Job Opportunity in CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES - Job Market

 Job Opportunity in CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES - Job Market

CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES
SCOEP OF WORK

Context


On behalf of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) (www.crs.org) Caritas Bangladesh is seeking a qualified professional as a consultant for the position of Pre-Crisis Market Analysis (PCMA) Coordinator. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is a US-based relief and development agency working in nearly 100 countries/territories to alleviate poverty and suffering. In Bangladesh, CRS supports vulnerable people through partner organization, Caritas Bangladesh.

Job Title: Pre-Crisis Market Analysis (PCMA) Coordinator

Reports to: Country Manager, CRS Bangladesh, Department: Program

Country/Location:  Bangladesh/Dhaka

About CRS
Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

Job Summary
The purpose of this scope of work is to outline duties, deliverables, and a timeframe for a consultant to fill the role of a Pre-Crisis Market Analysis (PCMA) Coordinator that will oversee the implementation of the study and draft related deliverables. The technical scope, geographic targeting, and methodology will be identified through a participatory process in March 2019 in coordination with CRS, Caritas Bangladesh (CB), and other relevant actors from the National Cash Working Group in Bangladesh. 

Background
CRS is currently implementing a 24 month ‘Readiness to Respond’ (R2R) project which will improve preparedness of CRS and its partners to implement quality cash-based programming wherever appropriate in response to emergencies. In order to deliver cash-based programming effectively, efficiently and at scale, strong coordination among government and humanitarian actors is required, alongside consensus on principles of cash-based programming, ability to make informed decisions on modality selection and transfer values, pre-positioning different delivery mechanisms, and effective market analysis. A key element of cash preparedness work is ensuring that high-quality and timely information on market functionality is available and accessible to actors responding to humanitarian emergencies. As part of this project, therefore, CRS and Caritas Bangladesh (CB) are undertaking a Pre-Crisis Market Analysis (PCMA) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), an area prone to multiple disasters, including cyclones, landslides, flash flooding, as well as insecurity and conflict.
  
The Pre-crisis Market Analysis (PCMAs) is one of the activities CRS will design and lead in collaboration with other humanitarian actors in order to collect strategic market information that can be used to inform response design and modality decisions in the event of different disasters affecting the region. The scope of the PCMA will be designed with input from other actors based on perceived information gaps, and the PCMA results will be made available to UN, NGOs, and other response stakeholders, particularly through the Cash Working Group.

Objectives

The PCMA helps in conducting market assessment and analysis before emergencies happen in contexts that are prone to recurring crises, whether natural or man-made, or where a shock is anticipated. This early analysis helps practitioners and decision makers to anticipate how certain selected ‘critical’ markets will behave if and when a shock occurs. This can help to inform not only potential emergency responses but also to improve preparedness, contingency planning, mitigation, disaster risk reduction, and early recovery.

The PCMA conducted through the R2R project has the following objectives:

• Supporting contingency planning exercises;
• Improving agency preparedness to respond to a forecasted crisis by understanding the impact it will have on critical market systems;
• Informing programs seeking to build resilience or mitigate the impact of a predictable crisis;
• Providing a baseline picture of how critical markets function when they are not under stress (during a non-crisis time or reference period);
• Building staff capacity in market analysis and changing approaches and attitudes towards market-based programming;

Activities

The PCMA Coordinator will perform the activities specified previously. As a minimum, the PCMA Coordinator will do the following:

• Lead a participatory approach to select the key market systems of focus, define the areas for the assessment and finalize the methodology;
• Develop appropriate market assessment tools;
• Draft and finalize data collection tools in conjunction with project staff and other participating organizations (if applicable);
• Lead a workshop to introduce the PCMA methodology, and key concepts of market assessment and analysis, with CRS, CB and other organizations (if applicable);
• Train assessment team on the data collection tools;
• Coordinate and provide technical oversight throughout data collection, including developing debriefing protocols to facilitate initial analysis in the field;
• Coordinate and ensure quality control during data cleaning and preliminary analyses;
• Lead analysis workshop to develop market system maps;
• Conduct data analysis;
• Develop detailed implementation calendar for the study
• Provide recommendations regarding the technical design of the PCMA (regarding market systems, geographic market selection, and market assessment tools), suggesting modifications and revisions if necessary, in order to finalize;
• Coordinate and ensure quality control during data cleaning and preliminary analyses;
• Draft PCMA report, PCMA report summary, and a presentation of key findings and recommendations

Deliverables

The principal deliverables expected from the PCMA Coordinator are listed below:

1. Methodology; 2. Data collection tools; 3. Workshop materials; 4. Training module for assessment team members on data collection tools; 5. Market System Maps; 6. Draft PCMA report, 7. Draft PCMA summary report; 8. PCMA Key Findings PowerPoint Presentation.

Tentative Timeframe: 4-6 weeks from March to May 2020

Profile of PCMA Coordinator

The PCMA Coordinator should have the following (combined) experiences and competencies:

• Proven experience conducting market assessments, in particular Pre-Crisis Market Analysis (PCMA), and drafting technical reports;
• Demonstrated technical assessment skills and command of methodologies frequently used in PCMAs;
• Knowledge of international standards and norms for humanitarian action in general and market-based programming in particular;
• Ability to communicate – orally and in writing - complex subject matter in a way that is accessible to a variety of audiences; 
• Strong and demonstrated analytical skills;
• Ability to write clear, concise reports on the findings and make relevant, feasible recommendations for improvement whenever relevant;
• Strong coordination and communication skills;
• Capacity and creativity in leading and facilitating participatory methodologies to engage community members and receive and respond to feedback;
• Experience of working with a diverse range of stakeholders;
• Proficiency (written and oral) in English required

Place of Performance

All the activities of the PCMA Coordinator will take place in Bangladesh. Access to the assessment areas by the PCMA Coordinator will be dependent on government approvals.

Costs

CRS and CB will mobilize relevant assessment team members and staff, and cover all in-country costs related to training and data collection.

Period of Performance: March - May 2020

Required Language: Bangla, Desired Foreign Language:  English

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong written and verbal communication skills;
• Willingness to travel within Bangladesh;
• Good negotiation skills;
• Very good communications and presentation skills;
• Proactive, resourceful, solutions-oriented and results-oriented.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficient in MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Web Conferencing Applications, information and budget management systems, knowledge-sharing networks.

Interested candidates should apply by January 7, 2020 with a) detailed C.V. b) examples of previous PCMA and/or  market assessment reports led by the candidate; c) proposed work plan for the activities mentioned; d) daily rate (inclusive of transportation) and giving details of three references to BD_HR@crs.org. The subject line should clearly specify (then name of the position)- “Application for Pre-Crisis Market Analysis (PCMA) Coordinator”.  Please apply only if the minimum qualification criteria are met. No application will be considered after the last date. Qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply. Only short-listed candidates will be notified and called for written test and interviews.

Sours: bd jobs