UNDP Jobs - 90304- Long Term Agreement for a Legal Specialist consult

Long Term Agreement for a Legal Specialist consultant for Construction projects

Location :

Beirut, LEBANON

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

26-Feb-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Arabic English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Two years with an option to extend for One year based on the performance of the first two years

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

Eight years into the Syrian crisis, Lebanon remains at the forefront of one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time and has shown exceptional commitment and solidarity to the people displaced by the war in Syria. With the protracted nature of the crisis, refugees are living in poverty, accumulating debt and making tough choices to reduce costs, with negative consequences for quality of shelter, access to health, clean water and education opportunities. Furthermore, areas with the highest concentration of refugees, North Lebanon and the Bekaa valley, are among the poorest and most underserved regions of Lebanon. Even before the crisis, social services, infrastructure and livelihood opportunities were inadequate. Now, increased refugee populations are putting enormous pressure on Lebanon’s infrastructure such as transport, water and irrigation, wastewater and solid waste education and health care systems, livelihood and jobs competition, with critical consequences for Lebanon’s natural and environmental resources.

In parallel, the protracted nature of displacement in Lebanon has impacted different segments of the population differently, due to their particular vulnerabilities, coping capacities and susceptibility to threats. Socio-economic vulnerabilities, exacerbated by the protracted emergency, are worse amongst female-headed households, and even higher for those living in families with disabilities, who are also less food secure, have worse diets, adopt severe coping strategies more often, and have higher poverty levels.

The Lebanon Host Communities Support Project (LHSP) is developed within the framework of the interventions conducted by the UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM), CDR and other entities, local governments and civil society organizations, to implement activities aimed at enhancing social stability and promoting development as part of a national strategy to respond to the crisis. LHSP is fully integrated in the framework of the LCRP 2017-2020 (Social Stability and Livelihood Sectors) and in alignment with the Capital Investment Program (Cedre) and Lebanon Economic Vision (McKenzie).

Based on a clear Theory of Change and strategy, four outputs are envisioned in the forthcoming phase:

Output 1: Capacity of local stakeholders strengthened to asses and respond to the needs of the community in the design and delivery of interventions in a conflict-sensitive and participatory manner.
Output 2: Competition for basic services reduced in vulnerable communities.
Output 3: Income generation for vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian refugees created through intensive labour activities supporting rapid employment schemes.
Output 4: Jobs opportunities increased particularly for vulnerable women, disabled persons and youth.

From 2014 to 2019 LHSP’s portfolio included more than 500 projects (infrastructure, livelihood), 13 donors and a budget of around 170 million USD, being the major response of UNDP Lebanon to the impact of the crisis in the country. To monitor LHSP implementation and report to partners and donor, LHSP installed an IM tool for tracking activities and financial status, providing data analysis that generate inputs for LHSP and LCRP.

Under the supervision of the CTA of LHSP and in close coordination with the LHSP Head of the Engineering Unit and the Area Managers, the Legal Advisor consultant will have the responsibility to advice LHSP about the legal procedure of the projects’ execution.

Duties and Responsibilities

The selected consultant shall be responsible – for each project – of the following tasks:

For each construction/infrastructure/agriculture project given to the consultant, the latter shall prepare the check list of the local legal papers, needed permits, which governmental institution approval is needed to start the project. The consultant should specify the estimated time frame for the beneficiary to provide those papers.
The consultant should follow up with the concerned entities (beneficiary at the field level, governmental institution etc…) to make sure that the papers are delivered on time and the procedures of this issue is being applied by the concerned parties.
For each project, the consultant will review, study the specified papers provided as per deliverable one and give UNDP the recommendations if the project if feasible and to proceed with the implementation. If yes, what are the conditions to be imposed on the beneficiary to proceed with this project
To identify, organize and systematize all the needed established legal and construction/infrastructure permit according to the current national law for the different type of projects.
For new projects identified and to be implemented through LHSP, the consultant should support the beneficiaries in getting all legal and construction permit.
When needed for any project, the consultant might be asked to do visit to the site, beneficiary, governmental institute, UNDP regional offices (Tripoli, Tyre, Chtoura and Hazmieh)
When requested, the consultant might need to bring in person the local legal papers of the projects from the governmental institute. The permits is not included in the legal papers.
In coordination with UNDP, the consultant will be requested to advise on construction/infrastructure projects’ letters signed between LHSP and the beneficiary (municipality). This letter should include but not limited to: time frame to provide the needed permits and approval from the governmental institutes, the requested scope of work from the municipality etc…

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

Competencies

Other Assets:

Strong organizational, interpersonal, communication and problem-solving skills,
Ability to plan and prioritize own workload,
Strong monitoring and reporting skills,
Ability to work under pressure,
Ability to assume responsibility and to coordinate with others,
Effective oral and written communication skills, as well as research skills,
Attention to detail and ability to handle tasks accurately,
Ability to work under pressure,
Computer literate,
Ability to assume responsibility and to coordinate with others,
Work part of a team.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards,
Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN,
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability,
Treats all people fairly without favoritism,
Knowledge of the UN preferable.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications:

A Bachelor’s degree in Law and must be registered in the syndicate of lawyers (This criterion is mandatory, the individual that does not submit the registration certificate of the syndicate will be automatically disqualified).

2.Years of Experience:

A minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in Lebanese law .

3. Technical experience:

Experience on law rules and regulations and disputes regarding public and municipality public works,
Experience in drafting contracts formalities and concerned document,
Experience with public institutions,
Experience in researching and writing legal documents,
Experience in dispute and negotiation resolution system.

How to apply:
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 all of the following documents that are found on UNDP Procurement site( https://procurement-notices.undp.org/index.cfm):

P11,
Annex 3 (Offerors Letter) and
Financial proposal
Methodology
Registration certificate of the Law Syndicate.

All files shall be submitted in one single document and uploaded as word or PDF file to the UNDP job site https://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_jobs.cfm. .
It has been observed that bidders don’t submit all requested documents and thus reducing their chance to be selected for a contract with UNDP. before you submit your offer please revise that the application is complete and comprises all documents.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.