Mensen met een Missie is an organisation for international cooperation and solidarity that aims to change beliefs that lead to hatred and violence. To do this, we’ve joined forces with hundreds of partner organisations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. With people who dare to go against the current, who stick their necks out and stand up for justice, inclusion and equality. Together we facilitate dialogue between people on each side of a conflict. We inspire consideration and discussion of harmful beliefs, so that mutual hatred and mistrust can decrease. Our team in The Hague consists of about 35 people who work daily with passion and commitment, on building a world without violence.
For The Peace Project we are looking for
Consultants to conduct a policy-level baseline study
in DR Congo, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan
Contract: February – June 2025
Starting date: As soon as possible
Mensen met een Missie (MM) is conducting its baseline study for an eight-year (2024-2031) strategic peacebuilding programme entitled “The Peace Project – Transforming harmful convictions, fostering cohesive connections & promoting conducive conditions for peace in DR Congo, Burundi, Uganda, and South Sudan” which is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
The Peace Project aims to support locally led peacebuilding with a strategic programme objective of strengthening and supporting religious actors and other proximate peacebuilders. The project aims to transform harmful convictions and ‘othering’ into social trust, bridging inter-group divides towards cohesion, and influencing conflict-sensitive and inclusive policies at local, national, and international levels. The Peace Project’s approach emphasises:
- Constructive role of religion: recognising the normative influence, mobilising power, and the extensive network of religious circuits in promoting positive change.
- Individuals as ‘peace catalysts’ to inspire and initiate transformative change.
- Linking local realities with each other, and with broader national, regional & international policies/ practices.
- Embracing flexibility, continuous reflection, and learning for adaptive programming.
- Trauma healing as a fundamental prerequisite for peace, safety & wellbeing of communities and peacebuilders.
- Focusing on women and youth engagement in peacebuilding efforts.
- Addressing the underlying harmful convictions that feed mistrust, hate and violence
- Locally-led development that empowers communities, CSOs and decision-makers to define their own agenda, develop solutions and mobilise resources, especially to influence policy in their contexts.
The detailed Terms of Reference for the baseline study can be found here in English and here in French.
What are you going to do?
The policy-level baseline study will be conducted in three parallel streams – Burundi & DR Congo; Uganda & South Sudan; International. The policy level study will be focused on assessing the current state-of-affairs in the policy sphere, identifying (implementation of) relevant laws and policies that exacerbate conflicts and tensions, identifying lobby and advocacy agendas and spaces that can be used by The Peace Project (at local, national, regional and international levels). The findings of the study will be used to identify The Peace Project’s progress in influencing policy and advocating for more inclusive policies. This study will mainly focus on the Conditions Pathway in the Theory of Change. The objectives of the study are:
- To identify key policies to be influenced in-country, at the local, sub-national, and national levels through The Peace Project. The laws and policies identified should be relevant to the themes and dividing lines identified in the Peace Project (assessed through the country-level baseline), and to the past policy influencing experience of the organisations (assessed through the programme-level baseline)
- To identify key policies to be influenced at, regional and international levels (Great lakes region, African Union, European Union, United Nations, etc) through the Peace Project, that are relevant to the themes within the Peace project (assessed through the country-level baseline) and also to the past policy influencing experience of the organisations (assessed through the programme-level baseline)
- To identify key lobby and advocacy spaces and agendas at various levels that can be included within the Peace Project’s scope (in-country and international levels)
- To determine how policy-influencing at local, sub-national, national, regional and international levels feed into and interact with each other
- To see how insights and evidence from activities by in-country partners and their programming are being used in policy influencing at various levels.
- To establish a comprehensive baseline that provides relevant data and insights to inform the Mid-Term Review (MTR) and Endline Evaluation, ensuring continuity and coherence in assessing progress, challenges, and impacts over the Peace Project’s lifecycle and approaches of working with FCAS.
Qualifications
The Peace Project is seeking three suitably experienced consultant(s) to undertake this assignment. One consultant to work on Uganda and South Sudan; one consultant for Burundi and DRC, and one for the regional and international level, and to consolidate the study. Applications are accepted for any of these studies.
The qualifications for the policy-baseline consultants include:
- At least 5 years of demonstrable experience in conducting evaluations, especially on policy influencing.
- Strong knowledge of lobby and advocacy, policy influencing, peacebuilding, conflict sensitivity, power-shifting and locally led approaches, monitoring, evaluation and learning, particularly in contexts affected by violent conflict.
- Affinity with lobby and advocacy at various national and international levels.
- A post-graduate degree in research-oriented social sciences, such as development studies, political science, public policy, sociology, or related disciplines.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English (Uganda and South Sudan) and French (DR Congo and Burundi) .
- Ability to respond to feedback and questions in a timely and appropriate manner.
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively in multicultural and multidisciplinary teams.
- Availability to commence work immediately after recruitment.
Interested?
Qualified parties may submit the following:
- Letter of Interest: A formal letter expressing interest in the proposal.
- Technical Proposal: A detailed proposal demonstrating an understanding of the Terms of Reference (see above), including methodology, research process, timeline, and proposed check-in moments.
- CV and Work Samples.
- Financial Proposal: A detailed financial proposal, including a breakdown of costs in Euros.
Applications should be sent to Christina Maasdam at christinamaasdam@mensenmeteenmissie.nl and Fatema Kakal at fatemakakal@mensenmeteenmissie.nl as soon as possible. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Kindly specify in the subject line which country consultancy you are applying for (Burundi & DRC; Uganda & South Sudan; International)
For any further questions or information about the assignment, please contact Fatema Kakal.
Mensen met een Missie is an organisation where diversity and inclusion are paramount and where everyone feels welcome and valued. That’s why we invite everybody to apply, regardless of religion, roots, gender, sexual preference or age.