Short-term Consultant: Development of a Social Fund Governance Policy in Lebanon

Purpose and Objectives of the Consultancy
This assignment serves to develop a social fund policy to govern the revenues from the Social Housing project “Hand in Hand” and other CL social enterprises. The consultant shall elaborate the governance policy together with relevant stakeholders, including key CACH and CL staff, in a participatory workshop. Besides the development of the fund governance policy, the workshop will also serve to generate a common understanding of the concept and purpose of social enterprises and social funds.
The social fund governance policy shall include and define the following core elements:

1. Institutional set-up of the fund

• Governing bodies and/or steering committee
• Competencies and purpose of the fund
• Roles and responsibilities to transparently steer the fund, including division of operational and oversight responsibilities
• Contractual requirements and arrangements

2. Decision-making mechanisms

• Decision-making processes, including decisions and voting regulations for approval of expenditures
• Frequency and types of meetings for decision-making
• Envisaged and recurring items of agenda

2. Income (from Social Housing rent revenues)

• Rent collection procedure on how to ensure the timely and full payment of rents by tenants
• Validation process to ensure the correctness of paid rents (rent levels, completeness and timeliness of payments)
• Liability (of CL) in case of payment defaults by tenants
• Risk assessment and mitigation measures regarding payment defaults
• Effect of the social fund on the rent agreements between tenant and lessor; possible benefits of the tenants from the social fund

3. Income (from third parties and sources)

• Review of public subsidiaries for social funds or international funding streams
• Eligibility for tax deductions
• Exploration of other income generating opportunities

4. Investment of funds

• Strategy and forms of income investment while ensuring required liquidity (including considerations of investment duration and maturity, risk management and diversification, performance measurement and monitoring)
• Possible restrictions (prohibition or limitation) for specific investments
• Definition of asset structure

5. Costs of the creation and management of a social fund

• Costs estimate for the establishment of the fund
• Cost estimate for the running costs

6. Taxation

• On income from rent
• On income from assets
• Exploration of possible tax exemptions in relation to the social fund

7. Expenditures / Contributions to social projects

• Principal criteria for investments allocation (including frequency and extent)
• Selection criteria for investments (including possible restrictions)
• Decision-making mechanism for investment allocation

8. Monitoring

• Risk-based approach for monitoring compliance and controlling risk of fraud
• Roles and responsibilities in monitoring, including means of sharing results
• Inspection mechanism of records to ensure contributors and employers are meeting their obligations
• Audits and other regular review mechanisms

9. Information management and processes

• Set of operational processes which connects and specifies the information flows between the different parts of the organizations involved, including disclosure of decisions and information regarding the finances of the fund and allocation of investments

10. Reporting

• Reporting lines, modes and frequencies
• Definition of reporting topics

The specific purposes of the consultancy are to:
1. Facilitate discussion and obtain inputs on the governance of the social fund, including the above-mentioned core elements, through a participatory workshop with relevant stakeholders, key CACH and CL staff

2. Develop and confirm a shared understanding of social enterprises and social funds, including their purpose and use, with workshop participants

3. Develop a social fund governance policy based on the workshop outputs, covering the above-mentioned core elements and other identified key components

Expected Deliverables
The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Preparation of the workshop with clear concept and agenda, in consultation with CACH and CL.
• Pre-workshop discussion with key CACH and CL staff
• Facilitation of a successful, collaborative full-day workshop on-site in Beirut, Lebanon, with participants from CACH, CL, and other relevant stakeholders
• Delivery of a workshop report with results, observations and recommendations including documentation of workshop outputs
• Development and delivery of a social fund governance policy

The consultant is required to lead the workshop and development of the governance policy with full participation of CACH, CL and other relevant stakeholders. All documents produced within this assignment shall be elaborated in English language

Responsibilities of CACH
CACH is responsible for the following activities:

• Cater for logistics and organization of the workshop (invitations, venue, translation, equipment, etc.);
• Cover international and national travel costs of the consultant from/to the location of the workshop, including accommodation in Beirut;
• Consult with the expert and CL on all organizational and content-related questions in preparation of the workshop and in the development of the governance policy

6. Eligibility for Consideration
Eligible consultants will be required to have the following qualifications and experience:

• A post-graduate or equivalent qualification in political science, international development, humanitarian action, social sciences, economics, or other related fields
• 7-10 years of relevant professional experience in the humanitarian or development sector is required
• Background in economics, financial management, or legal advice. Prior work experience in social business and/or governance policy development is a particular asset
• Traceable references and records of previous work with (I)NGOs
• Knowledge of and experience in the Middle East, preferably Lebanon and its legal frameworks
• Demonstrated experience in participatory workshop design and facilitation
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Arabic language skills are an additional asset

Application Procedures
Applications are invited from suitably qualified and experienced consultants with capacity to undertake the above activities; all documents must be submitted in English. The consultants are expected to submit a detailed proposal with the following components:
Technical proposal to include:

• Short motivation letter of max. two pages outlining the consultant’s understanding of the ToR and the proposed approach to carry out the assignment
• Copy of CV

• Reference of three most recent relevant clients and assignments (stating the organization, assignment undertaken, date and duration, contact person’s name, email address and contact number)

• Sample document elaborated by the consultant showing his/her expertise relevant to the assignment