Turkey: Consultant – Human-Centered Design Assessment - Turkey (219386-927)

Organization: Mercy Corps
Country: Turkey
Closing date: 15 Dec 2014

Background:

With the Syrian crisis now in its fourth year, an estimated 1 million Syrians have sought refuge in Turkey, a majority of which have settled in urban areas, outside of the 22 Government of Turkey-managed camps. As of end August 2014, the largest number of non-camp refugees is in Gaziantep, with over 173,000 registered individuals.

Purpose / Project Description:

With a strong operational base already established in the city, and working closely with Turkish governmental, non-governmental and business partners, Mercy Corps is launching the MALUMAT program to improve the utilization of available services by vulnerable urban Syrian and host community households in Gaziantep. A critical first step to increasing utilization of services is to increase awareness of available services amongst the targeted communities. To do so, Mercy Corps will undertake an assessment of information needs and media usage to develop strategies to improve information and communication flows.

Consultant Objectives:

The Consultant will use a human-centered design (HCD) research methodology (also known as design research or design thinking) to lead this assessment and design appropriate strategies to respond to identified needs. The assessment will also incorporate elements of the MALUMAT baseline study. Specifically, the Consultant will:

• identify key information gaps within the vulnerable refugee and host communities on the public, private and civic services available to them; disaggregating results by sex, age group and community (i.e. refugee/host)
• identify the ways in which vulnerable refugee and host communities access information on available services (and information more generally); disaggregating results by sex, age group and community (i.e. refugee/host)
• design appropriate strategies to improve the dissemination of accurate information on services, considering the wide range of stakeholders, including providing recommendations on the design and use of an information center open to the public
• use assessment results to design a scope of work for a public relations/media firm to develop a strategy for use of various media resources to broadcast accurate information to reach the maximum number of households in a cost-effective manner.

Consultant Activities:

The Consultant will use a human-centered design methodology to:

• Develop human-centered design methodology and tools to conduct assessment of information needs and communication flows, taking into account various demographic groups and their needs;
• Train assessment team in use of assessment tools and supervise field work;
• Analyze findings in a participatory manner;
• Develop participatory design solutions to respond to the identified needs, collaborating with program team, program participants and other stakeholders to co-create best solutions;
• Clearly communicate research findings with a strategic voice, prioritized recommendations of design solutions, including for the use and layout of the information/community center.

Consultant Deliverables:

• Methodology description and tools, for review by the Program Manager
• Assessment report containing:
• Assessment results
• Recommendations for improving information dissemination
• Recommendations for the use and layout of the MALUMAT information center/community center
• Recommended Scope of Work for development of a media strategy

Timeframe / Schedule:

The assessment will take place between 1November and 15 December 2014, for a maximum of 30 person-days (including up to 10 days for remote preparation and tool development, and report writing).

Activity Deadline

Document review and preparation of assessment November 1-2

Methodology description and tools, for review by the Program Manager November 3

Travel to Turkey November 5

Field Work – including training of assessment team, supervising data collection, data analysis, solution design and prototyping November 6 – November 26

Assessment report draft for review by the Program Manager November 30

Final report due to Program Manager December 15

The Consultant will report to:

Refugee Program Manager, Turkey

Desired Qualifications:

To perform this assignment successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required:

· Qualification in and/or significant experience using human centered design (design research / design thinking) research methodologies preferred.

• Graduate degree in Anthropology, Sociology, Cultural Anthropology or related degree desirable.
• Proven experience leading assessments, training and managing others to collect data professionally and effectively using a variety of research methods.
• Ability to think creatively about issues and solve problems independently.
• Excellent oral and written English communication skills required; knowledge of Turkish and/or Arabic a plus.
• Work well independently and in teams.
• Prior work experience in Turkey or the Middle East preferred; willingness to travel to Turkey.
• Ability to prioritize and handle multiple on-going assignments

TO APPLY:

Interested candidates should apply online. Applications must include: the candidate’s CV, Cover Letter detailing relevant experience, and desired daily rate.The successful candidate will be required to submit a recent AID-1420 Biodata Form.

Mercy Corps is an AA/EOE.

How to apply:

Please apply directly at:
http://mercycorps.silkroad.com/epostings/submit.cfm?fuseaction=app.dspjo...