National Consultants – Benin, Ghana, Guinea et Niger – Analysis of frameworks for PVE and SDF engagement

Presentation of DCAF

DCAF – Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance – is committed to improving the security of people and the states in which they live, through the application of democratic governance, the rule of law and respect of human rights. To achieve this objective, DCAF works alongside States’ partners and international actors who support them, with the aim of improving their security governance through inclusive and participatory reforms. To this end, DCAF develops innovative knowledge tools, promotes standards and best practices, provides legal and strategic advice, as well as supports the development of capacities of state and non-state actors in the security sector.

The DCAF Foundation Council is made up of 63 Member States, the Canton of Geneva, and six permanent observers. With operations in more than 70 countries, DCAF is recognized worldwide as one of the largest centres of excellence on security sector governance (SSG) as well as security sector reform (SSR). DCAF is guided by the principles of neutrality, impartiality, local ownership, inclusion and gender equality. For more information, please visit www.dcaf.ch.

Programmatic context

The Sub-Saharan Africa Division (SSAD) of DCAF, the Human Security Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (HSD/ FDFA) and the Center for Advanced Defence and Security Studies (CHEDS) in Senegal are jointly implementing[1] a regional project which focuses on a systematic review and analysis of the conceptual, political, legislative, doctrinal and operational frameworks promoting the engagement of the defence and security forces (SDF) for the prevention of violent extremism (PVE). Nine West and Central African countries are the focus of this study: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Togo, CAR and Senegal.

This project is part of the broader framework of the Regional Conversations for the PVE initiative, led by the HSD / FDFA Switzerland in partnership with the CHEDS. It aims to provide a knowledge base and concrete material, drawn up according to a systematic methodology, with the aim of continuing this permanent dialogue with a view to the next activities of the Regional Conversations.

This project gives primacy to the investigation, observation and examination of these conceptual, political, legislative, doctrinal frameworks for the engagement of SDF for the prevention of violent extremism. This approach is based on the idea of ​​a systemic and evolving analysis, built around predefined steps: investigation and observation, analysis and classification, generalization by derivation and verification. The project is therefore based on an initial in-depth examination of the PVE frameworks following the logic of investigation and observation. This approach makes it possible to collect existing PVE frameworks data, from the survey to the collection of frameworks and assessments from the interlocutors met in the countries concerned by the project. These data are then analysed and classified by a critical and comparative approach promoting the highlighting of the realities, needs, gaps and feedback from the SDF engagement for the PVE in West and Central Africa.

For more information regarding this on-going project, please visit https://www.dcaf.ch/prevention-violent-extremism **

In this context, we are looking for:

A National Consultant for Benin, Ghana, en Guinea and Niger respectively (4 in total)

(Note: The masculine gender is used throughout the document to facilitate reading)

Location :

• Cotonou, Benin ;

• Accra, Ghana ;

• Conakry, Guinea ;

• Niamey, Niger.

Number of days and period:

10 days, including desk research and analysis, identification and interview set up with selected contacts, in agreement with the project team[2], logistical support for the arrival and stay of project experts in the country, participation of field interviews (maximum of five consecutive days) and drafting of the national report according to the predefined template.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting regional and international travel restrictions make it difficult to define an exact period for the implementation of the project in the targeted countries. This will be decided jointly by the project team. However, it is expected that this work will be carried out between October 2020 and March 2021.

THE POSITION

Under the supervision of DCAF Project Coordinator and the Regional Consultant, the National Expert/ Consultant will have the primary responsibilities of conducting documentary collection and analysis on the one hand and ensuring a national relay for the preparation and successful conduct of the field mission on the other hand.

Main responsibilities:

o Prepare and support the mission of the project team in the country for which the National Consultant is recruited;

o Carry out an inventory and an exhaustive collection of the main texts establishing the doctrine of the engagement of the SDF in matters of PVE (conceptual, political, legislative, doctrinal and operational frameworks for the PVE in the country concerned, as well as any secondary sources), compile them (paper and electronic), and contribute to their initial analysis with the support of the Regional Expert;

o Conduct and/ or accompany, as appropriate, interviews aimed at assessing (i) the reality of the engagement of the SDF in relation to the texts identified, highlighting the known difficulties, the different perceptions depending on groups, the strengths and the weaknesses these texts impose on the SDF; (ii) Identify the positive experiences and successful initiatives to integrate this set of legal PVE frameworks in the activity of the SDF, as well as the flexibility these have in reality, conceptually and in action;

o Participate and document interviews with government institutions, security forces and civil society organizations during the field mission;

o In coordination with the Regional Expert and the Project Coordinator, compile the raw information from the interviews conducted;

o Write a national report of documentary and field research according to the established template;

o Facilitate DCAF and SHD/ FDFA interactions with national partners (institutional and civil society);

o Identify key players to meet, develop the meetings program, submit it to the project team for validation and organize the logistics of interviews during the field mission;

o Advise the project team in its approach to engage key interlocutors in relation to the given context and ensure the contextual reading of the realities observed.

Your qualifications:

o National and residing in one of the countries targeted by the survey (Benin, Guinea, Ghana, Niger);

o University degree in political science, international relations, or any experience / training related to the social sciences or the security sector in his country;

o Good knowledge of the initiatives and frameworks of the Prevention of violent extremism in the country concerned;

o An established, solid and mobilizable network within the Defence and Security Forces in the country concerned;

o Good knowledge of the governmental, security and academic networks in the country concerned;

o Ability to organize high-level meetings and work in contact with government officials, senior military officials and NGOs;

o Ability to work in a team and within the given deadlines;

o Excellent communication and writing skills;

o The main working and drafting language will be French, with the exception of Ghana (English).

[1] Project financed by the Swiss FDFA, with a contribution from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

[2] Composed of DCAF’s project coordinator, HSD, DCAF and CHEDS experts, the regional expert and the national consultant(s).