Independent Senior Technical Expert – Peacebuilding, Fragility & UN Strategic Advisory Consultancy Services
Nature of Consultancy: Independent Senior Technical Expert – Peacebuilding, Fragility & UN Strategic Advisory Consultancy Services
Place of Performance: Such location as determined by the Consultant when performing the Services subject to any location-specific requirements expressly agreed in writing for a particular assignment (with mission travel to Port-au-Prince and designated departmental hubs). Any required mission travel, including its dates, arrangements, security requirements, and reimbursement of agreed expenses, shall be specified or separately agreed in writing.
Level of Effort: Assignment-based and strictly as mutually agreed in writing for specific tasks and deliverables. No minimum number of days/hours, fixed working hours, or continuing level of effort is guaranteed or required.
Type of Contract: Services will be provided on a day-rate basis against specific project assignments, deliverables, and estimated levels of effort agreed between COAR and the Consultant.
Timeframe: The anticipated term of this consultancy is from 01 December 2026 to 31 December 2027, subject to execution of the applicable agreement. The term establishes the period during which assignments may be agreed; it does not create an obligation to provide or accept assignments, guarantee a minimum workload, or require continuous availability. Any extension shall be subject to mutual written agreement.
Primary Point of Contact: COAR's designated Haiti Team Lead, acting as the contact for agreeing assignment requirements, coordinating necessary project inputs, clarifying deliverables, addressing technical queries and reviewing completed outputs against the agreed scope. This role is for assignment coordination and does not confer authority to direct the Consultant's day-to-day working methods or exercise line-management authority over the Consultant.
Overview: This Scope of Work (SoW) outlines the specific senior technical consultancy assignment with the Center for Operational Analysis and Research (COAR). The Consultant may be commissioned to provide specialist analytical and advisory services for an in-depth study examining the systemic, historical, and multidimensional crisis in Haiti. Commissioned in the context of UNDP and UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) strategic planning, the study is intended to establish an evidence-based baseline to guide conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and sustainable recovery initiatives across Haiti. The assignment may include the preparation of a comprehensive, formally published biennial report examining fragilities and peacebuilding risks, accompanied by a strategic intervention approach for the United Nations system. The Consultant's responsibility shall be limited to the agreed research, analytical, drafting, advisory, and facilitation outputs. Decisions concerning publication, institutional endorsement, strategic adoption, and implementation shall remain with COAR and the commissioning institutions.
Nature of the consultancy: This is an independent, non-exclusive, project-based consultancy engagement and not a position of employment with COAR. Services will be commissioned through specific assignments agreed in writing between COAR and the Consultant, setting out the relevant scope, deliverables, estimated level of effort, timeframe and applicable day rate.
COAR does not guarantee any minimum number of assignments or consultancy days, and the Consultant will remain free to accept or decline proposed assignments and to provide services to other clients, subject to confidentiality, conflicts of interest and the timely delivery of any assignment accepted.
The Consultant will determine independently the professional approach, methods, sequencing, working time and place of performance of the Services, subject to agreed deliverables, deadlines, applicable legal, contractual, client, security, safeguarding, confidentiality, data-protection, and other project-specific requirements, and reasonable project coordination. The Consultant will ordinarily use their own equipment and working facilities and will be responsible for their own tax, social insurance and other statutory obligations arising from the consultancy. The consultancy does not carry employee benefits.
The Consultant will coordinate their own activities and agreed project inputs but will not occupy a position within COAR’s organisational structure, exercise employment or line-management authority over COAR personnel, or have authority to bind COAR, except where expressly authorised in writing for a defined project purpose.
COAR may specify the scope, required outputs, deadlines, quality standards, project requirements, and information required for an agreed assignment, but will not direct the Consultant as to the manner or means of performing the Services.
The Consultant will not be required to work fixed hours, maintain continuous availability, attend COAR premises on a regular basis, or participate in COAR’s internal management or personnel processes, except where specific attendance or participation is reasonably necessary for an agreed assignment.
Fees will be payable only for Services performed under an agreed assignment and against submission of appropriate invoices. No minimum volume of work or continuing retainer is guaranteed.
About COAR: COAR is an independent social enterprise that directly supports practitioners, policymakers, and donors by facilitating humanitarian and development interventions in complex, fragile, and high-risk environments. COAR delivers neutral and objective research and analysis, which identifies - but does not influence - local stakeholders, relationships, interests, and analyzes broader political, economic, social, and security dynamics and trends. COAR research leverages social media, personal networks, field research teams, and local experts in order to map and translate the local human context; COAR analysis synthesizes and studies this data in order to inform both programmatic and strategic decision-making, reduce security and conflict sensitivity risks, and increase the impact of humanitarian, development, stabilization, peace-building, and peacekeeping initiatives.
Objectives:
For the specific study assignment, the Consultant may be commissioned to:
- Conduct an analysis of historical trends and trajectories of Haiti’s systemic, social, community, political, and economic crisis to develop a comprehensive understanding of underlying structural dynamics;
- Analyze the multidimensional drivers of fragility and crisis across national, departmental, and cross-border domains;
- Map crises and trace underlying drivers of distinct forms of violence (criminal, gang-driven, political, and gender-based) to elucidate crisis systems;
- Evaluate crisis dynamics through intersectional gender, generational, and social inequality perspectives, highlighting the contributions and protection of women and youth in conflict prevention and mediation;
- Review and assess past and ongoing conflict prevention and peacebuilding interventions supported by the UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) and key multilateral/bilateral partners;
- Propose a tailored intervention approach for the United Nations system anchored in conflict prevention and peacebuilding principles; and
- Where included in the agreed assignment, provide substantive input into the preparation of an inclusive multi-stakeholder validation workshop, including contributing to validation discussions and moderating specified panel sessions.
