Vacancy Announcement Details

The objective of this consultancy is to carry out an After-Action Review of the West Bank Strike, including the events leading to the strike and the post-strike arrangements. The consultant will be tasked to explore the following:

• Strike triggers: what prompted the industrial action/strike? Was the strike an action of last resort? How or to what extent could it have been avoided?

• Relevant actions and measures taken by the ASU related to the dispute, prior to, during and post-strike: what is the nature of actions and measures taken by the ASU? Were these actions legitimate and in line with the applicable regulatory framework? What are the consequences and impact thereof, from a legal, political, operational, programmatic financial, reputational, security or other points of view? How or to what extent could these actions and measures have been mitigated or avoided and by whom?

• Relevant actions and measures taken by UNRWA related to the dispute prior to, during and post-strike: what is the nature of actions and measures taken by UNRWA in response to the industrial action? Were these 

  actions legitimate and within the regulatory framework? What are the consequences and impact thereof? What could have been done differently or more efficiently, bearing in mind the operational and legal context?

• Deadlocks and Setbacks: the period under review witnessed a number of deadlocks and setbacks. What were the reasons for such setbacks and/or lack of progress? What if anything could have been done differently but all parties involved?

• Ending the strike: How and what led to the strike ending? What are the overall consequences (political, financial, operational, programmatic, reputational) of a strike lasting close to 4 months for all affected people and population? What if anything could or should be done differently?

• Communications, communication channels as well as stakeholder engagement: Many statements were issued by various parties and stakeholders, and many meetings were held. Was communication appropriately used? Reviewing contents, tone and level of all such communication, what if anything worked well and was appropriate and what, if anything, did not work so well and ought to be adjusted in the future?

• Legitimacy, legality, reasonableness, efficiency and efficacy of actions taken: Looking at both ASU’s and UNRWA management’s actions (and/or omissions), as well as actions by other staff, as needed, to what extent are these legitimate (in light of the goal being pursued), legal (in light of the applicable regulatory framework), reasonable (in light of the consequences these actions had), efficient and efficacious (in light of the results they produced)?

• Handling of the ‘crisis’ – given the prolonged strike, how was the ‘crisis’ handled by UNRWA management? What are the lessons learnt for the future? What worked well and what worked less well and why?

• Impact of the strike and of the crisis as a whole : Given the sensitive location of the WBFO Compound, looking at all actions taken over the prolonged strike period, what is the impact of the strike and of this crisis as a whole on staff, donors, beneficiaries and other stakeholders such as the UN from a political, financial, mental, emotional operational, programmatic, reputational (and other) points of view?

• Immediate, medium and long term impact of Management’s decisions and strategy to strictly abide by the Agency’s rules and regulations (including the pay policy, investigations etc) on Staff and the Union’s future conduct and on their relations with management: to what extent will the Management’s handling of this strike be a game changer?

• Lessons learnt – what worked well, what could be improved in the future?

• Recommendations to all stakeholders : by way of conclusion what recommendations can be made to all those involved?

Applicants should submit a cover letter and CV or UN Personal History Form demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements via consultancy@unrwa.org indicating the title of this consultancy “UNRWA West Bank Strike After-Action Review” in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 30 September 2023.