EOI:Advocacy Consultant

Call for Expression of Interest for the Provision of Services

as Advocacy Consultant

Background
The Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) and medico international are inviting offers for the provision of services under the framework of the project Improving access to basic health services and crisis preparedness of vulnerable communities and provision of medicines to social hardship cases (project № PKI 68/14).

The main purpose of the project is to ensure access to primary health care (PHC) services of the most vulnerable population in 50 locations in the districts of Salfit, Qalqilya, Tulkarem, Jordan Valley, Hebron and Bethlehem, and vulnerable groups in East Jerusalem/Jerusalem periphery by the provision of equitable access to preventive and curative health services. Furthermore, the project aims at enhancing protection and emergency preparedness by training and establishing emergency response teams. The project is funded by the German Foreign Office (donor project № VN05-21-321.50 PSE 04/14).

Result 5 of the project is "strengthening the advocacy capacities and activities". To this end, we are looking for an external consultant to analyze the current advocacy approach of PMRS (e.g. by means of a SWOT analysis) and develop, in close cooperation with the External Relations and Advocacy Unit of PMRS, a strategic plan with specific suggestions for action to adjust advocacy tools, measures and campaigns/activities. Moreover, the plan should also include suggestions to improve the collection of stories and data to be used in the advocacy activities.

This shall ensure that PMRS as a nationally relevant actor both in humanitarian relief and in the provision of PHC can advocate more actively and effectively for the right to health of Palestinians both vis-à-vis national and international stakeholders and actors in the health sector.
The plan should not only consider local problems and take the priorities of the Health & Nutrition Cluster into account but should also be in line with the strategy and mandate of PMRS as an organization. It is expected that problems in the humanitarian access to health care in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip will form a key advocacy issue in the strategic plan.
The external consultant will take the lead in the development of the strategy and its adjustment. The expert should regularly meet with and brief the management of PMRS and the External Relations and Advocacy Unit and coordinate the development of the plan with them in order to ensure all relevant stakeholders in PMRS are included in the process and support its outcome. Ownership of the strategy by PMRS has to be ensured from the beginning to the finalization of this process.

Requirements
Proven track record in advocacy (if possible also lobbying) work including strategic development of such
Experience in the design and implementation of campaigns
Experience with coordination of advocacy work in a large organization with several field offices
Sensitivity to organisational dynamics and structures
Intimate knowledge of the Palestinian health sector and actors therein
Intimate knowledge of the impact of the occupation and Palestinian health policies on the access to health and the availability of health services, in particular PHC
Familiarity with other health actors in the occupied Palestinian territories and their advocacy activities
Understanding of differences in the needs to effectively prepare advocacy messaging to both national and international audiences and target groups
Intercultural skills in order to adequately assess the necessary messages, the style and tools to convey them to both Palestinian and international target groups and stakeholders
Fluency in English and Arabic (including literacy)
Be based in oPt or Israel and be able to travel there

Deliverables and Timeframe
The consultancy should start as soon as the selection process has been completed, most likely in the second half of April. From then, PMRS and medico propose a timeframe of five to six months with temporarily increased presence of the consultant in PMRS. At the end of the first two months, a written analysis of the current advocacy approach is expected. The consultant shall be familiar with the scope of PMRS programmes and activities and have gained an insight into the practical potential for advocacy and lobbying work that is informed by the activities of PMRS and available information in the organisation and its branches across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. After four months, the consultant shall have delivered a plan for the strategic adjustment of the PMRS advocacy approach that is informed by the analysis at the outset of the consultancy in April 2015, that suggests the strategic development for the coming 4 years and that provides concrete recommendations on how to implement the strategic adjustment by practical steps on how to put it into action. In the fifth and/or sixth month the consultant will assist the advocacy officer in beginning the implementation of the plan and drawing up concrete measures.

How to apply
Interested parties should send a CV and a cover letter to [email protected] and [email protected] before April 5, 2015. Please, make “Advocacy Consultancy” the subject of your email. The cover letter should explain with concrete examples how the candidate meets the above-mentioned requirements and detail relevant previous work experience.

PMRS and medico will then conduct a pre-selection and send the full terms of reference to qualified applicants by April 10, 2015. Pre-selected applicants will then have until April 15, 2015 to send a full offer, at least three work samples and professional references and a suggested work plan with a timeline and the expected amount of days required to meet the objectives of the consultancy.

NB: Only applicants fulfilling the requirements above will receive the full ToR and be invited to submit a full proposal. Accordingly, only selected applicants will be notified. Applicants who do not hear back from PMRS and medico until April 10, 2015 should conclude that they have not been selected to receive the ToR.

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