Activities and Key Responsibilities:
The following activities describe potential services under the study assignment. The specific activities to be performed, their estimated effort, and the associated outputs shall be confirmed in writing before commencement.
Analytical Framing & Methodological Design
- Develop an analytical framework and research matrix tailored to the Haitian operational context, integrating OECD DAC peacebuilding criteria and UN Integrated Strategic Framework (ISF) objectives.
- Formulate and calibrate qualitative and quantitative research instruments, including semi-structured Key Informant Interview (KII) guides, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) protocols, and secondary assessment templates.
- Incorporate strict Conflict Sensitivity, Do No Harm, and data protection protocols, reflecting localized security constraints and protection considerations in gang-controlled and fragile environments.
Multidimensional Fragility, Violence & Hotspot Mapping:
- Trace historical fault lines, institutional degradation, and economic patterns driving instability across Port-au-Prince and outlying departments (e.g., Artibonite, Nord, Grand'Anse).
- Document geographic conflict hotspots, illicit trade flows, arms proliferation corridors, and cross-border dynamics with the Dominican Republic.
- Assess formal and informal mechanisms, social cohesion structures, customary dispute-resolution mechanisms, and local resilience dynamics fostering community stability.
Intersectional Analysis & PBF Portfolio Assessment:
- Analyze structural socio-economic inequalities, youth recruitment vulnerabilities, and gender-based violence (GBV) as systemic drivers of fragility.
- Conduct a focused desk review and stakeholder assessment of UN Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) projects and partner peacebuilding programming in Haiti, evaluating impact, lessons learned, and systemic gaps.
- Identify practical entry points and age- and gender-sensitive recommendations to strengthen the leadership of women and youth in peacebuilding architectures.
Report Authoring & UN Strategic Intervention Approach:
- Prepare and coordinate the analytical synthesis and drafting of the formal, publication-ready baseline report examining fragilities and peacebuilding risks in Haiti.
- Draft a pragmatic, forward-looking UN intervention approach that connects empirical research findings with strategic programming across the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus.
- Integrate technical review comments from COAR leadership, UNDP, PBF, and institutional counterparts into final publishable outputs to the extent that such comments are provided within the agreed review process and schedule. The Consultant shall identify and discuss any material changes to the agreed scope or analytical conclusions that arise during review.
Stakeholder Workshop Coordination & Panel Moderation:
- Where specified in the assignment, provide substantive recommendations on the agenda and content of the national multi-stakeholder validation workshop.
- Deliver technical presentations on analytical findings, methodological approaches, and strategic recommendations to UN leadership, civil society, and international partners, at agreed events or sessions.
- Moderate thematic panel discussions during inclusive consultations to cultivate national ownership and partnership consensus where the relevant sessions, preparation requirements, and expected level of effort have been agreed in writing.
Expected Results and Deliverables:
The primary result of this assignment will be a publicly available, formally published large-scale report examining fragilities and risks related to peacebuilding and development in Haiti. The report serves three primary purposes:
Understanding Haiti’s Crisis: Deepening multilateral and national understanding of the systems, drivers, and trajectories underlying the crisis.
Strategic & Programmatic Decision-Making: Informing conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and HDP nexus resource allocation.
Advocacy & Dialogue: Supporting continuous, multilevel dialogue among national authorities, civil society, and international partners.
Required Experience and Expertise:
- Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s or Ph.D.) in Peace and Conflict Studies, International Relations, Political Science, Sociology, Human Rights, International Development, or a related discipline required.
- UN System Experience: Required minimum 10 years of progressive professional experience advising or implementing peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and stabilization programming within or alongside the UN System (e.g., UNDP, BINUH, DPO/DPPA, IOM, or UN Country Teams).
- Country & Contextual Expertise: Desired analytical or operational track record in Haiti, with nuanced understanding of Haitian political history, gang territorial dynamics, departmental socio-economic disparities, and border dynamics with the Dominican Republic.
- Analytical Capabilities: Proven track record conducting complex conflict analyses, fragility assessments, and intersectional studies focusing on gender, youth, and structural inequalities.
- Facilitation & Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue: Proven experience designing and moderating high-level validation workshops, roundtables, and policy panels involving government counterparts, UN leadership, and grassroots civil society organizations.
- Languages: Professional proficiency in both French and English (written and spoken) is required; fluency or working knowledge of Haitian Creole (Kreyòl) is a distinct asset.
Safeguarding, Ethics, and Confidentiality:
In performing the Services, the Consultant shall comply with COAR’s Code of Conduct, any applicable Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), and safeguarding requirements that COAR identifies in writing as applicable to external consultants and relevant to the accepted assignment. In light of the delicate security and protection environment in Haiti, the Consultant shall conduct agreed research and stakeholder interactions in accordance with Do No Harm principles, informant anonymity, data protection protocols, and UN standards on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA). All working drafts, field notes, and final deliverables remain the sole property of COAR Global and the commissioning client. The Consultant shall promptly notify COAR of any material ethical, safeguarding, data-protection, or security concern arising in the course of the assignment, while retaining responsibility for the independent professional judgment required to perform the Services safely and ethically.
All working drafts, field notes, and final deliverables remain the sole property of COAR Global and the commissioning client, subject to the terms of the applicable consultancy agreement, including any agreed provisions concerning pre-existing materials, third-party materials, research data, intellectual property, and permitted retention of records.
How to apply: