Given that 75% of the 6.3 million individuals newly displaced by conflict in Sudan are finding refuge within the residential neighbourhoods of host communities—with 68% being accommodated by family and friends and 7% securing rental housing—the role of cash assistance for housing is becoming increasingly vital in this predominantly urban displacement scenario. Rather than allocating resources towards the creation of temporary, fragile shelters from scratch - such as tents and emergency kits, our approach leverages cash assistance to enable host families and landlords to offer longer-term shelter to IDPs. This strategy not only enhances the use of existing housing infrastructure whereby we are building on top of what is already there, but also offers a highly adaptable solution tailored to meet the diverse needs of beneficiaries, ranging from different housing types and materials to varying degrees of damage. Cash assistance emerges as the most cost-effective method to facilitate access to more permanent, durable shelter solutions amid the substantial resource limitations we encounter in Sudan. At the same time, evidence across different contexts have demonstrated that cash alone (given in isolation) is not enough to reach the intended outcomes. To enhance the effectiveness and impact of humanitarian assistance, it is crucial to implement complementary activities alongside cash-based programming. This approach not only offers individuals the autonomy to make decisions that directly affect their daily life and shelter conditions but also significantly contributes to their mental health and psychosocial well-being. The empowerment stemming from having a say in these critical decisions bolsters resilience not just among individuals, but across communities at large. When designed and executed thoughtfully, such a model not only respects but actively upholds the dignity of IDPs, paving the way for lasting stability and seamless community integration. This goes well beyond the temporary relief offered by emergency shelters, laying the groundwork for sustainable recovery and development.

The consultant will be hired in Sudan at national level, and she/he will be working closely with the focal points from HLP and Cash specialist from HQ in Geneva. He/she will engage in reflecting on global literature, analysing accessible secondary data related to Sudan, and, most critically, conducting interviews and focus group discussions with partners and affected communities. This approach, along with any other pertinent research methodologies, will culminate in the creation of a detailed Cash for Shelter guidance document, ensuring a comprehensive understanding and application of the intervention, covering the range of cash interventions applicable in the Sudan context, including (but not only) rental assistance, rehabilitation, site development and other forms of shelter response that utilise cash modalities. 

To facilitate the comprehensive literature review, the consultant will be provided with links to a curated selection of resources that may already be within their purview or serve to enhance their existing collection, specifically focusing on the utilization of cash for shelter and cash for rent interventions. The consultant will also conduct outreach to Shelter cluster partners to identify locally relevant resources such as market assessments, project reports, SOPs, and post distribution monitoring reports.

The national consultant will be responsible for the development of a comprehensive guidance document on Cash for Shelter and Rent market Interventions in Sudan, ensuring it reflects the inputs of Shelter partners in Sudan and best practice, alongside any accompanying tools that will support partners to operationalise the guidance (such as assessment tools, monitoring tools, targeting, transfer value determination etc.).. This document will serve to tailor and contextualize global resources available within the shelter sector and beyond, making them operational within the specific circumstances of Sudan. The guidance should address several critical areas, including (but not limited) to the following: 

1. Modalities for Cash Transfers: Identifying the most effective cash delivery mechanisms and financial service providers for Shelter/Rent in Sudan remains critical under the current circumstances. The ongoing conflict has severely disrupted the banking system, prompting the precautionary withdrawal of physical cash by many banks to guard against looting. This has led to a notable shift towards mobile money solutions. However, the utilization of these systems is challenged by infrastructure damage and strategic internet outages, underscoring the need for solar-powered solutions and resilient connectivity. To ensure the effectiveness of these modalities, the consultant, in close coordination with the Cash Working Group (CWG) in Sudan, is tasked with evaluating and prioritizing all viable payment options. This includes cash in local or foreign currencies, hawalas, and mobile money systems, taking into account their feasibility in light of Sudan's unique challenges. This collaborative effort with the CWG aims to leverage their expertise in mapping available delivery mechanisms and understanding the specific nuances of different scenarios, locations, and populations. The comprehensive analysis conducted will guarantee that the chosen modalities are not only practical but also adaptable to the evolving financial transaction landscape amidst the crisis, thereby optimizing the implementation and impact of Cash for Shelter/Rent initiatives in Sudan. 
2. Program Design: Identifying key components of shelter-related cash interventions, including objectives and expected outcomes; targeting criteria and approaches; determination of assistance packages; technical accompaniment; complementary intervetnions that support shelter outcomes; and monitoring approaches. 

