Community Engagement Intern

Lebanon Reforestation Initiative Terms of Reference Community Engagement Intern- Short Term (Approx. 3-6 Months).   I. INTRODUCTION Project Background Information The Lebanon Reforestation Initiative (LRI) is a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the United States Forest Service (USFS) that provides technical assistance and institutional support for sustainable native tree reforestation and wildfire management. With administrative offices in Beirut, LRI technical experts manage a multi-year work program of activities throughout Lebanon in collaboration with grassroots organizations and local communities. Community Engagement The ultimate success of any community-based reforestation project hinges on the degree to which local communities are involved and engaged in the project. LRI seeks to ensure a process of community involvement that enables interested local citizens or stakeholders to meet on equal terms to facilitate a participatory decision making process. The goal is to provide local communities and their constituent stakeholders with ownership of the project to help promote success and longer-term sustainability.  II. PURPOSE OF THE INTERNSHIP LRI seeks a short term Community Engagement Intern to work together with LRI staff to help promote community ownership of reforestation projects in each of ten communities where LRI has initiated reforestation projects.  The Community Mobilization Intern will assist the Community Engagement Specialist (CES) to establish community interest groups and facilitate implementation by them of community development plans and other modalities that promote local ownership of reforestation efforts. The Intern is expected to perform the following duties: Assist in the implementation of  the LRI community engagement strategy that builds upon the stakeholder engagement conducted to date by LRI and its partners; Help identifying key local stakeholders “champions,” building upon LRI-initiated community development plans in four (4) communities where LRI has  started reforestation projects; Support the CES in building upon community development plans,  organizing stakeholder mobilization meetings and workshops to help form community interest groups in four (4) communities that can serve as community mobilization models for other communities; Help integrate into community interest group activities multiple objectives of LRI community engagement, including outplanting, fire management, environmental education, etc.; Help Facilitate the development of work plans for each interest group; Assist the CES in enabling  monthly meetings of interest groups to support their activities; Support  the collection and interpretation of community mobilization best practice and other social data and make them available to community interest groups to enrich their efforts; Any other related activities and assistance that may reasonably be required. III. REQUIREMENTS The Community Engagement Intern  should possess the following competencies, skills and interests: •     3rd or 4th year student in Animation Sociale or any other relevant major.   ; High interest in community mobilization and engagement; Good analytical and inter-personal skills; Good reporting and presentation skills; Willingness to travel outside Beirut to the project sites for at least 80% of the time; Fluency in both written and spoken English and Arabic N.B. Paid Intern