Consultancy: Service Mapping for Vulnerable Lebanese Households in Tripoli

1. BACKGROUND

Referrals are a key component of the Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) project to ensure that identified households can access support services specific to their needs to help them in the longer-term. Referrals for Lebanese households have been a challenge due to the absence of a consolidated service mapping to know what is available and how to refer beyond SDC services. A comprehensive referral pathway already exists for Syrian refugees and uses the standard inter-agency tool used by all protection agencies in Lebanon. Services include healthcare, legal, education, shelter and case management services.  However, there is no equivalent tool to refer Lebanese households.

In June 2019, a mapping of available services for Syrian refugees was conducted by Utopia in the Tripoli +5 area to build on the inter-agency tool. This mapping exercise also included some services for Lebanese households as well, however the mapping still needs to be strengthened. In December 2019, Oxfam and an external consultant conducted a service mapping for Lebanese service providers in Tripoli. The mapping identified 52 services providers that were able to offer a variety of different forms of assistance for vulnerable Lebanese women and men in Tripoli including: Education, Basic Assistance, Protection, Livelihoods, and Health.

The service providers that were covered in the mapping exercise were heavily impacted by the protests that began on October 17th, 2019. The main implementation challenges reported by service providers were:

• Service providers had less access to financial services through banks in order to continue their services, thus resulting in a halt of services
• Continuous closure of roads also halted service provision and resulted in inactive service delivery from service providers
• Operations and opening hours of service providers varied due to the context

1. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The objective of this assignment is to update the service mapping document by mapping out all providers offering social services to vulnerable and marginalized Lebanese women and men in Tripoli, including services for adults and youth, persons with disabilities (PWDs), LGBTQI+ individuals, and gender specific services. The end product will be a booklet that can be used by social workers, protection staff and other stakeholders in Tripoli to facilitate referrals of Lebanese households to needed services, especially for marginalized women. The team will also need to be trained on how to use and update the service mapping on a regular basis. The service mapping aims to collect information on the type of services organizations provide, the eligibility and requirements for accessing the service, and contact information of the service providers with their locations and costs associated.

Results will be circulated to relevant sector groups in the North and shared with interested local and international organizations, local authorities (including municipalities), and other organizations concerned with and responding to socio-economic vulnerabilities of Lebanese at the sub-national level. The mapping will be used as a tool to conduct referrals to vulnerable Lebanese households by the National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP) and Social Development Centre (SDC) social workers and by the Utopia protection team as part of the TCA project

1. SCOPE OF THE MAPPING ACTIVITY 

Under the supervision of the Project Manager managing Oxfam’s Social Protection project funded by Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and in close consultation with the Oxfam’s Cash, Protection, and Gender Advisors, the consultant will carry out the following:

1. 1. Provide a brief inception plan indicating the steps to implement the mapping exercise and the timeline needed to finalize it;
   2. Desk review of existing data, including sector information on services and other service mapping documents;
   3. Through consultations with sectors (e.g. Protection, Livelihoods, Health, etc), Oxfam, Utopia and other key stakeholders draft a list of relevant organizations to contact for the service mapping. Oxfam will conduct an introduction to the candidate before the organization is contacted.
   4. Develop a questionnaire for the service providers;
   5. Once the list of organizations and the questionnaire is approved by the programme manager, data collection can begin to collect information about the services provided for Lebanese women and men households in Tripoli, inclusive of adults and youth, PWD and LGBTQI+ individuals, to identify specific priorities and gaps for the services provided, building on existing materials generated by Oxfam’s local partner Utopia and services provided by SDCs.
   6. Update the database containing all the relevant information about the identified agencies and organizations including their names, where they are located, their geographic coverage, services offered, target group, duration of services, capacity to receive referrals, contact details, including specific groups such as PWD, GBV survivors, LGBTQI+ individuals, in addition to possible costs associated with services.
   7. Identify appropriate linkages with referral mechanisms and platforms in North Lebanon for vulnerable Lebanese women and men, inclusive of PWD and LGBTQI+ individuals.  
   8. Identify possible collaborative efforts with local stakeholders (such as SDCs, Municipalities, local communities, civil society actors, Basic Assistance and Protection Working Groups) that could feed in the exercise to facilitate the mapping for service providers for Lebanese
   9. Train Oxfam and partner staff on how to use the service mapping and create a plan for updating the information moving forward.

1. OUTCOME AND DELIVERABLES UNDER THE DGD FUNDED PROJECT – OUTCOME 1.2:
   1. Service mapping booklet is created that details services for vulnerable Lebanese households in Tripoli
   2. Stakeholders in the project understand how to use the booklet, have a plan for disseminating the information and can update it on a regular basis. 

1. SERVICE MAPPING PROCESS & ACTIVITIES

The length of the service mapping deliverable shall be completed over a maximum 1-month period.

1. Inception meeting and report with a plan, literature review – capture team expectations, review existing materials, identify gaps in the previous service mapping exercise conducted, consultant with stakeholders (i.e. working groups) and create an action plan. (3 days)

1. Conduct Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with local authorities and key service providers for vulnerable Lebanese populations in Tripoli to identify service providers – this work should build on the work conducted by Utopia and the last service mapping of Lebanese services conducted by Oxfam last year. Create a database of the information collected in a format that can be updated regularly (our Senior Information Management Officer can support). Identify multi-sector service providers in the area, especially those providing gender-sensitive services and targeting the most marginalized groups including services such as livelihoods, health, and protection. Include locations of service providers, the catchments area, contact details, prices, and schedules. (6 days)

1. Create a user-friendly booklet listing the above information. The draft product must be shared and approved by the Oxfam TCA team and Cash, Protection and Gender advisors. The draft also has to be approved by relevant departments to ensure visibility is in line with Oxfam and donor requirements. (6 days)

1. Create methodology and plan for training the team and partners. Roll out and train team (including Oxfam, Utopia, Abaad, SDC staff and municipalities) on how to use the booklet within the program and create a plan for updating the information on a regular basis. Additional presentations may be required. (5 days)

skills, experience and knowledge

Essential

1. A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline such as social science or equivalent experience;
2. 3 years of experience in protection or social work displacement and refugee crisis preferably in T5.
3. Demonstrable understanding of gender discrimination in service provision.
4. Experience conducting service mapping exercises or creating protection/service mapping products, such as booklets.
5. Good written and spoken Arabic is essential, as well as a good working knowledge of English;

Desirable

1. Experience in building the capacity of the team internally and of external stakeholders;
2. Experience in working and jointly implementing projects involving local authorities and/or organizations as implementing partners.
3. Previous experience in working with Ministry of Social Affairs or National Poverty Targeting Program.
4. Experience in data collection and management

Key Attributes

1. Diplomacy, tact and negotiation skills;
2. Good interpersonal, influencing and communication skills;
3. Leadership skills and ability to work independently as required;
4. Sensitivity to cultural differences, and the ability to work in a wide variety of cultural contexts;
5. Commitment to humanitarian principles and action;
6. Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as the commitment to equal opportunities;
7. Ability to demonstrate an openness and willingness to learn about the application of gender/gender mainstreaming, women’s rights, and diversity for all aspects of development work;
8. Commitment to undertake Oxfam’s safeguarding training and adherence of relevant policies to ensure all people who come into contact with Oxfam are as safe as possible.