Research Consultant (Independent Contactor), Based in Thailand

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Organization : International Rescue Committee

Title:	RESEARCH CONSULTANT
Total number of Consultants	1
Country Program	IRC Thailand
Proposed Dates	1 April – 15 May 2023
Duration Application Deadline	1.5 month 3rd April 2023

Background of the project

Established in 1975, IRC Thailand was initially focused on assisting refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Today, IRC serves approximately 62,700 refugees from various ethnic populations from Myanmar displaced in Thailand due to protracted armed conflicts and ethnic persecution. Operating from Bangkok and with four field offices in Mae Hong Son, Mae Sot, Kanchanaburi, and Ratchaburi, IRC provides refugees residing in nine temporary shelters along the Thailand-Myanmar border with safe drinking water and sanitation services, essential health care, market-relevant livelihoods skills, legal assistance, human rights protection for women and children, women’s empowerment programs, and resettlement support services for those eligible to relocate to the United States.

As Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its Protocol, it does not recognize the rights associated with refugee status. Refugees are not legally permitted to leave the camps to find employment, education, or other income-generating or self-advancement opportunities. Most refugees subsist on monthly food voucher allocations and other basic services, supported by a network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and camp-based organizations.

Resettlement to third countries is no longer a viable option for most refugees in the temporary shelters. Based on an expected total of 125,000 global refugee admissions to the United States for FY2022, approximately 980 of these departure slots will be for refugees from the Thailand-Myanmar border. In recent years there has been extensive repatriation discussions among refugee leaders, UNHCR, and Thai authorities; however, political unrest in Myanmar along with the country’s conditions are not yet conducive for large-scale voluntary repatriation and there are no concrete plans for mass returns, camp consolidations, or closures. Since the first UNHCR-facilitated voluntary return in 2016, only 1,035 refugees have to date returned to Myanmar, a relatively low rate of formal returns from the population of 90,795 (as verified by the Royal Thai Government and UNHCR)

Introduction

Supporting Humanitarian and Refugee Protection in Asia, the SHARP-Asia project, aims to advocate for the protection of refugee populations in Asia. The project is funded by European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) and is implemented jointly by the Asia Displacement Solutions Platform (ADSP), the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN), and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), as the lead agency.

Context

Due to prolonged and ongoing conflict in Myanmar, refugees have resided in temporary shelters along the Thai Myanmar border for more than 38 years. For many, their children were born in the temporary shelters, and they consider them to be their only home. Refugees in the informal shelters are stuck in a perennial limbo i.e., where returning to Myanmar is not an option due to fear of safety and lack of connection and recognition of the country as their homeland. Furthermore, recent events - including Myanmar’s coup in February 2021 which led to widespread violence against civilians and resurgence of clashes between Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups - have exacerbated refugees’ unwillingness to return to their homeland. Since the coup, new batches of refugees have crossed into Thailand to seek protection – a high proportion being women, children, and the elderly.

As of July 2022, the number of refugees residing in the border camps was 90,795. These numbers have remained stable due to a decline in the numbers able to access voluntary repatriation and resettlement. With no assurance as to when the violence and political instability in Myanmar will end, refugees living in temporary shelters should have the fundamental right to work outside their shelters to develop their potential to provide for themselves and their families with dignity.

Scope of work

The Research Consultant based in Thailand with travels to Ratchaburi for field visit and will work with IRC’s Deputy Director of Programs and key staff in leading IRC’s advocacy strategies at the national level with Thai authorities, towards allowing refugees the right to work outside of camp settings.

IRC Thailand is seeking a highly motivated Research Consultant to contribute to its efforts to strengthen the rights of refugees in Thailand, with a focus on the legal right to work for refugees in temporary shelters. This consultancy is to be filled with a candidate based in Thailand able to leverage on the ground experience and networks, as well as academic, humanitarian or refugee rights perspectives to the research. The Research Consultant will conduct small-scale field research at temporary shelters in Ratchaburi province in Thailand, where the findings from this study will be used to provide data-based support for advocacy and further research. This work will build upon the Desk Review and Stakeholder Analysis on past and current advocacy and relevant policy analysis around refugee right to work and stakeholder analysis to identify key factors influencing refugees access to legal work in Thailand, conducted by Advocacy Strategy Consultant in October and November 2022, respectively.

This evidence-based research will be used to advocate for the right to work outside of camps for refugees residing in targeted temporary shelters in Ratchaburi initially and extend to all nine camps in, along Thai Myanmar Border. The advocacy will fill gaps in evidence related to recent and protracted displacement as pertaining to refugee protection in Thailand, inform approaches to gaps between the refugees’ knowledge, skills and capacity and the market’s needs, and promote a pilot study.

It will be shared with identified targeted key decision makers and stakeholders such as Ministry of labour, Ministry of interior and National Security Councils from Thai government, public agencies (including Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Interior, and the National Security Council), UN agencies, INGOs, national and local civil society and donors.

Consultancy objectives

Within the aforementioned intervention area, the research report intends to build upon the current desk review and stakeholder analysis to:

Provide targeted recommendations for legal, policy, and program responses for key actors, including community-based initiatives, host governments, civil society, donors, and international actors in order to better advance fundamental protection for men, women and children seeking asylum in Thailand.
Assess gaps and disconnections in knowledge, law, policy, and response with regard to protection through existing community efforts and frameworks in order to identify and capitalize on potential overlap and opportunities; and,
Identify the current knowledge, skillset, and capacity of refugees.
Identify the accessible market needs.
Analyse gaps between refugees’ skills and markets’ needs and recommend approaches.
Analyse how the right to work for refugees will impact or add value to Thailand economically and socially.
Analyze the application of local and national legal mechanisms, policy, practices, and their impact on protection.

