Capacity Strengthening on Sphere Standards

About Trócaire

Trócaire is an international NGO. We work with local partners in the world’s most at-risk communities and with people in Ire-land to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and injustice and respond to the crises they create. Together we bring about positive and lasting change for a just world. Trócaire works in up to 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

We work towards five goals:

• Promote Access to Justice;
• Achieve Climate & Environmental Justice;
• Ensure Women & Girls’ Protection, Voice & Influence;
• Save Lives and Protect Human Dignity and
• Mobilise the Public on the island of Ireland to achieve Global Justice.

Find out more about the organisation at www.Trócaire.org

Trócaire works through national and local partners in Lebanon and Syria delivering an integrated humanitarian & development programme that includes the provision of basic assistance, food security, livelihood, and protection assistance and strengthening social cohesion within conflict affected and displaced communities. As a partnership agency, Trócaire works with a portfolio of national and local partner organisations to strengthen their capacities to deliver humanitarian assistance and implement development-oriented programmes in a way that ensures compliance with international standards.

Background

Trócaire works with local partners and civil society actors to support communities in over 20 countries with a focus on localisation, resource rights, women's empowerment, and humanitarian response. With our partners we work with some of the world's poorest and most marginalised people, supporting women, men, and communities for long-term change. More information about Trócaire is available at www.trocaire.org.

Trócaire is a partner-oriented organisation, committed to the principles of localisation of development and humanitarian aid, including building the capacities of its local partners wherever it works to ensure their ability to operate effectively and respond to humanitarian emergencies or crises with measurable impact.

Trócaire is currently implementing a project funded by RDPP, in collaboration with three partner organisations who work as both protection and advocacy actors in Lebanon. It aims to strengthen the quality and accountability of humanitarian programming by improving partner staff's understanding and practical use of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and the Sphere Handbook's Protection Principles and Core Standards.

This training is the second of three complementary capacity-strengthening trainings delivered to the three partners under this project this year, following Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) and preceding Conflict Sensitivity. Given the 3-day format, this training focuses on the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), Protection Principles, and the Core Standards most relevant to a protection and advocacy context, rather than the full Sphere Handbook, including its four technical chapters (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion; Food Security and Nutrition; Shelter, Settlement and Non-Food Items; and Health), which fall outside this consortium's core programming areas. Where relevant, the trainer may draw light connections to concepts covered in the HRBA training (e.g., accountability, participation) without treating the two frameworks as equivalent.

Objective

The primary objective of this consultancy is to provide capacity strengthening in Sphere Standards to partner staff, including programme, technical, MEAL, and management staff, through a participatory and context-appropriate workshop. The objective is to equip participants with practical skills in applying the Core Humanitarian Standard, Protection Principles, and Core Standards in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of humanitarian interventions relevant to their protection and advocacy work.

Scope of Work

Trócaire is seeking to contract an accredited Sphere training institute to deliver this training. Where no accredited institute is available or responsive in the Lebanese market, a certified individual Sphere trainer with proven regional experience and Sphere accreditation may be considered.

The consultant/institute should ensure that training facilitation methods are inclusive and account for the diverse needs of participants and of the populations affected by humanitarian response.

Material Development

• Develop and submit a training session plan in line with this ToR and feedback gathered during the inception meeting.

Training Design

• Design and deliver a 3-day joint training session for relevant partner staff and focal points. The training should be contextually relevant for Lebanon partners and interactive.
• Propose a detailed training plan and methodology, including case studies and participatory methods, demonstrating how each session will engage participants, build practical skills, and relate to their real-world humanitarian interventions. Given the 3-day format, a full simulation exercise is not expected; practical examples and short applied exercises are sufficient.
• Include appropriate evaluation tools to measure transferred knowledge pre- and post-training. Training material will be reviewed and signed off by Trócaire prior to the workshop.

Content Framework

• Given the 3-day format, this training prioritises the Core Humanitarian Standard, Protection Principles, and the Core Standards over the Sphere Handbook's four technical chapters (WASH, Food Security and Nutrition, Shelter and Settlement, and Health), which fall outside this consortium's core programming areas and are not covered. The training should include the following:

Day 1: Humanitarian Principles and Accountability

• Introduction to the humanitarian principles and the Humanitarian Charter
• Overview of the Sphere Protection Principles, scoped to their application in humanitarian response and service delivery (do-no-harm, safety, dignity, and access)
• Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), including commitments and accountability to affected populations

Day 2: The Core Standards in Practice

• Overview of the Sphere Handbook's structure and the Core Standards (the universal process standards on participation, coordination, targeting, and needs assessment/context analysis)
• Applying the Core Standards in needs assessment, project design, and monitoring
• Practical examples and short applied exercises linking the Core Standards to protection and advocacy programming

Day 3: Applying Learnings and Moving Forward

• Practical challenges and opportunities in applying Sphere and CHS in current programmes; experience sharing across organisations
• Integrating quality and accountability into routine activities
• Partner application and action planning: each partner leaves with a short, specific action note for embedding CHS/Sphere standards into one current programme or process, to feed into the partner-specific section of the final report

Reporting and Documentation

• Prepare and submit a final report detailing the activities conducted, key findings, recommendations, and outcomes of the consultancy, including learning points and questions raised by participants.

Deliverables

• Training curriculum in line with partner priority needs, inclusive of proposed modalities, exercises, agenda, and evaluation tools.
• Post-training consultancy report, including an overall summary and partner-specific analysis, covering activities, findings, outcomes, recommendations, and each partner's action note.

Timeline

The consultancy will span the following phases:

• Inception Meeting
• Material Development
• Joint Training Session: 3 days
• Training Report

Time should be factored in for Trócaire to review and comment on the report and other outputs, and for the consultant to make revisions based on Trócaire's feedback (approximately 2 days). The submitted final products will require final review and approval by the Partnership Program Manager for the consultancy to be brought to conclusion.

Qualifications and Experience

• Certified or recognized Sphere trainer.
• At least 5 years' experience in humanitarian response in the Lebanon context.
• Proven experience facilitating Sphere or humanitarian standards trainings.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Arabic language is a must; training materials should be available in Arabic.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse partners.
• Strong analytical and report-writing skills.

Proposal Submission

Proposals should include the following:

• The CV of the consultant(s), outlining relevant experience, accomplishments, and contact information of 2 references.
• A written technical and financial proposal, outlining the proposed content, schedule/work plan, and the consultant's proposed fees/daily rate, with justification.
• Conflict of interest statement: Applicants should state clearly whether they have an actual or potential conflict of interest with the staff, volunteers, and/or board of Trócaire.
• Detailed proposed work plan.

Each technical proposal will be evaluated based on technical quality; background and experience of the consultant; and value for money.

The consultancy fees will be defined and agreed with the consultant based on their level of experience and proposal. Any queries relating to this Terms of Reference should be directed by e-mail only to [email protected]

Safeguarding Programme Participants Policy

Trócaire is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion within its workforce and encourages all qualified individuals to apply. Trócaire is committed to Safeguarding Programme Participants from Exploitation and Abuse and has specific policies on this commitment (including a Global Code of Conduct) which outlines the expected behaviour and the responsibility of all staff, consultants, and other organisational representatives. Any candidate offered a job with Trócaire is expected to sign Trócaire's Safeguarding Policies and Global Code of Conduct as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.