Expert advice/coaching on trauma-sensitive training facilitation approaches – Effective Advising in Complex Contexts Course At Interpeace

Interpeace

Interpeace is an international organization for peacebuilding, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Its aim is to strengthen the capacities of societies to manage conflict in non-violent, non-coercive ways by assisting national actors in their efforts to develop social and political cohesion. Interpeace also strives to assist the international community (and in particular the UN) to play a more effective role in supporting peacebuilding efforts around the world through better understanding and response to the challenges of creating local capacities that enhance social and political cohesion. For more information about Interpeace, please visit www.interpeace.org .

Background

Violent conflict is one of the primary obstacles to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the majority of populations in humanitarian need live in states affected by armed conflict. The international and national community – from the humanitarian, development, stabilisation, peacebuilding and human rights sectors – need to enhance their effectiveness in supporting locally led efforts fostering sustainable peace.

The objective of Interpeace’s Effective Advising Course is to equip experts and advisors with frameworks and approaches that will help them work effectively in complex and unpredictable environments. Designed to treat “advising” as a professional skillset which can be honed and finetuned, the course focuses on the personal and relational dimensions of advising to reinforce participants’ ability to identify and foster opportunities for change.

The global edition of this professional development course consists in a 5-day workshop complemented by three live online sessions (pre- and post-course) and supplemented by background reading and individual preparation. A team of three experienced facilitators guide ~20 participants from around the world to take a step back from their day-to-day work environments. The course stimulates participants to reflect on their individual roles, their effectiveness as advisors, and to analyse their own perceptions of change. Interpeace’s interactive and practice-oriented methodology provides a space for professionals to reflect on their personal professional practice and behaviours, take a fresh look at advisory challenges and tackle these more consciously and creatively using practical frameworks.

The 4-person training team pays careful attention to creating a safe space which fosters meaningful connection and engagement, where participants can interact at a truly human level. With a strong focus on personal self-reflection for participants, the team has identified that greater awareness of trauma-sensitive approaches is required. Working on complex contexts means that several participants have been exposed to traumatic experiences (of varying degrees) which are often not dealt with properly as most organizations in the aid sector do not sufficiently prioritise mental health of staff. Such experiences have surfaced during the course in the past and the team would like to enhance its skill-set in trauma-sensitive facilitation for such situations.

More information on the course and training team: https://www.ipat-interpeace.org/effective-advising-global-edition

Assignment Description and Objective(s)

The effective advising training team is looking for some capacity development support in trauma-sensitive facilitation and training ahead of its next global edition of the course in late September 2023. The objective of the assignment is to provide substantive inputs and advisory support to IPAT’s Effective Advising Training Team (3 senior trainers and 1 training coordinator) so that they can apply a trauma-sensitive approach to their training facilitation and adequately manage any cases of trauma which may arise during in-person workshops, as well as online sessions.

To tread through the sensitive waters of possible trauma, the training team would like to work with a trauma expert. The objective of this collaboration is to ensure that the training team is properly equipped to understand what kind of questions and exercises could trigger flashbacks, how to carefully deal with situations in which course participants’ experiences of different levels of trauma can arise in workshop settings (in-person and online), how to support traumatised participants on the spot to calm their nervous system, increase self-regulation skills, and ground the participants in the present to enable them to continue to participate in the training. The team would also like to learn what advice is suitable to share with them so they can follow-up on trauma management for themselves after the course.

The trauma expert is expected to prepare and lead several online sessions with the training team and prepare and share relevant materials and practical tips and frameworks. The training team is located in different locations (CET and EST time zones). In addition, the consultant is expected to be available to answer specific questions that might arise for the team, as well as engage in one post-September 2023 workshop session with the team to debrief about the application of the newly learned approaches and techniques to consolidate the learnings.

Scope of work

Substantive scope of work:

• Provide a nuanced and comprehensive overview of what trauma-sensitive facilitation is, taking into account training content, training style and approach, the terminologies we use etc.;
• Distil the various levels or types of trauma the team needs to be aware of. Training participants are dealing with a variety of complex situations and human suffering in their work which can lead to different and often interrelated levels of trauma (extreme poverty and suffering due to conflict, armed violence, natural disaster, as well as challenging working relationships, dysfunctional and ethically challenging organizational dynamics etc.);
• Advise on key trauma-sensitive training facilitation techniques using practical examples and scenarios (e.g., how we present/introduce certain content, how exercises are set up and debriefed etc.);
• Advise on how to practically deal with situations of trauma that emerge live during the training course;
• Provide recommendations that the training team can share with relevant participants and steps for them to take when they go back to their work lives after the workshop;
• Provide practical insights into both i) trauma-sensitive in-person facilitation, and ii) online training facilitation (e.g. how to read ‘signs’ of traumatised participants in online settings and how to respond in long-distance settings?),
• Concrete steps on how to calm the nervous system, increase self-regulation skills, and ground the participants in the present.

Expected Process Steps:

Familiarisation with the Effective Advising course:

• Read background documents related to the course that describe its approach and methodology;
• Browse through the course handbook and some of the session scripts to get a broad idea of the training content and specifically with a view to understand the various ways in which the course gets ‘personal’ and can potentially trigger memories of traumatic experiences for participants;
• Engage in an initial kick-off call (approximately 2.5 hours) with the team to understand the course approach and clarify the specific training needs of the team.

Preparation and facilitation of online sessions with the training team:

• Prepare relevant materials to be shared with the team ahead of the online sessions, a focus should be on short and practical materials, relevant from a training facilitation perspective;
• Facilitation of the online sessions with the team (we envisage roughly three approximately 2.5 to 3 hours long sessions) with the aim to provide concrete ideas and practical tips and tricks and frameworks for trauma-sensitive training facilitation;
• Facilitate application of practical exercises and situational scenarios to illustrate the practical application of facilitation techniques;
• Be available to respond to specific questions of training team members;
• Provide resources for further reading (beyond the immediate scope of this consultancy).

Debriefing session:

• Re-convene with the team to prepare and facilitate a debriefing session after the late September training delivery (max. 2 hours).

The exact details of the assignment and final scope of work will be determined jointly between the training team and the selected consultant and is subject to modification in consultation with the consultant.

Activities, Deliverables and Timeframe

The assignment is expected to mainly take place between June 1st and 15th September 2023, with a debriefing session scheduled after the training (approximately mid-October 2023).

The following milestones are foreseen (details to be finalised with the selected consultant)

Remuneration for completion of this assignment will not exceed a maximum of CHF 7,500. Travel or other material expenses are not expected, and applicants will be assessed based on the competitiveness and cost effectiveness of their offer.

Qualifications

• A seasoned professional with deep experience in trauma, mental health and psycho-social support;
• A minimum of 15 years of (staff or consulting) experience working with international organizations across the development, humanitarian, peace and/or human rights spectrum;
• Advanced university degree in social sciences, psychology, organizational psychology, international relations and/or related relevant disciplines;
• Experience with adult learning both face-to-face and online;
• A solid understanding of the complexity of transitional and conflict-affected contexts and the different levels of trauma people are exposed to when working for change in such settings;
• Solid intercultural work experience and deep understanding of cultural and gender differences and nuances when dealing with trauma;
• Experience with multi-stakeholder group facilitation with mid-level to senior level participants from different contexts and organizational realities;
• A collaborative spirit and flexibility in designing a tailored approach aimed at the specific learning needs of the training team and ability to adapt the approach as needed;
• Fluency in English.