TERMS OF REFERENCE
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.
Consultancy - Community Communications and Accountability Team Leader - Lebanon
Description of Duties and Responsibilities
Under the direct supervision ofHead of Communications and Public Information Officer and in accordance with established Agency Policy and Procedures, the incumbent will:
- Manage all aspects of the AAP Pilot Project in Lebanon.
-Lead project implementation and identify operational, administrative, financial and other constraints which may affect project implementation and propose solutions to ensure quality, timeliness, and cost effectiveness of deliverables;
-Develop and adjust the project’s work plan in coordination with donors and management, ensuring that the project outputs are aligned with the project design and the partnership agreement and providing advice and guidance as required;
-Assess needed institutional changes to support systematic mainstreaming of people-centered approaches;
-Ensure existing interagency AAP guidance and learning is taken into account to ensure that the lessons learnt, good practices and tools developed inform UNRWA’s approach to AAP;
-Identify opportunities with the Protection program for aligning AAP with the need to reinforce protection mainstreaming;
-Ensure that UNRWA’s teams in Headquarters are kept abreast of the project’s progress and that it informs the agency’s implementation of its AAP work;
-Coordinate a Project Board at LFO level, to keep colleagues abreast of the pilot’s development, help them build their support on the basis of the lessons learnt and good practices, and make recommendations to the LFO Front Office;
-Draft or oversee the preparations of regular reports and updates on project activities to donors (i.e. narrative reports and financial reports) in coordination with UNRWA Donor Relations Unit and the UNRWA Programme Support Office.
- Develop refugee community engagement to inform UNRWA’s strategy, planning, programmes and projects in Lebanon.
-Review, in consultation with Programs and the Department of Internal Oversight, existing forms of engagement with the refugee community, including complaints mechanisms such as the grievance process, and establish new ones as appropriate, with a view to ensuring their integration and compliance with best practice standards including in terms of accessibility, effectiveness and confidentiality where needed.
-Facilitate community inputs into the annual planning process in the fourth quarter of the year, in order to ensure that community priorities are taken into account. Review the Camp Improvement Plan in Rashidieh camp and support community engagement in projects with Nahr El Bared and Beddawi camps.
-Facilitate feedback to the community on what UNRWA has accomplished during the annual programme cycle and what priorities have been set, with meetings in the first quarter of the year, and communicate community concerns to departments and projects.
-Support and document participation of management in meetings in each of the five areas in Lebanon, targeting representatives of political factions, camp committees, main NGOs and community-based organizations in the camps, youth and women’s committees, and other relevant community organizations including those involving Palestine refugees from Syria.
-Enhance communications with the community with specific efforts towards vulnerable groups, including through using social media and other tools to communicate outcomes.
-Demonstrate UNRWA’s commitment to accountability to affected populations by ensuring that feedback and accountability mechanisms are integrated into planning, programmes, monitoring and evaluations, staff inductions, trainings and partnership agreements, and are highlighted in reporting.Specifically:
- Based on the priorities decided, assist programs in analyzing current programmatic response gaps and opportunities identify the strategic and operational actions needed to address prioritized needs and issues and define objectives and milestones they will be accountable to.
- Support programs in diagnosing barriers and opportunities to people-centered programming. Using the agreed methodologies, help analyze, identify and prioritize the specific affected groups and issues that require particular attention in their sectorial response. Some of this work follows on from current protection mainstreaming work and should build on upon it.
- Translate identified priorities into programmatic approaches and tools.
- Provide hands-on support to programs in implementing a tool / approach that improves the quality and accountability to affected populations mechanisms within their response. This could include the questionnaires for Annual Operational Plan [spell out] consultations by departments / areas and projects with community engagement requirements.
- Develop questionnaires for Annual operational planning consultations by departments/areas and for projects with community engagement requirements.
- Document methodology used, lessons learnt and good practices.
- Elaborate a system to design and implement a people-centered approach that helps demystify, simplify and operationalize AAP at all steps (identify needs, analyses, priorities, program operation, monitor).
-Organize or support field visits, assisting in the preparation of visibility material/activities as required.
- Contribute to monitoring and evaluation
-Develop managerial tools for monitoring, evaluation and reporting; produce regular reports on implementation and achievements; ensure compliance with relevant standards including UNRWA’s ‘Framework for Accountability to Affected Populations’ and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee ‘Tools to assist in implementing the IASC AAP Commitments’.
- Perform any other duties as required.
Essential Qualifications and Experience
-An advanced university degree in social research, communications, public relations or other related discipline;
-At least eight years’ experience in the application of the knowledge acquired in (A) above, preferably in a large national or international organization.
Competencies
-In-depth understanding of accountability to affected populations and support to refugees;
-Experience in facilitating senior management engagement with the community, in conducting Beneficiary Satisfaction surveys and in establishing feedback and complaints mechanisms;
-Experience in project management and financial oversight;
-Strong organizational, interpersonal and communications skills;
-Ability to develop clear goals and identify priority activities and assignments;
-Proven critical thinking, creativity and innovative skills;
-Excellent drafting and reporting skills;
-Experience in managing and motivating a small team;
-Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with colleagues and others in a team environment and with people of diverse backgrounds, cultures and nationalities; and
-Proficiency in relevant computer applications.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
-Knowledge of UNRWA Rules and regulations;
-Previous experience with a UN organization, NGO, or donor government; and
-Experience with relevant computer applications.
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
-Remuneration for this consultancy will depend on the qualifications and experience of the candidate.
-Contract Duration: 6 months extendable subject to availability of funds, needs and performance.
How to Apply
Applicants should submit a cover letter and CV or UN Personal History Form demonstrating clearly the knowledge and experience required to meet the consultancy requirements viaclearly indicating the title of this consultancy “Community Communications and Accountability Team Leader Consultant” in the subject line of the message. The deadline for the submission of applications is 31 October 2017.Late applications will not be considered.
UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from both women and men. UNRWA encourages applications from qualified and experienced female candidates. Only those applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted. UNRWA is a non-smoking environment.