Technical Assistant for Social Protection and Inclusion at Refugee and Returnee Services (RRS)

LonAdd HR Consultancy Plc (www.lonadd.com) is a Recruitment & Outsourcing Company based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with branch offices in Dukem and Hawassa. We are looking to recruit a qualified candidate on behalf of our client.

Location    Addis Ababa with travel to regions and Refugee camps and host communities as needed

No. Required – 1 (One)

BACKGROUND

Background Information

Ethiopia hosts more than 916,436 refugees primarily from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan. The Netherlands’ government has played a pivotal role in supporting humanitarian and development efforts to promote access to education, livelihoods, protection, and infrastructure for refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and host communities.

The PROSPECTS partnership, led by the Netherlands, Client, and partners. The initiative focuses on transitioning from humanitarian to development responses, aligning with Ethiopia’s national priorities.

The first phase of PROSPECTS (2020-2023) achieved significant results across three pillars: Education and Training, Employment with Dignity, and Protection and Inclusion. The second phase (2024 onwards) aims to further enhance resilience, self-reliance, and social inclusion of forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) and host communities.

Key program pillars include:

• Education and Learning: Equipping young people with skills and knowledge.
• Economic Inclusion: Creating employment and livelihood opportunities.
• Protection and Social Protection: Promoting rights and access to essential services.
• Critical Infrastructure: Improving digital connectivity, WASH, and housing.

Justification

Ethiopia is updating its National Social Protection Policy (NSPP) to include Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDPs)/Refugees and host communities. However, policy implementation and service delivery remain weak. Existing social protection programs do not fully meet the specific needs of FDPs. Access to economic opportunities, healthcare, education, and financial services is limited. The absence of tailored interventions further excludes FDPs from essential programs.

Additionally, the Makatet Roadmap serves as a strategic framework for refugee socio-economic inclusion. However, its implementation is slow due to weak coordination among key stakeholders. Government agencies, international bodies, and implementing partners lack effective coordination. Policy misalignment and inefficiencies hinder progress. Poor inter-agency collaboration further delays the realization of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) in Ethiopia.

The PROSPECTS 2.0 program is now being implemented with support from Client and other partners. However, the Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) has limited technical capacity to implement social protection programs effectively.

For the purposes of this assignment, the Technical Assistant (TA) is anticipated to equally support the Social Protection pillar of the program, including the relevant priorities envisaged in the Makatet Roadmap.

Therefore, dedicated technical expertise is essential to:

• Align NSPP and Makatet Roadmap policies and strengthen coordination among MoWSA, RRS, Client, and PROSPECTS partners.
• Enhance monitoring and evaluation to assess impact and address challenges.
• Build institutional capacity at national and regional levels.

Competencies and Qualifications Required

• Education: Advanced Bachelor’s, Master’s, or higher degree in Law, Social Sciences, or related fields.
• Experience: Minimum 5 years in social policy, social protection, capacity building, and coordination.
• Expertise: Experience working with public agencies, international agencies, and social protection stakeholders.
• Languages: Fluency in English and Amharic (knowledge of additional local languages is an asset).
• Skills: Strong analytical, coordination, and report-writing skills.

OBJECTIVES, PURPOSE & EXPECTED RESULTS

Objectives

The TA will provide technical support to the RRS Program and Protection Directorate, focusing on policy revision, stakeholder coordination, and social protection program implementation for FDPs.

Expected Results

• Strengthened social protection policies integrating FDPs.
• Improved coordination and engagement of RRS with stakeholders.
• Enhanced capacity-building activities and public finance management.
• Effective monitoring, reporting, and implementation of social protection programs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

Scope of Work

• Policy and Legal Framework Development
• Support policy revisions and monitor their implementation.
• Ensure RRS participation in the Federal Social Protection Platform (FSPP).
• Strengthen stakeholder partnerships for policy implementation.
• Support the relevant areas of the Makatet Roadmap to improve legal framework and policies concerning FDPs.
• Capacity Building
• Develop training tools based on NSPP gap analysis.
• Monitor PROSPECTS activities, document good practices, and lessons learned.
• Public Finance Management
• Facilitate access to data for public finance assessments.
• Support multi-sectoral consultations for Client’s financial studies.
• Assist in advocacy activities for improved financial inclusion.
• Social Protection Implementation
• Work closely Client and relevant PROSPECTS partners to improve extension of CBHI coverage to FDPs
• Enhance linkages between FDPs and UPSNJP interventions.
• Financial Inclusion
• Support FDPs' access to financial products and microloans.
• Facilitate private sector engagement with financial institutions.
• Coordination & Reporting
• Strengthen inter-sectoral linkages within the Makatet Roadmap.
• Ensure gender-sensitive and disability-inclusive programming.
• Report age-, gender-, and disability-disaggregated data.

Deliverables / Reporting requirements

Major Tasks

• Participate in strengthening inter-sectoral linkages within the Makatet Roadmap and Policy Revision and gap analysis
• Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination
• Capacity Building Training Tools
• Public Finance Mapping social services
• Social Protection Integration
• Financial Inclusion
• Gender and Disability Inclusion Support
• Field visit, Data Collection and Reporting

Deliverables

• Report on B3policy improvements concerning refugee access to social protection
• Policy or strategy brief with stakeholder input
• Meeting minutes and action points from engagements with Government and International agencies supporting PROSPECTS policy implementation.
• A summary document detailing agreement from Makatet strategy meetings and inter-agency collaborations.
• Training modules developed based on NSPP gap analysis to support capacity-building efforts.
• A training manual on social protection for refugees and FDPs, with case studies and exercises prepared.
• Data collection & validation,
• Reports on data access, costing analysis, and investment case consultations facilitated for Client Public Finance focal points
• A document summarizing data-sharing agreements and consultation outcomes in place.
• CBHI & UPSNJP linkage reports prepared
• Report on strategies and progress in extending CBHI and UPSNJP coverage to FDPs and host communities.
• Reports on FDPs’ access to financial products
• LOU partnership agreement between financial service providers, RRS and government institution to provide uncollateralized loans in place.
• Monitoring and evaluation report on gender-sensitive and disability-inclusive interventions.
• Monthly progress & final reports prepared and sent

How to apply

Interested applicants with the appropriate qualifications and experience should submit their most recent and detailed CV only, via email to recruitment@lonad.com , by putting Application for Technical Assistant for Social Protection and Inclusion at Refugee and Returnee Services (RRS)in the subject box.

Only Shortlisted Candidates will be contacted

Application Deadline: April 13, 2025