UNDP Jobs - 68876- Extension / Provision of individual services of a

Extension / Provision of individual services of a National consultant Empowering Local Authorities and Local Actors in Lebanese Communities hosting Syrian refugees through Establishment of Mechanisms for Social Stability in the South of Lebanon.

Location :

Beirut, LEBANON

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

21-Oct-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

14 months after contract signature.

Languages Required :

Arabic English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

14 months after contract signature.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Since 2008, UNDP has been working closely with local authorities (municipal council members, mukhtars, etc.,) from all six governorates across Lebanon to support community based peacebuilding through facilitating processes entailing capacity building programs in peacebuilding, conflict resolution and mediation skills. Since 2011, the focus has been on longer term approaches, assisting local communities in jointly planning and establishing local level peacebuilding mechanisms and dialogue initiatives. The purpose of this work was to develop initiatives to diffuse tensions that may arise in the communities before they escalate to a higher level.

In 2013, the impact of Syrian refugees’ influx expanded to most Lebanese communities. Signs of different types of conflict between Lebanese and Syrians became clear in many host communities, with intensities varying based on the respective regions’ social and economic context. Citizens and municipalities were left alone to deal with its implications, with no guidance or capacity to differentiate between the political and humanitarian aspects. The municipalities suffered from overload and faced many challenges when it came to managing the situation. UNDP and through its new “Stabilization and Recovery Programme” started addressing the new challenges caused by the impact of the Syrian crisis on Lebanese host communities through working on three sectors: basic services, livelihood and social stability. Under the last sector and through the Peace Building in Lebanon Project, an initiative for improving social stability in Lebanese host communities impacted by the Syrian crisis was launched.

In the last two years, UNDP Peace Building in Lebanon project team has worked in more than 65 villages on establishing Mechanisms for Social Stability. Through a participatory approach, consultants have supported local communities to develop their own mechanisms for addressing social tensions and instability. These mechanisms have taken different forms and have contributed in decreasing tensions and strengthening social stability. The mechanisms have resulted in ten of diverse activities involving all the sections of the communities.

During this phase of the project, the Peace Building in Lebanon project will be working on establishing new Mechanisms for Social Stability in 7 new villages in the South of Lebanon, where a high number of Syrian refugees are living and the risk of tension is high and where UNDP is also working on livelihood and basic services. The villages/municipalities targeted are among the most vulnerable communities identified jointly by the UN and the Lebanese Government.

These mechanisms aims at preventing or reducing tensions and different types of conflict between the local communities in the South of Lebanon.

In order to support local authorities and other key local actors in the South of Lebanon to better manage the crisis and better respond to the additional challenges resulted from the impact of the Syrian crisis on them, UNDP is requiring the services of an individual consultant to conduct a participatory conflict assessment and analysis with members of local government and local actors representing the villages/municipalities (mayors, deputy mayors, municipal council members, mukhtars, social development centers (SDCs), local NGO members, other NGO members, religious figures, educators, civil society organizations, youth and other types of stakeholders identified) targeted by the process, in order to identify the main causes of the conflict, actors, dynamics, etc.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Project Manager, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

Support UNDP in selecting the members from the engaged community in the South of Lebanon. These members will be identified based on a specific set of criteria developed by UNDP;
Support local actors in developing relevant mechanisms to respond to the main causes of conflicts that will serve as mechanisms for social stability. This will be done through capacity building sessions, workshops, retreats, coaching (on identified needs, such as, but not limited to: crisis management, peacebuilding and conflict resolution/mediation skills, team building and communication skills, advocacy and lobbying, administrative and financial management)
Make sure that the established vehicles (groups, committees, networks…) of the mechanisms have the relevant codified rules and regulations in order to ensure their sustainability.
Coordinate with the Project Manager and the Responsible party of the implementation of the social Stability activities; carry on following up; offer coaching and support during and after the implementation phase.

