Field Facilitator - Sidon

Expertise France

Expertise France (EF) is a public agency created on 1st January 2015 under the supervision of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance with a strong inter-ministerial vocation. EF offers programme engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. Expertise France is the French public agency for international technical assistance.

EF designs and implements cooperation projects addressing skills transfers between professionals. The agency also develops integrated offers, assembling public and private expertise in order to respond to the partner countries' needs. With a business volume of 148 million Euros, a portfolio of over 500 projects in 100 countries, and 63,000 days of expert missions every year, Expertise France promotes French and European development policy goals.

EF operates in various fields of development and institutional cooperation including safety and security reform, public health, human rights, strengthening of institutions and NGOs and governance. Carrying out large-scale, multi-stakeholder programmes, EF can ensure the cooperation between individuals, teams and institutions with very different statuses, cultures and specialties. EF has acquired a sound experience in administrative and financial management of large-scale international programmes. www.expertisefrance.fr

1. Project background

The multiple crises that have impacted Lebanon for several years have led to a serious deterioration in the standard of living of the population and increased the risks of economic, social and political instability in the country. With the start of the Syrian crisis in March 2011, more than one million people had to seek refuge in Lebanon. This influx of refugees has had significant human, social, economic and political repercussions and has weakened the structures of assistance to fragile populations. The last two years have been marked by the collapse of the economy, the October 2019 protests, the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosion of the Port of Beirut. This accelerated succession of economic and social humanitarian crises has led to a dramatic increase in poverty levels among displaced populations and vulnerable host communities.

In the spring of 2021, the World Bank estimated that the economic and financial crisis hitting Lebanon would be among the ten, and probably the three most serious crises in the world since the middle of the 19th century. The banking sector has ceased lending operations and is no longer attracting deposits, and the Lebanese pound (L.L.) continues to lose value with soaring inflation.

Local NGOs play an essential role in crisis contexts in Lebanon, through their proximity to the most vulnerable populations and their presence in the most affected areas of the country. Their activities contribute to improving access to basic services in a context of saturation of public services. They also play a key role in strengthening social cohesion in the face of the growing risk of communal tensions.

Six years after the signing of the “Grand Bargain” on aid localization, aimed at repositioning local actors at the center of humanitarian action, the role of local NGOs in the aid ecosystem in Lebanon still needs to be strengthened, and strengthening their capacities remains a major lever for the sustainability of crisis response actions in the country. Lebanese NGOs must therefore be supported in strengthening their management capacities, technical skills and sectoral specialization to assert themselves as effective and relevant actors in the response to current crises.

2. The Shabake2 project

The Shabake 2 project is part of the Peace and Resilience Fund – Minka Middle East, which aims to contribute to the response to the consequences of the Syrian crisis, and to act on the prevention and management of the protracted crisis in Lebanon. In addition, the intervention with a dynamic and mature Lebanese civil society makes it possible to concretize the French commitments of "localization of aid" within the framework of the "Grand Bargain" of the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit. The project is also a continuation of the first phase conducted by Expertise France (EF), which supported 13 local NGOs, and conducted a study on the local associative fabric and a mid-term evaluation, the conclusions of which feed into phase 2.

Following the lessons learned in Phase 1, the Shabake 2 project rebalances the objectives with increased attention to the rapid and concrete effects that NGO grants will achieve on the ground. The overall objective of the project is to strengthen social cohesion and support peace and stability by accompanying local NGOs in their key crisis management role and providing sustainable support to vulnerable host communities and Syrian refugees.

It aims to strengthen purpose-driven, technically sound and locally rooted NGOs to support their abilities in weathering the crises as they arise, gaining greater financial autonomy and contributing to Lebanon's recovery. An emergency response component, funded by the Crisis Centre (CDCS) of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), is included in the programme, which makes it possible to articulate different French emergency and development instruments as part of a comprehensive approach to support Lebanese CSOs.

The project is structured around three components:

1. Enable NGOs to be trusted partners in the implementation of vulnerability reduction projects and thematic actions
2. Support local NGOs in their efforts to respond effectively to ongoing emergencies and crises in Lebanon
3. Strengthen the technical and organizational capacities and the economic model of partner NGOs for a better localization of aid for the benefit of vulnerable populations.

