Communications officer

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. Project Background

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.

Qudra 2 Project

’Qudra – “Resilience for Syrian refugees, IDPs and host communities in response to the Syrian and Iraqi crises’” is a regional action co-financed by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the Madad Fund, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) seeking to strengthen the resilience of Syrian refugees, IDPs and host communities in response to the Syrian and Iraqi crises. The Programme launched in June 2016 has been jointly implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Expertise France (EF) and AECID in Programme partner countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and North Iraq.

In Lebanon, EF implemented Qudra between 2016 and 2019 in close collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA). Currently, the two partners are implementing Qudra 2, another three-year Programme, with a continuation of activities to be delivered in selected Social Development Centres (SDCs) and/or through Mobile Units. The project seeks to improve social stability among communities in Lebanon through a comprehensive and local approach of protection for children and adults. To do so, activities revolve around four pillars: (i) support to SDCs under MoSA, (ii) Child Protection activities, (iii) Protection activities and (iv) campaigns and communication activities. The activities are implemented in partnership between seven local NGOs and 14 SDCs within the framework of the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan and MoSA Strategic Plan on the Protection of Women and Children. In addition, Qudra 2 also aims to further develop the capacity of MoSA and SDC staff through training, coaching and on-the-job learning.

3. Job Description / Assignment

The main role of Communication Officer is to foster, manage all external communication related aspects for both mentioned above projects. Under the supervision of the program’s director and in close collaboration with twos Project manager, the communication Officer main objective is :  

• Design and implement a communication and visibility strategy for the Shabake 2 project
• to ensure the implementation of the existent communication plan for Qudra Programme

 Responsibility 1: partnership Support

•  Coordinate closely with the NGO partners to collect, edit & finalize content related to the activities aiming to be disseminated on the projects’ social media channels.
• Conduct regular briefings and meetings with the NGOs communication focal point
• Standardize the communication of EF partners and support them in the implementation of both project’s communication plans
• Conduct regular field visits in coordination with the NGO partners and EF operational team
• Support Partners in organizing events in coherence with communication plans and NGOs planned activities

Responsibility 2: Social Medias and external communication

• In charge of disseminating validated content on social media channels / following the project’s guidelines
• Preparation and dissemination of newsletter or any relevant material to stakeholders.
•  Administrates social media channels of the Shabake project in coordination with the Shabake project’s team.
• Disseminate the project’s updates through online and offline channels
• Elaborate outreach materials and key messages targeting specific audiences

Responsibility 2: Coordination and external services management.

• Draft term of reference in collaboration with programs director for external service provider selection.
• provide technical advice during external service selection
• Supervise service providers, monitor the delivery, and provide relevant technical feedback accordingly. (Production house, communication agency, event agency, designer, and other suppliers etc)
• In cooperation with the Project Manager, liaise and coordinate with relevant project stakeholders (EU, AFD, CDC, GIZ, Implementing NGO Partners, MoSA, SDCs, Municipalities…)
• Participate proactively in Internal coordination operational updates and provide communication keys info to the EF Management team
• Regular contact with Communication Headquarter departments.

Responsibility 4: Reporting and capitalization

• Provide communication updates/ achievements, and all needed data for project interim and final reports on time.
• Capitalize on completed and published content, activities, and relevant data (photo, videos, links, social media activities etc.)
• Provide upon request to donors’ and headquarters updates and information
• Capitalize external services agency network and validated list (photographer, events company etc.) 
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Responsibility 3: administrative

• Collaborate closely with the EF Procurement department for purchase request (production of communication materials, external service provider contact)
• To follow all procurement rules and guidelines
• To manage and use accordingly all stored and produced communication materials
• Provide procurement anticipated retro planning plan in collaboration with the procurement and programs teams.
• Plan accordingly budget spending on communication activities in collaboration with programs director.

4. Technical Skills, Experience & Knowledge

Education level

University degree in communication, international relation or any related filed

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of experience in communication, events organisation, NGOS experience in an asset.
• Technical knowledge on videos editing
• Good knowledge and working experience of Lebanese institutions and Lebanese the civil society organisations.
• Sound knowledge of the Lebanese context and of the relationship between host and refugee communities.
• Excellent writing and data collection skills.
• 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 coordination and teamwork skills.