Local Development and Governance Consultant – Mount Lebanon

Position description

Lebanon continues to confront an unprecedented financial and economic crisis, exacerbated by a long history of violence, volatility, and social inequality. This crisis has deeply undermined the subsistence capacity of already vulnerable populations. The country remains home to the largest numbers of refugees per capita in the world, with approximately 1.5 million displaced Syrians, 31,400 Palestine refugees from Syria, 35,000 Lebanese returnees, and a pre-existing population of 174,422 Palestine refugees residing in 12 official refugee camps and 156 gatherings. Moreover, the geopolitical environment continues to deteriorate, which poses risks for new displacement waves. This multi-layered crisis has had devastating impacts on Lebanon’s social, economic, and environmental capital, and increasingly threatens the country’s social cohesion and stability.

Communities hosting large numbers of displaced populations face compounded challenges due to inadequate institutional capacities, dwindling resources, and a lack of effective collective approaches to managing the crisis. These communities are grappling with the consequences of the Syrian displacement crisis, which has been further exacerbated since 2019 by a severe economic, fiscal, and governance meltdown. Additionally, the increasing pressures from climate change have intensified these vulnerabilities. This state-of-affairs weakens the ability of local communities to cope with the immediate impacts of the crisis, such as service breakdowns, rising poverty, and growing tensions between and within communities. These challenges, in turn, limit their capacity to pursue a sustainable development path, particularly as durable solutions to the displacement crisis remain elusive.

In response to these challenges, the Lebanon Host Community Support Project – Phase 2 (LHSP 2.0) builds upon the lessons learned from the original LHSP project, which has been implemented since 2014. LHSP 2.0 seeks to anchor stabilization activities within a more integrated local development framework. It focuses on working at the area-based level within clusters and unions, with a strong emphasis on strengthening municipal capacities to enhance the sustainability and impact of stabilization efforts.

At the local level, LHSP 2.0 aims to bolster the coping and sustainable development capacities of host communities. Its key objectives are to create a more enabling environment for mitigating and preventing tensions by:

• Reducing competition over public services, livelihood, and economic opportunities: This is achieved by supporting the maintenance and expansion of service delivery and creating economic opportunities, especially in the context of the significant incapacitation of both public and private sectors.
• Providing conflict-sensitive and inclusive dialogue and decision-making spaces: These spaces allow local communities to engage in peaceful discussions, identify common interests, and collaboratively chart a path towards a sustainable future.

The Local Development for Stabilization (LDP) project aims to enhance local governance and development systems in Lebanon, strengthening their capacity to effectively respond to the challenges posed by Lebanon’s multi-layered crisis. Since 2019, Lebanon has faced unprecedented challenges, including a severe economic collapse, political instability, compounded by the protracted presence of Syrian refugees and other displaced populations. Moreover, Lebanon experienced in the South, unprecedented destruction during the 2024 conflict especially in the South of Lebanon, resulting in the temporary displacement of over one million people.

The absence of central government capacity and the depletion of local resources have left municipalities and local authorities struggling to provide basic services and maintain social stability.

This project addresses these challenges by supporting municipalities and local development actors in enhancing service delivery, promoting resilience, and rebuilding social capital. It aligns with the UNDP Lebanon Country Programme priorities, aiming to foster stabilization, inclusive economic development, and social peace through area-based, integrated local development approaches. The project will focus on:

• Strengthening local governance institutions and capacities to cope with crises and foster long-term development.
• Supporting the creation of decent livelihood opportunities, particularly for vulnerable groups such as women, youth, and displaced populations.
• Promoting access to sustainable and climate-resilient public services, including water, waste management, and energy.
• Enhancing financing mechanisms for municipalities, and empowering local stakeholders through a combination of technical, policy, and financial support.

By leveraging the existing capacities of municipalities, local actors, and UNDP’s portfolio of interventions, the LDP project will foster collaborative, bottom-up solutions that are gender-sensitive and responsive to the urgent needs of communities across Lebanon.

Scope of work, responsibilities and description of the proposed analytical work

Under the overall guidance of Project Specialist and day to day management of the relevant Area Manager and close coordination with the LED and Livelihood Specialist, the Local Development and Governance Consultant(s) will be responsible for supporting the assessments, planning, implementation, and monitoring of activities under the LDP. The Consultant (s) will ensure proper implementation of livelihood projects under the LHSP and will play a key role in facilitating local coordination among stakeholders in their respective areas, including but not limited to municipalities, unions of municipalities, Social Development Centers (SDCs), Civil Defense units, relevant ministries reginal offices and community stakeholders to strengthen participatory local governance and enhance preparedness and service delivery capacities at the local level. To ensure proper implementation of the projects the Local Development and Governance Consultant(s) will perform the following functions:

