UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME JOB DESCRIPTION

I. Position Information	

Title:	Request for Proposal: Hiring of Firm/Organization to Provide Psychosocial Services including Post Traumatic Counselling and Healing	
Contract Type:	Contractor services	

Project:	Peace Building, Reconciliation and Social Cohesion Project (PBRSCP)	
Target Location:	Rivercess County - Central “C” District	
Duration of Contract:	15 days (OVER A MONTH ) 	

In 2016, the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) developed a context-specific methodology for the Palava Hut hearing. The methodology was an outcome of the Ethnographic Studies of existing traditional Palava Hut (PH) systems practiced by the macro linguistic groups of the country and provided the road map for the conduct of two pilot Palava Hut hearings in Toffoi Town, Tchien District, Grand Gedeh County in December 2016, and in Vezela Town, Voinjama District, Lofa County in January 2017.
The Palava Hut Hearing is a restorative justice model recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to provide the fora where the wrongs of the civil war, particularly those violations deemed to be lesser gravity, can be addressed through truth- telling, atonement and psychosocial recovery, thereby promoting healing and reconciliation at the community and national levels. In reference to the aforementioned, UNDP through the Peace, Reconciliation and Social Cohesion Project has allocated funds to conduct one Palava Hut hearing in Central “C” District, Rivercess County in July 2021. The overall expected result of the Palava Hut hearing is to reconciled communities living in peaceful coexisting and utilizing the Palava Hut system/approach to settle their differences.
The TRC report records Rivercess County as having a total of 30 mass graves, the second highest number of mass graves per county in Liberia. This huge number of mass graves and other accounts of horrible atrocities and human rights violations committed in the county has informed its selection for the conduct of the Palava Hut hearing. Also, in 2008, the Peace Building Office under the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) with support from partners, developed the County Peace and Reconciliation Plan (2008-2023) with key interventions to help mitigate and address conflict issues. This forum seeks to contribute to achieving some of these in Central C District interventions.

II. Organisational Context

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With psychosocial healing and recovery being an integral component of the Palava Hut process, the implementation of Action 2.2 (Conduct 1 Palava Hut Hearing for the Kwa ethnic group in River Cess County) under Output 2 (Reconciliation and peacebuilding mechanisms expanded and integrated into the governance structure at the national and subnational levels) of the Peacebuilding, Reconciliation and Social Cohesion Project (2020-2024), requires the provision of psychosocial services to targeted participants for the successful conduct of the Palava Hut hearing in the county.

Justification
The psychosocial service providers will help the victims and the perpetrators manage and cope with the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that they have suffered as a result of the war. The psychosocial Counselors will also contribute to educating the victims and the perpetrators about the relevance, process and safety of the Palava Hut and have them psychologically and emotionally prepared/balanced to meet face-to-face to tell their stories and exchange apologies and pardons for reconciliation. Psychosocial services will be provided before, during and after the hearing.
In addition to facilitating the success of the hearing and the process of individual and collective healing and reconciliation through counseling, with more focus on the victims, the psychosocial counselors will further assess the mental, emotional and physical health conditions of their clients (victims and perpetrators), document their needs and proffer actionable recommendations to help inform future policy and programmatic interventions.

Objectives
•	To facilitate the psychological/mental and emotional recovery/healing of victims and perpetrators participating in the hearing.
•	To help ensure the safety and success of the hearing by psychologically and emotionally preparing victims, perpetrators, PH Committee members and others to participate in the hearing.
•	To identify the psychosocial and physical health needs of victims and perpetrators and make recommendations to inform future policy and programmatic interventions.

UNDP seeks proposals from a qualified Firm/Organization to:

•	Provide a one-on-one psychosocial support to 140 participants (statement givers/witnesses/alleged perpetrators) before, during and after the Palava Hut hearings.
•	Provide five post group counselling to secondary victims from 5 targeted communities including Zammie Town, Teekpeh, Gborwuzoh, Neezoen, Barkey and Gbardia Town in Central “C” District, Rivercess County
•	Develop referral pathways for witness with specific needs disaggregated by sex and age.
•	Conduct at least one vicarious trauma awareness debrief to INCHR staff experiencing post trauma stress disorder as a result of Palava Hut hearing.
•	Sensitize the community on the INCHR’s Palava Hut Hearings process and its objectives.
•	Provide emotional support for statement takers and other staff participating in hearings, and
•	Develop a comprehensive report with recommendations.

