Policy options for Local governance and early recovery

Consultant Finance & Economy

Overview

Develop policy papers on local governance and civil society integration for early recovery.

You have:

• Bachelor's degree in economics, rural development, law, political economy, development studies, or a related area is required.
• A master's degree is desirable.
• A minimum of 15 years of experience working with international development, local development, or humanitarian agencies is required.
• Proven knowledge of the Syrian context is required.
• Demonstrated experience in local governance and framework development is desirable.
• Demonstrated strong experience in conducting research, capacity-building, training, and writing reports is desirable.
• Established publications record is desirable.
• Fluency in Arabic and English are required, with a minimum rating of 'fluent' in all four language areas for Arabic and English.

Contract

This is a Consultancy contract. More about Consultancy contracts.

Result of Service

In the framework of supporting resilience and early recovery, NAFS is now seeking an international expert to develop two papers that build upon the key conclusions and results of its dialogue sessions and key papers on role of CSOs in early recovery. Additionally, NAFS plans to collaborate with UNDP Syria on broader early recovery initiatives.

Work Location

Remotely

Expected duration

3.5 months

Duties and Responsibilities

As part of its mandate to promote human development and democratic transition in the Unitedgion, and as a response to the dire conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN- ESCWA) launched the National Agenda for the Future of Syria (NAFS) in 2012, to serve as a trusted platform for dialogue for a network of Syrian stakeholders coming from different walks of life and from across the political spectrum. Since its inception, inclusivity, Syrian ownership, impartiality, conflict sensitivity, advocacy, and relevance have been the key principles guiding the work of NAFS. Its inclusive and technical approach has set the Programme apart from other platforms and has enabled it to succeed in bringing together a wide spectrum of Syrians to develop policy alternatives on the most pressing economic, social, and governance issues, in the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 2254. In the current context of Syria, there are calls to strengthen early recovery support with the view to deliver and explore potential local level livelihoods initiatives to enhance people’s resilience and calls for transformative ideas and projects by engaging CSOs under the development – humanitarian – peace nexus.

In 2021, NAFS launched a Civil Society Dialogue which highlighted the need to define and agree a system of values and principles as well as to discuss the challenges and obstacles for an effective role of civil society organizations to support the early recovery and post-conflict phase. In 2023, ESCWA NAFS developed a study on the role of CSOs in early recovery, including lessons learned from other contexts. Moreover, NAFS initiated a dialogue path on decentralization looking into options for the future of local governance and its framework, following a political settlement based on United Nations Security Council resolution 2254. This work requires a deep understanding of the local governance dynamic and system in the country, including challenges and opportunities in the implementation of decentralization reforms enacted, through Law 107.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the Programme Manager of the National Agenda for Syria Programme and the direct supervision of the NAFS governance lead, the consultant will be responsible for the following duties:

• Develop a policy brief based on the discussions and feedback from the Decentralization dialogue sessions, including a literature review of available literature and sources relevant to the topic (up to 10 pages in addition to a literature review document).
• Develop a Policy framework on activating the role of CSOs and early recovery, focusing on the development of the current parameters of the civil space and evaluation mechanisms for the role of civil society in engaging in the early recovery process and the interaction between decentralization system and area-based approach for effective early recovery. (12 to 15 pages, in addition to the contribution to coordination and synergy with UNDP studies).
• Peer review key papers related to early recovery upon request from Programme manager.

Qualifications/special skills

A bachelor's degree in economics, rural development, law, political economy, development studies, or a related area is required. A master’s degree is desirable.

All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. A minimum of 15 years of experience working with international development, local development, or humanitarian agencies is required. Proven knowledge of the Syrian context is required. Demonstrated experience in local governance and framework development is desirable. Demonstrated strong experience in conducting research, capacity-building, training, and writing reports is desirable. Established publications record is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat, and Arabic is the working language of ESCWA.

For this position, fluency in Arabic and English are required.

Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand), and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

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Potential interview questions

Added 2 years ago - Updated 1 year ago - Source: careers.un.org