthly invoices submitted for payment shall be accompanied by duly approved timesheet by the Project Manager.

 

Facilities to be provided: The PIU will provide the GRM and Risk Management Specialist with office facilities, essential utilities, office services, stationery and office supplies and use of a computer and a printer.

 

Location of assignment: The duty station is Mogadishu, Somalia. The GRM and Risk Management Specialist will be based in the PIU within the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.