ADDITIONAL GRANT FOR EMERGENCY NATIONAL POVERTY TARGETING PROGRAM PROJECT- Program Sub Coordinator

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS

National Poverty Targeting Program - Graduation Pilot (NPTP-G)

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Program Sub-Coordinator

Proc ref: IC101

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

I. Introduction:

Prior to the onset of the Syrian conflict and the inflow of large numbers of Syrian refugees, poverty in Lebanon was significant and regional disparities in living conditions were acute. The most recently completed Household Budget Survey (HBS 2011-12) shows that poverty in Lebanon was 27 percent (pre-Syrian crisis), which implies that about one million people had levels of consumption below the annual poverty line set at 4,729 thousand LBP per capita per year (US$3,150). Poverty is the lowest in Beirut (16%), followed by Mount Lebanon (22%) and Nabatieh (25%). The poorest regions are North Lebanon (36%) and the Bekaa (38%).

The Syrian conflict is estimated to have increased poverty among the Lebanese population, pushing an additional 170,000 people into poverty in 2014 and making those already poor even poorer. Indeed, according to the 2015-16 Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP), the total vulnerable population in Lebanon today is approximately 3.3 million, of which 1.5 million Lebanese, 1.5 million Syrian refugees and 300,000 Palestinian refugees.

With this in mind, in 2011, the Government of Lebanon (GoL) launched the National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP), which seeks to identify and provide poor targeted Lebanese households social assistance that includes both health and education subsidies. In 2014, in response to rising poverty levels in communities hosting refugees and in order to help mitigate tensions between the refugee and Lebanese communities, the GoL scaled up the NPTP (Emergency NPTP) to cover an increased number of poor Lebanese households, and improve the basket of benefits through the introduction of food assistance via an electronic card (e-card) targeting the poorest Lebanese households. To-date, NPTP benefits 105,000 households (or approximately 420,000 individuals), with the poorest 5,000 households (or approximately 27,209 individuals) benefiting from the e-card food voucher. The NPTP has established itself as Lebanon’s main social safety net program, playing a central role for donors, UN agencies, and other ministries in reaching poor and vulnerable host populations affected by the Syrian conflict. The NPTP is managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

A recently approved US$10 million grant from the Lebanon Syria Conflict Trust Fund (LSCTF) will enable the GoL to both expand the coverage and further strengthen the services that are currently provided by NPTP. Specifically, through the new grant, the GoL will be able to: (i) continue to provide the e-card food voucher to the 5,000 poorest NPTP households, as well as expand its coverage to the next 5,000 poorest NPTP households, for a total of 10,000 beneficiary households (or approximately 40,000 individuals); and (ii)pilot a “graduation” program (NPTP-G), which will seek to promote increased and sustainable levels of income among some of the poorest NPTP households, in order to improve their overall relative poverty levels. To achieve this objective, NPTP-G will provide self-employment opportunities to male and female members of targeted NPTP households through the delivery of a comprehensive package of services, based on the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)/Ford Foundation graduation model that has been implemented in over 20 countries with high success.​

The NPTP-G will target 600 households from among the 5,000 additional poorest households that will begin to receive the e-card food voucher through the LSCTF grant. Each targeted household will select one of its working-age members to receive the NPTP-G package of services, all while ensuring the participation of a working-age female in NPTP-G. The NPTP-G package of services include: (i) the NPTP e-card food voucher for consumption support and improved food security levels; (ii) an asset transfer to help jump-start one or more economic activities, which will be identified following a rapid analysis of the local market needs and opportunities in each of the program’s target areas; (iii) technical skills training related to the chosen asset as well as on identifying, developing, and running a business; (iv) coaching and life-skills training to boost beneficiaries’ self-confidence and social capital and contribute to improve overall levels of discouragement; and (v) financial literacy training and linkages to microfinance services for improved income management and savings. (vi) stabilized income or regular cash transfer to enable them their basic needs. دخل منتظم أو تحويل نقدي مباشر لتغطية الحاجات الاساسية للاسرة​

Specialized agencies will be competitively hired to provide the different NPTP-G services to the targeted NPTP-G households. MoSA social workers will undergo a Training of Trainers (ToT) to enable them to then deliver some of the NPTP-G services, as well as to increase their capacity and thus contribute to the NPTP-G sustainability.

