Lao People's Democratic Republic (the): Call for Applications – Humanitarian Mine Action Risk Education Consultancy

Handicap International (HI) is seeking for a suitably qualified candidate to conduct a comprehensive data analysis and reporting on the data collected from the province of Savanakhet in Laos on impact of Risk Education (RE) activities, level of knowledge, groups at risk and their risky behaviors. Duration: Short-term assignment, maximum 21 working days Location: Sepon, Savannakhet, Lao PDR Handicap International (HI) Mandate HI is an independent and impartial aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. We work alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, taking action and bearing witness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights. HI’s Lao PDR programme aims to build the capacities of, and collaboration between, institutions in Laos and civil society to tackle the leading causes of disability. This entails promoting and advancing the rights of people with disabilities. The organization also works to reduce the threat from Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) , including cluster munitions, which continue to contaminate the country after nearly 40 years. Laos PDR context Lao PDR is the world's most heavily bombed country per capita in the world. During the Vietnam War, between 1964 and 1973, the United States dropped more than 270 million cluster munitions over Laos. An estimated 80 million cluster munitions did not explode on impact, and currently lie dormant in rice fields, waterways and on roads, posing a daily threat to the lives of civilians in 15 of the country’s 17 provinces. HI Clearance Programme HI started its clearance programme in Lao PDR in 1996 to reduce the number of victims of cluster munitions and ERW and increase opportunities of development in communities and families. Until 2006, this consisted mainly in providing technical and managerial assistance to the national authorities in their implementation of activities. In 2006, HI started operations as an independent operator in Savannakhet province; known to be the most severely contaminated in the country. Since then HI has been carrying out survey and clearance operations and Risk Education activities in the four most affected districts of Savannakhet province: Nong, Sepon, Villabuly and Phine. These districts are considered to be poor and are given high priority in the national socio-economic development plan. Scope of the assignment HI delivered RE on contamination in parallel to its clearance activities in order to sensitive communities about risks, raise awareness and promote safe behaviors among the population who live in contaminated areas. In 2017, HI’s teams conducted pre- impact assessments conducted to measure the impact of RE activities in villages of Phine District, and to assess the level of knowledge about contamination risks among students in schools where HI has supported District Education Authorities to incorporate RE messaging into curricula. There is now the requirement for data analysis to be undertaken by an external consultant of data collected during Post-Impact Assessments (PIAs), to be included with qualitative data captured by the consultant through interviews with a sample of teachers and the District Education Officers who conducted the training with support from HI personnel. Data analysis will then be written into reports by the consultant for internal and external use, including any recommendations on future development of HI’s RE interventions. This is necessary in order to evaluate how the action has impacted the proposed final beneficiaries, to discover the causes of success and failure, and to improve the planning of further interventions. Objectives of assignment The overall objective of the assignment is to analyze the results of RE activities in Phine District in 2016/2017 providing the overall impact of activities delivered over this period. Specific objectives: Post Impact Assessments shall assess positive and/or negative impacts, effectiveness of RE activities and level of students understanding as a result of teacher training over the period and provide strategic direction for the future. It will specifically look for the following:

1. Any changes in the level of knowledge, attitude and practices related to UXO including cluster bombs amongst targeted groups’ (impact of implemented activities) as a result of safety briefings, movie events, village heads capacity to deliver RE;
2. Identify new at risk-groups and risk behaviours to be targeted in further UXO RE activities;
3. Any changes in students knowledge, attitudes and behaviors as a result of the teacher training on the school curriculum;
4. Recommend action(s) (session, briefing and/or training, type of messages) and new tools (posters, leaflets, etc.) according to the PIA results.
5. Recommend how to improve our PIA questionnaires (introducing new questions, rephrasing questions/answers, removing non-significant questions) Deliverables The applicant in charge of the assignment will produce two reports (one for the overall RE in communities and one for the effectiveness of the teacher training) clearly divided into the following sections:
6. Executive summary of the assessment findings;
7. Introduction to the context;
8. Briefly report on assessment methodology, including selection of target groups and sampling method, and explain the limits of the assessment if any;
9. Detailed key findings per target group, gender, age, district, etc. and conclusions related to the specific objective 1 and specific objective 2 elaborating clearly if, and how knowledge has evolved over the years and how the action impacted behavior change;
10. Recommendations;
11. Annexes – data collection questionnaires.

Coordination The selected applicant will be oriented by HI team in Sepone and supported and guided by the HMA Coordinator based in Vientiane. HI will provide to the candidate all relevant data necessary to complete the assignment.

Time Frame The assignment reauires that PIA data analysis is expected to start on the 9th October 2017 and to complete no later than the 29th October 2017 Specification of the requirements:

1. Written and spoken English is mandatory;
2. Good writing skills required;
3. Proven knowledge of MS office, particularly MS Excel;
4. Proven experience of data/information management systems and experience in data analysis and reporting;
5. Experience in Humanitarian Mine Action and particularly in RE and risk management;
6. Previous experience in surveys/assessments and/or data collection is an asset;
7. Experience working with Non-Governmental Organisations would be an asset.

Application process and evaluation Candidates are requested to submit the following:

1. Letter of Interest.
2. Short CV and list of experiences/assignments highlighting those focused on data processing and analysis, data collection, Humanitarian Mine Action experience
3. Two references.

Note: Selected candidate will be requested to submit relevant documents needed for contracting such as ID/Passport, insurance, etc.

Evaluation of the expression of interest and other required documents will be made by a selection committee only if complete application is received. Criteria to select the best application will be based on quality of the demonstrated expertise/skills of the applicant (Letter of interest), previous experiences (CV and the list of experience related to data entry), and competitive financial proposition. COMPLETE APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE SENT TO: Your proposal shall be submitted in English by email before 27th August 2017 at 5pm, to Kim Warren: hma_co@handicap-international-laos.org (Applications received after the application deadline will not be considered). Interviews to take place in first week of September. Applications submitted by email should indicate as subject: HI Laos – RE Consultant 2017

Handicap International values diversity and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities