Local Governance Expert (m/f/d) – Lebanon Country Office

Title: Local Governance Expert (m/f/d) – Lebanon Country Office

Assignment Description: DRI has conducted a series of Local Governance Assessments in specific service sectors and in several areas of intervention. The expert will develop a cross-cutting policy brief compiling the outcomes of three policy briefs developed by DRI experts covering three themes: local economic development (LED), Water, Hygiene, and Sanitation (WASH), and strategic planning.

Assignment Period: May–June 2022.

Assignment Location: Home-based.

Level of Effort: Up to 10 expert days.

How to apply: Please send the application documents to info.lebanon@democracy-reporting.org cc’ing e.haddad@democracy-reporting.org by 21 April 2022, 11:59 PM local time. 

Background:

Democracy Reporting International (DRI) is a non-partisan, independent, not-for-profit organisation registered in Berlin. It has been established in Lebanon since 2016. DRI promotes political participation of citizens, accountability of state bodies and the development of democratic institutions worldwide. Democratic discourse is the basis of our mission and vision. In our work, we facilitate discussion and exchange about democratic government and the need for a continuous discourse adhering to democratic rules. 

In the framework of the MASAR programme for Local Governments, which is funded by the EU MADAD trust fund and co-implemented by VNG International (VNGI), the Polish Centre for International Aid (PCPM), and the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (ACCD), DRI conducted a series of Local Governance Assessments specific to MASAR’s service sectors in several areas of intervention (AoI). Based on these assessments, DRI will develop four policy briefs focused on the challenges of local governance in three sectors: Local Economic Development (LED), Strategic Planning, and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), in addition to one final policy brief crosscutting all three sectors.

To this end, DRI is recruiting a local governance expert to work on a policy brief that consolidates the results of the three policy briefs previously developed by DRI and integrates them into a stock-taking, cross-cutting policy brief. The assignment will be conducted remotely.

Your Deliverables:

Under the overall supervision of the Country Representative and in close coordination with the DRI Programme Manager and the Research and Field Coordinator, the external reviewer will:

• Produce an concise 4,000-word policy brief based on three previously developed policy briefs on strategic planning, LED, and WASH;
• Ensure that the executive summary is comprehensive, well structured, and engaging to read;
• Ensure that the paper is well structured, the results are concise, and the document includes engaging titles, following a think-tank style;
• Ensure that the recommendations section incorporates all proposals specifically stated in the sectoral policy briefs, and that the recommendations can be disseminated at a national level.

Your Qualifications:

• University degree in law, public administration, social science, public policy/development studies, urban planning, or other relevant fields;
• Legal and technical knowledge of local governance and the 3 targeted sectors in the Lebanese context;
• Good knowledge of the work of Lebanese municipalities and municipal unions in theory and practice;
• At least seven (7) years of professional experience in public policy and urban planning and report writing in a concise, think-tank style;
• Writing samples/publications touching on the targeted sectors;
• Good communication and negotiation skills and ability to work with a culturally diverse team;
• Fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English;
• Tact and diplomacy for negotiating changes with experts;
• Ability to deliver under tight deadlines.