Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is seeking an experienced consultant with the requisite knowledge, skills, and attributes to support the Empowering Civil Society Actors initiative.

About the Assignment
Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is seeking an experienced consultant with the requisite knowledge, skills, and attributes to support the Empowering Civil Society Actors initiative. The consultant will provide technical support and strategic advice on the database system, particularly focusing on addressing gaps and areas of improvement in the existing system.

One of the objectives of the Empowering Diverse Civil Society Actors project is to support an existing network of civil society actors in the region, which connects over 800 members on an online platform. The project builds on the learnings from previous years of implementation by certain organizations, fostering safe, inclusive, and collaborative engagement for diverse civil society actors. This platform, led by women, facilitates discussions among civil society actors on the following:

• Promoting social cohesion between communities through regular thematic dialogues.
• Improving aid effectiveness through dialogue processes with civil society.
• Ensuring that grassroots voices are heard by the international community

Consultancy Summary

The Database Consultant will perform the following tasks:

Technical Support

• Revising of the existing database system to identify the strengths, weaknesses and areas of gaps in the current database system;
• Clean and organize data to ensure accuracy and consistency.
• Development of visual materials of data for better understanding and communication.
• Provide recommendations for further data improvement and options for better data usage
• Facilitate sessions with all stakeholders, including network facilitators, to present the data assessment findings and discuss the way forward for improvements and addressing gaps.
• Compile feedback from all stakeholders into an action plan to inform the revision and improvement of the database system.
• Identify suitable data visualization tools and software that align with project requirements (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Google Data Studio).
• Set up and configure selected tools, ensuring compatibility with the nature of the existing database system.
• Provide technical support and capacity building (in Arabic) for the network facilitators as part of the handover of the findings and the optimized database.

Final Narrative Report, covering at minimum:

• Executive Summary
• Introduction: project background, assignment objectives
• Methodology: the analytical techniques and tools used to analyze and compare the existing database system with gaps and strengthen and interpret the findings.
• Findings
• Challenges, Lessons Learned and Recommendations
• Conclusions
• Annexes
• Any supporting documentation produced over the course of the end-line evaluation
• PowerPoint presentation covering the findings, to be scheduled by Search and the consultant after acceptance of the Final Narrative Report by the end of September 2024
• PowerPoint presentations for 4 training sessions for the network facilitators.

Timeline

• The consultancy will start in August and will end in September (Exact dates to be determined in agreement with the consultant)

Requirements & qualifications

• The consultant should have the following expertise and qualifications:
• Excellent knowledge of informatics, database software, and data visualization software.
• Proven experience and proficiency in data protection and digital security
• 10+ years of experience in designing and developing databases (including mapping, charts, and other visualization tools)
• Excellent knowledge and experience in developing assessment reports and recommendations
• Significant professional experience working with Arabic and English-speaking participants
• Experience working with and providing technical support to civil society organizations
• Excellent training skills (in-person and online training)
• Experience in working in the MENA region.

Submission of proposals

The application should include:

• Technical Proposal
• Financial Proposal

Requirements for the Proposals

The proposal should include the following elements (maximum length, excluding CVs: 10-15 pages):

Technical Proposal

• A brief outline of the database system analysis approach and methodology
• A proposed work plan and timeframe for the assignment, delineating the phases, the duration of workdays
• Identification of potential challenges and dependencies likely to affect the assignment implementation, along with proposed solutions
• A description of the strategies to ensure data quality throughout the assignment
• An account of relevant previous assignments that showcase the required skills and experience outlined above
• Contacts of at least three references
• Attach recent relevant report samples from at least two recent organizations where the services of the consultant/ team or firm have been utilized.

Financial Proposal

The consultant shall furnish a budget breakdown, delineating consultant fees and logistical expenses. The financial proposal should include provisions covering all costs associated with the assignment, including applicable taxes in USD.