Human Rights Consultant

Project Background:

As part of the project “Enhancing the inclusivity of the LGBTI community in workplaces in Lebanon”, which is funded by the European Instrument for Democracy & Human Rights (EIDHR), ACTED has selected MOSAIC to implement a campaign focused on promoting human rights and inclusion of the LBGTQI+ community in the workplace. Therefore, the selected applicant will sign a contract with ACTED but will work for MOSAIC.

Proposed Initiative/Campaign

Promoting LGBTIQ+ inclusiveness and acceptance in the workplace by creating an awareness video and a podcast and by providing coaching to five companies in North Lebanon hoping to turn internal policies into more inclusive policies. A session reserved to political parties to highlight their role in amending legislation.

Introduction

In Lebanon, LGBTIQ+ persons face discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identities in all aspects of their lives. Homophobia and social oppression are still vastly widespread due to cultural prejudices. The outbreak of COVID-19 in Lebanon affected all individuals, particularly the LGBTIQ+ community who already suffered from multi-layered types of violence due to cultural, legal, societal, religious and socio-economic reasons. In fact, due to the imposed lock-down measures and curfew restrictions, LGBTIQ+ who mainly work in the informal sector and do not benefit from any form of social protection have actually lost their jobs. In addition to the pandemic, Lebanon has been suffering from multiple crises, including a political instability, an unprecedented economic crisis, and the port explosion of the 4th of August 2020. The latter also had a direct impact on the LGBTIQ+ individuals as many of them resided or worked in the areas that were most affected by the blast.

A quick glance at the beneficiaries’ profiles registered at MOSAIC since 2014 shows that around 80% of them are unemployed, even though 35% have pursued higher education.

Through this project, MOSAIC seeks to represent the LGBTIQ+ community residing in Lebanon and to promote their inclusion at the workplace. The project will mainly target employers in North Lebanon in order to encourage them to create inclusive policies and work environments. In addition, the project will also target political parties during their electoral campaigning period to lobby for the adoption of LGBTIQ+ rights in their electoral programs.

Who is MOSAIC

MOSAIC is a holistic program committed to improve the health and well-being of marginalized individuals.

 

Tasks and Scope of Work

Under the overall supervision and the support of MOSAIC’s team, the Human Rights Consultant will be undertaking two main tasks as follows:

1. Facilitate a session regrouping the human resources managers of five companies working in North Lebanon. During this session, he/she will be introducing the Toolkit that was already developed by ACTED and coordinate individual coaching sessions to be delivered to each of the five selected companies.
2. Provide five full-day individual coaching to key personnel and holders of leadership positions working in five companies operating in North Lebanon. The content of the coaching revolves around the LGBTIQ+ issues and human rights violations at the workplace, as well as protection policies that need to be implemented. The ACTED Toolkit is to be discussed and implementation ways are to be set in order to amend local policies into more inclusive/safe ones for the LGBTIQ+ individuals.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Human Rights Consultant will be responsible of the following:

• Oversee and ensure achievements of capacity building plans through development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation tools including pre and post-tests.
• Develop the coaching’s content and teaching aids including the agenda, coaching methodology, handouts, evaluation forms and pre and post tests, which will be discussed and approved by the MOSAIC team.
• Tailor coaching to the level of the participants, but should include at least identification and referrals, disclosure and provision of basic training instructions.
• Provide an introductory training explaining the importance of establishing anti-discriminatory and inclusive policies and legislations at the workplace.
• Facilitate coaching sessions in North Lebanon on the LGBTIQ+ issues and human rights violations at the workplace.
• Submit a final report within a week after the activities are completed.

Qualifications and Skills

• University degree or higher education relevant to social work, Human resources, Human rights, gender studies or other relevant fields.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Experience in conducting training needs analysis/assessments and developing training programs for a broad range of audiences from different institutional levels.
• Extensive experience in management.
• Experience in the humanitarian field is preferable.
• Fluency in English and Arabic is required.
• At least 5 years of proven experience in the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) field.
• Thorough understanding of best practices and strategies in SGBV response (case management, psychosocial support, etc.) and SGBV primary prevention and risk reduction
• Priority to candidates who have experience and a strong understanding of alternative Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities, particularly with the LGBTIQ+ Community.