UNDP Jobs - 74228- National Municipal Workshop Facilitator for an UND

National Municipal Workshop Facilitator for an UNDP Innovation Project in Lebanon.

Location :

Beirut, LEBANON

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

31-Aug-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

6 days spread over a period of five months.

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 days spread over a period of five months.

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

As part of an innovation pilot project, UNDP will implement a whatsapp-based survey tool to collect data i) on early warning/conflict dynamics and ii) community feedback on developmental projects at the local level in Lebanon. The survey tool will be rolled out in two municipalities in the Bekaa and in North Lebanon during a nine months period (August 2017 to April 2018). The objective of the whatsapp-based survey tool is to strengthen UNDP’s Stabilization work in Lebanon by more effectively harnessing the new ways of connecting and knowing created by Lebanon’s vibrant mediascape. Social media, in particular, is furnishing new spaces for two-way communication and knowledge exchange between international organizations, states and beneficiaries. Tapping into these digital possibilities will help UNDP Lebanon to reconfigure its relationship with its beneficiaries into a more horizontal engagement while also collecting real-time, localized data on conflict dynamics to strengthen Lebanon’s conflict prevention systems.

The idea is to create a whatsapp-based ‘Speak your mind’ tool targeting host communities and Syrian refugees in the most vulnerable areas in Lebanon. The tool will be developed together with target users through a one-day workshop using a design thinking methodology. The purpose of the workshop is threefold. First, it will foster an open exchange with community stakeholders to ensure that the survey tool design is inclusive, participatory, conflict sensitive and practicable (i.e. it aligns with community interests and habits in social media usage). Second, the workshop’s objective is to build confidence and interest in the survey by explaining its rationale, implementation, data usage and protection to assuage community concerns. Third, at the workshop, we will train and recruit community mobilizers and refugee focal points who will help us to advertise the survey, thereby ensuring higher participation especially among younger people and vulnerable communities.

A. Sampling Methodology
Participants will be recruited using a snowball sampling methodology through WhatsApp. In the Lebanese context, whatsapp is a rich and underexploited method for data collection for three reasons. First, many villages have formed whatsapp groups making it the primary platform for people to share information and to receive messages from the municipality. For Syrians, it is a crucial means to learn about available services as well as policy changes that concern them. For example, in the 2016 VASyr, 74% of refugees reported using social media, 90% of whom are using WhatsApp. Second, in a highly divided society in which traditional media are often regarded as partisan, social media and particularly whatsapp are among the most trusted sources of information for both Lebanese and Syrians.1 Third, whatsapp’s voice recording option enables the tool to combine quantitative and qualitative methodology and empowers people to share their stories with the United Nations.

B. Implementation
The initial idea is to run the survey for a whole month in each of the two municipalities starting a new topic each Monday. Topics could be around ‘employment/competition for jobs’, peoples’ feedback on the developmental projects in their area or their opinions on something that has been reported in the media on refugees. Survey participants would then send a voice message in which they explain their views and concerns about the topic.

Duties and Responsibilities

The successful applicant will act as the facilitator for the two workshops in Bekaa and in North Lebanon. The first workshop will take place in September 2017 in the Bekaa and the second in North Lebanon in January 2018 (precise dates to be confirmed). The consultant will be paid for three days for each workshop. This includes one preparation day together with the UNDP team to jointly create a workshop plan and devise a methodology for involving community stakeholders in the participatory design of the tool, mobilize them to advertise the survey in their social networks and address potential concerns about data usage/privacy. On the workshop day, the consultant will facilitate the workshop fostering an open and inclusive dialogue with community stakeholders to tailor the survey design in a way that is conflict sensitive and speaks to community concerns. The facilitator will also train workshop participants in the use of the whatsapp-based survey running through the different steps of the survey implementation together with the UNDP team. The consultant will also be paid for a follow-up day to debrief with the UNDP team and write up an analytical summary of observations and lessons learnt from the workshop that will help to shape the survey design and inform future workshops.

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

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Proven ability to build strong relationships with mayors and mukhtars, and other local community stakeholders including youth and vulnerable communities, using excellent inter-personal skills
Excellent facilitation and communication skills as well as the ability to motivate and mobilize community stakeholders
Very good analytical and writing skills
Good knowledge of the conflict context in Lebanon and specifically the context of the impact of the Syrian Crisis on host communities and refugees
Excellent inter-cultural skills and sensitivity to conflict contexts
Strong interpersonal skills and team spirit
Excellent command of Arabic (Lebanese dialect) and English languages.

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 and peace building, or any other related field. Master degree is a plus.

Experience:

Experience in facilitating workshops and events
Knowledge of and experience in community engagement and conflict prevention at the local level in Lebanon
Experience working in the current context of the impact of the Syrian Crisis on Lebanon
Knowledge of innovation concepts and technical know-how on social media applications is a plus.

How to Apply:

1. Read the additional information and annexes on teh UNDP lebanon website at http://www.lb.undp.org/content/lebanon/en/home/operations/procurement/

2. The consultancy is open for all national consultants who meet the selection criteria and propose a competitive fee. Interested consultants are requested to apply only through this UNDP jobs portal.

Submissions through any other media will not be considered.

The application must include the P11 uploaded as word or PDF file to the UNDP job site.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.