Sustainability and Environmental Ethics Consultant

Expertise France

Expertise France (EF) is a public agency created on 1st January 2015 under the supervision of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance with a strong inter-ministerial vocation. EF offers program engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. EF operates in various fields of development and institutional cooperation including safety and security reform, public health, human rights, strengthening of institutions and NGOs and governance. Carrying out large-scale, multi-stakeholder programs, EF can ensure the cooperation between individuals, teams and institutions with very different statuses, cultures and specialties, and has acquired a sound experience in administrative and financial management of large-scale international programs. www.expertisefrance.fr

1. PROJECT BACKGROUND

Lebanon is home to one of the most vibrant and dynamic civil societies in the Middle East. Lebanese NGOs work on vital social and technical issues, ranging from social cohesion to reforestation, through programs that promote long-term development and humanitarian relief. Lebanese civil society organizations are very dynamic; ambitious, new organizations regularly rise to meet new crises while established CSOs switch between thinking long term and resolving periodic crises, such as the ongoing Syrian Crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the more recent Beirut Port Explosions

However, Lebanese NGOs’ reliance on international donors and INGOs for funding means that most local NGOs suffer from a structural weakness and their agility is not entirely sustainable. This weakness hinders their growth and hampers the development of a robust national civil society that can reliably play a key role in crisis prevention and management.

In 2016, the international community agreed to make a “Grand Bargain” in order to increase development-assistance efficiency and bridge the widening financing gap between humanitarian and development needs. Donors and aid providers made a commitment to the "localization of aid", meaning that they will channel a larger share of international aid funding to national and local responders. This will reposition local NGOs at the centre of humanitarian actions, improve the sustainability of their actions, and ensure that crisis-response actions meet local needs.

The Shabake Project was designed in the framework of the localization of aid agenda and the need to strengthen Lebanese NGO capacities so that local recipients can take the lead in responding to crisis.

The project aims to help local and international Lebanese non-governmental organizations (NGOs) become lasting, key players in mitigating and ameliorating the effects of the Syrian refugee crisis on Lebanon and the subsequent crises that have emerged in the current context in Lebanon, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut Port Explosions.

The NGO partners selected for the Shabake project are comprised of 7 local NGOs, each of whom will receive support in developing their organizational and technical capacities. They will also have an opportunity to put their new institutional changes into practice via a humanitarian project that reduce vulnerabilities. In addition, each NGO partner will be invited to meet and directly interact with donors, aid providers, and public authorities working in the development-aid ecosystem. 

To this end, the Shabake capacity-reinforcement project is divided in three main component parts:

1. Building on the strengths, assets, capacities, and skills of the local Lebanese NGOs
2. Having each NGO partner implement a crisis-response project to reduce vulnerabilities.
3. Improving and/or integrating the participation of NGO partners in the development-aid ecosystem.

The first component of the Shabake project aims at supporting select Shabake NGO partners in the development of their organizational and technical capacities through general and tailored support activities. The activities can range from basic trainings, to coaching, content and policy development, system set up, and advising. At the core of this effort is that they are participatory in nature, and that the NGO partners are deeply engaged with the experts assigned to develop the required deliverables. 

2. CONSULTANCY DESCRiption

Expertise France is seeking the services of a consultant(s) to provide capacity development support in Sustainability and Environmental Ethics to select Shabake NGO partners. This consultancy is composed of 2 main tasks:

1. Conduct one general workshop on Sustainability and Environmental Ethics in the workplace for the Shabake project’s NGO partners.

For each task the consultant will be working with designated focal points, both at the NGOs receiving the service and the Shabake project Manager at Expertise France throughout the duration of the consultancy.  

3. OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF WORK

The objective is to support the integration of sustainability values among the Shabake NGO partners’ principles in order to mainstream environmental sustainability considerations in their activities. The expert will also support to strengthen the basic knowledge of the NGO partners on Environmental policies, the importance of adopting “green policies” and attitudes, improve their image and quality of work by promoting social responsibility and sustainable development.

Below is a breakdown of the scope of work for the task:

Conduct one general workshop on Sustainability and Environmental Ethics for NGOs

• Develop a detailed agenda and material for the workshop, covering general definitions and terminologies, Environmental Ethics methodologies and tools; best practices and Environmental policies, tools and action plans.

The workshop agenda and materials are submitted to EF for prior feedback and amended based on any feedback received.

• Conduct one workshop on the Sustainability and Environmental Ethics strategy and its integration within the NGO partners’ organizational and programmatic frameworks, considering the current local context and the various partners’ fields of work.
• Ensure that the workshop topics are presented in an interactive manner that engages participants with constructive activities.
• Ensure to take attendance and administer a pre-post tests to assess participants’ understanding of the knowledge gained and produce a workshop report.

4. KEY TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

Task: General workshop on Sustainability and Environmental Ethics for NGOs

• Workshop on Environmental Ethics is conducted (presentation and all associated documents/readings/activity sheets/PPTs are sharing with EF beforehand for review).
• List of attendees confirmed and shared with EF.
• Pre-post tests for the workshop are administered.
• Final consultant report with annexed training report covering the workshop and its results is delivered to EF for review.

5. TIMELINE AND LOCATION OF THE CONSULTANCY

The total duration of the consultancy is 5 days over a period of 1 month.

6. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITES

Consultant: The Consultant will be responsible for designing and delivering the following:

• Conducting required inception meetings with the NGOs receiving the service
• Setting a detailed workplan for the tasks
• Collaborating closely with the NGO partners on the deliverables outlined above
• Participating in coordination and follow-up meetings as needed.
• Respecting the agreed timeline.
• Submitting all deliverables as agreed and with respect to the timeline

Expertise France: Expertise France will contract the consultant and will be responsible for the overall management of the Consultant including:

• Developing and finalizing the terms of reference and contract
• Along with the NGO partners, reviewing and approving all expected deliverables with the consultant.
• Supporting the Consultant in connecting and meeting with the NGOs receiving the service
• Overall monitoring of the assignment activities and the delivery of milestones.

7. QUALIFICATIONS

• Degree in Environmental science and studies, nonprofit management or any relevant field.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional experience in the field of environmental sustainability in development projects or policies.
• Demonstrated experience working with non-governmental organizations and consultancy services in environmental sustainability mainstreaming in projects, programmes or policies.
• Excellent policy development and writing skills.
• Strong local knowledge and comprehensive understanding around capacity building programs.
• Excellent facilitation, presentation and writing skills.
• Professional working knowledge of Arabic and English is compulsory
• Ability to conduct the required activities online in case of a government-issued general mobilization.
• Extensive experience in managing and implementing consultations.
• Ability to work in a participatory approach with a certain flexibility.
• Professional commitment and ability to work under pressure.
• Ability to communicate, negotiate and adapt to work requirements.
• Integrity, respect, and responsibility.