Senior Economic Development Consultant

GVC is an Italian NGO founded in 1971 active in international development and humanitarian aid projects. With nearly 770 professionals employed and 250 partners, over the past 12 months GVC has reached 1.4 million people. The organisation’s programmes are co-funded by the most important humanitarian and development aid donors such as EU (DEVCO, EACEA, ECHO, NEAR), United Nations (OCHA, UNHCR, UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, FAO) and individual countries (AICS, JICA, France and Dutch Embassies) as well as by private donors and foundations.

GVC has been working in Lebanon since 2006, and within the Syrian crises response since 2012. The mission works on both humanitarian and development projects and has built particular expertise in the areas of North and Central Bekaa and Akkar. Previous projects in the development field aimed mainly at improving public water services in Lebanon through a holistic approach including infrastructure, capacity building of the Water Establishments and increasing the trust between the citizens and the public institution. 

Job description

Within this framework, GVC is recruiting a Senior Economic Development Consultant who will assist GVC Lebanon mission in the development of proposals to increase opportunities for working in the fields of employment creation and supporting local economic development, particularly in agricultural production and related value chains.

The objective of the consultancy is a comprehensive and formulated proposal document that will enable GVC to apply for funding with donors. The proposal will be developed under the leadership of the GVC Development Coordinator and taking into consideration information from assessments, experts and stakeholders, reflecting the needs of the local context. The consultancy will contribute to the formation of a consortium or partnership with other international and local NGOs through coordination and negotiation.

Main tasks and responsibilities

• Assist GVC in proposal development for donor funding in the areas of local economic development, employment creation particularly in agricultural production and related value chains
• Envision, design and develop a proposal for a multi-year project with several consortium partners, including the narrative, budget, schedule, Logical Framework and indicators
• Analyse available studies and assessments, identify information gaps, and conduct additional interviews and research with relevant stakeholders if necessary
• Assess the capacity of potential consortium partners, and support GVC in discussing and negotiating the roles and responsibilities
• Present project ideas with potential partners, local authorities and donors to ensure buy-in for the project from key stakeholders

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

Qualifications and Knowledge

• Higher level degree in a field related to development, economics or similar
• Proven extensive knowledge in local economic development, employment creation and strengthening related good governance structures. Background in rural development, agricultural production and value chains preferred
• Excellent oral and written English skills

Professional Experience

• 5-10 years of experience in designing, establishing and managing projects with multiple consortium partners and stakeholders over several years in the field of local economic development in complex environments
• Demonstrated record of developing successful grant proposals with experience with establishing Logical Frameworks and developing SMART indicators
• Successful record in project management in the above-mentioned sectors, and the ability to identify risks, assumptions, bottlenecks, and realistically estimate budget and resources

Skills and competences

• Demonstrable analytical and research skills, review and synthesis of data and information
• High level of competency coordinating and negotiating with consortium partners and stakeholders and representation skills with donors and local governmental authorities
• Ability to work efficiently and effectively as part of a team from multiple organizations, flexibility to work in various locations, including writing proposal documents remotely
• Ability to integrate experiences, methodologies and approaches from a diverse range of stakeholders, organizations, and technical experts from multiple sectors

DESIDERABLE REQUIREMENTS

• Experience with medium sized international NGOs preferred
• Good understanding of Lebanese context preferred
• Knowledge of Arabic would be an asset