Civic and Community Engagement Specialist

Project background: 

RMF is seeking the position of a civic and community engagement specialist for an anticipated proposal to UNDP on Municipal Empowerment and Resilience Project. The ‘Municipal Empowerment and Resilience Project’ (MERP) is a joint initiative by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat). The Project is implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM) and is funded by the European Union (EU) through EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the ‘Madad Fund’. The Project aims to strengthen the long-term resilience of subnational authorities in Lebanon as well as host communities, refugees and displaced persons affected by the Syrian Crisis. To achieve this, the Project engages in a three-pronged approach: MERP aims to 1. strengthen processes, procedures and practices to enable Union of Municipalities (UoMs) and municipalities to deliver effective and efficient services in a transparent and accountable manner; 2.  empower UoMs and municipalities to facilitate local economic development (LED) and to deliver basic services that address the needs of both host and refugee populations, and; 3. support communities to engage in municipal processes and procedures to ensure that UoMs and municipalities are responsive to their needs.  The Project’s geographic areas of intervention are the Urban Community Al Fayhaa, the federation of Municipalities of the Northern and Coastal Matn, and the UoM of Tyre with a total of around 91 potential partner municipalities.

Requirements:

• At least a master’s degree in relevant field – Communication, journalism, Negotiation and Facilitation etc.

• At least 5 years of experience in strengthening municipal/civic participation at the local level.

• Successful track record in working with local governments and civil society on citizen engagement and participation, including communication and outreach methodologies. 

• Ability to establish strong working relationships with municipalities, civil society, local government officials, civic leaders, media, business people, and international donors.

• Ability to establish strong working relationships with municipalities, civil society, local government officials, civic leaders, media, and international donors.

• Extensive experience and technical expertise in designing and implementing outreach activities and participation that creates incentives for grant fund.

• Ability to balance engagement of partners in outreach activities, including gender and youth.

• Ability to work with municipalities to institute a robust communications campaign around the planned event.