External Consultant – Protection Needs Assessment: Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk oblast.

External Consultant – Protection Needs Assessment: Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk oblast We are seeking an external consultant to conduct a comprehensive protection needs assessment in the conflict-affected oblasts of Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk. The overall objective is to provide an independent, evidence-based analysis of the evolving protection situation, humanitarian needs, service gaps, and community capacities among conflict-affected populations in these areas, in order to inform the adaptation, prioritization, and potential scale-up of the ongoing EU-funded protection response. Specific Objectives 1. Assess the evolving protection environment by identifying current and emerging protection risks, threats, vulnerabilities, coping mechanisms, and humanitarian needs affecting conflict-affected populations in the target oblasts. 2. Analyse the protection needs of different population groups, including newly displaced and protracted internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, conflict-affected host communities, non-displaced populations living in frontline and border areas, and individuals with heightened protection risks, including children, women and girls, older persons, persons with disabilities, survivors of violence, and single-parent households. 3. Assess the relevance, accessibility, quality, and utilization of existing protection services, including case management, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), Child Friendly Spaces (CFS), legal assistance, information provision, referral pathways, and community-based protection activities, identifying barriers to safe, equitable, and dignified access. 4. Assess local capacities and existing protection mechanisms, including the role of local authorities, civil society organizations, community volunteers, and informal support networks in identifying, preventing, and responding to protection risks and facilitating referrals. 5. Provide practical, evidence-based recommendations to support the adaptation, prioritization, and potential scale-up of the ongoing ECHO-funded action. Recommendations should inform geographic targeting, beneficiary selection, service delivery modalities, referral mechanisms, community engagement, and preparedness for rapid response through the project's crisis modifier, while reflecting the distinct operational r...