Context and Conflict Analysis Consultant

1- Intervention Summary

forumZFD has started its programme intervention “Civil Conflict Transformation for Strengthening Local Communities and Organizations in Northern Iraq” in Iraq, with a special focus on liberated and disputed areas in Ninewa Governorate, building up on the following elements:

• forumZFD core expertise pillars namely 1) Capacity Development 2) Peace Education, 3) Dealing With The Past.
• The collaboration with the partner organisations in Sharya, Sinjar, Erbil and self-implementation mainly in areas of Sinjar, Ayadiya and Tal Afar.
• A conflict analysis for the Ninewa Governorates from November 2020.
• Application to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for Civil Peace Service projects in the context of the Special initiative “Fighting causes of flight, reintegrating refugees” and its complementing GIZ-CPS application and livelihood stabilization project in Ninewa. Proposing to build on collaboration with communities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and in the Ninewa Governorate, engaging with civil society actors and government organisations, local government units, academic institutions and media professionals, the application specifies the following intended overall objective, desired effects (outcomes) and process indicators/activities:

Overall Objective of the programme intervention: The programme aims at supporting communities in dealing with conflicts in a non-violent manner. To this end, marginalized population groups in northern Iraq are to be strengthened in their resilience in order to enable their participation and self-determined involvement in decision-making processes.

To foster a sustainable culture and structures of inclusion, nonviolent conflict transformation and peaceful coexistence among and between different population groups. Three outcomes are defined, that focus on the different target groups, and the link between micro, meso and macro level.

During the proposed project period of 2021-2026, forumZFD intends to train local actors in non-violent conflict management and build capacities in the Ninewa region so that communities are better able to resolve their conflicts peacefully and sustainably. Social tensions are to be counteracted by supporting local representatives of different interest groups to cooperate collectively and to deal with conflicts. At the same time, forumZFD foresees to support the role of civil society in the respective communities and accompany actors in the long term to enable better participation in decision-making processes for the target groups of youth and women.

2- The Conflict Analysis and Stakeholders Mapping

2.1. Assessment Objectives

At the second phase of its intervention in Iraq and building up on internal guidelines for systemic conflict analysis, forumZFD requests a consultant or research institution/organisation to conduct a conflict analysis and stakeholders mapping and update its context and conflict analysis from 2020 focused on the Governorate of Ninewa with the main following objectives:

• Updating the systemic conflict analysis from November 2020 focused mainly on the Governorate of Ninewa.
• Formulating the proposal to BMZ with its context and conflict analysis and peacebuilding needs, focused mainly on the Governorate of Ninewa.
• In depth examination of the conflict, its characteristics, causes and dynamics, its impact on the forumZFD programme and its target groups (including its partner structures).
• Deepening understanding of conflict drivers and peace drivers at:
  • The Governorate level: Ninewa and analysing interactions between the different factors.
  • The District Level: Sinjar (Sinjar City, areas south of the Sinjar Mountain, and Sinuni Sub-District), Tal Afar (Tal Afar City, Rabia, Zummar and Al-Ayadia Sub-District), Mosul, Baaj – as well as Hamdaniya and Bartalla  in Ninewa Plains).
  • At community level in the above mentioned areas among different ethnical groups.
• Identifying key stakeholders playing a role in fueling and/or addressing the sources of tensions.
• Identifying potential opportunities for peacebuilding initiatives within the framework of forumZFD programme with focus on communities, youth, women and community leaders and local government units from different ethnical backgrounds and regions.
• Mapping the existing peacebuilding efforts in the targeted areas, challenges and opportunities for collaboration.
• Based on the outcome of the assessment providing recommendations for additional future engagement in the field of transitional justice measures (Dealing with the Past) with focus of Ninewa governorate.
• Providing recommendations in order to specify

1) review of the current interventions and approaches  

2) assess possible interventions and the replication of current interventions in areas of Ninewa Plain and Baaj, (geographically and thematically)

3) entry points and relevant approaches to adopt for further design and replication in line with the forumZFD core expertise, esp. in the field of transitional justice

4) stakeholders’ engagement strategy and

5) key factors to take into consideration from a Do-No-Harm perspective, conflict and gender sensitive programming.

2.2. Audience

The primary audience will be the forumZFD Iraq programme team and partners, which will use the findings and recommendations for further programme/project design and planning.

The secondary audience will be the peacebuilding and relief/development actors active in Northern Iraq, especially German funded peacebuilding actors, which may use its findings and recommendations to review their own programming and conflict sensitivity strategies.

2.3. Expected from the consultant

Selection of the consultant

1. Provide a proposal (2 pages) together with the application that contains the following methodological topics:
   • Consultant´s understanding of the process (including a tentative time line) and the key evaluation questions,
   • Instruments and tools to be used for data collection,
   • Reflection on the proposed outline of the report,
   • Remuneration with a daily rate and other expenses.

After selection of the consultant – Inception and implementation phase

1. Produce the work plan and methodology to be discussed and agreed upon with forumZFD through a meeting in the forumZFD office or via online platforms.
2. Design and organize in consultation and coordination with forumZFD the different approaches (interviews, surveys, etc.)
3. Regularly consult and update forumZFD (Assessment Team – AT) about the process of the
4. Produce a report according to the tentative outline, covering the agreed upon objectives, with the set deadline, to be discussed in a validation meeting and then accordingly revised.
5. Make, as appropriate, recommendations to forumZFD on various aspects of its programming in light of the findings of the consultation.
6. Introduce the findings in a presentation to the forumZFD team and in another presentation to relevant actors (German Consulate/Embassy and forumZFD partners).

