UNDP Jobs - 90122- National Consultant - Facilitator and Trainer

National Consultant - Facilitator and Trainer

Location :

Beirut, LEBANON

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

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

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Arabic English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

47 working days spread over 12 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

1. Background / Project Description

Lebanon has since the end of the Civil War (1975-1990) witnessed a series of destabilizing events and conflicts that have fuelled more tensions on the already complex multi-confessional and socio-economic characteristics of the Lebanese society. The 15-years long civil war (1975 – 1990); the 2005 assassination of the former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and in turn the withdrawal of Syrian troops; the Israeli 2006 war on Lebanon; and the continuing deterioration of the Syrian crisis and its repercussions on Lebanon – The reoccurrence of these tensions and conflicts are putting the country’s security and stability at risk, and the probability for the eruption of a new cycle of violence is increasingly high. One of the major reasons is due to the fact that the violent past of the Lebanese has gone undealt. Therefore, the challenge remains to enable the Lebanese society to come to terms with its violent past and achieve necessary change and ensure non-recurrence.

UNDP Peace Building Project and Dealing with the Past Project

Throughout 2019, UNDP technically assisted and facilitated meetings and gatherings between 10 national NGOs that focused on addressing the subject of dealing with the past. As a result of a series of events characterized by insecurity, instability, and vulnerability, which further fueled sectarian tensions and armed clashes throughout Lebanon - this group of 10 national NGOs decided to create a forum named “Forum for Memory and Future (FMF)”. One of the most notable successes of this forum was the organizing of its launch ceremony on the 17th of October 2019. The NGOs forum has ever since advanced its work on issues related to reconciliation and dealing with the past in Lebanon and is expected to include new members during the coming period. As a result, by the end of 2019 UNDP together with UNWomen and OHCHR, applied for and were granted eligibility for an IRF-funding by the UN Peace Building Fund for the “Dealing with the Past: Memory for the Future” project. The project aims to support civil society, individual families, and national institutions in their efforts to seek the truth, foster collective remembrance and, ultimately, move towards reconciliation around the legacy of the civil war, including brutality perpetrated against women, men, and children. In light of the continuous rise of inter-sectarian tensions in Lebanon which partially bear their source from the civil war, this project will support the full establishment of the National Commission investigating the fate of missing and forcibly disappeared persons (under Law 105), provide support to the families of the disappeared and to national and civil actors in Lebanon in their advocacy efforts to deal with the past. In the broader context, supporting efforts of truth seeking and reconciliation will be a timely and effective contribution to consolidating peace and preventing a relapse into conflict. As part of supporting national actors in their efforts to deal with the past, UNDP is determined to support the platform “Forum for Memory and Future” to achieve its goal in finalizing the Strategy for Dealing with the Past and its Action Plan, and in organizing sessions for the Forum on strategic thinking, communication, planning, conflict sensitivity and dealing with the past.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Project Manager/Peace Building Advisor, the consultant will undertake the following tasks:

Conduct necessary preparations in order to lay the basis for the facilitation and training sessions workplan;
Facilitate the Forum’s meetings and sessions and support them in developing the Dealing with the Past (DwP) Strategy and Action Plan;
Conduct training sessions for the members of the Forum on topics relevant to their needs such as (but not only limited to) strategic thinking, communication, planning, conflict sensitivity and dealing with the past.

The assignment is divided into four (4) main interrelated phases:

Formulation of the work plan including methodology and schedule;
Organizing and facilitating meetings for the Forum on finalizing the Strategy on DwP;
Conducting training sessions;
Delivering a final report.

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

1.Preparatory phase including workplan and methodology (expected number of working days: 5)

Conduct preparatory meetings with NGO members of the Forum for Memory and Future in order to compile a concrete workplan, methodology, and schedule on the facilitation process of the meetings of the Forum, and on the training sessions. The workplan, methodology and schedule shall include information about all the activities along with a chart showing detailed list of tasks, duration and schedule per task and allocated resources. Once approved by UNDP, the work plan and methodology shall be adopted and shall form the basis for project supervision and monitoring.

These shall be presented to the Project Manager as a report and be no longer than 5 pages. The report shall be submitted within two weeks from contract signature.

2.Facilitation of meetings for the Forum (expected number of working days: 24 including preparation and reporting days)

Organize and facilitate 12 meetings for the national NGO forum “Forum for Memory and Future” which and support them in developing the Strategy on Dealing with the Past and its Action Plan as well as to the setup of the internal structure for the Forum. The consultant is expected to present to UNDP the final strategy and Action Plan and structure of the Forum. The Forum members are today around 10 NGOs (up to 2 representatives maximum per NGO) but are expected to increase and include more members from NGOs and individuals (up to 10 additional as core group). All members (including existing and new ones) will be involved in these sessions.

A detailed report (no longer than 10 pages) will be submitted to the Project Manager upon the completion of the organized and facilitated meetings. The report shall include among others the developed strategy, its action plan and the structure of the forum.

3.Training sessions for the Forum (expected number of working days: 14)
Organize and conduct 7 training sessions for the national NGO forum “Forum for Memory and Future” on the topics identified by the Forum members as needs including but not limited to strategic thinking, communication, planning, conflict sensitivity, and dealing with the past. A detailed report (no longer than 10 pages) will be submitted to the Project Manager upon the completion of the trainings.

4.Writing a final report (Expected number of working days: 4)

Produce a final report (no longer than 20 pages) on the entire facilitation and training support process. The report should also include documentation of results on the facilitated meetings, formulation of the strategy on DwP and the Action Plan, the internal structure of the Forum, results from the training sessions, challenges, lessons learned, best practices and recommendations. The report shall be delivered to UNDP no later than 12 months after contract signature.

Competencies

Excellent analytical, negotiation and communication skills;
Excellent reporting and writing skills in English and Arabic;
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;
Excellent command of Arabic language and good command of English. French is a plus;
Excellent knowledge of peacebuilding, Lebanese history, and the issues of Reconciliation and Dealing with the Past in Lebanon

Required Skills and Experience

Mandatory Criteria:

The candidate must have an excellent command of Arabic language and good command of English language (Shall be indicated in the attached P11 form under point number 18), otherwise the candidate will be automatically disqualified.

I. Academic Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in social science, sociology, political science, public administration, international affairs, or any other related field.

II. Previous experience:

Previous experience in organizing and facilitating of meetings;
Previous experience in providing training sessions on peace building related skills, strategic thinking, communication, planning, conflict sensitivity, and dealing with the past;
Previous experience working with National NGOs;
Previous Experience working on issues related to Reconciliation processes in Lebanon;
Previous experience or knowledge in similar processes outside Lebanon is a plus.

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:
1. P11,
2. Annex 3 (Offerors Letter),

3. Financial proposal,

4. Methodology

All files shall be submitted in one single document and uploaded as word or PDF file to the UNDP job site.
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.