Scoping Mission Consultant – Southern Iraq

1. Introduction and Context

Dorcas Iraq is planning to enhance its expertise in climate resilience, given the increasing environmental challenges in the country. Iraq is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change impacts, including rising temperatures, irregular precipitation patterns, water scarcity, desertification, and degraded livelihoods. The country is ranked fifth globally in terms of vulnerability to water and food shortages and extreme heat. This environmental degradation is a significant driver of internal displacement in Iraq, particularly impacting vulnerable populations in southern governorates. Addressing internal displacement requires a shift towards development-focused, sustainable solutions, with government ownership and the meaningful participation of displaced and displacement-affected communities. To effectively contribute to these efforts, a scoping mission is required to assess the operational landscape, identify local partners, and determine a suitable location for a future field office.

Candidates are expected to demonstrate a solid understanding of how climate change specifically drives internal displacement and impacts livelihoods in the context of southern Iraq, linking these environmental factors to the broader challenges of internal displacement and the need for sustainable, rights-based solutions.

2. Objective of the Consultancy

The overall objective is to conduct a 4 -months scoping mission in selected southern governorates of Iraq to:

• Identify and assess potential local partners for future climate adaptation projects, focusing on their capacity to contribute to development-focused, sustainable solutions for displacement-affected communities.
• Determine the most suitable location for establishing a field office in southern Iraq.
• Perform a comprehensive mapping of the actors in the assessed location, including NGOs, civil society organizations, government entities, UN agencies, and community leaders. This mapping should reflect an understanding of the existing coordination landscape related to humanitarian, development, and climate action, particularly regarding internal displacement solutions.

3. Scope of Work and Responsibilities

The consultant will undertake the following key responsibilities:

• Conduct a 4-month field-based scoping mission in southern Iraq.
• Identify and assess at least 3 new local partners for climate adaptation programming using Dorcas's CASA Tool (Capacity, Accountability, Strategy, Adaptability).
• Evaluate the institutional capacity, relevance, and strategic alignment of each identified partner, with a specific focus on their ability to implement development-focused, sustainable climate adaptation and livelihood initiatives that contribute to durable solutions for internal displacement
• Engage in field visits, interviews, and consultations with key stakeholders (NGOs, civil society, government, UN agencies, community leaders). This engagement should include specific strategies for consulting directly with internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities, ensuring their perspectives, needs, intentions, and priorities regarding solutions pathways are captured in a voluntary, informed, safe, and dignified manner, sensitive to diversity (including age, gender, disability).
• Assess and engage with national and local government actors in the southern governorates to understand their willingness, capacity, and strategies regarding climate adaptation and internal displacement, and identify entry points for fostering government ownership and linking to existing or planned government initiatives.
• Determine and justify the most appropriate location for a new field office based on strategic, operational, and contextual factors.

4. Proposed Methodology

The consultant is expected to:

• Conduct desk reviews of existing reports, mappings, and actor analyses. This should include leveraging available data on internal displacement in Iraq, such as from IOM-DTM or government sources, and identifying key data gaps relevant to understanding solutions pathways.
• Organize and implement key informant interviews with potential partners, authorities, and other stakeholders.
• Facilitate field visits to assess partner presence, community needs, and logistical viability.
• Apply the CASA tool systematically to each shortlisted partner.
• Collect qualitative and quantitative data to support informed decision-making regarding the office location. The data collection methodology should be designed to gather information specifically relevant to understanding potential solutions pathways, including IDP profiles, needs, vulnerabilities, intentions regarding solutions (return, local integration, settlement elsewhere), barriers to solutions, and community dynamics, ensuring data is disaggregated by sex and other relevant diversity factors where possible.
• Clearly articulate how "Do No Harm" and conflict sensitivity principles will be applied throughout the mission, especially during stakeholder interviews and field visits, and how these principles will inform the assessment of potential partners and recommendations for programming and office location, considering potential tensions related to displacement or resource scarcity.
• Describe how coordination will be ensured with relevant actors in the existing humanitarian, development, and climate coordination landscape in southern Iraq, including UN agencies like IOM, UNDP, UNHCR (as 'Solutions Champions'), and existing coordination mechanisms.

5. Selection Criteria for Partners

Potential partners should be evaluated against the following criteria:
 

• Relevance to climate adaptation, WASH, agriculture, or livelihoods.
• Operational presence and credibility in target southern governorates.
• Institutional capacity, financial transparency, and accountability mechanisms.
• Demonstrated capacity or potential to implement development-focused, sustainable initiatives contributing to durable solutions for internal displacement and fostering self-reliance.
• Strategic alignment with Dorcas's values and thematic priorities.
• Adherence to core principles for addressing internal displacement, including rights-based approaches, non-discrimination, voluntariness, safety, dignity, and meaningful participation of displaced and displacement-affected communities.

