Research Consultant on Private Sponsorship Programs

BACKGROUND

The International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) serves and protects uprooted people, refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or nationality (www.icmc.net).

Established in March 2012 and led by the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) Europe, the SHARE Network provides a Europe-wide platform for mutual exchange and learning amongst regional and local actors to foster welcome,

The SHARE QSN project, implemented from January 2021 to June 2023 and co-funded by the European Union’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), supports pilot and ad-hoc sponsorship initiatives develop into sustainable, community-driven programmes, bringing together a consortium of actors in Belgium (BE), France (FR), Germany (DE), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT), Spain (ES), and the United Kingdom (UK), who are all experienced in refugee integration and are currently carrying out private sponsorship programmes in their national contexts.

The project uses a multi-stakeholder, grassroots and bottom-up strategy fostering refugee participation, bringing all grassroots sponsorship stakeholders and the lessons they are learning to the EU level. The project is in close alliance with UNHCR’s Three Year Strategy on resettlement and complementary pathways as well as the EU’s Action Plan on Inclusion and Integration.

As part of its monitoring and evaluation work, ICMC Europe will be working with partners and external evaluators in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain to conduct an assessment and gather feedback on community sponsorship groups and lead sponsors activities in each partner country from the various stakeholders involved. It will look at the drivers and barriers to engagement of local sponsors, as well as good practices for local sponsoring groups, including those during COVID-19, aiming to contribute to the knowledge base on how to facilitate sustained and long-term engagement from a wide spectrum of society.

ICMC Europe is recruiting a Research Consultant on Private Sponsorship to coordinate the external evaluators and support the research in each partner country between June 2021 – June 2022 (estimated duration, with work inputs more concentrated during certain periods).

The post will be carried out remotely and, when COVID restrictions allow, involve a limited amount of travel within the EU. The successful applicant will possess relevant work experience in research and evaluation in private sponsorship, preferably in an academic research context.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND KEY AREAS OF ACTIVITY

• The consultant will support ICMC Europe to draft a common terms of reference (TOR) for the research and work with QSN partners in Belgium (BE), France (FR), Germany (DE), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT) and Spain (ES), to adapt the TOR to their national contexts.
• Coordinate and support external researchers in Belgium (BE), France (FR), Germany (DE), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT) and Spain (ES).
• Coordinate and support the development of a common format and content of 2 case studies in each country, in consultation with project partners, on the results of the evaluation and lessons learned to help lead sponsors improve their practices.
• Draft a Policy brief on Quality Volunteer and Refugee Engagement in Sponsorship.

DELIVERABLES

• TORs for each partner country (6 in total)
• 2 Case Studies per partner country (12 in total)
• Policy Brief on Quality Volunteer and Refugee Engagement in Sponsorship

QUALIFICATIONS AND KEY COMPETENCIES

The successful applicant will:

• Demonstrate excellent writing and communication skills in English and interest and knowledge of the policy context with regards to refugee sponsorship and integration. Good command of other languages an added benefit (specifically German, French, Italian or Spanish).
• Possess relevant work experience in research and evaluation, particularly in the context of refugee integration and private/community sponsorship programmes.
• Proven professional experience in the migration and integration field.
• Possess strong computer skills in Microsoft programs and experience in various online platforms (Zoom, Teams, WebEx, etc.)
• Be a good team player, well-organised, able to work in a small office environment and capable of working independently on assigned tasks.
• Demonstrate proven interest in the work of ICMC and enthusiasm for working within a European NGO environment.

CONDITIONS

• Subcontract Agreement taking place between June 2021 – June 2022 with a maximum budget of 14,000€ (VAT inclusive).
• Work may require some limited travel, which will be financed separately.
• The researcher should be available for the first partner meeting, which will take place on 15 June 2021 and for some pre-planning before the meeting.
• Flexibility in timing of work will be required. Busier periods are foreseen in June/July 2021 and October 2021 – February 2022 but will depend on contracting of external evaluators and timing of national feedback sessions.
• Joint applications between 2 researchers are eligible, keeping in mind the overall budget and deliverables

TO APPLY

Consultants meeting the above criteria are invited to submit their application by e-mail to Ms. Petra Hueck, Head of Office: [email protected]. Please write “Research Consultant: Private Sponsorship” in the subject line.

Applications should include the following:

• CV of the consultant, outlining relevant private sponsorship research and projects
• Proposed daily rate and expected number of working days bearing in mind the overall budget (maximum 1 page)
• Names and contact email addresses of 3 professional references

The closing date for receipt of applications is 28 May 2021. Applications will be evaluated upon receipt and candidates will be selected based on their proposal, their skills and expertise on private sponsorship research.