Consultancy - Baseline Assessment and Legal Analysis (home based)

Overview & Responsibilities

Background

Under the framework of its Multi-Year Rule of Law for Stability Programme, and with financial support from the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) will implement the Damal Programme Phase II (2026–2030) in Somalia and Somaliland. Building on the achievements, lessons learned, and institutional partnerships established under the first phase of the Damal Programme, Phase II seeks to strengthen social cohesion, improve public trust in justice and security institutions, and enhance equitable access to justice for vulnerable populations. The programme recognises that effective, accessible, and accountable justice systems are fundamental to peaceful societies, conflict prevention, inclusive governance, and sustainable development. By strengthening both formal and community-based justice mechanisms and promoting collaboration among justice and security institutions, the programme aims to contribute to a more responsive, inclusive, and resilient justice sector.

Damal II will be implemented primarily in underserved, rural, urban, and conflict-affected areas where justice gaps, insecurity, and social exclusion remain significant barriers to peace and development. The programme adopts an integrated approach that combines Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), reconciliation, justice-security coordination, legal aid, referral mechanisms, community engagement, institutional capacity development, research, and evidence-based programming. It also places particular emphasis on strengthening access to justice for women, girls, internally displaced persons (IDPs), minority clans, persons with disabilities, youth, and other vulnerable justice seekers who continue to face disproportionate barriers in accessing fair and timely justice services. The programme is structured around three mutually reinforcing intermediate outcomes:

• Intermediate Outcome 1: Vulnerable groups have improved access to gender-responsive ADR and reconciliation services.
• Intermediate Outcome 2: Justice-security coordination mechanisms in urban and conflict-affected areas are more responsive, trusted, and effective.
• Intermediate Outcome 3: Vulnerable justice seekers with cases beyond ADR mandates receive timely, coordinated, gender-responsive, and rights-based justice services through an integrated referral system.

To ensure a strong, evidence-based, and context-responsive start-up, the Damal Programme Phase II will commence with a preparatory phase, designed to refine implementation strategies, validate assumptions underpinning the Theory of Change, strengthen institutional coordination, and ensure interventions respond to evolving political, legal, security, and social dynamics.

A central feature of the above will be an extensive programme of stakeholder consultations across all programme target locations. As part of the consultations, IDLO will engage representatives from the justice sector, executive institutions, legislative bodies, the judiciary, prosecution services, law enforcement agencies, traditional dispute-resolution actors, civil society organisations, academia, women's organisations, youth representatives, community leaders, development partners, and local communities. These consultations will facilitate agreement on implementation priorities, coordination mechanisms, referral pathways, institutional roles, and approaches for strengthening access to justice within different geographic and institutional contexts.

The Assignment

Under the overall supervision of the IDLO Field Programme Manager, and in close collaboration with the Damal II Programme Team and IDLO technical teams, consortium partners, and relevant government counterparts, the Consultant shall design and undertake a comprehensive Baseline Assessment and Legal Analysis for the Damal Programme Phase II (2026–2030).

The assignment will provide the evidence required to establish a credible starting point for programme monitoring, validate key assumptions underpinning the Theory of Change and inform implementation decisions during the preparatory phase. It will build on, rather than duplicate, the evidence generated under Damal Phase I (2021-2026) and previous IDLO-supported ADR programming.

The assessment will cover the jurisdictions and prospective programme locations identified in the Damal II Project Document. The precise geographic coverage and sampling framework will be agreed during the preparatory stage, taking into account the phased programme approach, the status of location selection, security and access conditions, the availability of existing data and the level of institutional maturity in each jurisdiction.

Where final programme locations have not yet been confirmed, the assignment shall adopt a phased approach. Initial comparative analysis across prospective locations shall inform geographic targeting and site selection, while detailed baseline measurement shall focus on confirmed or formally shortlisted programme locations. The Consultant shall clearly document the geographic coverage and limitations of each baseline value and indicate where additional measurements may be required once final implementation locations are confirmed. 

The assignment shall be organized around two interrelated workstreams. Please refer here for the details.

Methodology

The assessment shall adopt a mixed-methods, participatory, and evidence-based research approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection with legal and institutional analysis. The methodology shall integrate factual information, institutional evidence, stakeholder perceptions, and community experiences to provide a comprehensive understanding of the plural justice environment and establish a robust baseline for Damal Programme Phase II. The assessment should not only document the current status of justice institutions and services but also analyse the factors influencing access to justice, institutional performance, justice-security coordination, referral systems, and community trust across the programme's target areas.

The Consultant shall develop a comprehensive research framework that clearly links the Damal II indicators and thematic areas to the relevant research questions, data sources, collection methods, respondent groups and analytical approaches. The framework shall include an indicator-to-research-question and indicator-to-method matrix and shall specify how each programme indicator requiring baseline measurement will be assessed.

Separate sampling approaches shall be developed, as appropriate, for ADR users, community members, justice and security institutions, service providers, case and referral records, and other relevant stakeholder groups. For quantitative indicators, the Consultant shall provide the sampling frame, sample-size calculation, selection procedure and expected level of precision or confidence. Where probability-based sampling is not feasible, the Consultant shall justify the alternative approach and clearly explain the resulting limitations.

