TERMS OF REFERENCE
Consultancy for the development of a protection case management and cash for protection framework for the Protect Aid Workers mechanism
Background
Humanitarian workers face increasing risks in the course of their work. In response to these challenges, a consortium of NGOs, including Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), Global Interagency Security Forum (GISF) and Protect Humanitarians (PH), established the Protect Aid Workers (PAW) mechanism with the support of DG ECHO.
The mechanism assists humanitarian workers who have experienced a critical incident, face an immediate threat to their safety or well-being, or have been arrested, detained or are facing legal proceedings linked to their humanitarian work. Support aims to reduce protection risks, prevent further harm, facilitate recovery and improve the well-being of affected individuals and their families. Since its launch, the mechanism has supported approximately 750 humanitarian workers and their dependants across 20 countries.
PAW is structured around three complementary pillars:
- Pillar 1: Provision of direct assistance to humanitarian workers through financial and legal assistance
- Pillar 2: Development and dissemination of good practices, peer-learning opportunities, technical resources and collaborative initiatives aimed at strengthening aid worker protection and duty of care systems across the humanitarian sector.
- Pillar 3: Engagement with decision-makers to raise awareness of risks faced by aid workers and promote stronger protection policies and practices.
The ambition of PAW is to establish a comprehensive and survivor-centred support model. The mechanism combines case management, financial assistance and access to specialised services tailored to the needs of affected individuals.
Requests for support may be submitted through organisations or directly by aid workers. Applications are reviewed by a case management team responsible for verification, needs assessment, eligibility review and support planning.
A central component of the mechanism is the provision of protection grants. These grants may be provided directly to affected individuals and their families or channelled through organisations delivering support on their behalf. Assistance may cover a wide range of protection-related needs, including relocation, safe accommodation, legal representation, medical care, psychosocial support, temporary income replacement and other measures aimed at reducing protection risks and supporting recovery. Over time, the mechanism has also increasingly relied on unrestricted cash assistance where appropriate, enabling affected aid workers to prioritise and address their own protection and recovery needs in a flexible and dignified manner.
Alongside financial assistance, the mechanism provides access to specialised legal support and is progressively strengthening referral pathways for mental health, healthcare and other protection-related services. While these components have expanded significantly over recent years, they remain at different stages of development and would benefit from further structuring and integration within an overarching case management framework.
- Purpose of the consultancy
Over the past two years, PAW has experienced significant growth in terms of geographical coverage, number of cases supported and diversity of assistance provided. While this expansion has demonstrated the relevance and effectiveness of the mechanism, it has also highlighted the need to further consolidate and formalise its direct support model.
The mechanism has progressively developed a range of practices, tools and decision-making processes relating to case management, protection grants, cash assistance and specialised referrals. In particular, the use of cash assistance has expanded over time, including through the growing use of unconditional cash transfers where appropriate, allowing humanitarian workers to address urgent protection and recovery needs in a flexible and dignified manner.
While this evolution has enabled PAW to provide tailored support across a wide range of contexts and protection risks, several components of the model have developed incrementally in response to operational realities. As a result, approaches to case management, grant allocation, cash assistance modalities, referral pathways and documentation requirements are not yet fully standardised.
Objectives of the consultancy
The overall objective of this consultancy is to review and strengthen the Protect Aid Workers direct support model by developing a coherent operational framework integrating protection case management, cash assistance and referral mechanisms.
The consultancy should build on existing PAW practices and tools, identify areas for improvement, and provide practical recommendations, procedures and tools that enhance consistency, accountability, quality and decision-making while preserving the flexibility required to respond to diverse protection contexts and individual needs.
Scope of work
The consultant will:
- Review existing PAW guidance, tools, templates, databases and operational procedures related to case management, protection grants, cash assistance and referrals.
- Review a sample of case files, grant decisions and support modalities implemented through the mechanism.
- Consult with relevant consortium members and stakeholders involved in the management and delivery of direct assistance.
- Assess the extent to which current practices align with recognised good practices and international standards in protection case management
- Review the applicability of the DG ECHO Cash and Voucher Assistance policy framework to the PAW mechanism and ensure that proposed approaches to protection grants and unrestricted cash assistance are consistent with relevant donor requirements and good practices.
- Identify gaps, strengths, risks and opportunities for improvement.
- Develop recommendations and operational tools to strengthen the overall direct support model.
- Develop and/or revise standard operating procedures, templates, workflows and decision-making tools required to support implementation.
The consultancy’s primary objective is to review and adapt existing tools, and to develop any necessary new ones, to improve efficiency and standardise decision-making mechanisms while ensuring full alignment with international and donors standards.
Deliverables
Deliverable 1: Diagnostic and inception report
The consultant will conduct a review of the current PAW direct support model and produce an inception report presenting:
- An analysis of the existing case management, protection grant, cash assistance and referral systems.
- An assessment of strengths, gaps, risks and opportunities for improvement.
- A review of alignment with relevant protection standards, cash assistance good practices, and DG ECHO requirements.
- Recommendations for strengthening the overall direct support model.
- A proposed structure for the future operational framework, including the documents, procedures, tools and resources to be developed during the consultancy.
Deliverable 2: Operational framework package
Based on the agreed recommendations, the consultant will develop a draft operational framework package for review by the consortium. The package may include, as relevant:
- Standard operating procedures.
- Case management workflows.
- Decision-making frameworks.
- Eligibility and assessment tools.
- Referral mechanisms and related templates.
- Cash assistance and protection grant guidance.
- Documentation and accountability tools.
- Any additional operational resources identified as necessary during the diagnostic phase.
Planning & coordination
The Consultant will be under the overall guidance of a steering committee. The consultancy will be conducted through the following steps:
- Review of PAW documentation combined with consultations with relevant consortium members and stakeholders.
- Submission and presentation of the Inception Report (Deliverable 1).
- Review and validation of findings and recommendations by the steering committee.
- Development of a draft Operational Framework Package (Deliverable 2).
- Review and consolidation of comments from the steering committee.
- Submission of the revised and final Operational framework package.
- Facilitation of a final workshop to present the final framework, key recommendations and implementation considerations.
Consultant’s profile (individual or team)
- Advanced university education (bac + 5) in one of the following fields: social services, sociology, political science, law, gender and other similar training
- Significant (+5 years) experience in humanitarian protection programmes
- Strong expertise in case management
- Significant experience in cash assistance, including cash for protection
- Demonstrate experience in developing guidelines, standard operating procedures and tools
- Understanding of different humanitarian contexts and stakeholders
- Knowledge of gender, diversity, inclusion and protection issues
- Fluency in English, French is a plus
- Excellent analytical and writing skills
Timeline
The assignment is expected to take 2-3 months from the time of signing of the contract, with possible extension based on identified additional needs and potential longer term advisory services as necessary and if required. We are seeking a consultant who is available to start to work shortly after the deadline for submission of tenders.
How to apply
Interested candidates are expected to submit a narrative and financial proposal, including:
- Narrative proposal, including a tentative work plan and methodology.
- Financial proposal (in EUR): detailed budget, that include 20% of TVA
- Consultant’s CV + references
The proposal shall be submitted by 24 November 2026 to assistant@protectaidworkers.org with the subject line:
“Application – Protection case management and cash assistance consultancy”