Livelihood And Economic Opportunities Consultant

Background: Mercy Corps has worked in Lebanon since 1993, running community development programmes focused primarily on promoting agricultural and economic development, environmental sustainability, and increased opportunity for disadvantaged communities.  At present, Mercy Corps is implementing programmes funded by US State Department, the United Nations, and private donors.  Mercy Corps in Lebanon leverages the thriving Lebanese network of development organizations, and works very closely with local entities to implement programmes that focus on: (1) Addressing humanitarian needs resulting from the Syrian crisis in Lebanon; (2) Increasing stability and resiliency among communities; (3) Catalyzing economic opportunities for youth, women and disadvantaged groups in the local economy.   Consultant Objectives: The objective of the consultancy is to provide Mercy Corps with technical support to plan and start-up a three month pilot school feeding program in two schools in South Lebanon.  S/he will lead the development of an implementation, learning and communications plan, while working to bring all these plans to realization.  S/he will support the identification of local cooperatives and organizations to enable the implementation of plans.   Consultant Activities: The Consultant will: Provide overall technical support to the pilot school feeding program in South Lebanon to build and test a scale-able model for programming. Create implementation plan for school feeding program based on parameters confirmed by the private donor, including a waste management plan and applies strategies to maximize local income development. Develop a learning plan that enables Mercy Corps to capture necessary data to inform success indicators and scale-ability of model, including development of data base to collect this information. Craft and implement communications plan that facilitates the start-up of school feeding with necessary stakeholders, both internal and external to Mercy Corps, including school-based actors, local cooperatives, Ministry of Education. Oversee implementation of plans, providing guidance and coordinating efforts between Mercy Corps staff and local cooperatives and partners. Draft final report on school feeding programming with recommendations for future scaling based on learning captured within the pilot program. Contribute to planning related to Mercy Corps livelihood programming to inform strategic direction; and; Other tasks as needed.   Consultant Deliverables: The Consultant will complete: Implementation plan Learning plan and database Communications plan Final report Other deliverables, as directed