AGORA CONSULTANT: Urban Assessment, Planning & Coordination

BACKGROUND ON ACTED

Since 1993, as an international non-governmental organization, ACTED has been committed to immediate humanitarian relief to support those in urgent need and protect people’s dignity, while co-creating longer term opportunities for sustainable growth and fulfilling people’s potential. ACTED endeavours to respond to humanitarian crises and build resilience; promote inclusive and sustainable growth; co-construct effective governance and support the building of civil society worldwide by investing in people and their potential. We go the last mile: ACTED’s mission is to save lives and support people in meeting their needs in hard to reach areas. With a team of 4,300 national staff 300 international staff, ACTED is active in 35 countries and implements more than 450 projects a year reaching over 11 million beneficiaries.

ACTED is looking for a Consultant to support the implementation of city level pilots as part of an inter-agency initiative.

Position:                      Consultant

Contract duration:    Part-time: Estimating a total of 20 working days over a two month period (late June to late August). Equal to 50% Full Time Equivalent

Location:                     Beirut, Lebanon, with significant travel to Saida.

Starting Date:            ASAP                                              

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The accelerating trend of urbanization is paralleled by an increasing number of crisis-affected populations residing in cities. Cities and their inhabitants can be directly impacted by natural disasters or conflicts; they can also become a safe haven for forcibly displaced populations. Either way, cities are profoundly affected by crisis and the resulting pressure and competition over scarcer services, housing and livelihoods opportunities.

In line with this trend, humanitarian actors are increasingly working in urban environments. However, recent crises have exposed a number of recurring shortcomings with humanitarian action in cities. Some of these are due to lack of experience by humanitarian agencies on adapting their programs to urban contexts. Others derive from systematic difficulties by the current humanitarian architecture to promote city-level planning, and engage with city systems and stakeholders.

Acknowledging these challenges, ACTED, in partnership with IMPACT, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and Cites Unies France (CUF) have partnered in the framework of the AGORA initiative, implementing a 2-year EU-funded program to strengthen humanitarian response in cities affected by crisis. Throughout this project, ACTED and partners are supporting humanitarian actors to adopt settlement approaches for assessments, coordination and response, promoting synergies in cities in crisis.

At a country-level, ACTED and partners are working with humanitarian stakeholders and local responders (notably the municipalities and basic service providers) in five cities affected by crisis to promote a multi-sectoral response which is organised by settlement, mainstreamed within the current aid coordination system, and which builds on and supports the local response capacity. Pilots have been completed to date in Bangui in Central African Republic and in Jeremie in Haiti, with further pilots underway in Mosul, Iraq and Kampala, Uganda.

POSITION PROFILE

FUNCTIONS

The Consultant will have a direct/day to day report to the ACTED Country Director/Deputy Director, with a technical reporting line to the IMPACT Urban and Settlements Program Manager in Geneva. With their support, the Consultant will contribute to ensuring the successful implementation of an AGORA pilot in Lebanon, working closely with key counterparts, including relevant municipal authorities, UN-Habitat and operational actors to finalise (as needed) and facilitate the presentation of the Area Based Assessment; support the development of neighbourhood response and recovery plans (municipal development plans); and the respective coordination and monitoring of these plans.

SUMMARY

With support from the IMPACT Urban and Settlements Program Manager and the ACTED Country Director/Deputy Director, the Consultant will:

PROGRAM AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT:

• Draft/participate in the development of a detailed implementation plan covering the course of the consultancy;
• As required, coordinate with assessment surge staff to finalise area based assessment report, ensuring key needs, gaps and priorities are identified.
• Identify and map existing municipal and city plans which (partially or fully) include Saida, completed by Local Authorities, CSOs and International Actors, ensuring ACTED/AGORA’s plan adds value and fills existing gaps.
• Develop a simple, accessible planning product (key product/deliverable) which:
  • Complements the Area-Based Assessment reports and presents key existing needs (immediate to longer-term) within assessed locations (and to a lesser extent, across Saida overall).
  • Captures all current and planned humanitarian and development initiatives (4W) by Local Authorities, CSOs and International actors.
  • Compiles needs, 4W information and identifies key response gaps as an initial plan to be endorsed.
• Incorporating feedback from Local Authorities, CSOs, International actors, lead the development of an issues paper, including a road map to create an area based coordination/platform in Saida (proposing an appropriately modified model from Tripoli) (key product/deliverable).

COMMUNICATION AND ENGAGEMENT:

• Together with the line and technical reports, liaise and engage with external partners to raise awareness and garner institutional support for the AGORA initiative and the operationalisation of response/recovery plans (neighbourhood development) plans;
• Develop working relationships with relevant operational partners in Lebanon (UN Agencies, NGOs, donors, local authorities and service providers);
• Overall, the Consultant is expected to contribute to the creation of a positive image and overall credibility of the organisation, notably through the application of ACTED’s mission and vision, ethics, values and stand-point with regard to other actors.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO COMMUNITIES AND BENEFICIARIES

The consultant is responsible for ensuring that all relations with the communities we work are conducted in a respectful and consultative manner. Due attention must be paid to ensuring that communities are adequately consulted and informed about ACTED programme objectives, activities, beneficiary selection criteria, and methodologies. This is the responsibility of every ACTED staff member and representative.

REQUIREMENTS

ESSENTIAL

• Academic qualifications, including a Master degree in relevant discipline;
• At least 3 years of relevant working experience in humanitarian settings, including field experience;
• Strong skills and experience in multi-stakeholder engagement and partnership development
• Excellent analytical skills;
• Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting;
• Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;
• Familiarity with the aid system, and understanding of donor and governmental requirements;
• Fluency in English required, fluency in Arabic advantageous;
• Ability to operation Microsoft Word, Excel and Project Management Software;
• Ability to work independently;

PREFERRED

• Strong knowledge of the Lebanese context;
• Previous experience leading initiatives within aid coordination systems.

Applications should include:

1. CV;
2. Short cover letter (1 - 2 pages max);
3. Completed with quotation form;
4. Examples of previous relevant work (optional)

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Specification

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Quantity

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Unit Price [USD]  VAT included

Total Price [USD] VAT excluded

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Consultancy to support the implementation of city level pilots as part of an inter-agency initiative that includes:

• Draft/participate in the development of a detailed implementation plan covering the course of the consultancy;
• As required, coordinate with assessment surge staff to finalise area based assessment report, ensuring key needs, gaps and priorities are identified.
• Identify and map existing municipal and city plans which (partially or fully) include Saida, completed by Local Authorities, CSOs and International Actors, ensuring ACTED/AGORA’s plan adds value and fills existing gaps.
• Develop a simple, accessible planning product (key product/deliverable) which:
  • Complements the Area-Based Assessment reports and presents key existing needs (immediate to longer-term) within assessed locations (and to a lesser extent, across Saida overall).
  • Captures all current and planned humanitarian and development initiatives (4W) by Local Authorities, CSOs and International actors.
  • Compiles needs, 4W information and identifies key response gaps as an initial plan to be endorsed.
• Incorporating feedback from Local Authorities, CSOs, International actors, lead the development of an issues paper, including a road map to create an area based coordination/platform in Saida (proposing an appropriately modified model from Tripoli) (key product/deliverable).

Man Day

20

For more information, visit:

http://www.acted.org

http://www.impact-initiatives.org/agora