ABOUT US

Deadline to respond to the consultancy : by end of 5 April 2023 (UTC+3)

Desired start date: April 10th
Duration of the mission: 4 Months
Location: Amman

SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL (SI) is an international humanitarian aid association which, since more than 40 years, has been providing assistance to populations affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters by meeting their basic needs for food, water and shelter. Particularly committed to the fight against diseases linked to unsafe water, the leading cause of death in the world, SI’s interventions provide expertise in the field of access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, but also in the essential area of food security and livelihoods. Present in some twenty countries, the SI teams – 2500 people in total, made up of expatriates, national staff, permanent staff at HQ, and a few volunteers – intervene with professionalism and commitment while respecting cultural norms.

ABOUT THE MISSION

More than 10 years of experience in North-West Syria (NWS) enabled Solidarités International (SI) to start contributing to the post-earthquake humanitarian response two days after the crisis occurred with the distribution of WASH and Shelter Non-Food Items kits (NFIs) as well as Ready to Eat meals (RTE). While emergency activities should continue, it is crucial to begin the implementation of the next phases of the response. For this second stage of the response, SI has designed a multi-sectorial plan (including WASH, Shelter and Food Security and Livelihoods components) to address the recovery needs of the affected population. This plan aims to support both IDPS and host communities to rebuild their livelihoods and restore basic public services, drawing on an area-based approach while addressing protection mainstreaming concerns and disaster risk reductions aspects.

The Shelter component of this second stage of the response has already been launched with two main activities: debris removal and management, and rehabilitation of small businesses. These rehabilitations will target the lower end of the damage criteria, i.e., buildings that have no structural damage but which capacity to operate has been partially or completely compromised. SI, however, would like to expand its response in the coming months by targeting a larger spectrum of the damage criteria, potentially contributing to the rehabilitation of larger and more critical structures such as health facilities, schools and/or others alike.

SI recognizes that the task at hand not only requires effective coordination and collaboration with all relevant stakeholders involved in the reconstruction efforts – such as local authorities, communities, and INGOs – but also demands a high level of technical expertise. The disaster has raised critical questions about the quality of constructions in the region, including building design, construction site management, and construction processes. As a result, SI teams involved in the response must be capable of leading informed discussions, assessments, and proposals, while fully understanding all key elements and critical steps necessary to properly and responsibly address the challenging task of rebuilding damaged infrastructure across north-west Syria in a way that improves it.

ABOUT THE CONSULTANCY

The main objective of this consultancy is to facilitate and inform SI’s Shelter Rehabilitation response strategic planning from a technical perspective. This will be accomplished by (1) conducting technical assessments on damaged structures and (2) capacitating SI’s team on how to approach rehabilitations with a “build back better” approach. Furthermore, (3) it is expected that in the process of conducting this assessments and capacity building, the outcomes can be shared among the relevant stakeholders (e.g., Shelter Cluster) as well as eventually be translated into a general guidance and/or resources data base that can inform SI’s Shelter Department in future responses of similar characteristics.

Technical Assessment

Given the complex context and the limited access to NWS (specially Idleb governorate), the consultant will work remotely in collaboration with SI’s coordination and field teams, which are composed of qualified engineers currently in charge of carrying out the ongoing small business rehabilitations and who will also be responsible for SI’s future interventions.

The consultant will first have to work with SI’s team to shortlist 5 to 10 critical facilities (the final number will depend on the size of the facilities) where the technical assessments will be carried out. This will be done in coordination with local authorities and the Shelter and Early Recovery and Livelihoods clusters. For this purpose, SI has decided to concentrate as first area of approach in the sub-district of Dana, located in Harim district, Idleb governorate.

The selection of the facilities to be assessed will be based on the level of damage, technical feasibility of rehabilitation, budget, type of structure, access to the site, etc., and it will be considered as case studies that can both inform SI’s strategic discussions and planning, as well as serve as reference for future assessment conducted by SI’s teams after the consultancy is finished.

