Inclusivity Lead, Transforming Humanitarian Energy Access (THEA) Programme

Description

Project/Consultancy Title: Inclusivity Lead, Transforming Humanitarian Energy Access (THEA) Programme Project Location(s): Remote Finance Department Code: 13416 Background: Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. The Inclusivity Lead will be embedded in the Transforming Humanitarian Energy Access (THEA) program, which will deliver transformative action on clean energy access in humanitarian settings, working with the FCDO’s Transforming Energy Access (TEA) platform to mainstream energy access in humanitarian settings and provide expert advice on the energy needs of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) for UK and international energy access partners. The programme aims to build and share evidence of existing best practices for replication and scaling, support new refugee-inclusive policies and partnerships, outline key barriers to scaling energy access in refugee settings, test innovations, and helps raise additional funding/finance for delivery of sustainable energy solutions in humanitarian contexts. The action-oriented research will be used to and advocate with key donors, UN humanitarian and development agencies to remove barriers for quicker deployment of sustainable humanitarian energy solutions. Targeted research is planned to inable more inclusive financing, policies and partnerships, working directly with refugees and displaced communities to meet community energy needs through localized business and delivery models. THEA is delivered by Mercy Corps, in partnership with Refugee Led Organizations, Ashden and the Global Platform for Action (GPA) on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings (hosted at UNITAR). Purpose / Project Description: The Inclusivity Lead will work across the THEA’s work packages (WP) to ensure that the proposed innovative business models to increase energy access in situations of displacement are inclusive, and that the perspectives and experiences of forcibly displaced communities are systematically integrated in the development of new energy projects. For the WP 1 on Data-driven Evidence and Research, the Inclusivity Lead will lead on delivery of key briefing notes for the global humanitarian energy space through the GPA, which will report key evidence emerging through the THEA programme and including other best practices and updates from the GPA Steering Group and network partners. These yearly global summary reports will be accompanied by specific blogs, and the Inclusivity Lead will be responsible for ensuring that the yearly updates are written with co-authorship or revision by people with lived experience of forced displacement. In addition, two key briefing notes on Inclusive Policies and Inclusive Partnerships will be delivered, building on the GPA Inclusivity Strategic Outlook published in 2023. In 2026, the Inclusivity Lead will support the delivery of the State of the Humanitarian Energy Sector (SOHES) update, a key publication of the GPA Coordination Unit produced every 4 years which updates the global humanitarian energy access figures. For the WP2 on Codification and Implementation, the Inclusivity Lead will deliver and maintain a public webpage (e.g. a page on the GPA or Mercy Corps website) of refugee led energy enterprises. This is intended to create a network and provide visibility to energy enterprises in displacement settings, connect them with funding and investor opportunities to improve their businesses which deliver clean energy within their communities, and ensure their experiences are systematically included in Advocacy and Outreach delivered through the THEA programme. For the WP3 on Advocacy, the Inclusivity Lead will support setting up the “THEA: Evidence to Action” group, chaired by FCDO, to share the key learnings and outputs of THEA with the donor community, UN organisations and other key Humanitarian Energy stakeholders. This group will meet online and in person to ensure evidence and research produced through THEA is reported to influence donor and UN funding/policies. In addition, two online roundtables on Inclusive Policies and Inclusive Partnership will be held to share outputs of the briefing notes delivered under WP1. The Inclusivity Lead will also support ad-hoc advisory of TEA partners, aiming to integrate humanitarian and refugee contexts into the wider TEA programme. Consultant Objectives: The main objectives of the Consultant include:

• Raising awareness of inclusive sustainable delivery models for key UN and donor stakeholders.
  • Ensuring people with lived experience of forced displacement are consulted and actively engaged in research outputs.
    • Raising visibility for refugee-led businesses and organisations working on clean energy access in refugee settings in Uganda, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.