Research questions pertaining to national policy and refugees.

What are the current profiles and drivers of Myanmar nationals moving to Thailand?
What are key protection risks/needs faced when entering Thailand and while in Thailand? Is there different treatment based on ethnicities or other diversity categories?
What formal and informal protection mechanisms are in place at local and national level?
What initiatives by the Royal Thai Government taken for refugee protection is being implemented in spirit and what are the positive outcomes, if any?
How can protection mechanisms, including community-based protection, be supported, strengthened or if necessary adjusted?
What are the experiences of, and challenges faced by, men, women, and children, and other displaced communities or individuals in accessing basic services and protection?
How have national-level deterrence policies impacted refugees’ safety and wellbeing?
What are the solutions that can be implemented on the ground given constraints of access, limited funding and increased numbers, such as exploring good practices that could be scaled up (e.g. in livelihoods), areas of synergy between stakeholders that can be capitalized on, or suggest focusing on geographical areas where there has been less engagement?

Research questions pertaining to site visit.

What is the current demographic within the refugee camp that would like to be employed outside of the temporary shelter?
What is the knowledge, skills, and capacity of the refugees?
Are there any challenges (e.g. social, cultural, economical, gender) within the temporary shelter that refugees face that could hinder their participation to work outside the camp?
What are the needs of the labor market in Ratchaburi area?
What are the optimistic outlook and concerns from the private sector?
What are the knowledge gaps that need to be addressed prior to potential employment? And how should these gaps be addressed?
What are some alternative methods for measuring employment success?
How could refugees ‘right to work outside of the camps add value directly to the local economy, and to Thailand at large?
What is the way forward for a successful collaboration between different stakeholders including INGO, academic sector, private sector, and public agencies?

Methodology

A large proportion of research will rely on qualitative and quantitative primary data collection through in-depth key informant interviews and focus group discussions with diverse clients’ ethnicities in Ratchaburi and with relevant stakeholders in Bangkok. Existing secondary data and quantitative sources including a recent desk review on the topic will be utilized to supplement data collection.

While the research intends to focus on temporary shelters in Ratchaburi province only, its framework will be used to lay the foundation for scalability to different temporary shelters around Thailand in the future.

Dissemination of research findings

During the research period the consultant is expected to provide progress updates on research efforts. Final research findings will be disseminated through IRC Thailand’s network in the form of a written report, as well as an online briefing.

Furthermore, as stated above, this evidence-based research will be used to advocate for the right to work outside of camps for refugees residing in targeted temporary shelters at Ratchaburi province, Thailand. It will be shared with identified targeted key decision-makers and stakeholders such as the Thai government body, public agencies (including Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Interior, and the National Security Council), UN agencies, INGOs, national and local civil society and donors.

Timeframes and deliverables

Consultancy to commence on or around April 1, 2023, with final deliverable completed and submitted to the Deputy Director of Programs on May 15, 2023 (Approximately 1.5 month)

Payment Rate and Schedule:

Phase	Deliverable	No. Of working days	Due Date	Associated Payment
Inception	Inception Report including initial desk research, revised research methodology, interview design, sampling and tools, timeline, initial list of organizational stakeholders to be consulted as part of the research. Initial consultation held with key stakeholders.	7	Second week of April	-
Data collection	Transcripts of interviews and draft report based on desk research, and initial findings from data collection and analysis, evidence of stakeholder engagement (i.e. key findings dissemination and validation, notes from interviews). Preliminary findings dissemination and validation with key stakeholders.	10	End of April
Analysis and Report writing	A draft of the research paper will be shared with IRC in Thailand project partners for comment and input (at least two rounds of review), with each draft to be delivered by the consultant within a week of receiving the comments.	7	First week of May	-
Final submission	Submit the final text of the report (maximum 20 pages) along with a shorter Executive Summary (2-3 pages) in English to Deputy Director of Programs. Conduct an online briefing with IRC network on the final report.	6	Second week of May

Consultant fee will be paid 2 times according to the delivery schedule.
IRC may withhold for taxes 3% as required by law and shall provide withholding certificates to the contractor, accordingly.

Qualification and Experience Required

Advanced degree in Law, Social Sciences, International Relations, Migration, Refugee Studies, or related field
Demonstrable experience engaging issues of refugees from Myanmar in Thailand
Demonstrable research experience, including quantitative and qualitative analysis.
Established stakeholder networks in Thailand with the ability to work consultatively with key stakeholders throughout the research process.
Sound understanding of legal and policy frameworks relating to refugees’ rights (national, regional, and international)
Excellent analytical and reporting skills
Evidence of prior research engagement and publication in the field of refugees’ labour rights, preferably in Thailand
Fluency in written and spoken English and Thai.

IRC Core Values & Commitments

The IRC workers and partners/consultants must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Adult Safeguarding, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity Anti-Retaliation and Combating Trafficking in Persons.

IRC is committed to ensuring that consultant is suitable to work with children and women / girls and have the knowledge s/he needs to uphold and abide by the IRC’s Child and Adult Safeguarding Policy. Level of interaction with clients: Frequent direct contact with clients

IRC recognizes that gender equality is fundamental to the achievement of our organizational mission. As such, IRC is committed to the promotion of gender equality in all aspects of our operations and programs. Our organizational policies, procedures and actions demonstrate this commitment. Women candidates and persons with disability are highly encouraged to apply.

Standards of Professional Conduct:

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Harassment-Free Workplace, Fiscal Integrity, Anti-Retaliation, Combating Trafficking in Persons and several others.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

If you are interested, please submit your cv and cover letter to the below email:

Contact : Thailand.HR@rescue.org

ที่ปรึกษา / Consultant

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