Disaster Management Unit of the Lebanese Red Cross

Terms of Reference

Development of a 5-year Strategy

for the

Disaster Management Unit of the Lebanese Red Cross

This document contains the Terms of Reference for an external consultancy to assist the Lebanese Red Cross in assessing its Disaster Management Unit, developing an overall strategy for the Unit, as well as proposing a future organizational structure that would facilitate the achievement of the strategic objectives

Table of Contents

Section 1 - Statement of Purpose

Section 2 - General Background information about LRC

Brief Historical Overview

Current situation

Mission

Structure

Main departments/programmes

Support Functions

LRC Priorities

Section 3- Disaster Management Unit

Current Situation of the Disaster Management Unit

DMU programmes and projects:

Water Sanitation and Hygiene program (WASH)

Basic Assistance:

Restoring Family Links:

Psychosocial support project:

Contingency Planning Project:

Disaster Risk Reduction program (DRR):

Summary of the key figures of the Disaster Management unit in 2016

DMU Support functions:

DMU PMER:

Disaster Management branches:

Case studies:

Main challenges

Present Commitments of the DM Unit

Synergies

Section 4 - Scope of consultancy services

Section 5 – Background documents

Section 6 - Deliverables

Timeline

Methodology

Proposal requirements

Section 1 - Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this RFP is to solicit proposals from consultants qualified to develop a 5-year strategyfor LRC’s Disaster Management Unit (DMU) with implementation toolsand recommendations for an organizational design and structure that would allow DMU to fulfill its strategy.

We will consider proposals from single or multiple consultants. The ideal consultant will be an established local or international supplier with a recognized experience in supporting non-profit organizations and at least one team member with specific and significant expertise in community based work and/or disaster management programming. Consultants having similar prior experience with the LRC or with Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement national societies will be given preference.

Section 2 - General Background information about LRC

Brief Historical Overview

The Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) is a humanitarian organization established on July 9, 1945 as an independent national society in Lebanon. In 1946, it was recognized by the state as a public non-profit organization and as an auxiliary team to the medical service of the Lebanese Army. In 1947, the Lebanese Red Cross joined the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement - which includes 190 national organizations worldwide - and became a member of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) ever since. Furthermore, it is a founding member of the Secretariat General of the Organization of the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies. Over the last 70 years, the Lebanese Red Cross has had a strong presence and a good reputation in the society of Lebanon providing various services to the people in need.

LRC’s reputation was mainly established during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) and its services, especially its ambulance service, scaled up dramatically during that period. From 1990 to 2005, LRC entered a period of general stagnation and was affected by the political compromises and fragile equilibrium established at the end of the Civil War. Two successive military generals were appointed to lead the LRC during that period, and the position of Secretary General was left vacant. A change in statutes in late 2005 and the LRC’s highly visible actions during the July 2006 War with Israel led to a sustained effort to modernize and reform the Emergency Medical Services Department (EMS, ambulance services). Although this change did not immediately impact the rest of the LRC, the progress made in EMS demonstrated to the rest of the national society the benefits of a long-term approach of transparent collaboration with Movement and non-Movement partners. This laid the foundation for a deeper,organization-wide change that started in late 2013 after a second revision of the Statutes and the appointment of the first Secretary General in more than two decades.

Current situation

Mission

The mission and the goal of the Lebanese Red Cross is to disseminate peace, serve the society, and alleviate human suffering with neutrality and without any racial, sexual, social, religious or political distinction. In accordance of its mission statement the Lebanese Red Cross carries out the following:

§The Lebanese Red Cross acts as an auxiliary to the medical services of the Lebanese Army during armed conflicts, in all fields mentioned in the Geneva Conventions, and provides help for all the victims of war whether military or civilian. The Lebanese Red Cross is also involved in disaster preparedness and response and acts as an auxiliary to the public health services in all the fields mentioned in the Geneva conventions during peacetime,

§Participates in efforts aiming at improving health, preventing disease and alleviating the suffering of all people through rehabilitation and solidarity programs that meet the needs on both national and local (community) levels,

§Provides ambulance services to the population in Lebanon,

§Provides blood services to the population in Lebanon,

§Encourages the participation of children and youth in the Lebanese Red Cross activities, and

§Disseminates the Fundamental Principals of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the International Humanitarian Law in order to spread the spirit of peace, understanding and respect among the people, especially the youth and children.

