Consultancy: Research Assistant for the Lebanon Water Forum

Terms of Reference

Research assistant for the Lebanon Water Forum

Under the Project ‘Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme for Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities

Oxfam Lebanon Programme

Background

Oxfam is an organisation that works to address the causes of poverty through campaigning and responding to the needs of the poor. In Lebanon, Oxfam works in both development and humanitarian contexts, focusing particularly on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH), Protection and Emergency Food Security and Livelihoods. In responding to the Syrian Refugee Crisis, Oxfam addresses the emergency water needs through WaSH service provision to populations residing in informal settlements; and to those of the Lebanese host communities and local authorities through efforts to improve water infrastructure and management systems.

Under the Joint Humanitarian Development Framework (JHDF) WaSH was identified as a key priority sector for Lebanon. A WaSH consortium that consists of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Oxfam, World Vision International (WVI) and Gruppo di Volontario Civile (GVC) have come together to implement the project “Improving access to safe and affordable water to vulnerable communities” under the EU Madad Trust Fund programme “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme for Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities”. The project aims to contribute to effective, sustainable and multi-level water governance in crisis affected Lebanon, through empowering local and regional authorities and demonstrating cost effective systems for water service provision.

The Consortium in partnership with the American University of Beirut’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (AUB-IFI) launched, in 2016, the Lebanon Water Forum (LWF) with the aim of providing all stakeholders involved in the Lebanon water sector with a platform to discuss key current and prospective issues related to the management, policy making, strategies, etc. of the sector. Various themes are tackled every year the LWF is held. In 2016, the theme was “Rethinking Water Service Provision in Lebanon” the 2019 forum focused on strategic frameworks and investment planning in Lebanon’s water sector. The 2021 LWF will aim to address policy advancements and their implications, change in the investment landscape and ways forward towards integrated planning, all in light of the arising national challenges.

Oxfam is seeking a research assistant to support in the research and preparation for the forum in collaboration with AUB-IFI. The findings of the research will be showcased at the LWF 2021 either as presentations in relevant sessions, or as visual infographics.

Qualifications

The selected candidate should be self-motivated, have the following qualifications:

• Advanced degree or at least two years’ experience in either water resources management, energy studies, resource planning, infrastructure planning, or related fields
• Experience in conducting research in any of the above-mentioned fields,
• Demonstrable ability in analyzing and synthesizing data/information on the above-mentioned fields
• Good writing skills
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office especially Word and PowerPoint

The research assistant will be required to conduct research and analyze information on the following topics:

1. National Agriculture Strategy and its alignment with the National Water Sector Strategy.
2. Benefits of investment in water services emergency planning – how countries with emergency planning respond to water-related emergencies and how they fared in their response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
3. Opportunities for investment in the water sector – What are the low hanging fruits.

The research assistant will be expected to take notes during the forum’s three days and four sessions. These notes and others taken by the AUB-IFI and Oxfam teams will be collected by the research assistant and compiled to produce an event report. The tentative dates of the forum are February 17, 18 and 24, 2021 from 12:00 to 14:00.

Oxfam and IFI have the right to recruit more than one research assistant.

Deliverables

The following deliverables will be expected from the research assistant:

• One or two research papers and PowerPoint on each topic.
• Event report

Coordination:

Activities by the research assistant should be coordinated closely with Oxfam’s WaSH advisor and AUB-IFI team. AUB-IFI and Oxfam will also support the research assistant in her/his activities.

Timeframe and Payment

Expected start date is week of 11th of January 2021.

Delivery of research findings will be presented at the Lebanon Water Forum 2021 with the final draft of the paper(s) and PowerPoint expected at least two weeks before the convening of the forum.

First draft of the event report expected one week after the forum and the final draft expected two weeks after the forum.

Payment shall be 100% upon handover and approval by Oxfam and AUB-IFI of the deliverables.