RIE Project Coordinator

1. General Information

Brief Information on the Project

The project carries a Rigorous Impact Evaluation (RIE) of the ongoing GIZ-funded project “Strengthening Inclusive Local Governance and Vertical Social Cohesion in Lebanon”. The latter project’s objective is to strengthen inclusive local governance and vertical social cohesion in Lebanon by engaging inhabitants from diverse backgrounds in participatory planning and decision-making processes. The specific objectives are to increase the capacity of local governments and inhabitants to engage in participatory approaches, improve trust and cohesion between local governance structures and the community, and ensure inclusive representation and ownership of service-enhancing initiatives. The project is implemented in Bekaa, South Baalbak, Hasbaya and Mount Lebanon. The RIE project is conducted in partnership with the Berlin Social Sciences Center (WZB) and follows a quantitative and qualitative research approach to measuring the impact of the intervention in contributing to vertical social cohesion in selected municipalities across Lebanon.

2. Context

In fragile settings, social cohesion remains a critical yet understudied aspect of community resilience and sustainable development. Despite the pressing need to understand the dynamics of social cohesion in Lebanon, there is an absence of rigorous impact evaluations, resulting in a lack of conclusive causal evidence regarding what works to foster social cohesion. This knowledge gap hampers the ability of international development agencies to design effective interventions in these challenging environments. To address these challenges, the causal impacts of participatory planning and decision-making processes involving municipalities, civil society, and inhabitants in choosing measures to improve the community's socio-economic situation needs to be assessed to leverage their potential to defuse tensions and foster citizen’s trust into local governance structures.

3. The Consultant Shall Provide the Following Work/Service:

• Support the design, preparation and implementation of all project activities
• Liaise between local coordinators and project teams
• Provide backstopping of team on activity coordination, resource planning and logistics
• Attend all field trainings and ensure proper documentation of process forms
• Support stakeholder engagement in different Lebanese regions
• Ensure proper documentation of activities in Arabic and English and activity reporting;
• Conduct research and context analysis and support the drafting of background papers and training material;
• Support coordination on finance, logistics and administration issues
• Provide editorial, layout and translation support for project documents and publications;
• Coordinate development of communications material with the Communications department in Berlin and contribute to external communication and visibility;
• Cooperate closely with the BF MENA staff members, including the MEL department;
• Provide support in monitoring and evaluation

4. Skills & Competencies:

• • Effective Communication & Cultural sensitivity: essential for working closely with team members and with stakeholders, even difficult ones.
• • Organization and time management: to manage the daily activities and needs of a consuming project which requires an excellent ability to multi-task and effectively manage your time.
• • Computers and graphic design: Microsoft Office Pack (PowerPoint, Excel, Word) and ability to work with visual communication platforms like CANVA to create basic infographics, social media posts, event invitations, information bulletins and project visuals,
• • Problem solving: although senior staff will step in to handle significant problems, you should be prepared to work through and resolve minor issues without assistance.
• • Positive and collaborative attitude: very helpful in handling the stress of unexpected challenges and also helps maintaining team spirit and motivation.

5. Qualifications of Proposed Consultant

General Qualifications

Education:

• Minimum Bachelor degree in political science, peace studies or related field or relevant work experience in development projects.

Professional Experience:

• At least 3 years of experience in project coordination in the peacebuilding/dialogue/conflict transformation fields, preferably in field locations across Lebanon
• Relevant experience working with municipalities, local development and social cohesion projects within a larger team in Lebanon
• Very good reporting skills
• Thorough knowledge of the Lebanese social and political context
• Experience in liaising between different stakeholder groups and project teams  

Language Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in both Arabic and English are required.

6. Additional Skills

• Strong ability to work collaboratively within a team as well as independently.
• Demonstrated curiosity and empathy, with excellent intercultural communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).

7. Additional Information

• The role requires frequent travel to project locations in the Beqaa, South Baalbek, Hasbaya, and Mount Lebanon regions.
• The successful candidate must demonstrate a commitment to conflict sensitivity, gender inclusivity, and the “do no harm” principle in all project activities