Thematic Coordinator Local Economic Development & Governance_ACCD-VN2019-003

Project background:

MASAR for Local Governments is a programme funded by the EU MADAD trust fund. The overall aim of the programme is to strengthen the long-term resilience of targeted subnational governments and their host, refugee and IDP populations to deal with displacement.

Subnational governments in Iraq and Lebanon have been the first to be confronted by the repercussions of the Syrian refugee crisis: increased pressure on local services, competition for local employment opportunities, corroding social cohesion, faster urbanisation trends, rent-seeking behaviour and inflation due to externally injected funds in the local economy, and so forth.

MASAR for Local Governments focuses on the urban setting, which is the background of processes of displacement, investment, employment and service delivery.

In Lebanon, the programme aims to help governorates of Baalbek-Hermel, Akkar, coastal plain north of Tripoli and their unions of municipalities to deal with accelerated urbanisation caused by the crisis.

This programme will mobilise municipal experts from Iraq/Lebanon and Europe to contribute to build the capacity of subnational governments. This will include, among others, provision of technical advice; training; coaching and mentoring addressed to municipal Planning Units or Service Departments. Capacity building activities will be complemented by concrete pilot quick impact projects aiming to, for instance, designing an urban layout to improve an existing network of streets and roads to better accommodate a higher influx of traffic, or to set up a municipal solid waste sorting plant to better cope with increasing volumes of litter.

MASAR project is being implemented by a consortium of European entities: VNG International (the association of municipalities of the Netherlands), the Polish Center for International Aid (Polish acronym PCPM), the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (Catalan acronym ACCD), and Local Government Denmark (Danish acronym KL).

Aim of this assignment:

The Thematic Coordinator provides expertise on Governance and Local Economic Development. Furthermore, he/she is the linking pin between the different areas of intervention and makes sure that the approaches, methodology and results between the different areas are harmonized. 

The Thematic Coordinator provides advice and coaching/mentoring to selected subnational governments in the referred area of intervention on Governance and Local Economic Development issues.

He/she is under the direct supervision of the Front Officer based in Tripoli and the overall supervision of the Team Leader stationed at the VNG International project office in Beirut.

The Thematic Coordinator will work in close coordination with the Municipality & Community Participation officer.

Key Responsibilities:

More specifically, his/her key responsibilities include:

• Provide expertise on Governance and Local Economic Development for the different target groups (sub-national governments, service providers, government agencies, civil society organizations, private firms and national government actors) in the referred region;
• Ensure alignment of methodology and knowledge between the different target groups and target areas;
• Inform the project team on the latest developments, technologies, trends on Governance and Local Economic Development issues;
• Provide training and coaching of the target groups on Governance and Local Economic Development issues;

• Liaise with beneficiaries such as National Ministries, their deconcentrated service providers, subnational governments and Unions of Municipalities, when needed in line of above-mentioned activities;
• Identify relevant local partners for collaboration on Governance and Local Economic Development issues;
• Based on Governance and Local Economic Development, identify needs for the input from short-term experts (international and national), and prepare their Terms of References;
• Identify procurement needs and priority investment projects together with subnational governments, based on the scenario plans;
• Contribute to project narrative reports as requested;
• Provide substantive support to local and international experts;
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned.

Minimum qualifications:

1. Education:

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in sustainable local economic development, public administration, political science, planning, project management, monitoring and evaluation or equivalent.
• Master’s degree will be an asset

1. Professional Experience:

• Over 5 years of working experience on Governance and Local Economic Development issues;
• Over 5 years of working experience with subnational governments and inter-governmental relations;
• Experience with training and coaching is preferred.

1. Competencies:

• Ability to work flexibly, independently and as part of a small team;
• Cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural skills (religion, ethnicity, gender);
• Ability to build collaborative relationships between diverse communities;
• Excellent computer skills (Microsoft Office: Word, PowerPoint, Excel).

1. Languages:

• Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic;
• Working knowledge of French is an advantage.