Economic Development Technical Advisor (Lebanon-focused) (Individual)

Project Title: CRD is seeking an Economic Development Technical Advisor to work with us in the context of a new collaborative partnership between CRD and the EU Trust Fund's Economic Development Policy Unit (EDPU, hosted at Oxfam). 

Project Description: Oxfam in Lebanon is hosting a policy coordination unit titled "Economic Development Policy Unit (EDPU)" as part of an EU-funded project titled "Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (SEE) Change". The grant will end in the third quarter of 2023. The EDPU is established to coordinate and optimize the impact of the different livelihood and social stability projects that will be implemented in Lebanon and funded by the "Support to Economic Development and Social Stability in Lebanon" European Union Trust Fund (EUTF) who are the consortium lead: 

LINKED - Linking Vulnerable Populations and Inclusive Market Networks to Advance Sustainable Economic Development in Lebanon – Danish Refugee Council: Focusing on sustainable, inclusive and sustainable economic development in Lebanon 

INMA’A - Sustainable Social Protection and Livelihood Solutions for Severely Vulnerable Households in Lebanon – Save the Children  

SEE Change - Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Change – Oxfam: Focusing on supporting all components of the SE ecosystem in Lebanon  

Youth Resolve - Resilience, Social Cohesion, Opportunities for Livelihoods and Reduced Violence in Lebanon – World Vision: Focusing on social cohesion and quick impact projects 

VET4all - Recognized job-related competencies for Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities in response to the Syrian crisis – GIZ: Focusing on vocational training 

The EDPU will aim "to strengthen the ability of the EUTF implementing partners to collectively influence the policymaking process and donor funding for Lebanon through policy coordination and evidence generation," and regularly assess the policy environment to produce policy products targeting key stakeholders and policies impacting livelihoods and economic policy more broadly. The EDPU will seek to ensure that common messaging among all relevant stakeholders, including the EU Delegation in Beirut, is derived from evidence generated on the field by all Consortia and speaks to a changing policy environment. The analysis that will be carried out by the EDPU will contribute to potentially proposing policy alternatives where gaps are identified, and inform Lebanese policymakers, donor community, humanitarian stakeholders, and the EU on contextual priorities.

About CRD: Connecting Research to Development (CRD) is a non-profit think tank that operates in the support, generation, and dissemination of evidence-based research from combined perspectives of public health and social science in the MENA region and elsewhere. Functional since 2000 under the name of Société de Recherche et d'Environnement (SRSE), CRD was officially established in 2014 in Beirut, Lebanon. In close cooperation with its partners, the specific goal is to apply innovative scientific know-how and transform evidence-based data into programmatic actions. Universities, local organizations, international institutions, and government ministries rely on CRD’s expertise and deep understanding of the research environment. 

CRD has been appointed as EDPU researchers for the upcoming 2 years.

Scope of Work:

The duties and responsibilities of the economic development lead researcher will be to: 

Support the CRD research team as technical advisor on economic inclusion research and policy issues in Lebanon. He/She will support the CRD team with expert-level technical knowledge and evidence-based input on social protection for economic inclusion, labour activation strategies/active labour market policies, and enterprise as well as market development;  

Provide technical input/support in the development of the EDPU high-level research strategy on economic inclusion, including input on research questions, proposed methodology, proposed outputs, ethical considerations, and possible limitations and risk mitigation measures;  

Contribute to the development of data collection instruments in the context of EDPU research strategy, and development of targeted research concept notes for periodic knowledge products (as needed);  

Contribute to the quality control, review, and validation of project data/information periodically collected from EUTF consortia (and other projects) in line with the research strategy/concept notes;   

Participate in data analysis upon request and develop / co-author EDPU final research outputs (both short and long papers), including the formulation of research findings and, importantly, operational recommendations both at programmatic and policy levels;  

Support research, paper launch, and other policy-related events organized by the EDPU by acting as a technical expert in panels, contributing to debates, etc., in line with the EDPU's influencing and comms/visibility plan. 

Expected Outcomes and Deliverables

Based on the above expectations, the advisor is expected to support EDPU and CRD with technical reflection, knowledge, and evidence-based input into: 

EDPU Research & Policy Strategy; 

Research output concept notes; 

Data collection tools development; 

Data analysis/validation and findings formulation;  

Paper writing (with a focus on policy-level recommendations);  

Research dissemination events and policy events.  

Duration of Work

Up to 60 days spread over the course of 2 years from August 2021-August 2023. 

15 days - Technical support on EDPU research strategy (including ethics, limitations) and data collection instruments, including sampling approaches (August 2021 – October 2021) 

40 days - Development of research products (format TBD) (October 2021-August 2022)  

5 days - Participation in research and policy-focused presentations/events organized by EDPU (Starting in 2023) 

Institutional Arrangement 

The economic inclusion advisor will work directly with CRD researchers and the EDPU Team.

Duty of Station 

The position will be largely home-based work (researcher’s home-based residence, if different from Lebanon). Strong preference is given to local experts based in Lebanon.  

•    Masters’ Degree (or equivalent degree/experience) in Economics, Development Economics, Political Economy of Development, or a related field is mandatory (PhD preferred); 
•    Minimum 10 years of experience in economic development programs and policy-making;  
•    Previous experience working as a technical advisor for multilateral organizations (UN, international financial institutions…), donors and/or INGOs is required;    
•    Expert knowledge of Lebanon and its social, political, and economic contexts is mandatory. Previous experience working in Lebanon is a must;  
•    Knowledge and experience of EU policies towards sustainable development is a plus;  
•    Demonstrated excellent analytical, writing and editing skills;  
•    Prior working experience on EU-funded projects would be an asset.