Generic Terms of Reference for Sector/Cluster Leads at the Country Level
The Cluster Approach operates at two levels. At the global level, the aim is to
strengthen system-wide preparedness and technical capacity to respond to
humanitarian emergencies by designating global Cluster Leads and ensuring that there
is predictable leadership and accountability in all the main sectors or areas of activity.
At the country level, the aim is to ensure a more coherent and effective response by
mobilizing groups of agencies, organizations and NGOs to respond in a strategic
manner across all key sectors or areas of activity, each sector having a clearly
designated lead, as agreed by the Humanitarian Coordinator and the Humanitarian
Country Team. (To enhance predictability, where possible this should be in line with
the lead agency arrangements at the global level.)
The Humanitarian Coordinator – with the support of OCHA – retains responsibility
for ensuring the adequacy, coherence and effectiveness of the overall humanitarian
response and is accountable to the Emergency Relief Coordinator.
Sector/cluster leads at the country level are accountable to the Humanitarian
Coordinator for facilitating a process at the sectoral level aimed at ensuring the
following:
Inclusion of key humanitarian partners
•
Ensure inclusion of key humanitarian partners for the sector, respecting their
respective mandates and programme priorities
Establishment and maintenance of appropriate humanitarian coordination
mechanisms
•
Ensure appropriate coordination with all humanitarian partners (including
national and international NGOs, the International Red Cross/Red Crescent
Movement, IOM and other international organizations), through
establishment/maintenance of appropriate sectoral coordination mechanisms,
including working groups at the national and, if necessary, local level;
•
Secure commitments from humanitarian partners in responding to needs and
filling gaps, ensuring an appropriate distribution of responsibilities within the
sectoral group, with clearly defined focal points for specific issues where
necessary;
•
Ensure the complementarity of different humanitarian actors’ actions;
•
Promote emergency response actions while at the same time considering the need
for early recovery planning as well as prevention and risk reduction concerns;
•
Ensure effective links with other sectoral groups;
•
Ensure that sectoral coordination mechanisms are adapted over time to reflect the
capacities of local actors and the engagement of development partners;
•
Represent the interests of the sectoral group in discussions with the Humanitarian
Coordinator and other stakeholders on prioritization, resource mobilization and
advocacy;
Coordination with national/local authorities, State institutions, local civil society
and other relevant actors
•
Ensure that humanitarian responses build on local capacities;
•
Ensure appropriate links with national and local authorities, State institutions,
local civil society and other relevant actors (e.g. peacekeeping forces) and
ensure appropriate coordination and information exchange with them.
Participatory and community-based approaches
•
Ensure utilization of participatory and community based approaches in
sectoral needs assessment, analysis, planning, monitoring and response.
Attention to priority cross-cutting issues
•
Ensure integration of agreed priority cross-cutting issues in sectoral needs
assessment, analysis, planning, monitoring and response (e.g. age, diversity,
environment, gender, HIV/AIDS and human rights); contribute to the
development of appropriate strategies to address these issues; ensure gender-
sensitive programming and promote gender equality; ensure that the needs,
contributions and capacities of women and girls as well as men and boys are
addressed;
Needs assessment and analysis
•
Ensure effective and coherent sectoral needs assessment and analysis,
involving all relevant partners
Emergency preparedness
•
Ensure adequate contingency planning and preparedness for new emergencies;
Planning and strategy development
Ensure predictable action within the sectoral group for the following:
•
Identification of gaps;
•
Developing/updating agreed response strategies and action plans for the sector
and ensuring that these are adequately reflected in overall country strategies,
such as the Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP);
•
Drawing lessons learned from past activities and revising strategies
accordingly;
•
Developing an exit, or transition, strategy for the sectoral group.
Application of standards
•
Ensure that sectoral group participants are aware of relevant policy guidelines,
technical standards and relevant commitments that the Government has
undertaken under international human rights law;
•
Ensure that responses are in line with existing policy guidance, technical
standards, and relevant Government human rights legal obligations.
Monitoring and reporting
•
Ensure adequate monitoring mechanisms are in place to review impact of the
sectoral working group and progress against implementation plans;
•
Ensure adequate reporting and effective information sharing (with OCHA
support), with due regard for age and sex disaggregation.
Advocacy and resource mobilization
•
Identify core advocacy concerns, including resource requirements, and
contribute key messages to broader advocacy initiatives of the HC and other
actors;
•
Advocate for donors to fund humanitarian actors to carry out priority activities
in the sector concerned, while at the same time encouraging sectoral group
participants to mobilize resources for their activities through their usual
channels.
Training and capacity building
•
Promote/support training of staff and capacity building of humanitarian
partners;
•
Support efforts to strengthen the capacity of the national authorities and civil
society.
Provision of assistance or services as a last resort
•
As agreed by the IASC Principals, sector leads are responsible for acting as
the provider of last resort (subject to access, security and availability of
funding) to meet agreed priority needs and will be supported by the HC and
the ERC in their resource mobilization efforts in this regard.
•
This concept is to be applied in an appropriate and realistic manner for cross-
cutting issues such as protection, early recovery and camp coordination.
Humanitarian actors who participate in the development of common humanitarian
action plans are expected to be proactive partners in assessing needs, developing
strategies and plans for the sector, and implementing agreed priority activities.
Provisions should also be made in sectoral groups for those humanitarian actors who
may wish to participate as observers, mainly for information-sharing purposes.