Education & Work Experience Master's Degree - 7 year(s) experience OR Bachelor's Degree - 9 year(s) experience
Job Description
Office/Unit/Project 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 Project (LDP) further complements the objectives of LHSP 2.0 by enhancing local governance, capacity building, and economic resilience across Lebanon. This initiative focuses on the long-term recovery and stability of host communities, ensuring that development strategies are inclusive, sustainable, and responsive to the complex needs of both displaced and host populations. By fostering an environment where local governments and communities can manage development processes effectively, LDSL seeks to integrate economic, social, and environmental resilience at the community level:
Output1: Established mechanisms for inclusive, conflict sensitive and participatory local planning enabling the implementation of sustainable local development strategies.
Output 2: Strengthened capacities of local development stakeholders to generate decent livelihoods opportunities, including for women and youth, through implementing inclusive infrastructure and local economic development interventions.
In complement, LHSP 2.0 and LDP are critical in addressing Lebanon's multi-dimensional vulnerabilities and ensuring the country’s capacity for sustainable, inclusive recovery. They aim to create a harmonious, integrated approach to local development that not only addresses immediate needs but also builds resilience for the future.
Under the direct supervision of the UNDP Resident Representative, the Area Manager primarily reports to the Chief Technical Adviser (CTA-LHSP/LDP) and will be responsible for ensuring the implementation of all the programme-related activities in the Bekaa, including support to inter-agency coordination efforts.
Scope of Work
The responsibilities and functions of the Area Manager include:
Provide strategic leadership for effective overall management of the Project in the area, focusing on the following results.
- Contribute to the preparation of annual project work plans and ensure their effective implementation at area level.
- Lead the development of comprehensive/detailed concept notes and work-plans for interventions at area level that reflect all scope of activities as well as roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and set relevant milestones.
- Initiate and prepare inputs and progress updates on projects for donors as well as support for technical donor visits to the area.
- Proactively and regularly exchange with the CTA on any emerging developments at the area-level that have bearing on successful project implementation.
- Support the CTA in providing day-to-day decision making for project implementation, taking into consideration the need to adapt the activities to the emerging context and ensuring that the results (outputs) specified are achieved at the level of maximum quality and within the specified time and cost.
- Establish and maintain relationships with and support to local stakeholders (e.g. municipalities, Union of Municipalities, Governors, civil society, NGOs), as well as engage groups and communities in project activities that affect them so as to promote ownership and sustainability at area level.
- Provide all necessary information and documentation for reporting and resource mobilization including coordinating missions of donors and partners.
- Support and facilitate complementarity of interventions with other initiatives/projects/ programmes existing at area level.
- Communicate effectively with stakeholders and actively participate in relevant meetings at area level and at country-level.
- Ensure the principles of gender equality, democratic governance, social inclusion and disaster resilience are effectively reflected in all project activities.
- Share findings and lessons learned and ensure that an adequate flow of information is disseminated.
- Ensure that financial disbursement records and inventory records are according to rules and regulations of UNDP and certify various expenditures in conformity with the area work plan and operational activities.
- Ensure that procurement is as per the UNDP rules and regulations.
- Proactively promote gender equality and inclusion of vulnerable groups including youth and disabled people
Lead area-level coordination and build strategic partnerships focusing on the following result.
- Active engagement with local authorities and partners for UNDP programming and as advised by RR in the respective covered area, as well as co-lead for coordination at the regional level on all issues associated with coordination of the LRP in the Bekaa area (e.g. Co-chair the regional Inter-Sector Working Group together with UNHCR and MOSA, involving all government sector leads and UN coordinators, INGO and NNGO representatives);
- Advise the RR, DRR, programme manager and other senior staff on all issues associated
