**Research Consultant** City/Country Location Details **United Kingdom** Employment Status **Full-Time Temporary** Job Type **Consulting** RESEARCH CONSULTANT: DISASTER RISK FINANCING & ADAPTIVE SOCIAL PROTECTION IN THE SAHEL Background to the Centre The Centre for Disaster Protection works to prevent disasters devastating lives, by helping people, countries, and organisations change how they plan and pay for disasters. We focus on disaster risk financing to help ensure that money and plans are in place before a disaster strikes, so that the poorest and most vulnerable people are better protected. We are committed to work in partnerships across sectors and geographies to drive more impactful and more equitable disaster risk finance that leaves no one behind. Specifically, through a focus on: • Delivering excellent client outcomes and promoting lasting disaster risk finance expertise. We provide clients with impartial and evidence-based advice, quality assurance and training that meets their needs and drives more effective disaster risk finance. • Quality evidence and learning. We work to strengthen the evidence base for prearranged financing and document and share what shows the greatest potential to achieve system change. • Impactful communications and global policy engagement. We seek to engage and influence through evidence-led policy and inclusive policy dialogue that bridges both ‘local to global’ and the humanitarian development climate nexus, targeting the bottlenecks key to effect transformative change of the international crisis financing architecture. Additionally, we are focused on building effective systems and processes for people and operations that support the Centre to rapidly, yet strategically, scale and grow in a way that supports our people to do their best work through safe challenge, promoting and integrating diversity, equity and inclusion. The Centre is funded with UK aid through the UK government. Read more about us in our updated strategy (2022-2025) and find out more at www.disasterprotection.org. About the Sahel Project The Centre is currently establishing and implementing a UK Aid funded project to support five countries in the Sahel region (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger) to strengthen their adaptive social protection systems. The Centre works closely alongside the second phase of the World Bank’s Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Programme (SASPP) to provide support to country teams in laying the foundations for stronger policy, practice and financing for social protection systems in the Sahel that are more adaptive to climate-related shocks. The Centre’s efforts will seek to ensure that further improvements to Sahelian social protection systems are informed by principles and practices of good disaster risk financing, and that long-term financing and early warning systems are linked to suitable triggers. **The project is expected to run from July 2022 to June 2025, during which time the Centre will provide high-quality technical assistance, capacity building and evidence support to ensure that:** 1. National social protection systems in Sahel countries are better able to adapt to shocks, like droughts or floods. 2. Weather and early warning data are utilised to improve disaster risk preparedness. 3. Financing strategies are put in place for social protection systems. 4. Social protection systems are more inclusive, avoid doing harm and contribute to gender equality. About the role We are looking for an experienced research consultant to lead the Bridging DRF Theory and Practice in the Sahel study described below. The consultant will be responsible for refining the study direction and approach, designing tools, conducting interviews, participating in the planned workshop, and drafting key research deliverables. The level of effort is estimated to be 40 days between March and June 2025. Approach & methodology Research aims and questions: This study aims to capture collective learning across early efforts to introduce disaster risk finance (DRF) linked to adaptive social protection (ASP) in the Sahel. It serves as a reality check on how DRF interacts with ASP in a fragile, high-risk region like the Sahel. It also serves as an opportunity to confront the gap between theoretical models and on-the-ground realities, uncovering both the limitations and opportunities that emerge in complex settings. Specifically, the study seeks to answer the following research questions: • How does the textbook approach to implementing good DRF fair when it bumps up against the contextual complexities and fragility that characterizes the Sahel? • What innovations and best practices have emerged to bridge the gap between theory and practice and how can these be applied in other settings? The proposed approach is indicative and will be refined during the initial exploratory phase through desk research and preliminary interviews with key stakeholders. Scope: The decision on whether to adopt a broader regional lens or zoom in on particular countries will be made during the exploratory phase of the research. Conceptual Framework: The proposed approach relies on identifying core elements of an ‘ideal model’ of DRF for ASP systems and examining how it interacts with contextual complexities in the Sahel. