Near East Foundation - Syria

Request for Applications for Project Technical Consultant

CONTRACT DATA

Period of Performance: Five Months

Location of Assignment: Syria – NE – Raqqah & DEZ

Background: For 100 years, the Near East Foundation (NEF) has worked to build more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive communities in the Middle East, Caucasus, and Africa through education, governance, and economic development initiatives. Working through a network of country offices and local partners, NEF currently has approximately 250 staff members – almost all nationals – and programs in ten countries: Armenia, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Mali, Morocco, Palestine, Senegal, Sudan, and Syria. Its programs are organized around three themes: peacebuilding and stabilization, Climate-resilient development, and inclusive economic development.

Assignment Overview: 

NEF is promoting social cohesion among MSMEs in Syria NE (Raqqah and DEZ). The aim of this project is to improve shared understanding and dispute management skills among Syrian MSMEs through economic cooperation that offers mutual benefits and opportunities to build durable relationships to strengthen socioeconomic resilience. Activities will maximize skills related to constructive communication, collaboration, positive negotiation, and mediation, and problem-solving to break down stereotypes, increase socio conflict understanding and trust, and create durable relationships linked to economic cooperation. Stocktaking will be conducted to assess needs and identify the dispute mediation capacities of enterprises. MSMEs in target communities will be consulted through participatory small-group workshops and focus group discussions. These activities with be complemented with key informant interviews (KIIs) with local stakeholders, including, e.g., MSMEs, community leaders, women’s association leaders, civil society leaders, heads of cooperatives or unions, etc. The goal of consultations will be to identify the root causes, motivational factors, and triggers of MSME disputes and the current knowledge and skill level of MSMEs with respect to negotiation, dialogue, and mediation of disputes. Consultation results will inform training curricula, training approaches and methodologies.

The following activities are planned to be implemented under this project:

• Conduct stocktaking to assess needs and identify the Negotiation and Dispute Resolution capacities of enterprises.
• Tailor curriculum to local needs surfaced in stocktaking.
• Deliver training workshop on Negotiation and Dispute Resolution for total 200 entrepreneurs.
• Deliver ongoing and sustainable mentoring training by NEF master trainers through group coaching and supported by NEF Siraj centers, peer networking, and collaboration opportunities to 200 enterprises.
• Support joint initiatives to restore or build community socio-economic assets.

Many factors are important to the success of these activities, including the training materials and curriculum. Hence, NEF is looking to recruit an external consultant or consultancy firm to review and improve the content of the current curriculum to make sure that it meets challenges and demands, utilizes the new collected information and technologies, and aligns with the beneficiaries’ profiles and needs. The consultant/firm is also expected to support NEF in developing the revised curricula (from existing materials) around social cohesion, livelihood and conflict resolution.

Participants and use: The key participants of the study are the Near East Foundation, Master Trainers associated to the project, the entrepreneurs, and the local Community Based Organizations in the project areas.

Objectives and expected outputs: The assignment has three main key objectives and associated outputs:

1. Based on the project objectives, data collection tools will be developed, including questionnaires for stocktaking, participatory small-group workshops, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). These tools should be designed to gather information on the root causes, drivers, and triggers of MSME disputes, as well as the knowledge and skill levels of MSMEs in negotiation, dialogue, and mediation.
2. Once data is collected, analyzed, and synthesized the findings will be highlighted in a report/study that will identify key trends, themes, and insights related to MSME disputes, negotiation skills, and mediation capacities. This analysis will serve as the basis for informing training curricula and approaches.
3. Conduct a full inside-out and outside-in review of current NEFs curricula to update them and make them relevant to current and future market demands.
4. Develop the curricula and the training materials for social cohesion, livelihood and conflict understanding and resolving (online and face to face training materials).
5. Conduct training for the master trainers for social cohesion, livelihood and conflict Sensitivity and Resolution, and resolving.

NEF will be responsible for:

• Provision of relevant project documents.
• Provision of training materials and curricula.
• Logistics and transportation for the days of field work when applicable.
• The consultant is expected to use his/her own laptop and phone.

Payment Method:

The payment will be made monthly based on working days during the month. NEF will not be responsible for any further expenses incurred by the consultant during the consultancy visits.

Skills, experience, and selection criteria:

• University degree in a relevant field; Executive coaching and Emotional Intelligence certifications are a plus.
• Proven experience in livelihood, social cohesion and, conflict understanding and resolving in Syria for more than 5 years.
• Proven experience related to developing data collection tools/questionnaire related to our topic analyzing data, making decision and building training materials accordingly.
• Proven capability and experience in conducting similar assignments.
• A clear vision for how to approach the assignment.
• Experience in developing curricula and training materials for vulnerable population with limited educational background.
• Native Arabic speaker.
• English language commands; reading, writing, and speaking.
• Excellent writing and communication skills in Arabic.
• Availability and willingness to travel to various areas in Syria NES during weekdays.
• Ability to work under strict and demanding timelines.

Submission requirements: 

Interested applicants should submit the following in a unique PDF file (except any sample of previous evaluations which could be sent in separate files) to email: [اضغط هنا لمشاهدة البريد اﻹلكتروني]

• Cover Letter indicating clearly how the opportunity fits in with applicant’s skills and experience.
• Up-to-date Curriculum Vitae.
• Financial proposal indicating the breakdown and level of effort for each expected deliverable.
• Three references.

Documents should be submitted by Wednesday June 19, 2024.

By email to: [اضغط هنا لمشاهدة البريد اﻹلكتروني] with a subject line, “Project Technical Consultant”.  Submissions received after the deadline will not be taken into consideration. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Near East Foundation by visiting the NEF website at www.neareast.org.