Consultant - Technology for Development Regional Diagnostic Workshop Facilitation - Remote

Background:

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

The Technology for Development (T4D) team is housed within the Program Department’s Technical Support Unit (TSU). It collaborates with Mercy Corps’ global teams and external partners to unlock new possibilities that increase program quality, impact, and innovation, helping improve more lives through the power of technology. Our mission and purpose are to drive sustainable and scalable program impact through responsible application of existing and emerging digital technologies.

Purpose / Project Description:

The Technology for Development (T4D) team is concluding a 5-year funding partnership which provided considerable support for agency activities like deepening data science capacity, rolling out a unified MEL tech suite, connectivity for programmatic and operational efficiencies for country offices, and digitizing program approaches to peacebuilding, governance, and cash and voucher assistance. A final deliverable as a part of the Cisco Technology for Impact (T4I) grant was a T4D vision that aligns with and nests into the TSU vision as well as the 10-year Mercy Corps strategy, Pathway to Possibility (P2P). The T4D team intends on using the outputs of this vision process to conduct two regional workshops that will leverage the T4D strategy work, T4I learnings, and P2P strategic direction for the organization. The goal of the diagnostics is to identify concrete next steps for further integrating digital and data services into regional strategies to continue Mercy Corps’ path to digital transformation.

To this end, the T4D team is seeking a consultant/consultancy to assist/collaborate with our team in conducting preliminary scoping interviews, workshop design, and workshop facilitation. The workshops must include a focus on regional prioritization/country strategies, thematic approach, and integrate digital and data services. They must be centered on creating stronger ties to regions and clear linkages and business opportunities for partnership with regional and country leadership/programs.

Consultant Objectives:

The objective of the consultancy is to guide the design and execution of the T4D regional diagnostic workshops in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. We anticipate that the Horn of Africa workshop will include Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia and the Middle East would be Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria, but both are TBD. The workshops should be grounded in the reality of Mercy Corps’ current operations, country strategies, and P2P goals as well as leverage the learnings from the T4D strategy process. The objectives of the workshop are to identify opportunities to leverage an integrated suite of digital and data services for the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.

Consultant Activities:

The Consultant will be responsible for:

1. Workplan
   1. Delivery of a clear, easily operationalized workplan to effectively deliver on this scope of work
2. Scoping and Assessment
   1. Conduct program review of programmatic portfolio to identify major thematic areas, investments, programmatic work and potential areas for digital and data services integration. Should include consideration of integration of technology (digital & data) into thematic portfolios (climate, food security, ag, peace and governance, cash, financial inclusion) with consideration for future opportunities, linkages, scale and strategic P2P alignment
   2. Review country strategies (delivery date is end of March) for insight into enabling environment conditions and stakeholder landscape.
   3. Conduct interviews in advance of the workshops as inputs into the stakeholder landscape and enabling environment background and to set the agenda for the workshop and finalize the goals/objectives based on the needs and requirements of attendees. Number of interviews to be decided.
   4. Delivery of clear, discrete assessments. Note that these do not need to be exhaustive but rather provide framing for the conversation during the workshops
   5. Deliver short briefers as pre-reads for the workshop
3. Workshop design and agenda
   1. Deliver workshop agenda based on the objectives and assessments for the workshops
   2. Incorporate team and regional feedback into the agenda as needed
   3. Provide advice on workshop participants
4. Workshop Facilitation
   1. Facilitate two 2-3 day workshops in East Africa and the Middle East, location TBD. We aim to have these as back to back workshops for a total of 10-14 days of travel TBD.
   2. Provide summary of facilitation and outputs of the workshops, including recommendations, next steps, and any other relevant information captured.
5. Overall project management
   1. Regular meetings and status reports to keep project on schedule
   2. Planning, coordinating and documenting all meetings
   3. Documentation saved in identified shared repository

Consultant Deliverables:

The consultant will deliver:

1. Initial workplan
2. Brief summary review/assessments for each regional workshop for distribution/pre-read
3. Workshop agenda
4. Facilitation notes from the workshop, including 2-3 opportunities for funding and recommendations for integration of digital and data services in the current portfolio. Output would be a briefer for region/countries on next steps and opportunity outline.
5. Workshop summary

Timeframe 2023

• March: Landscape review and interviews
• April: Workshop planning
• April and May (first week): Workshops and summary delivered

The Consultant will report to:

Senior Director, Technology for Development

The Consultant will work closely with:

T4D, TSU teams, agency strategy stakeholders, country teams.

Required Experience & Skills:

• 5-10 years of experience in relevant technical field (T4D, humanitarian and development)
• Experience leading strategic review process and implementing on strategy revisions
• High level written and oral communication skills in English
• Demonstrated experience working with diverse, remote teams
• Preferred experience working with development and humanitarian organizations, specifically country and regional teams and programs

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment OpportunityWe are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & EthicsMercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.