UI/UX Expert

Project: Supporting progress in key areas of public administration reform in Lebanon

Since 2019, Lebanon has been facing one of the worst economic crises globally since the mid- nineteenth century according to the World Bank, with 2 major events intensifying its impact, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut port explosion in 2020. As the financial and economic situation unfolds, the downfall can be seen in all of the country’s aspects, from the availability of state services to the functioning of public administrations. Understanding the extent of this downfall requires an overview of several key facts that could represent Lebanon’s new reality.

Lebanon has also been facing political and economic crises for several years. The country has a complex political system that is based on power-sharing arrangements among its religious sects. However, this system has led to political gridlock, corruption, and a lack of accountability, which has resulted in a deteriorating economic situation and social unrest. The political deadlock in Lebanon refers to the ongoing inability of the country's political leaders to form a functioning government. This deadlock has been repetitive and has always persisted for multiple months and sometimes years.

The country’s worsening context has severe consequences on all sectors, with Lebanese public administrations being the most affected due to the reduction of available public funds. This has affected the core of public services and the basic functioning of administrations.

Project details

Based on what was mentioned, the implementation of a EU Program Action started in 2023, and it aims to support progress in key areas of public administration reform in Lebanon through enhancing the integrity, transparency and accountability of its public administration aligned with the principles of a modern public administration. It consists of three outcomes:

• Safeguarding integrity of the public administration, mainly in the area of public human resources management (i.e. civil service reform);
• Enhancing transparency in public administration systems, mainly in the area of public procurement at central and local level (i.e. public financial management reform) and access to public information (i.e. accountability);
• Strengthening accountability of the administration by reinforcing the role of the main oversight bodies (i.e., Central Inspection Board, Court of Audits and National Anti-Corruption Commission) in implementing reform, fighting and preventing corruption. This component is the continuation of the project ACT mentioned above.

This action will complement and reinforce the achievements made through the program “Anticorruption and Transparency at National Level in Lebanon” implemented by Expertise France until May 2023 and the AFD-funded project to support the public procurement reform implemented by EF until February 2024. It will also complement the current work done through the Lebanon Financing Facility of the “Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework - 3RF”, which is focusing on developing a responsive citizen engagement mechanism to advance transparency and accountability. This action is aligned with the opportunities of reform identified by the IMF Staff-Level Agreement and the principles of a modern public administration.

Needs justification

With the financial crisis, almost all Lebanese governmental entities have suffered from budget cuts that affected negatively their IT infrastructure and IT systems spending. This activity aims to support the website of the Central Inspection (www.cib.gov.lb) to make it more accessible, user-friendly, and able to provide better information and services.

Objectives and desired results

• General objective

The objective of the assignment is enhancing the usability, accessibility, and overall user satisfaction of Central Inspection Portal The UI/UX expert will play a pivotal role in optimizing the design and functionality of the board’s portal.

• Specific objectives

• Improve the user experience across the Central Inspection’s portal.
• Increased Users’ engagement, retention, and conversion rate.
• Develop a modern fully responsive portal that aligns with CIB mission and vision.

Deliverables

Scope of Work

• Creating user personas, user journeys, and empathy maps to better understand the needs and motivations of the CI target audience.
• Collaborating with CI team to define project requirements and goals.
• Developing wireframes, prototypes, and design mockups that demonstrate intuitive navigation, information architecture, and visual hierarchy.
• Iteratively testing and refining design solutions based on user feedback, usability best practices, and industry standards.
• Ensuring compliance with accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG) and responsive design principles to optimize usability across different devices and screen sizes.
• Providing design specifications, style guides, and documentation to support implementation by the development team.
• Conducting regular design reviews, presentations, and stakeholder meetings to solicit feedback and communicate project progress.

Assignment deliverables

• User Flows: Visual representations of the steps users take to accomplish tasks within a product or website.
• Wireframes: Low-fidelity representations of the layout and functionality of the portal focusing on structure and content hierarchy.
• Mockups: High-fidelity static representations of the portal user interface, including visual design elements such as colors, typography, and imagery.
• Prototypes: functional templates in HTML, CSS and JS formats of the portal features, allowing stakeholders to experience and test the user interface before development and later to be used by the portal development team.
• Style Guides: Documents detailing design guidelines, including typography, color schemes, iconography, and other visual elements to ensure consistency across the product.
• UI Assets: Exported design files including icons, graphics, and other visual elements necessary for development.
• Design Specifications: Detailed documentation outlining design decisions, interactions, and technical requirements for developers to implement the UI/UX design accurately.
• Accessibility Guidelines: Recommendations and considerations to ensure the digital product is accessible to users with disabilities, including guidelines for screen readers, keyboard navigation, and color contrast.