Structure

The Lebanese Red Cross, as a volunteering organization, is based on 32 branches in the entire territory of Lebanon. It has more than 5,000 active volunteers, around 2000 inactive members and about 300 staff. The Lebanese Red Cross is the largest national humanitarian organization in Lebanon. The organization accomplishes its mission through 46 Emergency Medical Services centers, 4 Dispatch centers operating the national medical emergency hotline “140”, 36 medical social centers, 10 mobile medical units, 35 youth clubs, 13 blood transfusion centers, 6 nursing institutes and 14 Disaster Management units.

The Lebanese Red Cross consists of:

§32 local branches

§14 departments and units

§The General Assembly with 132 members,

§The Central Committee with 42 members,

§The Executive Committee with 14 members, including the president and vice-president, and

§The Secretary General who is the head of the management structure

In addition to the president and vice-president, the Executive Committee consists of the elected heads of each department.

The 32 branches, each with its individual services and structures, and its volunteers are represented and supported by a national headquarters located in Beirut. The headquarters consists of:

§5 Operational Departments:

Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Medical & Social Services, Disaster Management, Blood Transfusion Banks, Youth and

§10 Support Services Departments/Units:

Planning & Development, Human Resources, Volunteering, Accounting and Finance, Logistics, Procurement, Public Relations &Media, Internal Affairs, IT Services, Education (Nursing),

The Lebanese Red Cross has traditionally been severely underfunded since the end of the Civil War with less than 5.5 million USD of domestic budget. It relies mainly on the following financial resources:

§Volunteers membership subscriptions,

§Symbolic fees collected for medical services, blood transfusion, and preventive instructions and teaching programs,

§Annual fundraising campaigns (contributions of the Lebanese community),

§Donations, legacies and aids from individuals, firms and institutions,

§Contracts with the public sector (particularly the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of the Displaced), and

§Programs financed by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Partner National Societies, or other international institutions

Since 2013, the LRC has been receiving external support from its Movement and other partners to scale up its activities in response to the Syria crisis. Consequently, its annual operating budget for 2015 and 2016 was approximately 25 million USD.

