The objectives of the embedded TA are to support the establishment of meaningful and principled linkages between humanitarian assistance and social protection which will be able to support people to better cope with shocks and crises, contribute towards improved coordination between and within humanitarian assistance and social protection, and support increased capacity for the eventual establishment of a nationally led social protection system.

The embedded TA is expected to develop a detailed draft workplan for the duration of the assignment that will be agreed with the World Bank and with the British Embassy in Juba by the end of a one-month inception period/scoping phase. As noted above, the workplan will be reviewed and revised by the World Bank and FCDO, in consultation with the adviser, on a quarterly basis.

The duration of the assignment will be for an initial 12 months (with a break clause at 6 months) with potential for extension funding dependent. Immediate priorities for the first 1 – 3 months of the assignment, which should be integrated into the workplan, should be informed by a stakeholder engagement process with key actors currently working on social protection in South Sudan. The foremost priority actors in this regard are the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare; Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, WFP (Safety Nets Unit in the South Sudan CO, Social Protection Advisors based in the Regional Bureau, and the Social Protection Advisor for Fragility and Conflict based in Rome HQ); UNICEF (the Social Policy team in Juba, and the Regional Social Protection Specialist based in the Regional Office in Nairobi). The workplan should also be informed by a review of recent analysis conducted on social protection in South Sudan, including the 2019 mapping and analysis cited earlier, and the WFP analysis which was finalised in mid 2023.

Some of the potential areas for the workplan could include issues such as:

»       As part of the inception period, develop an options note that assesses the areas that offer the greatest potential for increased alignment, coordination and linkages between humanitarian assistance and social protection programmes. This should build on existing efforts and initiatives such as the MIS Roadmap.  It is expected that this will provide recommendations for priority work strands that will support increased linkages across the two forms of assistance, which will be integrated into the TA’s workplan.

»       Support the World Bank Team to produce a landscape review of existing gaps and opportunities for a government-owned and managed integrated social registry database, in close collaboration with the government. It would assess the following areas: (i) legal and policy environment, (ii) governance arrangements, (iii) institutional, financial and human capacity, and (iv) operational structures. Expected work will also include literature review, review of existing humanitarian databases in country, and drawing lessons from other countries and similar contexts.

»       Provide technical and coordination support to the MGCSW, MAFS, and its technical consultant to review and revise the National Social Protection Policy including on how humanitarian actors can be brought into the process.

»       Support the development of capacity building plans for the key South Sudan Social Protection Government partners to make progress towards enhancing institutional capacity to design, implement and monitor inclusive social protection programmes. This should consider the ongoing or planned capacity building activities that various humanitarian and development partners may be supporting. The TA will also support the delivery of some of the prioritized capacity need areas.

»       Develop ToRs for an options note/think piece on how social protection programs can best cater for the needs of refugees, returnees, IDPs and host communities. This can look at existing practices in South Sudan and examine the gaps vis-à-vis the current movement trends and best practices in other similar contexts. It should also examine how to best transition support to displacement-affected populations from the existing humanitarian response to social protection.

Deliverables

Key deliverables include:

»       Inception report (max 10 pages) and detailed work plan after 1 month of commencing assignment, based on initial scoping work.

»       Quarterly reports (max 5 pages) tracking progress against workplan, and final report in last quarter, to be shared with World Bank Social Protection Team and British Embassy in Juba.

Beyond this, the precise deliverables of the embedded TA will be determined through the inception report and then reviewed on a quarterly basis through a joint meeting with the World Bank and FCDO. Notwithstanding this, some of the deliverables could include:

»       Regular capacity building efforts, whether one-on-one or with a small groups of actors, and/or workshops with a larger group, with focus areas to be finalised through the inception period or through an ongoing iterative process, including discussion with the World Bank, FCDO and key stakeholders including the MGCSW.

»       Analytical works that build on existing analysis conducted to date, such as WFP’s recent analysis and the 2019 Mapping and Analysis of Social Protection in South Sudan[2] (e.g., on social registry, information management, opportunities for humanitarian – social protection linkages, evidence review from FCAS on humanitarian and SP linkages), including dissemination workshops.

Materials and publicly available information created as part of this assignment will use the STAAR branding guidelines and templates, these will be updated to include World Bank logos and disclaimers as required.

It is envisioned that this work will be carried out by one embedded advisor, however there is flexibility in a skills pairing/team approach. It is desirable that consultants demonstrate:

»       Understanding of South Sudan’s humanitarian and development context, government architecture and political economy.

»       Demonstrated technical expertise and experience working on social protection systems and humanitarian cash assistance in fragile and conflict affected states.

»       Demonstrated experience, expertise, and capability to work on social registries, national social protection policies, strategies, operational frameworks and delivery systems, including experience working on the establishment of national social protection systems.

»       Proven experience in conducting research and technical assistance on social protection and social registry, and ideally working on linkages with humanitarian assistance.

»       Technical expertise in gender-responsive social protection and social inclusion, and robust understanding of the disproportionate impact of crises on marginalised groups, on rates of gender-based violence, and potential for exclusion in both social protection and humanitarian assistance.

»       Ability to analyse information, excellent communication and report writing skills are required.

»       Awareness of the political economy and driving factors creating barriers for aligning humanitarian and social protection

STAAR’s cross cutting themes include; Gender and Social Inclusion, Climate, Political Economy, Value for Money, Localisation and Conflict. Where possible consultants should draw on these themes and reflect on these issues in their work. Furthermore, we prioritise national consultants and would offer a pairing model of international and national expertise where there is an opportunity for capacity development.