3. Job Description / Assignment

The main role of the Field Facilitator (FF) is to support the in-the-field implementation of the Shabake 2 project components related to NGO partner grants (Components 1 and 2) and NGO capacity development (Component 3). Working under the authority of Grants Officers (GO), Grants Specialist (GS) and the Project Manager (PM) of Expertise France in Lebanon, and in collaboration with the Capacity Strengthening Specialist (CSS), the FF will be based in Sidon, within the premises of the Institut Française, covering activities in the South Governorate. The FF will be the closest and the most operational contact between EF and the NGOs involved in the Shabake 2 project.

The portfolio of partner NGO grants under the responsibility of the FF ranges from 2 to 5 projects in one or 2 governorates.

Responsibility 1: Operations

• Components 1 and 2: NGO Partner Grants
  • Be part of the call for proposal/tenders’ preparation and selection of NGO partners in coordination with GOs, GS and PM.
  • Support the GOs in communicating with selected NGOs to finalize their project planning and contract documents
  • Under the guidance of the GOs, supporting the NGO partners in the regular planning implementation of activities and achieving set targets in the field, ensuring that activities are progressing according to the agreed upon timelines.
  • Support the M&E unit in collecting monitoring data in the field and supporting NGO partners in their overall M&E needs and indicator tracking as per their logframes.
  • Identify operational challenges with the NGO partners and support in their troubleshooting where needed.
  • Make sure that any updates/information needed are shared in due time with partners (official letters, activity progress reports, minutes of the meetings …).
  • Make sure that humanitarian principles, protection standards, and best practices in gender requirement and accountability in partnerships are maintained
  • Support the NGOs in following all EF administrative requirements regarding reporting, procurement guidelines and general grant guidelines
  • Support the GO, GS and M&E team in preparing for general activities and evaluations
• Component 3: NGO Partner Capacity Strengthening
  • Participate in the self-assessment and capacity strengthening action planning process with assigned NGO partners
  • Support the CSS in overseeing capacity development experts assigned to NGO partners
  • Attend capacity development activities received by NGO partners where possible, and in close collaboration with the CSS provide coaching and follow up to partners to ensure the mainstreaming of newly acquired/strengthened organizational or technical practices
  • Support the CSS in ensuring that acquired/improved practices are operationalized effectively by the partner NGO in their projects and support where needed.
  • Support the CSS in organizing community of Practice meetings in order to enable the exchange of experiences and lessons learnt by partner NGOs.

Responsibility 2: Coordination

• Report to the GO any context updates, arising population needs, new NGOs implantation in the areas.
• Attend team meetings in Beirut on a monthly basis as needed.
• Share local NGO profiles within the FF areas of operation to the GO.
• Initiate contact with NGOs and invite NGOs in coordination with GOs and GS to information sessions about the Shabake 2 project
• Support the GOs in organizing community meetings and situation analysis meetings that will be taking place among Shabake NGO partners during project implementation. Assist the discussions between the NGO’s involved in the project and other stakeholders.
• Communicate regularly with GOs and GS on activities updates and report challenges and discuss solutions
• Regularly organize coordination and communications with local municipalities where relevant to create a positive and constructive collaboration between local authorities and civil society.
• Support communication team in all communication and dissemination activities and events highlighting the work of the NGO partners in Shabake2.

Responsibility 3: Finance, Logistics and Administrative support

• Facilitate the organization of training sessions, workshops, seminars, meetings in coordination with EF logistics department.
• Work closely with the EF team to make sure that logistical, administrative and financial procedures linked to program implementation are followed.
• Follow up and ensure that all administrative documents related to program implementation are up to date and stored.

Responsibility 4: Reporting

• Support NGO partners in their monthly/quarterly activity and financial reporting in a timely manner in collaboration with the GOs, M&E and finance units.
• Review all data/reports from the NGOs and ensure the accuracy of narrative and financial reporting before sharing with the GOs and GM for revision.

4. Technical Skills, Experience & Knowledge

Education level

University degree in Management, Political Science, Social Sciences, or related field

Qualifications

• 2 to 3 years NGOs/ CSOs work experience, including small and medium sized organizations (experience in emergency response is a plus). 
• Excellent Knowledge of the Lebanese civil society, and the area of coverage in the duty station including population needs
• Fluency in English and Arabic (written and spoken). Excellent command in French is a plus.
• Excellent computer skills: MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Excellent communication and reporting skills.
• Strong relationship skills and the ability to work effectively with local stakeholders.
• Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented.
• Previous experience work experience with international agencies would be an asset.