Short-Term Consultant — Support to World Bank Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) Group in Chad Consultancy

Background

Addressing issues related to Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) is critical for the World Bank Group (WGB) to achieve its twin goals of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030 and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. More than 1.5 billion people live in countries or regions affected by fragility, conflict, or extreme violence. At the current pace of poverty reduction, the number of extreme poor in fragile and conflict-affected countries is expected to increase by 2030. It will constitute between 40-60% of the global poor.

The demand for WBG expertise and operational engagement on FCV has increased over the last few years, and it is expected to grow further in the period to come. The challenge for the WBG is to maximize the impact of its engagement on FCV issues by: (i) mainstreaming and scaling up FCV programs across the WBG; (ii) ensuring quality and impact, including by developing new, evidenced-based business models where needed; and (iii) leveraging partnerships with other development, humanitarian organization and stakeholders. The World Bank’s Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) Group aims to steer and drive the FCV agenda within the WBG and ensure consistency, complementarity, and synergies in approaches across the WBG.

Over the last two decades, the Sahel region has become increasingly fragile, with waves of conflict destabilizing the region. Sahel countries (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad) are either actively in conflict or dealing with its consequences (including refugees). Initially led by the presence of violent extremist groups, the disputes have now become more localized, with inter-community tensions driving fragility in areas previously unaffected by violence. Existing exclusion, perceptions of injustice, marginalization, and inequality, lack of confidence in governments in ensuring justice, security, and inclusive policies, and fluid distinctions between extremism, violent insurrections, community struggle, and banditry have emerged as key drivers of conflict.

Chad is a low-income, landlocked, and fragile country in the Sahel region. Conflict and violence have risen sharply since 2015. The nature and causes of conflict vary by region, from Boko Haram attacks in the Lake Chad area, leading to 220,000 Internally Displaced People, to violence around mining exploitation in Tibesti and conflict around natural resources, fuelled by climate change in the south-eastern provinces. In addition, the Sudanese conflict resulted in a forced displacement crisis, mainly affecting the Eastern provinces. Chad now hosts 1.2 million refugees and 200,000 Chadian returnees. The rapidly worsening food insecurity crisis is compounding the existing vulnerabilities.

The World Bank is deeply engaged in the Sahel region, including Chad, a priority for the International Development Association (IDA.) During the IDA20 cycle (2022 – 2025), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest has provided increased IDA financing in alignment with its institutional Strategy for Fragility, Conflict, and Violence. In this context, Chad has been eligible to receive the IDA19 Prevention and Resilience Allocation (PRA), which provides additional funding for countries facing risks of high-intensity conflict and supports their conflict prevention efforts.

The challenge for the WBG in Chad is to ensure that large volumes of assistance can be programmed and implemented effectively to support a broader international effort aimed at peace and stability. This, in turn, requires strengthening the WBG’s ability to analyse the evolving situation continuously and to adjust the country’s program accordingly, to build results-driven partnerships with other stakeholders, including political, security, and humanitarian actors, to tailor the design of activities to the specific challenges faced by these countries, and to resolve implementation challenges in a context of low capacity and insecurity.

Support to be provided

Through its Chad country office, the World Bank is implementing an increasing number of activities related to addressing FCV in the country. The objective of the requested services is to support the Chad FCV Country Coordinator, the Country Management Unit and the Country Team in the following activities:

• Support the preparation and monitoring of projects financed under IDA20 and soon IDA21, in particular by ensuring that FCV issues are taken into account in the teams’ operational work;
• Support dialogue and partnerships on forced displacement and operational support to operations financed through the Window for Host Communities and Refugees (WHR);
• Under the Country Management Unit (CMU) guidance, support the CMU on FCV-related partnership aspects, such as the UN, EU, and other relevant development, security, and humanitarian partners on FCV matters, such as coordination in response to the Sudanese crisis. This entails representing the WBG in coordination meetings, liaising with partners on relevant activities, and providing updates on WBG-financed activities, among other tasks.
• Support FCV risks and conflict monitoring and support dialogue with government agencies and other partners on these issues;
• Support the work on the Prevention and Resilience Allocation (PRA), including preparing a new eligibility process and monitoring the government’s progress on its PRA Action Plan, in close link with the dedicated inter-ministerial working group through regular meetings, support the preparation of regular progress reports, an annual report by the government and the preparation of internal PRA annual reviews;
• FCV analytical and communications work as necessary related to the various facets of other FCV initiatives, including the preparation of notes, briefs, presentations, talking points, speeches, and any other relevant documents;
• Logistical support to FCV-related work (e.g., organization of missions, workshops, meetings, etc.)
• Provide, if needed, demand-driven support and specific contributions as determined by the Task Team Leader (TTL).

The consultant will work under the supervision of the FCV Country Coordinator for Niger and Chad, based in Niamey, Niger. S/he will collaborate with the Chad Country Office, the Country Management Unit based in Bamako, Mali, the FCV Group based in Washington DC, and other relevant teams*. The consultant will be based in N’Djamena, Chad.*

Timing and Resources

The services requested are expected to be provided between December 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. A total number of 100 consultancy days will be allocated to this work. Upon agreement with the TTL, the consultant, and the managers, the contract could be extended beyond those initial 100 days.

Required Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will have primary expertise in fragility, conflict, and International Development. An in-depth understanding of World Bank operations, policies, and procedures is advantageous. S/he will be familiar with how development aid can support conflict risk mitigation and the broader peace agenda. A major advantage is understanding development project preparation and implementation challenges in FCV and insecure contexts.

S/he will meet the following selection criteria:

• Master’s degree in political science, Conflict Studies, Economics, International Development, International Affairs, or a related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of professional experience related to FCV contexts.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of conflict and fragility dynamics in Chad.
• Strong knowledge of the landscape of development cooperation in Chad.
• Experience working on development policies and projects gained in FCV settings.
• Significant project management experience, strong organizational skills, and the ability to manage the delivery of assignments within deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal, and team skills, with demonstrated ability to build strong networks and work with teams to achieve results.
• Significant experience coordinating, negotiating, and facilitating interactions with development partners and government officials.
• Familiarity with World Bank operational policies and procedures and experience in preparing World Bank documents would be an asset.
• Excellent command of English and French, both orally and in writing.
• Excellent writing, presentational, and communication skills.

Tagged as: Chad, World Bank