Legal Research Coaching Consultant

Background of the Project

Through the Freedom of Religion and Belief project, ALEF aims at monitoring and identifying the violations made against FoRB across Lebanon at the political, judicial and social levels. Using its monitoring, ALEF seeks to identify certain trends related to FoRB under thematics such as Education, or Women’s Rights, to produce research, policy briefs and support its group of volunteers to come up with grassroots research, advocacy and communication activities.

The group of volunteers (recruited and managed by ALEF) has grown to 26 individuals. These young women and men, coming from different regions and universities, are introduced to FoRB notions, but also monitoring, in addition to pluralism and citizenship. Based on their acquired knowledge, these young women and men will pass forward the information received within their own network through awareness campaigns, advocacy activities (meetings, workshops, etc.), communication and visibility projects, and finally research (legal recommendations, public policies, etc.).

Background for the Consultancy

The consultant is expected to train, coach, and follow up with a group of young Lebanese volunteers interested in legal research in the topics of Women’s Right, Education, and other related thematics, all in relation to Freedom of Religion and Belief. At the end of the consultancy, the youth involved should be able to produce short papers, public policy recommendations, and/or memos which will be circulated online. The consultant will be responsible of teaching the volunteers the suitable methodology for legal research, how to properly write a legal document, etc. in order to build the capacities of the youth to grasp the idea of legal research and writing.

Scope of Work

The consultant will be responsible for the following:

• To provide and design sessions to coach the volunteers on the correct methodology for legal research and writing.
• To coach, supervise and follow up with the volunteers throughout the research and writing implementation period.
• To create functional and practical means of communication with the volunteers.
• To offer guidance and proper support for the volunteers in the learning and writing process.
• To support the volunteers in drafting their outline, their writing deliverable, but also edit and finalize the document.
• To closely coordinate with the project team (Project Coordinator, Chief of Staff, and Programs Manager) through bilateral meetings, emails, but also the submission of a monthly report laying out the research process, the milestones, but also the challenges and how to overcome it.
• To brief, alongside the project team, the donor on a monthly basis on the research process.

Consultancy Period

The work is expected to start once the contract is signed by the consultant, planned as soon as possible, and end by September 2022. A more detailed timeline will be agreed upon with the consultant.

Qualifications:

• Advanced university degree in Public Relations, Political Science, International Affairs, Humanitarian Affairs, Legal and/or related field experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in carrying out high level analytical work and project evaluations.
• Proven evaluation, research, and analytical skills.
• Proven experience in working on similar or relevant local human rights projects in Lebanon.
• Experience and knowledge in the field of human rights promotion, conflict prevention and peace building, pluralism and citizenship, and support to human rights projects with focus on capacity-building.
• Excellent English and Arabic communication skills, with a focus on written and presentational capacities.
• Previous experience in dealing with youth groups is highly desired.