6. Criteria for Office Location Selection

The consultant must evaluate locations based on:

• Accessibility and connectivity to target communities.
• Security and safety conditions. This assessment should incorporate conflict sensitivity and "Do No Harm" considerations, analyzing potential risks associated with displacement dynamics or resource scarcity.
• Availability of infrastructure and services (e.g., office space, internet, transport).
• Presence of partner organizations or program relevance.
• Cost-efficiency and long-term sustainability.

7. Duration and Timeline

• Total duration: 4 months from the date of the contract signing.
• Key milestones will be reviewed monthly through progress reports.

8. Deliverables

The consultant will deliver the following:

• Three complete CASA tool assessments, one for each partner.
• A scoping mission report, which will include:
• A summary of key findings.
• An analysis of both the operational environment and a context analysis. This analysis should highlight the main issues faced by the population, including the impact of climate change on displacement and livelihoods, the specific needs and intentions of displaced and displacement-affected communities, as well as the context of government engagement and capacity.
• Recommendations on partnerships, encompassing an assessment of potential partners' capacity for development-focused, sustainable solutions and adherence to core principles.
• A recommendation and justification for office location, informed by an analysis of relevant factors such as security, accessibility, presence of partners, and conflict sensitivity.
• Monthly progress reports that will cover:
• Activities undertaken and milestones achieved.
• Identification of challenges or risks, including those related to conflict sensitivity, access, or engagement with specific community groups or government actors.
• Recommendations for next steps.

9. Reporting Line

The consultant will report directly to the Country Director of Dorcas Iraq and work closely with the program development and operations teams.

10. Remuneration and Logistics

• The consultant will be compensated based on a fixed-fee agreement, payable in installments upon satisfactory submission of deliverables.
• The consultant is responsible for insurance coverage and any required permits or clearances.

11. Ethical Considerations and Do-No-Harm

The consultant must:
Adhere to ethical research and assessment practices.

• Respect principles of Do-No-Harm, conflict sensitivity, and informed consent. This includes ensuring data collection and community engagement methodologies minimize risks and prioritize the safety and dignity of all participants, particularly vulnerable groups.
• Uphold Dorcas’s Code of Conduct, including safeguarding policies and cultural sensitivity in all interactions.

12. Security and Safety

The consultant is required to adhere to Dorcas Iraq’s security protocols and coordinate all field visits with the designated security focal point. The organization reserves the right to modify the scope of work based on changing security conditions

 13. Qualifications and Competencies

• Proven experience: Partner mapping and assessment in the humanitarian or development sector.
• Climate adaptation expertise: Solid understanding of climate adaptation programming, especially in fragile or water-scarce environments.
• Contextual knowledge: Demonstrated knowledge of the climate-induced displacement context in Iraq, particularly in the southern governorates, and familiarity with principles and approaches for addressing internal displacement and promoting durable solutions.
• Technical tools: Experience with CASA or similar partner assessment tools.
• Local expertise: Knowledge of the southern Iraq operational context (preferably with prior field experience).
• Analytical and communication skills: Strong analytical, report writing, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Language proficiency: Fluency in Arabic and English is required.

Interested candidates should submit the following documents by 15 June 2025 to vacancies@iraq.dorcas.org

• A cover letter expressing interest and suitability.
• A technical proposal(Mandatory) outlining the proposed approach and timeline. Please see the instructions below:

Technical Proposal Guidelines

The technical proposal should explicitly address the following points, demonstrating a clear understanding of the consultancy's context and requirements:

• Understanding of climate change impacts: How climate change, water scarcity, and desertification specifically drive internal displacement and impact livelihoods in southern Iraq.
• Methodology for community engagement: Detailed plan for engaging directly with internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities during the mission, ensuring participation is voluntary, informed, dignified, sensitive to diversity, and informs decision-making.
• Partner assessment methodology: Approach to evaluating partners' capacity to implement development-focused, sustainable climate adaptation initiatives using tools such as CASA.
• Strategy for government engagement: Assessment and engagement plan for national and local government actors in the southern governorates, including willingness, capacity, and linkages to government strategies.
• Data collection and analysis: Specific types of qualitative and quantitative data to be collected, how existing data will be leveraged, and approaches for addressing data gaps.
• Conflict sensitivity: Application of "Do No Harm" and conflict sensitivity principles throughout the mission, including during field visits and stakeholder consultations.
• Coordination landscape: Understanding of coordination among humanitarian, development, and climate actors in southern Iraq, and strategies for ensuring complementarity with entities such as UN agencies or working groups.
• Alignment with displacement principles: Evaluation of potential partners' adherence to rights-based approaches, non-discrimination, voluntariness, safety, dignity, and durable solutions.