Environmental Consultancy

Location: Lebanon – Beirut & South

Expected start date: 10/01/2024

Appointment type: 12 months consultancy role; hybrid (remote work with the exception of meetings, workshops, trainings and events)

Applicant type: Open to individual experts and institutions

Budget: 8,000 EUR 

1. Description of the assignment

The project aims at contributing to reduce the negative impact on health and the environment caused by air, soil, and water pollution and contamination in Lebanon, in accordance with SDG 3.9. In order to do so, CESVI will support 20 MSMEs working at different levels of the waste value chain of plastic, paper and cardboard, and organic, in developing strategies to reduce their negative environmental impact. The participating MSMEs will receive support in the form of capacity building (trainings and coaching) and financial support (grants with a ceiling of 34.000 € in total, including both grant segments).

The targeted MSMEs are going to be established businesses. They might be either waste producers (manufacturing, small industries, etc…) or companies working directly with waste (collection, recycling, waste processing). The detailed evaluation criteria will be defined based on the market assessment.

The MSMEs will follow a business development and environmental management system development path thanks to the financial support and the capacity building. They are going to be trained on how to further develop their business model and on how to assess and reduce their environmental impact in order to increase their sustainability and financial viability. Capacity building aimed at introducing/strengthening sustainable production and consumption practices for reducing their environmental impact is the subject of the proposed consultancy service. This capacity building will also be inclusive of individual coaching to the project MSMEs, as well as co-planning workshops to the MSMEs and other relevant stakeholders in the area (ie: municipalities, SDCs, chamber of commerce, universities etc..) to collaboratively develop and refine the MSMEs projects to better serve the environmental protection needs of affected communities and stakeholders. The MSMEs will also be supported financially to implement these jointly developed projects.

Finally, the project will also target incubators and accelerators interested in integrating environmental protection into their financial and business development services by providing environmental protection trainings of trainers (ToTs) to incubator/accelerator employees.

The environmental consultant will aid the achievement of the expected project outcome 3 by conducting consultations with local authorities to build a network of relevant stakeholders to be engaged in the project and particularly in phase 2 of the capacity building (ie: the co-planning workshops), provide individual coaching to the MSMEs on the topics provided during the general workshops given by the international environmental consultant and support them in implementing their proposed environmental protection projects, and provide the co-planning workshops in collaboration with CESVI’s international business development consultant. In addition, the consultant will provide the ToTs to local accelerators and/or incubators.

Key activities:

Output 1: Consultations with local authorities and relevant stakeholders

• Engaging with local authorities (municipalities, chambers of commerce, SDCs etc..) and relevant stakeholders to assess the relevance of MSMEs proposed projects to the local context and municipal/district priorities
• Introducing to the local authorities and stakeholders engaged the proposed projects of the MSMEs selected

Output 2: Co-planning sessions

• Supporting CESVI in selecting the final stakeholders to be involved in the co-planning workshops
• Development and delivery of the co-planning workshop. These workshops will guide a collaboration between project MSMEs and the identified stakeholders via developing and enhancing the projects implemented by the MSMEs during the individual MSME capacity building phase. 

Output 3 : Coaching and mentoring activities for project MSMEs

The consultant will coordinate with project Business Development Consultants in planning for and implementing the coaching and mentorship for MSMEs. Business development coaching will be related to each business’ marketing, branding, operations, client reach, financial strengths and legal awareness – including how these elements interact with the MSME’s proposed environmental protection activities. Coaching and mentorship will be specific to each enterprise’s needs, which are to be assessed and tracked by CESVI’s local business development expert starting from the beginning of the business’ inclusion in the project. The consultant will contribute to the regular evaluations done to assess the MSMEs’ progress during and post-coaching

Output 4: ToTs for incubators/accelerators

Development and relay of the material for the training of trainers for incubators/accelerators members  (this curriculum may receive feedback and integrations from CESVI’s international environmental consultant and business development consultant, where relevant)

Output 5: Contributing to bilateral consultations between at least 2 companies and 2 potential investors (including finance and micro-finance institutions, incubators/accelerators)

Identification and referral of investment opportunities suitable to the environmental management system available within each MSME, where relevant

1. Qualifications:

1. Has proven experience as an environmental specialist providing guidance services to institutions related to environmental protection;
2. Demonstrates to have a good knowledge of South Lebanon governorate and relevant stakeholders;
3. Applicant must have credible experience as an instructor and curriculum developer of courses related to environmental health, waste management or similar, and minimum 2 years of experience as a technical consultant;
4. Applicant must have experience guiding organisations in creating and implementing collaborations related to environmental protection/waste management projects that target communities or regional-specific needs;
5. Applicant must have proven ability and experience in assessing environmental related needs present among municipal areas or regions and developing sustainable plans to address said needs;
6. Applicant must be willing and capable of developing relationships with local authorities, private sector stakeholders, and research institutions with the goal of developing and implementing environmental protection programs;
7. preferred proven experience with ISO 14000 or similar certification standards.