The firm/organization will work closely with the Peace Building, Reconciliation and Social Cohesion Project (under the INCHR) for guidance in the process.

III. Scope of Work

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A contract will be awarded to the most technically compliant and responsive Firm/Organization based on demonstrated capacity and experience. Duly recognized Firm/Organizations are encouraged to develop and submit proposals in the following format:

•	Project content and problem analysis—what results will the project achieve and how does it address the problem.
•	Justification—analysis of why it is important to address the problems and why your organization is best suited to carry out this task.
•	Implementation strategy—how will the project undertake the activities to ensure most effective and efficient achievement of results.
•	Work plan—provide a clear plan of action on the timeline through a detailed work plan.
•	Partnership—partners needed for coordination and collaboration  for successful implementation of the project.
•	Risks and mitigation strategy.
•	Project exit strategy/sustainability.
•	Reporting timeline and ability to provide regular updates.	
IV. Deliverables	
•	Develop and share methodologies and tools will be used in providing the psychosocial services. The methodologies will provide an insight into how the services will be provided and the benefits to be derived thereof by the targeted participants.
•	Provide psychosocial services/support to 140 participants (statement givers/witnesses/alleged perpetrators) before, during and after the Palava Hut hearings.
•	Work with relevant government institutions (INCHR) and other key stakeholders for proper coordination of the psychosocial support and services.	
V. Schedule of Payment	
	Task	Product/Deliverables	Schedule of Payments	
	Psychosocial Services	
	Inception/action plan for project, inclusive of workshops and field trips	Concept note, work plan (inclusive of itineraries) and list of participants for
workshops	70%	
	Submission of reports	daily progress reports and 1 final activity report with
recommendations	30%	
	
VI. Impact of Results	
Participants (statement givers/witnesses/alleged perpetrators) are well prepared and ready to go through the Palava Hut Hearing Processes.	

Cover letter
Proposal Document (Technical Proposal with a clear methodology detailing how the tasks will be accomplished)
Project budget per related activities

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Firms/Organizations who meet the requirements should submit a technical proposal, including annexes which should include the following:

IX. Submission Requirements

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IV.	Proof of legal registration or status
V.	A detailed workplan
VI.	CVs of key staff for the project	
Qualification and Functional Requirements	
The Firm/Organization must be registered, based in Liberia and have experience conducting similar work, with at least 5 years of operational experience.

The selected Firm/Organization is expected to:
•	Be an organization with appropriate and adequate capabilities, resources, and experience to execute the full extent of the scope of services to a very high quality.
•	Have extensive experience designing and conducting research, including in governance, peace building, reconciliation and social cohesion or related field.
•	Have a proven record of completing at least three similar assignments successfully in Liberia; and
•	Formulate a dedicated project team with the relevant qualifications, work experience, engagement of diverse stakeholders, communication skills (English), and project management skills.	
Team Leader (Social Worker/Psychologist)
The Team Leader will be responsible for the overall coordination and quality control of the outputs/deliverables for this assignment and will lead and guide the development and implementation process of the proposed assignment. He/she should possess the following qualification:
•	Undergraduate degree in sociology, social work, Social Science, psychology or other relevant fields.
•	At least 3 years of experience in conducting psychosocial counselling, trauma healing, etc.
•	In-depth understanding of and experience in undertaking and managing field work.
•	Strong communication and presentation skills.
•	Excellent skills writing and speaking English.
Psychosocial Counsellors (5 persons)
•	Certificate/diploma or undergraduate degree in sociology, social work, Social Science, psychology, or other relevant fields.
•	At least 3 years of experience in conducting psychosocial counselling, trauma healing, etc.
•	Good knowledge of the local context, with gender and cultural sensitivity.
•	Ability to speak in the local dialects.
•	Very good interpersonal skills	
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

a)	The Firm will be require to conduct one internal workshop for its staff and some staffers of the INCHR to create awareness around the project and its activities
b)	The firm will provide psychosocial services to 140 persons (20 persons per day) for 7 days to prepare them for the hearing
c)	The firm will provide four post hearings psychosocial services in four targeted communities for families of victims and perpetrators after the hearings have been held