Phase 1: Local Assessment and Planning

• Coordinate and maintain regular communication with municipalities, unions of municipalities, SDCs, Civil Defense, local committees, relevant ministries reginal offices, economic actors (such as private sector, farmers, MSMEs representatives) and community representatives to ensure inclusive and participatory engagement in the local development process.
• Support in the creation of the Local Development Committees that will be created for the projects in each respective area and focus zone.
• Coordinate and maintain regular communication with the firm responsible for establishing the area observatories in the targeted focus zones. Support and contribute to community-based assessments and support the identification of local priorities in alignment with the Local Development Plans.
• Facilitate participatory workshops and consultations under the Local Development Platforms to validate findings and support the formulation of local action plans.
• Ensure that all planned interventions are consistent with national frameworks (e.g., MoIM, MoSA, MoA..etc.) and compliant with donor and UNDP requirements (legal, environmental, social, and financial).
• Coordinate with other LDP consultants and area teams to ensure synergies between local governance, livelihoods, and interventions across focus zones.
• Contribute to the drafting of local plans, concept notes, and technical briefs that feed into regional and national coordination mechanisms.
• Report to the Area Managers any observations or challenges that may arise during the different phases of the project cycle.

Phase 2: Implementation and Coordination

• Facilitate coordination among local actors during implementation to ensure effective delivery, including local development planning, service improvement, and crisis preparedness.
• Provide ongoing technical support to municipalities, Union of municipalities, SDCs, and Civil Defense to operationalize their local action plans and enhance institutional performance.
• Participate in project monitoring and site visits, ensuring that implementation aligns with quality, inclusiveness, and sustainability standards.
• Support capacity-building activities for local institutions, ensuring the inclusion of women, youth, and vulnerable groups in planning and implementation processes.
• Contribute to the development of knowledge products, case studies, and documentation of good practices emerging from the field.
• Ensure effective follow-up and monitoring of livelihood-related interventions, in close coordination with the LED and Livelihood Specialist.
• Maintain close collaboration with Area Managers, engineers, and the central LDP team to ensure consistent quality assurance and alignment across regions.

Phase 3: Monitoring, Reporting, and Follow-up

• Support data collection, reporting, and evaluation of local development and governance interventions in coordination with the M&E and reporting teams.
• Document lessons learned, success stories, and challenges to inform adaptive management and future planning.
• Contribute to the preparation of progress reports, communication materials, and visibility products that highlight achievements at the local level.
• Ensure proper archiving and documentation of project-related files, minutes, correspondence, and reports for institutional record-keeping.

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Each Consultant is expected to submit a monthly progress report undertaking the above tasks and activities under the TOR noting that the total duration should not exceed 12 months (number of working days should not exceed 18 working days per month).

Institutional arrangements

• With day-to-day management, the Local Development and Governance Consultant(s) Consultant will coordinate with the respective Area Manager and the LED and Livelihood Specialist under the overall guidance of Project Specialist.
• UNDP will be responsible for providing the contractor with all necessary materials related to the project in a timely thorough and transparent manner. UNDP will be also responsible to provide clarifications and facilitation of the work.
• Day to Day transportation from home to office (& vice versa) shall be covered by the Consultant’s own means. The Local Development and Governance Consultant(s) will rely on his own means of communication and transportation.

Duration of work

The assigned duration for this consultancy is 12 months

• The mission is expected to commence the 7th of January 2026, and to be completed by the 31st of December 2026.
• The time needed to review/ comment/ approve deliverables and outputs is (5) five working days.

Duty station

Local Development and Governance Consultant(s) will be based in their respective Duty Stations in UNDP Area Offices (Tripoli, Chtoura, Tyr, Beirut) with visits to UNDP Country Office in Beirut when and if needed.

Qualifications

Education: A bachelor’s degree a minimum of 6 years’ experience or a Graduate degree with 4 years’ experience in local governance, development studies, public administration, economics, or related fields.

Experiences:

• Demonstrated experience in local development planning, community engagement, or area-based programming is required.
• At least 2 years of experience in work with UN agencies is an advantage.

Other assets:

• Strong organizational, interpersonal, communication and problem-solving skills;
• Ability to plan and prioritize own workload;
• Ability to assume responsibility and to coordinate with others;
• Effective oral and written communication skills;
• Attention to detail and ability to handle tasks accurately;
• Ability to work under pressure with a team spirit.
• Displays sensitivity and adaptability

Language:

Strong verbal and written communication skills in English, and Arabic.

“The Personnel will be covered with Health insurance Personal accident insurance; the fees shall be deducted from personnel’s monthly payment”.

Application instructions

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