2. Legal Support for Tenure Security: To safeguard against the potential commodification of IDPs by host families and their exploitation by landlords in cash-for-rent scenarios, it is imperative to integrate our shelter interventions with strong protection measures, notably through legal support to enhance tenure security. The consultant is tasked with devising a legal framework that incorporates the development of a tenure security agreement template. This template will enable tripartite agreements among host families or landlords, IDPs, and the humanitarian organization funding the initiative. It is crucial that this tenure security/legal agreement is meticulously tailored to be relevant and fair for all involved parties, drawing on in-depth consultations with IDPs, host communities, and cluster partners. This approach will ensure that the agreements are not only legally sound but also culturally sensitive and practically applicable, providing a robust safeguard against the risks associated with cash-for-shelter interventions. 

3. Sustained Protection Monitoring: It is imperative to implement sustained and continuous protection monitoring following the distribution of cash for shelter/rent and the establishment of legal support for tenure security. This monitoring is essential to verify adherence to agreements and to safeguard the dignity, rights, and safety of IDPs. In line with this, the guidance document prepared by the consultant should not only specify the protocols for such monitoring—detailing its duration (e.g., the minimum number of months), the nature of inquiries to be made, and the overall methodology—but also propose standard questions that can be seamlessly integrated into Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) tools by partners. This recommendation aims to make the guidance more actionable, enabling partners to uniformly assess and ensure the effectiveness of the assistance provided. By integrating protection concerns as a priority and incorporating technical questions to evaluate how the cash assistance has been utilized, this approach fosters a comprehensive understanding of both the immediate and longer-term outcomes of the intervention. Merging protection monitoring with post-distribution monitoring allows for a holistic evaluation, ensuring that the assistance meets the needs of IDPs effectively and maintains their dignity, rights, and safety throughout the process. 

OBJECTIVES

Impact/Benefit: 
For the Cluster: Establishes a model for cash-based interventions in urban displacement contexts, enhancing the cluster's toolkit for rapid and adaptable responses. 

For Partners: Provides actionable, context-specific guidance for implementing cash for shelter/rent interventions, ensuring partners are fully equipped to navigate Sudan’s unique challenges in a manner that adheres to the “Do No Harm” principle.

 
For Beneficiaries: Ensures more sustainable shelter solutions in a cost-effective way expanding reach, enhances protection measures, and respects the dignity and rights of IDPs. 

DELIVERABLES

The deliverables for this contract are set to include a primary guidance document, enriched with contextualized Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and templates for various components. This foundational document will be further augmented through a debriefing session with the cluster coordination team, alongside three online workshops designed to be accessible to all cluster partners. These workshops aim to promote the guidance/manual and SOPs, fostering a collaborative understanding and application of these materials.

EXPECTED ACTIVITIES

TIMELINE

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The consultant should be able to demonstrate the following experience and skills:

• Experience in designing and implementing shelter programs through a range of modalities, including cash, in the Sudan context, and ideally other contexts
• Understanding of, and experience in, rental market interventions
• Good knowledge of Housing Land and Property rights, specifically in the Sudan context
• Experience convening multiple stakheolders to work collaboratively on shared products
• Experience developing guidance notes, SOPs, and templates that support operationalization of quality humanitarian programs, ideally related to cash and shelter, including rental assistance
• Experience developing monitoring tools and approaches
• Experience conducting orientation and training workshops both in person and virtually for a range of stakeholder
• Fluent in English and Arabic

All interested applicants should submit the following as part of their application:

• Up to date CV
• Cover letter describing how you meet the requirements of the assignment and the approach they would take to implementing the assignment
• At least 2 examples of previous related work, such as guidance documents, SOPs, tools
• Financial proposal