Fragility, Conflict and Violence Short Term Consultant | Central African Republic Support

Background

Addressing issues related to Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) is critical for the World Bank Group (WGB) to achieve its twin goals of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030 and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. Currently, more than 1.5 billion people live in countries or regions affected by fragility, conflict, or extreme violence. At the current pace of poverty reduction, the number of extreme poor in fragile and conflict-affected countries is expected to increase by 2030 and will constitute between 40-60% of the global poor.

The demand for WBG expertise and operational engagement on FCV has increased over the last few years, and it is expected to further grow in the period to come. The challenge for the WBG is to maximize the impact of its engagement on FCV issues by: (i) mainstreaming and scaling up FCV programs across the WBG; (ii) ensuring quality and impact, including by developing new, evidenced-based business models where needed; and (iii) leveraging partnerships with other development, humanitarian organization and stakeholders. The FCV Group aims to steer and drive the FCV agenda within the WBG and ensure consistency, complementarity, and synergies in approaches across the WBG.

The Central African Republic (CAR), sparsely populated and landlocked in the heart of the continent, is one of the poorest and most fragile countries in the world despite its wealth in natural resources. With a population of nearly 5.4 million in a territory the size of France and the Benelux, CAR finds itself at the very bottom of the Human Capital and Human Development indices. The country has been caught in a cycle of recurrent violence for over forty years. Institutions are weak, citizens lack access to basic services, the infrastructure deficit is enormous, gender-based violence (GBV) is widespread, more than one million people are displaced, and the social fabric is eroded. The country is endowed with impressive agricultural potential, minerals and forests, but their fruits have yet to benefit the population.

CAR faces a fragility trap due to a repeated cycle of coups and armed conflicts. Since its independence in 1960, CAR has been weakened by a series of coups that left very few periods of political stability across the country. Civil wars emerged at the turn of the century and culminated in 2012 with north-eastern armed groups overthrowing the government and leading to 3,000 to 6,000 civilian deaths in the immediate years following. Despite eight signed peace talks,[1] CAR stability progress remains slow, and episodes of armed conflicts are recurrent, especially in the northern and eastern regions.

In this context, the WBG proposes a five-year strategy for CAR focused on a resilient and inclusive COVID-19 recovery amid an historic turn-around opportunity. The proposed program has been calibrated to fully address CAR’s fragility drivers. With women’s empowerment and digital development as cross-cutting priorities, the CPF is structured along two focus areas:

• Focus Area 1 – Human Capital and Connectivity to Boost Stabilization, Inclusion and Resilience, with direct support to the peace process; immediate social and health responses to COVID-19; sectoral engagements in health, education, energy, water and transport; and specific investments in the empowerment of women and girls.

• Focus Area 2 – Economic Management and Improved Governance to Build State Legitimacy and Foster Growth, with a strong program of reforms and targeted investments to strengthen public financial management (PFM) and debt management and transparency; support decentralization, increase domestic resource mobilization (DRM), and digitize the administration; and support the private sector.

Support to be provided

Through its Central African Republic (CAR) country office, the World Bank is implementing an increasing number of activities related to addressing FCV in the country. The objective of the requested services is to support the CAR FCV country coordinator and relevant teams in the following activities:

• Support the preparation and monitoring of projects financed under IDA20 and support teams to ensure that FCV issues are taken into account in their operational work;
• Support dialogue and partnerships on forced displacement and operational support to operations financed through the Turn Around Allocation (TAA);
• Under the overall guidance of the Country Management Unit (CMU), support the CMU, the Country Manager and TTLs on FCV related partnership aspects, such with the UN, EU, and other relevant development, security, and humanitarian partners; This entails representing the WBG in coordination meetings, liaising with partners on relevant activities and providing updates on WBG financed activities;
• Coordinate ongoing efforts on conflict monitoring and early warning systems that are financed by the WBG and support dialogue with the government agencies and other partners on these issues.
• Contribute to the updating of the Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRA) by collecting data, leading consultations and drafting relevant segments
• Contribute to the portfolio review with a FCV perspective as part of the FY24 Performance Learning Review
• Monitoring of commitments made as part of the TAA eligibility process, in close link with the relevant stakeholders through regular meetings, and support the preparation of regular progress reports, an annual report by the government and the preparation of internal TAA annual reviews;
• FCV analytical and communications work as necessary related to the various facets of fragility and other FCV initiatives, including the preparation of notes, briefs, presentations, talking points, speeches, and any other relevant documents;
• Logistical support to FCV-related work (e.g., organization of missions, workshops, and meetings.)
• Provide, if needed, demand-driven support and specific contributions as determined by the Task Team Leader (TTL).

The consultant will work under the supervision of the FCV Country Coordinator for Cameroon and CAR, based in Yaounde, Cameroon with a dotted reporting line to the CAR Country Manager. S/he will collaborate with the CAR Country Office, the Country Management Unit based in Yaounde, Cameroon, the FCV Group based in Washington DC, and other relevant teams.

The consultant will be based in Bangui, Central African Republic.

Timing and Resources

The services requested are expected to be provided between October 2022 and June 2023. A total number of 70- 90 consultancy days will be allocated to this work.

Required Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have primary expertise in fragility, conflict, and development. An in-depth understanding of World Bank operations, policies, and procedures is advantageous. S/he will be familiar with how development aid can support conflict risk mitigation and the broader peace agenda and project preparation and implementation challenges in FCV and insecure contexts. S/he will meet the following selection criteria:

• Master’s Degree in International Affairs, Political Science, Conflict Studies, Development, or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience related to FCV contexts.
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of conflict and fragility dynamics in CAR.
• Strong knowledge of the landscape of development cooperation in CAR.
• Experience working on development policies and projects gained in the field in FCV settings.
• Significant project management experience, strong organizational skills, and the ability to manage the delivery of assignments within deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal, and team skills, with demonstrated ability to build strong networks and work with teams to achieve results.
• Significant experience coordinating, negotiating, and facilitating interactions with development partners and government officials.
• Familiarity with World Bank operational policies and procedures and experience in preparing World Bank documents would be an asset.
• Excellent command of English and French, both orally and in writing.
• Excellent writing, presentational and communication skills.

[1] Jeune Afrique (2019). Centrafrique : un huitième accord de paix a été paraphé à Khartoum