Terms of Reference: National Expert

Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER), together with two local NGOs in Ethiopia and Kenya (CIFA), is implementing a three-year Humanitarian Development Peace nexus project titled “Bridging Borders”, from January 2026 to October 2028. The initiative focuses on five woredas in Borana (Ethiopia) and three sub-counties in Marsabit (Kenya). Beyond other project initiatives, the Participatory Action Prioritisation (PAP) approach supports locally led solutions for conflict prevention and livelihood development. Women and youth are central, with the intervention supporting recovery, resilience and peacebuilding activities such as Crisis Modifier Fund, natural resource rehabilitation and disbursement of community micro-grants.  The primary objective of the National Expert is to serve as the local anchor for the quality assurance of the PAP methodology. The expert ensures that the project team consistently and meaningfully applies the participatory methodology in practice, thereby guaranteeing meaningful participation, making the participants feel comfortable, heard, and empowered. This includes facilitating joint participatory learning processes in the field with all stakeholders, supporting and checking the genuine and inclusive participation of all community segments, especially marginalized groups like women, youth, PWD, and diverse groupings within the conflict context, throughout all four project phases.