Data shall be disaggregated by sex, age, disability, displacement status and geographic location, where relevant to the indicator and safe to collect. The Consultant shall identify in advance the indicators and respondent groups for which each form of disaggregation will apply. Information on minority or clan affiliation shall be collected only where directly relevant, necessary and safe, through voluntary self-identification and with appropriate confidentiality and risk-mitigation measures.

Primary data collection shall focus on validating existing findings, updating baseline information, and generating new evidence in areas where information is limited or where significant contextual changes have occurred since the previous baseline assessment. Particular emphasis shall be placed on understanding justice needs, institutional performance, community perceptions, referral systems, justice-security coordination, and barriers affecting vulnerable justice seekers.

Primary data collection and review of existing records shall employ an appropriate combination of:

- Key Informant Interviews (KIIs);- Focus Group Discussions (FGDs);- Institutional assessments;

- Survey;- Community consultations;- Direct observation where appropriate;- Case studies of selected districts and justice pathways; and- All research instruments, interview guides, sampling approaches, and data collection tools shall be determined by the relevant research question and indicator. All research instruments, interview guides, questionnaires, sampling procedures and data-collection protocols shall be developed by the Consultant and approved by IDLO before field implementation. Instruments shall be piloted in an appropriate programme location and revised based on the results of the pilot. Where instruments are administered in Somali or other relevant languages, the Consultant shall ensure accurate translation and, where appropriate, back-translation or independent verification of key terminology and concepts.

Throughout the assignment, the consultant shall work closely with the Damal II Programme Team and with IDLO technical teams, consortium partners, and relevant government counterparts to ensure methodological rigour, technical quality, and alignment with programme objectives. Regular technical consultations will be held throughout the assignment to review progress, discuss emerging findings, and ensure that the assessment responds to evolving programme needs during the preparatory phase.

Given that the Baseline Assessment forms one of the principal analytical products of the Damal II preparatory phase, the research process will be highly consultative. Draft methodologies, preliminary findings, and draft reports will be reviewed by IDLO, consortium partners, and relevant government counterparts. National stakeholders will participate in validation workshops to verify findings, strengthen ownership, and ensure that the final assessment accurately reflects the realities, priorities, and perspectives of the justice sector and affected communities.

Key deliverables and Timeline

The consultancy will be undertaken during the Damal Programme Phase II preparatory period. The assignment is expected to be completed over approximately 6-8 weeks, with the exact commencement and completion dates to be agreed between IDLO and the selected consultant.

The consultant will work closely with the Damal II Programme Team throughout the assignment to ensure that findings continuously inform programme design, the Theory of Change validation process, and other preparatory activities. Deliverables will be reviewed and approved by IDLO before acceptance.

All research datasets, interview transcripts (translated into English where required), coding frameworks, legal review matrices, baseline indicator datasets, GIS or mapping products (where applicable), and other research materials generated during the assignment shall be submitted to IDLO as part of the final deliverables. These materials shall become the property of IDLO and will support future programme monitoring, learning, adaptive management, and subsequent analytical work during Damal II implementation.

Please refer here for the detailed deliverables and correspondent indicative timelines.

Job Requirements

IDLO seeks an experienced senior research and justice sector specialist with demonstrated expertise in conducting complex institutional assessments, legal analyses, and mixed-methods research within fragile and conflict-affected settings. The consultant should possess:

- An advanced university degree (master’s degree or higher) in Law, Justice Studies, Governance, Political Science, Public Administration, Development Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Social Sciences, or a related discipline.- At least 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience conducting justice sector assessments, legal and institutional analyses, governance research, political economy analysis, or rule of law programming in fragile or conflict-affected contexts.- Demonstrated expertise in plural justice systems, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), justice sector reform, legal aid, access to justice, justice-security coordination, governance, and institutional capacity development.- Strong knowledge of the legal, political, institutional, and socio-cultural context of Somaliland and/or Somalia, including experience working with government institutions, justice sector actors, civil society organisations, and development partners.- Proven experience designing and implementing qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, including legal reviews, institutional assessments, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), stakeholder mapping, and baseline studies.- Demonstrated ability to synthesise complex information into high-quality analytical reports and policy-oriented recommendations.- Excellent stakeholder engagement, facilitation, communication, and coordination skills, with experience working in multi-stakeholder and multidisciplinary environments.- Excellent written and spoken English. Knowledge of Somali will be considered a strong asset.

Terms & Conditions

The consultancy will primarily be home-based, with travel to programme implementation areas and stakeholder locations as required to undertake field research, institutional consultations, and validation workshops. The consultant is expected to undertake missions to selected programme locations, subject to prevailing security conditions and operational requirements.

The consultancy period, level of effort, remuneration, and payment schedule will be specified in the consultancy contract. Payments will be linked to the satisfactory completion and approval of agreed deliverables in accordance with IDLO's contractual procedures.

All work produced under this assignment, including reports, datasets, interview records, analytical tools, presentations, and supporting documentation, shall become the property of IDLO. The consultant shall maintain strict confidentiality regarding all information obtained during the assignment and comply with IDLO's policies on research ethics, data protection, safeguarding, and information security.

IDLO is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome applications from qualified candidates of all backgrounds. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for IDLO vacancies.

IDLO does not tolerate sexual exploitation or abuse, any kind of harassment, including harassment of a sexual nature, or discrimination. As such, IDLO will conduct careful reference and background checks of all selected candidates as part of its selection process.

Application deadline: 23 August 2026 (23:59hrs Rome Time).

Annual Compensation