Community Mobilization Specialist

  Lebanon Reforestation Initiative Terms of Reference Community Mobilization Specialist   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 Mobilization 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 CONSULTANCY LRI seeks a full time Community Mobilization Specialist to work together with LRI staff to help promote community ownership of reforestation projects in each of four (4) communities where LRI has initiated reforestation projects.  The Community Mobilization Specialist will focus on establishing community interest groups and facilitating implementation by them of community development plans and other modalities that promote local ownership of reforestation efforts. The Specialist is expected to perform the following duties: Develop a community development strategy that builds upon the stakeholder engagement conducted to date by LRI and its partners; Identify key local stakeholders “champions,” building upon LRI-initiated community development plans in four (4) communities where LRI has initiated reforestation projects; Building upon community development plans, organize 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.; Facilitate the development of work plans for each interest group; Facilitate monthly meetings of interest groups to support their activities; Support local authorities by facilitating regular stakeholder dialogue in an open and transparent manner;   Coordinate 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; Develop a monitoring and evaluation plan for community engagement and benefits to be monitored by local stakeholders; Document the process of establishing community interest groups through written, photographic and video media to provide four (4) model case studies of reforestation-related community mobilization for use in other communities; and Any other related activities and assistance that may reasonably be required. III. EXPECTED DELIVERABLES  In close coordination with the LRI’s Environmental Education Specialist, Project Director, and Deputy Project Director (the LRI Project Management Team), the Community Mobilization Specialist will develop four (4) community mobilization models that are implemented at the community level and documented for broader use in LRI’s community reforestation program. Specific deliverables include but are not limited to: Community engagement strategy for the next phase of stakeholder mobilization; Monthly field reports on the development of community interest groups and work plans; Priorities of intervention, with list of objectives to be implemented in the short term (1-5 years); Monitoring and evaluation plan for the short term (1-5 years); Four (4) documented model case studies of the community engagement efforts for use in future community reforestation projects. IV. REQUIREMENTS The Community Mobilization Specialist should possess the following competencies, skills, and experience: •     Strong academic and proven practical knowledge in the field of community mobilization and engagement approaches and programming; At least 10 years relevant experience in the development of integrated strategies for community mobilization in rural areas in Lebanon; Demonstrated track record of success in achieving community mobilization and engagement; Extensive experience working in rural areas in Lebanon; Strong analytical and inter-personal skills; Excellent 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; and Possess a car and a driving license and able to use his/her car for field trips on a cost-reimbursable basis. V. Contact Information For further information or to submit a letter of interest and accompanying curriculum vitae, preferably before December 7,2012, please contact: Lebanon Reforestation Initiative     info@lri-lb.org