The assignment is divided into four (4) main interrelated phases taking into account that capacity building sessions shall be mainstreamed throughout the different steps based on needs identified:

Revised work plan;
Participatory conflict analysis;
Development of Mechanisms of Social Stability;
Launching and implementation of the mechanisms.

Therefore, the consultant is required to undertake the following activities:

Revised work plan and methodology (Suggested working days: 2);
The consultant will provide a final project work plan and methodology covering all the activities along with a chart showing detailed list of tasks, duration and schedule per task and allocated resources (resources and or other relevant identified type of resources per task shall be included in the proposal. In other words, the bid shall include the consultant’s resources as well as other dependencies which affect the project duration). Once approved by UNDP, the work plan and methodology shall be adopted and shall form the basis for project supervision and monitoring;
Participatory conflict analysis including the report to be submitted (Suggested number of working days: 30);
Conduct a conflict assessment and analysis with local actors and authorities from the 7 villages, at the village level (through individual and focus groups meetings) and at the cluster level (through joint retreats/meetings) in order to better understand causes (immediate; intermediate and root causes), actors, dynamics and conflicts’ trends linked to the impact of the Syrian crisis on these communities in addition to those which existed prior to the Syrian Crisis;
Devote special time and effort to help UNDP identify key stakeholders to join the conflict analysis and to commit to be engaged in the full MSS process from this early phase, based on a set of predefined criteria;
Liaise with the local Social Development Center (SDC), explore and present a list of local NGOs and associations working in the area on similar topics and try to engage them in the process;
Development of mechanism for social stability including the report to be submitted (Suggested number of working days: 20);
Develop a participatory approach with a suggested mechanism for social stability at preferably the cluster of villages’ level or at the villages’ level;
Carry out 2 to 3 capacity building sessions based on the identified needs linked to the mechanism and the conflict analysis;
Validate the mechanism with the target group through facilitating 1 to 2 joint retreats/sessions;
Establish an internal structure (bylaws, internal regulations…) for the created platform/group/committee/mechanism;
Identify needs of capacity building sessions to be included in the next phase;
Include the identified local NGO and the SDC actively in the mechanism development phase;
Launching and implementation of the mechanisms including the report to be submitted (Suggested number of working days: 37);
Facilitate up to 15 meetings, workshops and coaching sessions to prepare for launching of the mechanisms;
Support the early phases of the mechanisms launch;
Follow up and help the local NGO/SDC/other in the implementation of the first phases of the mechanisms.

Oversee and follow up the designed activities in line with established Mechanisms and carry out the necessary identified capacity building sessions (2 or 3 sessions) for around 7 to 10 participants per village.

For additional information, please refer to ANNEX I – Terms of Reference

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Excellent analytical, negotiation and communication skills;
Excellent training and facilitation skills;
Excellent reporting and writing skills in English;
Proven impartiality and cultural and human rights sensitivity;
Ability to build strong relationships with local actors using inter-personal skills;
Ability to network effectively;
Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines and handle multiple tasks simultaneously;
Ability to adapt quickly to new working environments, to establish and maintain good working relations with individuals of diverse backgrounds and cultures;
Good knowledge of the context, peacebuilding and the impact of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon and host communities.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Kindly refer to the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice and all related Annexes by visiting the below link:

http://www.lb.undp.org/content/lebanon/en/home/operations/procurement/

Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

University degree in social science, sociology, political science, public administration, international affairs, or any other related field;
MA is a plus.

Years of experience:

A minimum of 5 years’ experience in conducting conflict analysis;
A minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in providing training sessions on peace building related skills, crisis management, project cycle management and other topics related to the empowerment of local actors;
A minimum of 5 years in facilitating similar conflict prevention mechanisms;
Experience working with municipalities and local actors in conflict zones;
Experience working on peacebuilding through socio cultural and socio economic sectors.

Language requirements:

Excellent command of Arabic language and good command of English. French is a plus.

Kindly refer to the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice and all related Annexes by visiting the below link:

http://www.lb.undp.org/content/lebanon/en/home/operations/procurement/

Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete