Consultant for Regional Gender and Syrian Return Study

ActionAid Arab Region invites individual consultants and research teams to conduct a regional study on gender dynamics, risks and decision-making around Syrian returns. The assignment covers Jordan, Lebanon, Türkiye and Syria, combining regional comparisons with country-specific findings.

The study will involve Syrians who have already returned to Syria and those in host countries who are considering, discussing or planning return. Its findings should inform rights-based, gender-responsive policy, programming and advocacy, with attention to voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return.

Study objectives

• Analyse how gender norms, roles and household power relations influence return intentions and decisions: who decides, in what circumstances and how voluntarily, including trade-offs involving safety, livelihoods, dignity and personal freedoms.
• Assess different risks facing women, men, girls and boys, including gender-based violence, movement restrictions, forced recruitment, child-protection concerns and social stigma.
• Examine gender-related access to civil documentation, housing, land and property, livelihoods, essential services and mobility, both when deciding to return and during reintegration.
• Assess the safety, voluntariness and dignity of return and its consequences for economic security, wellbeing, social roles, agency, autonomy and mobility, particularly for women and girls.
• Develop practical gender-responsive recommendations for humanitarian and development programmes, advocacy and national and regional policy engagement.

Scope and methodology

• Refine the research framework and questions to address gendered drivers, decisions, risks and reintegration outcomes across all four contexts.
• Design and apply a context-appropriate, gender-sensitive and protection-informed mixed-methods approach. Combine review of existing data and literature with key-informant interviews, focus groups and in-depth interviews, adding quantitative data collection or analysis where feasible.
• Disaggregate findings by sex, age and other vulnerability factors and enable comparison across countries and population groups.
• Identify feasible, relevant locations and participant groups in each country, including women, men, young people, people with disabilities and female-headed households.
• Collect and analyse primary and secondary evidence on return intentions and pressures, protection risks, services and livelihoods, reintegration experiences and outcomes.
• Examine changes in gender norms, roles and agency before displacement, during displacement and after return.
• Produce a regional report, analytical outputs and actionable recommendations for policy, advocacy and programming.

Ethics, protection and safeguarding

• Apply a do-no-harm approach that minimises risks without worsening vulnerabilities or protection concerns.
• Ensure voluntary participation and informed consent. Clearly explain the research purpose, data use and the right to withdraw at any time.
• Protect confidentiality, anonymity and sensitive information throughout data collection, storage and reporting.
• Use inclusive, gender-responsive design and meaningfully involve women, men, girls, boys and marginalised groups as people with diverse views, preferences, aspirations and agency.
• Make research tools and interactions sensitive to gender-based violence, child protection and other protection risks.
• Account for conflict sensitivity and political and social context, avoiding harmful narratives or heightened tensions.
• Provide clear safeguarding protocols for vulnerable participants, procedures for distress or sensitive disclosures, and safe, appropriate referral pathways where necessary.
• Avoid creating expectations concerning assistance, return support or services.
• Follow ActionAid’s Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Abuse and safeguarding policies throughout the assignment. This commitment must be included in the contract or signed alongside it. All activities must meet international humanitarian-research ethical standards, especially when involving women, children and other at-risk groups.

Deliverables and duration

• An inception report setting out refined questions, methodology, sampling, tools, workplan and ethical safeguards.
• Draft and final interview, focus-group and any survey tools, including consent procedures.
• A concise presentation of preliminary findings for validation and feedback.
• A draft regional report covering methodology, findings, comparative insights and initial recommendations.
• A final regional report incorporating feedback and clear, practical, gender-responsive recommendations.
• A final presentation of findings and recommendations to stakeholders.

The expected duration is 10–14 weeks. The consultant or team must propose a detailed timetable during inception.

Expertise and qualifications

• Applications are open to an individual consultant or a team. A multidisciplinary team covering the entire regional scope is preferred.
• Proven gender-analysis and feminist-research experience.
• Strong understanding of Syrian displacement, return dynamics and the contexts of Jordan, Lebanon, Türkiye and Syria.
• Demonstrated qualitative or mixed-methods research expertise.
• Experience in protection, gender-based violence or humanitarian programming.
• Strong analytical and English report-writing skills, and Arabic fluency.
• Experience with women-led, refugee-led or local civil-society organisations, and translating research into policy or advocacy outputs, is desirable.

Fees and tax

The agreed fee includes all taxes, including income tax. Consultants are fully responsible for their tax obligations and similar assignment costs within that fee. ActionAid will not pay taxes or equivalent charges above the contract amount; payment is neither plus-tax nor net-of-tax. Consultants based outside Jordan must state their country of tax residence in the financial proposal.

Application package

• A technical proposal explaining understanding of the assignment and key issues, methodology including gender and protection considerations, workplan and timeline, team composition and roles where applicable, and ethics, safeguarding and risk-mitigation measures.
• A detailed financial proposal with daily rates, estimated working days and costs for personnel, travel, data collection, translation, reporting and other relevant items. All daily rates and totals must include all taxes.
• CVs for the lead consultant and key team members demonstrating relevant experience.
• At least one to two examples of similar research or analytical work, preferably involving gender, displacement or humanitarian contexts.
• Contact details for at least two professional referees from comparable assignments.

Email the complete package to ari.jobs@actionaid.org by 17 October 2026. The call was published on 4 October 2026. This is a regional consultancy that includes Jordan, rather than a full-time employment appointment. No city, fee amount, specific degree or fixed minimum years of experience is stated.