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, there is some emerging consensus on what good DRF looks like and how to get there. The consultant will therefore review existing literature and conduct an initial round of interviews with relevant stakeholders to develop a framework which articulates best practices and guiding principles for linking DRF to ASP in an ideal setting. The proposed framework will provide the benchmark against which experiences in the Sahel will be collected and interpreted. Methods: • Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders: Approximately 25–30 interviews will be conducted by the consultant with key actors in the Sahel’s DRF and ASP ecosystem. The Centre will support the consultant in identifying and connecting with relevant stakeholders. As needed, a small number of interviews may also be conducted with experts involved in DRF for ASP in other contexts to provide comparative insights. • Learning Workshop: The learning workshop will tentatively be held in Dakar, Senegal, if there is sufficient stakeholder interest; otherwise, it may take the form of smaller, remote or in-person roundtable discussions. Guided by an input paper on preliminary findings, the workshop will gather insights, validate findings, and shape actionable recommendations. It will also serve as a platform to share knowledge and promote evidence uptake among key decision-makers, with feedback directly informing the final outputs. Expected deliverables and timeline Expected deliverable Indicative timeline Inception report March 15th, 2025 Stakeholder interview transcriptions April 15th, 2025 Workshop input paper May 15th, 2025 Workshop summary report June 5, 2025 Final learning paper, slide deck, & blog post June 15th, 2025 Inception Report: The inception report should be based on the literature review and preliminary stakeholder consultations. It should include the following: (i) key findings from the literature review (ii) a detailed description of the conceptual framework and methodology (iii) preliminary list of stakeholders to interview (iv) draft interview guides (vi) detailed workplan. Interview Transcriptions: The Centre expects the consultant(s) to be able to provide full transcriptions if requested. Where consent is not given to record, detailed notes should be made available. Upon request, consultant(s) may be asked to provide the code reports detailing code structure, codes frequencies, and the corresponding text segments. Workshop Input Paper: The workshop input paper is a working draft of the final learning paper and is intended to provide a basis for workshop discussion. Workshop Delivery: The Centre will organize all logistics for the workshop. The consultant(s) are responsible co-facilitating the workshop, presenting preliminary findings from the study, and inputting on the design of workshop activities. Workshop Summary Report: A brief workshop summary report will be produced by the consultant which highlights the key discussion points and takeaways. Final Learning Paper, Slide Deck, and Blog Post: The final learning paper will be an updated version of the workshop input paper which considers key feedback and incorporates recommendations for approaching DRF for ASP in fragile contexts. The consultant may be asked to travel to Dakar, Senegal at least during the engagement to conduct interviews and/or attend the workshop. However, this is subject to negotiation depending on consultant’s availability and willingness to travel. All travel costs and logistics will be fully covered by the Centre. Competencies • Proven ability to conduct high-quality research. • Strong qualitative research skills, including conducting interviews and generating actionable insights to inform policy and practice. • Familiarity with a DRF-related field (e.g., public financial management, insurance, risk management, risk modelling, actuarial science, or humanitarian finance) • Familiarity with social protection, preferably with direct experience in adaptive social protection. • Familiarity with the political, economic, and social context of the Sahel or experience working in other fragile or conflict-affected contexts. • Experience designing and leading participatory learning workshops or roundtable discussions an asset. • Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to convey complex ideas to non-specialist audiences. • Must be fluent in French • Willingness to travel to Dakar, Senegal is preferred but can be negotiated. Fee Rates and Payments Remuneration will be based on individual experience and skills while, as the Centre is a UK aid-funded project, all rates for consultants and staff are subject to controls. Payment Fees will be payable on actual usage of days evidenced by timesheets, subject to completion and approval of key deliverables due at the invoicing point. Any expenses will be paid on actual costs (against receipts) using an agreed invoice and timesheet template. Correctly submitted invoices will be paid within 30 days of receipt of invoice and/or approval of relevant work (whichever is the later). Negotiation and finalisation of commercial terms DAI on behalf of the Centre reserves the right to negotiate on any aspects of the proposed costs and payment and is not bound to accept any offer. DAI Eligibility Criteria All individual(s) shortlisted will undergo an initial eligibility criteria assessment. This includes vetting of the organisations in line with terrorism checks, company history of improper conduct, any legal acts against the organisation(s) and initial vetting of proposed personnel. Where disqualification factors are discovered, the application may be rejected without notification. Successful individual(s) will be subject to detailed vetting analysis and relevant reference checks, and, in the case of organisations, also a due diligence assessment through DAI’s Management Capacity Assessment Tool (MCAT). This will include an assessment of: • Organisational details • Safeguarding policies, procedures and systems • Financial management policies, procedures, practises and systems • Duty of care • Modern Slavery policies and procedures. Final award of contract will not be confirmed until these checks are complete. Application process Interested applicants should apply via DAI’s recruitment portal, including a concise CV and a supporting statement (no more than 500 words) outlining your motivation for applying (250 words max) and the key qualities you would bring to the role (250 words max). Please make sure to state your salary expectations clearly on your cover letter. Any reasonable adjustment requests or questions about the role or the recruitment process should be sent to: jobs_centre@disasterprotection.org (please do not send applications to this email address). **The deadline for receiving applications is 11:59 pm (UK time) on Thursday 27th February 2025.** Back (https://phf.tbe.taleo.net/phf04/ats/careers/v2/searchResults?org=DAINC&cws=48)