Main departments/programmes

Department/Programme / Current status (2017)
Emergency Medical Services
(Ambulance services) / Flagship department of LRC.
The LRC is the main provider of ambulance services in Lebanon. 46 ambulance centers staffed by 3000+ well-trained volunteers use 260 ambulances to respond to fulfill more than 260,000 calls yearly at no cost to the beneficiary.
EMS started evolving in 2008 with its first 5-year strategy and with the support of ICRC and several other Movement and non-Movement partners.
In mid 2008, EMS established a training unit that took over first-aid training in LRC and is now providing courses to more than 17,000 persons yearly for the general public, EMS and the other departments in
LRC.
Blood Transfusion Centers / Traditionally the 2nd most known and requested service of LRC. Started undergoing major reforms from 2014 with the support of the Swiss Red Cross. Distributed in 2016 around 23,000 blood units to the public, which represents an estimated 16% of the national demand.
13 blood transfusion centers covering the entire territory.
Service is provided at no cost to the beneficiary.
Medico-Social Services / A once leading service of LRC that suffered from long year of neglect resulting in more than half of the 36 medico-social centers reaching very few beneficiaries. Support from several Movement partners since 2014 has resulted in significant improvements in the scope, scale and quality of work and in the creation of 9 mobile medical units which account today for most of the relevant services provided by that department.
At the moment, the MSD department is undergoing a similar strategy development process to the one described in this RFP.
Disaster Management / Unit subject of this RFP
Unit present since 2006 as a concept but became activated in 2013 as a result of the Syria Crisis. 14 units covering the highest risk areas. Currently focuses on basic assistance (in-kind and cash transfer), WASH (Water and sanitation), Restoring Family Links (RFL) and DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction).
The DM unit also participates actively in the cross cutting RP (Response Preparedness) and PSS (Psycho-social support) programmes.
Youth / 35 centers and around 1400 volunteers. The Youth department represents the second large pool of volunteers in LRC and has traditionally offered social activities and activities linked to humanitarian values and principles as well as peace building. It was not integrated into the recent LRC reform efforts but the integration process has been initiated in August 2016.
Organisational Development Programme / Programme established following the OCAC Phase 1 (Organizational Capacity Assessment & Certification Process) result that was published in April 2014. Effectively started in January 2015 and aims at reforming the LRC’s support functions and providing the LRC and its operational departments with the required capacities in financial management, HR, Volunteering, Logistics, Fundraising, Communications, ICT, Training, PMER and quality improvement. The newly launched Branch Development project is a component of the OD Programme.
Psychosocial Support (PSS) / New cross-cutting programme launched in late 2014. Currently jointly managed by LRC and DRC with focal persons in each of EMS, MS and DM. The ambition of LRC is to integrate PSS components such as self-care, psychological first-aid and peer support into the entire organization, and to build a capacity to provide structured PSS to the population.
Response Preparedness / New cross-cutting programme launched in 2014 aiming at improving the
ability of LRC to plan for and respond to crisis (major incidents or
disasters). Mainly managed by EMS and targeted primarily at EMS and
DM but also integrating MSD, BTS and PSS.
Department / Programme / Services provided in 2016
Emergency Medical Services (ambulance service) / 262,039
Public First-Aid Training provided by EMS / 17,363
Blood transfusion services / 27,464
Medico-Social services / 455,515
DM: Basic Assistance, water and sanitation and disaster risk reduction services / 204,131
Awareness services provided by Youth department / 106,657
Nursing students / 127
Dissemination of Red Cross Red Crescent Movement Principles / 1,964
Total / 1,075,260

Support Functions

Under the LRC statutes, a number of departments exist that are considered to be “support” departments. These departments, similarly to the operational departments have an elected “head” sitting in the Executive Committee and a director managing the department. Several of these departments are now undergoing major changes as part of LRC’s OD programme.

Department / Current Status
Finance / Major changes and restructuring in 2015 under the OD programme. Successfully completed handover from the external company that was brought in to manage the department following major challenges in 2014 and early 2015, to a renewed LRC team.
Human Resources / In early 2016 consisted of basic and insufficient personnel administration only. Comprehensive assessment carried out by Deloitte under the OD programme and a team from Deloitte has been contracted since to establish a well-functioning HR. This effort has now been completed and the hand over to the LRC team took place in March 2017.
Logistics / In charge of warehousing, fleet and procurement. In effect, fleet management is mainly done by EMS. Warehousing is done by each relevant department (EMS, DM, MS, Youth). Procurement function subject to major reforms under the OD programme with the support of the British Red Cross and was recently separated from the Logistics function to become an autonomous unit with LRC.
Public Relations and Information / One director and two assistants. Under-staffed and under-resourced. An external assessment of external communications has been completed in August 2017 and a project to establish a specialized modern external communications unit has been initiated.
Fundraising & Marketing Department / Recently established department. One full time employee to date with more under recruitment. Main purpose is to increase and diversify local, sustainable sources of revenue for LRC’s main services.
Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) / Under-staffed and under-resourced department. Multiple initiatives ongoing to introduce IT solutions to various elements of LRC’s work.
Volunteering / Inactive department / Functions assumed by volunteering project team
Planning / Inactive department / Functions assumed by Secretary General’s office
Internal Affairs (Legal) / One director and one secretary. Organizes elections, reviewsregulations and provides advice on all legal matters.
Education / Nursing / Originally in charge of First-Aid training, became in effect theNursing department following the transition of First-Aid Trainingto EMS in 2015

