CVT Consultancy Roster: Call for Applicants (Syria Healing & Justice Initiatives)
The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) aims to heal the wounds of torture on individuals, their families, and their communities, and to end torture worldwide. Our work focuses on providing healing care for survivors, advocating for justice and human rights, advancing research, and supporting the resilience of civil society partners and human rights defenders who courageously build and expand movements for change. CVT is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization headquartered in Minnesota, USA with offices in Africa and the Middle East. CVT’s Regional Office, registered under the name The Center for Victims of Trauma, supports new and innovative programming.
Purpose of the Consultancy Roster
CVT is seeking experts to join its Healing & Justice Consultancy Roster (Syria focus).
In the months following Syria’s historic transition, CVT services have become even more critical, and we are seeking to expand our capacity in response to requests for support. Using a survivor-centered, trauma-informed, and human rights-based approach, CVT’s current work includes training Syrian civil society organizations; providing rehabilitation and resilience services for those impacted by human rights violations, including survivors of torture and detention, and families of the missing; supporting frontline workers providing emergency services; and advocating for justice alongside and in support of rights holders.
About the Consultancy Roster
Need: A Consultancy Roster can help CVT to promptly identify and select experts through a streamlined procurement process based on specific, short-term needs that require specialized areas of expertise. Joining CVT’s Consultancy Roster does not guarantee that experts will receive a contract, but it helps streamline the process so that qualified and experienced experts can be quickly mobilized in response to emergent needs. CVT may continue to offer ad hoc consultancy opportunities beyond the scope of this Roster, subject to different terms and conditions. Please note this is not an employment opportunity.
Process: Successful bids will be entered into CVT’s Roster database, with a profile outlining the Consultant’s core qualifications, competencies, and experience. All Consultants will be pre-vetted according to rigorous criteria and selected for various assignments based on qualifications that align with project requirements. For each opportunity, CVT will review the Roster to evaluate Consultant profiles best suited to meet requirements of the assignment. A brief Terms of Reference (TOR) will be developed for matched Consultant(s) to review and consider. Upon mutual agreement to proceed, the TOR will be incorporated into a time-bound, deliverable-based consultancy contract.
Assignments: Assignments may range from a few days to a several months. Some may include travel. Consultants will have the right to accept or decline any assignments offered without penalty; all assignments are subject to contractor availability and interest as well as available funding.
Benefits: By joining CVT’s Consultancy Roster, experts will be eligible to contract with CVT in order to respond to existing and emerging project needs. Working as part of an interdisciplinary team, Consultants will have access to diverse expertise within the organization for collaboration, shared resources, brand reputation and credibility, trust and legitimacy, mentorship and networking opportunities, and less administrative burden compared with independent consultancy models. Compensation will be provided consistent with competitive daily remuneration rates, and additional costs will be covered as stipulated in each assignment’s negotiated terms and conditions (e.g. travel). In addition, Consultants will have the opportunity to participate in training(s) required to complete their assignments (billable time).
Successful applicants will be notified of their selection for the Roster, which will be effective from September 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025.
Areas of Assignment
Successful consultants will contribute to some or all of the following assignments, depending on their relevant experience and expertise:
- Specialized Service Delivery
- Provision of specialized, interdisciplinary torture rehabilitation services
- Provision of trauma-focused support (including telehealth) to human rights defenders, families of the missing, and survivors of torture and other human rights atrocities
- Provision of adaptive interventions to support human rights defenders
- Specialized Training and Capacity-Building
- Training and mentorship on self-care and staff support
- Training and mentorship on trauma-informed approaches to human rights work
- Specialized, trauma-informed Advocacy Support on relevant issues
Qualifications and Criteria
CVT is currently seeking mental health experts, clinical psychologists, psychosocial counselors, physiotherapists and other qualified professionals with extensive experience and deep expertise working in the Syrian context.
Demonstrated familiarity with the Syrian context is a requirement for applying. Your experience in this area must be clearly reflected in your application. Applicants who do not meet or clearly demonstrate that they meet this requirement this will not be considered.
Academic and Professional Qualifications
- A degree (Bachelors, Masters, and/or Doctorate) in Psychology, Social Work, Physical Therapy, or other related field
- CVT recognizes that formal education may be disrupted by years of systematic oppression, conflict, and displacement. We also recognize that valuable experiences may come from volunteer work and informal activism. Finally, we know that human rights violations and their impacts – in particular detention – have denied access to education and work for many talented and motivated individuals. We welcome applications from individuals interested in, passionate about, and well positioned to collaboratively advance the work of CVT. If your academic efforts have been impacted by the aforementioned experiences, but you meet all other qualifications and requirements listed below, we welcome your application.
Experience:
- Experience delivering specialized, interdisciplinary rehabilitation and resilience services for Syrian survivors of gross human rights violations, including torture
- Experience providing culturally appropriate, contextually adapted self-care and staff support trainings and services to activists, service providers, and civil society organizations operating under difficult and dynamic conditions
- Experience providing trauma-informed technical trainings – and ideally Training-of-Trainers – to humanitarian workers, service providers, and others in adjacent fields
- Familiarity with the extent and direct impacts of human rights violations on Syrian individuals, families, and communities
- While experience providing telehealth is not required for all consultancies, if you have experience in providing remote services please indicate this clearly in your submission
- Fluent Arabic language skills (can deliver clinical services and technical trainings in Arabic)
- Professional proficiency in English
- Demonstrated neutrality and openness to different perspectives, positions, and backgrounds
- Awareness of relevant approaches and frameworks for trauma-informed principles and survivor-centered healing and justice work
- Familiarity with or understanding of resilience and rehabilitation (healing) approaches to support survivor well-being
- Demonstrated interest in and commitment to human rights, including relevant approaches to ethical engagement and conflict sensitivity
- Comfortable with remote consultancies that require both independent and collaborative work
- Strong diplomatic and communication skills
- Ability to proactively and creatively drive project work forward
- Ability to work autonomously with limited supervision
- Willingness to train on and implement existing or adapted CVT interventions without compromising model design or fidelity
Qualities & Competencies:
Strengthen Safeguarding Measures
Given the sensitive nature of the work, please be reminded of the following:
- Consultants must adhere to CVT’s PSEA (Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse) and confidentiality policies.
- Reference checks will include questions about ethical conduct.
Please note that professional license may be required for some assignments; please clearly note any and all current professional credentials and licenses on your CV.
How to apply
Application Requirements:
- Curriculum outlining your relevant experiences and qualifications, including clearly identifying any experience related to Syria.
- Please also include names, titles, and contact information for 2 professional references.
- Please clearly note any and all current professional credentials and licenses on your CV.
- Brief Paragraph introducing yourself and your experience in the Syrian context. This can be included in the body of your email.
- Financial Expectations outlining your expected remuneration rate in US dollars and hours available per week. This is to align expectations with CVT’s rates. CVT will offer fixed rates for the assignments to promote equity. Rates are tiered based on experience and aligned with CVT’s equitable remuneration framework.
Timeline:
- Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis
- Subject to available funding and opportunities, assignments will be issued on a rolling basis beginning on August 25, 2025
- CVT will continue receiving applications through an initial deadline of September 30, 2025
- The Roster may be re-opened should there be a need to identify additional suitable candidates
Submissions:
- Send applications to SyriaRoster@cvt.org with the subject line “Consultancy Roster”