2.4. Methodology

a) Methodology Approach

The methodology will adhere to the following principles: participatory, culturally and gender sensitive, committed to building capacities, affirming and positive while honest and productively critical,  valuing knowledge and approaches from within the context.

 b) Scope

The Conflict Analysis and Stakeholder Mapping will focus on the Governorate of Ninewa. The assessment should focus particularly on the following target groups: local communities and returnees, IDPs and refugees (disaggregated by gender and age groups), authorities, local government units, universities, schools, youth and women´s groups and local and international civil society actors.

 c) Methodology

The Conflict Analysis and Stakeholder Mapping will draw principally on secondary qualitative and quantitative data available through desk review^[1] and primary qualitative data collected through:

• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with local community representatives and leaders, local national and international civil society representatives, authorities, local government units, activists, academics, media, religious leaders, and other key community stakeholders.
• Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) can be held at the initial stage to trigger a discussion and assess the dynamics among key stakeholders in regards to the conflict (e.g. FGD with community members, local or national civil society representatives and women´s groups and representatives, FGD with youth groups and activists, FGDs with media representatives, etc.). Disaggregated FGDs with community members will be conducted as part of the participatory micro-level conflict analysis that will be conducted with partners.
• Validation Workshop with key stakeholders and potential partners.

3- Implementation Information                         

3.1. Assessment Manager

The Conflict Analysis and Stakeholder Mapping will be led by the forumZFD Iraq team, the respective Project Manager with support of PM&E officer under the supervision of its Country Director.

3.2. Location

Data collection will take place in the targeted aforementioned areas based on accessibility and with consideration of possible constraints related to safety and security issues. Possibility of remote assignment and work will/to be considered.

3.3. Deliverables                     

Upon finalisation and approval of the Terms of References, an Inception Report including updated context analysis and data collection tools will be prepared. After data collection completion, a Conflict Analysis and Stakeholder Mapping report will be drafted and submitted for review, in written form and through a validation workshop prior to finalisation. After the finalisation of the Conflict Analysis and Stakeholder Mapping two presentations of the findings to different audiences will be required Finally a summary of the context and conflict analysis for the next BMZ proposal will be required.

3.4. Assessment team

The team will consist of forumZFD respective Project Managers, the PM&E Officer and the Iraq Country Director, team members of the partner organisations as well as externally recruited facilitators and note-takers according to the needs.

3.5. Deadlines in 2025

Action	Date/Time frame	Days	Involved Persons
Finalisation of ToR	First week of March 2025	1	Assessment Team (AT), Consultant (C)
Draft of Inception Report	First week of  March 2025	2	Consultant and AT
Desk Study and the literature report	Middle of March 2025	5	Consultant
Hiring and orientation  of data collector	Middle of March 2025	1	AT and Consultant
Data collection, translation  and clearance	End of April 2025	30	Consultant and data collector and AT
Data analysis and additional clearance	Middle of May 2025	7	Consultant and data collector and AT
Draft Conflict Analysis and Stakeholders Mapping report	End of May 2025	10	Consultant
2 Validation workshop one in Arabic one in English	End of May/beginning of June 2025	3	Consultant and AT
Review of the draft report	Beginning of June 2025	2	Consultant
Final report	Middle of June 2025	2	Consultant and AT
2 Presentation of findings	Middle of June 2025	2	Consultant and AT
Total consultant days		65

3.6. Logistical Support

In case a single consultant will be contracted, forumZFD can discuss the logistical support to the consultant. In case of a local research institution or group of consultants or and consultant organisation is locally contracted, the logistic will be the responsibility of the institution or the organisation.

• Proven experience in practical research, either with academic institutions or NGOs.
• Extensive field experience in Iraq, especially in Northern Iraq, preferably with a range of institutions, organisations, civil society organisations, authorities and local actors.
• A sound knowledge of conflict transformation and peacebuilding programming.
• Proven knowledge and experience in peacebuilding and conflict prevention mechanisms at the local and national level.
• Extensive knowledge on conducting conflict analysis and proven skills in designing and drafting conflict analysis reports.
• Strong analytical and excellent presentation skills.
• Excellent existing network of contacts and proven ability to build strong relations with local authorities, communities and other local actors in Ninewa Governorates, using interpersonal skills to network effectively to be able conduct assessments, even remotely.
• Good understanding of gender and conflict sensitivities and do no harm approaches paired with the understanding of rights based-approach.
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken.
• Knowledge of Arabic and/or Kurdish language are an asset.
• Cooperative spirit, ability to work with a variety of actors (communities, civil society actors, partner organisations, authorities and project staff).
• Ability and willingness to work remotely, if necessary.

Interested candidates and institutions/organisations are requested to send in the following documents by 28.02.2025:

• Motivation letter
• Resume
• Concise document describing your approach to this assignment, suggested methodology and indicating your requested remuneration (conflict analysis proposal) in total consultation days.
• 2 relevant samples of previous assignments, including contact details of the clients.

For clarifications regarding the task at hand and the process, applicants are welcome to contact the forumZFD Iraq Country Director Raife Janke at janke@forumzfd.de.

Please send your applications at latest by 28.02.2025 to the forumZFD Human Resources, at iraq-hr@forumZFD.de.