Consultancy

Consultancy to support HelpAge in engaging older people and civil society organizations in policy discussions and advocacy on the social protection floor agenda in Lebanon, in particular, the establishment of social pensions

In 2021, there is an opportunity learn from this and provide concerted efforts that older people have a voice in important social policy discussions that concern them. Recognizing the need for expanded social protection that can address the underlying causes of poverty and vulnerability, key stakeholders in Lebanon’s social protection sector are currently debating the introduction of a number of social grants across the life cycle.

HelpAge wants to ensure that older people, including marginalized older women and men, have their voices heard and are able to influence discussions on the design and implementation of life-cycle social grants in Lebanon, and to make stakeholder aware older people’s need for life-cycle social protection.

To support this process, HelpAge seeks to engage a national consultant in Lebanon with experiences in facilitating stakeholder engagement, familiarity with the social protection landscape in Lebanon and experiences in working with older people.

The consultant will support HelpAge in the following areas of work:

1. Listen to and record older peoples’ experiences, views and priorities on social protection:

Recognizing that not all older people, especially the most poor and vulnerable ones, are able to directly participate in policy discussions but it is important to nonetheless listen to marginalized voices, the consultant will facilitate four meetings of grassroots older peoples’ groups to undertake focus group discussions to hear and record their struggles without income security and their views and preferences for social protection. The consultant will record and transcribe these FGDs and develop a short brief with a summary and direct quotes from older people. This brief will then be used to influence civil society organizations and gain media coverage. HelpAge will support the consultant in identifying and accessing older people’s groups on the basis of existing relationships.

2. Engage with age-friendly organizations to build their capacities to support older people's issues in social protection policy discussions:

The consultant will work with HelpAge and partners to build the capacities of civil society organizations focussing on older people and ageing issues but are currently not involved in social protection policy to engage in ongoing discussions on the importance of social protection for older people.   

3. Engage with mainstream organizations to gain their support for older people in policy discussions:

The consultant will work with HelpAge and partners in identifying a small number of influential and diverse organizations that are active on rights, inclusion and social justice but have so far not focussed on older people in their advocacy. Building on the ‘grassroots voices’ brief, HelpAge and the consultant will engage with identified organizations on older people’s issues and the social pensions agenda and discuss concrete opportunities for them to do so.

4. Media engagement to raise awareness on the need to expand social protection for older people:

The consultant together with HelpAge will engage with media practitioners to raise their awareness of older people’s issues during COVID-19 and the need to include them in efforts to expand social protection. These engagements will draw from the ‘grassroots voices’ brief, existing evidence and policy documents.

Experience and expertise

The consultant should have:

• Experience in conducting qualitative primary research.
• Experience in working with older people referrable.
• Experience in facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogues and policy engagement initiatives.
• Knowledge of Lebanon’s social protection sector.
• Knowledge and extensive experience within Lebanon’s non-governmental and civil society sector.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Excellent written and spoken knowledge of English and Arabic.

TOR is attached.