Duration and Engagement

The engagement of the UI/UX expert will be for a period of 1 month with 10-15 accounted Man days for this engagement. The expert will work in hybrid mode remotely/onsite and collaborate with CIB Team on a part-time basis.

15-man days are the ceiling for this engagement thus the contractor is supposed to manage the deliverables within this ceiling. The estimated man days should cover as well the HTML Templates and UI assets to be delivered within the scope of this assignment.

Performance Metrics

                The sign-off will be conducted based on the following metrics:

• Quality and impact of design solutions on user experience metrics (e.g., usability, engagement, conversion rates).
• Timeliness and effectiveness in delivering design deliverables according to project milestones and deadlines.
• Collaboration and communication skills demonstrated in interactions with CIB Team
• Adherence to project requirements, design specifications, and organizational standards.
• The web developer who will implement the work shall indicate that the deliverables are sufficient for implementation.

Deliverables

• Develop a revised trilingual (Arabic/English/French) information architecture and validated sitemap to support improved navigation.
• Produce annotated low-fidelity wireframes for all core pages, including homepage, service pages, complaint submission workflows, dashboards, and content pages.
• Develop interactive user flow diagrams covering key service journeys (e.g., complaint submission and tracking).
• Deliver a clickable interactive prototype for stakeholder validation and approval.
• Design complete high-fidelity UI mockups fully optimized for RTL (Right-to-Left) Arabic interfaces.
• Ensure the design is fully responsive and adaptive across all platforms, including desktop, mobile phones, and tablets, and compatible with major browsers.
• Design standardized page templates for services, reports, dashboards, and content pages.
• Establish a unified digital design system including WCAG-compliant color palette, Arabic/Latin typography hierarchy, grid system, and reusable UI components (forms, buttons, tables, alerts, cards).
• Deliver a complete editable FIGMA file including all wireframes, high-fidelity designs, interactive prototypes, and the full component library/design system.
• Conduct accessibility validation of the proposed UI designs (WCAG 2.1 AA minimum) and implement required design adjustments.
• Support design iteration based on stakeholder feedback until final approval.
• Provide a comprehensive developer handover package including UI specifications, interaction behavior documentation, responsive breakpoints, design tokens, and export-ready graphical assets (SVG and optimized files).
• Provide technical design support during implementation to ensure accurate translation of approved FIGMA designs into the live production environment.
• Provide final evaluation regarding the implementation of the web developer and give commentary where needed.

Place, duration, and terms of performance.

• Hybrid and onsite at Central Inspection (CI)– Beirut
• Start date: 1 April 2026
• Delivery date: 1 June 2026

Qualifications and Expertise

              The ideal candidate for the UI/UX expert position should possess the following qualifications and expertise:

• Proven experience (5+ years) in UI/UX design for web and mobile applications, with a strong portfolio showcasing successful projects and innovative design solutions. Preference will be given to candidates with a portfolio in delivering similar services for public entities.
• Proficiency in design tools such as Adobe XD, Sketch, Figma, or equivalent software for creating wireframes, prototypes, and visual designs.
• Solid understanding of user-centered design principles, usability heuristics, and interaction design patterns.
• Proficient in front-end development technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and their implications on design implementation.
• Familiarity with user research methodologies, including usability testing, user interviews, card sorting, and heatmapping.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to articulate design decisions, present ideas effectively, and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Awareness of current design trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in UI/UX design.
• Experience working in agile or iterative development environments is preferred.

Evaluation Criteria

The best value for money is established by weighing technical quality against price on a 50/50 basis.

NB:

• Only candidates with scores of at least 40 points on technical evaluation qualify for the financial evaluation.
• No other award criteria will be used. The award criteria will be examined in accordance with the requirements indicated in the Terms of Reference.