Capacity Building

It is expected that in the process of conducting the assessments, SI’s field teams will already gain a good level of knowledge in terms of technical examination of buildings and appropriate earthquake resistant repair methods. However, as most of the information collected by SI’s teams in this first stage will be assessed and managed by the consultant, and knowing that the teams will continue carrying out assessments and rehabilitations as part of the earthquake response in the coming months, a crucial aspect of this consultancy is to collate and share with the field teams key information, guidelines and good practices in terms of technical assessment and earthquake appropriate building design and repair.

Given the expanding number of activities in the Shelter sector, SI’s is looking at incorporating new members to its field team. For the purpose of these assessments and the potential rehabilitations, SI will have around 4 to 6 engineers leading these activities in the field and who will be the main participants of the capacity building. The field staff is supported remotely by one Project Manager and one Shelter Coordinator (based in Amman). This will be the core team with which the consultant will have to work, but there might eventually be additional technical staff taking part in the capacity building activities.

Institutional Knowledge Building

The outputs of this consultancy are expected to be relevant at two different levels in terms of institutional knowledge building (IKB):

• First, the technical assessment of buildings in Dana sub-district should be shared with local authorities and at Shelter and Early Recovery and Livelihoods cluster level, to: (1) facilitate the mapping-out of damaged and/or to be repaired structures in the sub-district; and (2) contribute to the technical knowledge building among the earthquake responders in NWS.
• Secondly, the training modules and materials should be translatable into a more general guideline that can inform SI’s future earthquake responses, thus building on the institutional knowledge of the organization.

The deliverables

The deliverables will be divided according to the above listed main activities, as well as the different funding sources and their specific requirements. The deliverables must be written in English, and will consist of:

• An initial report on the preliminary assessments conducted to shortlist buildings. This will include prominently but not exclusively: mapping out of the damaged buildings in the sub-district, photos, checklist utilized in the assessments, evaluation and selection criteria, etc.
• A report on the technical assessments conducted on the selected buildings. This will include prominently but not exclusively: basic architectural drawings (plans, sections, etc.), analysis of structural elements (foundations, beams, columns, etc.), photos, diagrams, technical specifications on materials and equipment to be used in the repairs, estimation of costs, references to local norms and regulations, etc.
• A report, in the form of a general guideline. This will include prominently but not exclusively: the materials used in the training, retrofitting and “build back better” standards and recommendations, a cheat sheet concentrating key technical references, etc.

YOUR PROFILE

• Academic degree/level and years of work experience: Master’s degree and at least 10 years of experience or an equivalent combination of education and years of experience.
• Civil or structural engineer specializing in structures and an advanced understanding of seismic design codes.
• Project management and construction administration skills to solve complex problems.
• Excellent writing and oral presentation skills
• Relevant engineering experience in building design, implementation and rehabilitation, including 3 years in international contracting.
• Experience in the construction and rehabilitation of public infrastructure, and/or in the macro-supervision of public infrastructure projects.
• Experience in developing countries, characterized by significant structural and institutional constraints.
• Experience in countries affected by earthquakes.
• Experience consulting with peers, especially non-infrastructure specialists.
• Ability to work and communicate within a multicultural and multidisciplinary team and environment.
• Languages: Excellent knowledge of English, oral and written, and preferred oral knowledge of Arabic.

How to apply

Interested consultants must submit a Cover Letter outlining their financial offer, full technical proposal to meet the ToR (including the analysis and understanding of the present ToRs: 230322_TOR_PostEQ Tech Assessment Consultancy.pdf), scheduling, CVs providing information on their capacity and experience showing that they are qualified for the services.

The Financial offer must be submitted in USD, with a TOTAL budget, with a breakdown of following chapters:

• Daily Rates/ Consultant Fees
• Logistics Costs (travel, accommodation, visa, etc. expenses)
• Taxes (all taxes that are payable by SI to the consultant according to the tax regulations in the consultant’s residence country

Submission of application: please contact for any questions from the TORS and submit your application to shelter.rehab.coo@solidarites-syria.org AND Deputy.log.coo@solidarites-syria.org, with Post-Earthquake Assessment and capacity building as the subject of the email. Applications with other subjects will not be considered.