LRC Priorities

1. Strengthen the traditional core services of LRC:
2. Emergency Medical Services
3. Blood Transfusion Services
4. Primary Health Services
5. Strengthen the organizational capacities of the National Society – including Youth and Local Branches - to ensure its ability to sustainably provide its core services and to respond to this and future crisis
6. Scale up disaster management services to prevent, prepare and respond effectively to the risks and needs of refugees and vulnerable host communities
7. Leverage the access, volunteers and geographical presence of LRC to respond rapidly and effectively to crisis and disasters

Section 3- Disaster Management Unit

At the end of 2013, primarily in response to the Syria crisis which had resulted in Lebanon hosting the highest ratio of refugees per capital in the world, LRC established its National Disaster Management Unit to increase its scope of LRC services. These services included humanitarian response, institutional preparedness, and scaling up the Disaster Risk Reduction program that had been mainly based in Tyr as a pilot area.

The DMU Vision and Mission statements were defined as follows during a workshop of the DM team with an external consultant in 2015. They were never well disseminated and are no longer considered adequate by LRC /DM management.

DMU Vision: LRC DMU seeks to be a sustainable and well- structured unit recognized by thecommunity and institutions as THE national actor for enhancing a culture of risk and minimizing the impact of disasters.

DMU Mission:

1. Support and empower vulnerable people before, during and after disaster
2. Work in a community based manner, taking into consideration the available local resources, and adding them to ours.
3. Respond quickly to needs while maintaining high standards.
4. Work efficiently and effectively, coordinating with all stakeholders.

Embedded technical delegates from partner National Societies that work closely with sectoral and cross cutting teams support the LRC DMU. In addition, DMU programmes are funded primarily by a large number of Movement Partners; ICRC, IFRC, German Red Cross, Netherlands Red Cross, Swiss Red Cross, Norwegian Red Cross, British Red Cross, French Red Cross, Danish Red Cross, and Austrian Red Cross .

From 2014, the LRC DMU scaled up dramatically in response to the Syria Crisis.The ambition of LRC is that the DMU will maintain a core capacity even after the end of the Syria crisis and its related funding, in readiness for future natural and man-made disasters and emergencies.

The main achievements between 2014 and mid 2017 are:

• Scaling up from 8 centers and 141 volunteers and daily workers to 14 centers and 438 trained volunteers and daily workers
• Introducing and successfully piloting of the Cash Transfer Program with 1500 persons supported on a monthly basis and a solid foundation established for future growth of the capacity
• Providing basic assistance (food, non-food items, winterization assistance) to 137,000 persons
• Introducing and scaling up the WASH (Water & Sanitation) Program reaching around 45,000 persons annually
• Leveraging LRC’s access to focus on areas where other humanitarian agencies do not or cannot operate
• Leveraging LRC’s volunteer network and geographical presence to build a capacity to provide relief and basic assistance to affected populations during the first hours of an emergency when other agencies are still mobilizing.
• Developing and partially implementing a comprehensive training programme
• Participating actively in the cross-cutting volunteer management project to improve the recruitment and retention of new volunteers
• Initiating a Contingency Planning Process project to improve the capacity of the local DM teams to prepare for disaster response and to integrate into LRC’s overall Response Preparedness programme
• Introducing Psychosocial support elements to all DMU activities and testing a few stand-alone PSS activities

Current Situation of the Disaster Management Unit

With the support of an HR expert funded by the German Red Cross in mid-2015, a clear documented structure for the DMU HQ was developed. Job descriptions and reporting lines were set. The current organogram should be revised following the strategy development process.