II. Objectives of the Assignment

MoSA is looking to hire an expert to act as the NPTP-G Sub-Coordinator. The NPTP-G Sub-Coordinator will manage day-to-day project implementation and overall coordination of project activities, outputs and outcomes. She/he will work closely with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the effective and efficient management of NPTP-G. The NPTP-G Sub-Coordinator will be part of the NPTP Project Implementation Unit (PIU) at MoSA, which together with the NPTP Central Management Unit (CMU) at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM), is in charge of the implementation of NPTP.

III. Scope of Work

Under the supervision of MoSA DG تحت اشراف مدير عام وزارة الشؤون الاجتماعية

In collaboration with relevant PIU/CMU staff and other stakeholders, the NPTP-G Sub- Coordinator will provide guidance on all strategic/technical, operational, and administrative matters related to the implementation of NPTP-G. Specifically, she/he will:

1) Participate in the strategic/technical discussions related to NPTP-G (20%)

• Support the strategic vision/direction of the NPTP-G, which includes: (i) setting overall and specific program objectives and results/milestones for the short and medium/long term, (ii) identifying the required resources and partnerships to strengthen and further develop the NPTP-G, and (iii) developing strategies/mechanisms and carrying out activities to ensure the sustainability of NPTP-G, in order to lay the ground for the establishment of a national productive social safety net system;

• Serve as the technical focal point for all matters related to NPTP-G, liaising with both internal and external stakeholders as appropriate. Ensure that all activities and outputs as well as any project-related document are technically sound and of the highest quality.

• Verifying the graduation criteria: should be determined at the start of the project according to Lebanese population vulnerability and the local disparities. Criteria might include: تحديد مؤشرات التخرج في بداية المشروع مع الاخذ في الاعتبار حدة الفقر في المجتمع اللبناني و التفاوتات المحلية. المؤشرات تتضمن:

➢ Satisfactory food availability and consumption توفر و استهلاك الغذاء

➢ Productive assets and successful business enterprise مشروع تجاري و أملاك منتجة

➢ Source of regular income مصدر دخل منتظم

➢ Keeping a balance of financial savingsالحفاظ على حساب توفير مالي

➢ Start disbursing loans and debts البدء بتسديد القروض و الديون

2) Plan for the launching and effective planning of NPTP-G (15%)

• Revise and update the project’s Operations Manual (OM) as needed, ensuring that the OM accurately describes the processes and procedures related to the project’s goal/objectives, components, target population, eligibility criteria, implementation arrangements, fiduciary aspects, monitoring and evaluation, etc.  

• Prepare and update the project’s annual and quarterly implementation/work plans, to ensure that the project activities are carried out by the established deadlines and achieve the desired objectives. This includes identifying potential implementation risks as well as mitigation measures.

• Training of appropriately qualified staff (administrative and field staff) القيام بتدريب فريق عمل مؤهل (اداري و ميداني)

3) Supervise all processes and procedures related to the implementation of NPTP-G, including all program-related fiduciary activities (30%)

• Plan, organize and participate in the transparent tender bidding processes for the implementation of all NPTP-G financed activities, in close collaboration with the NPTP Procurement Officer. This includes:

o Drafting Terms of Reference (TORs), ensuring that they adequately reflect the particular technical needs and requirements of the NPTP-G;

o Supervising and participating in the selection of service providers/partners, which includes preparing tender bidding evaluation reports;

o Discussing and agreeing with selected service providers/partners on the proposed content and methodology for all NPTP-G financed activities. This involves inter alia ensuring that: (i) the sampling and instruments (surveys, guidelines for focus groups, personal interviews and field trials, etc.) used for the market analysis (see above) are pertinent to correctly identify the asset to be transferred to NPTP-G beneficiaries; (ii) the content and methodology of the proposed trainings (asset-related training, financial literacy, life skills, etc.) address the particular needs of the NPTP-G beneficiaries; and (iii) the coaching techniques used by social workers are effective and in line with good practices;

o Managing the contracts of selected service providers/implementing partners. This involves inter alia supervising the quality and on-time delivery of all NPTP-G outputs, including: (i) the market analysis; (ii) the identified assets for NPTP-G beneficiaries; (iii) the proposed curriculum and training material for all the proposed trainings (asset-related training, financial literacy, life skills, etc.) and coaching sessions for NPTP-beneficiaries; and (iv) the ToT for MoSA social workers.

o Working with the NPTP Procurement Specialist to update and revise the NPTP-G Procurement Plan, and participate to any other program procurement-related processes;

• Ensure that adequate financial and human resources are in place to achieve the established program goals and objectives. This involves managing the program’s budget, working with the NPTP Financial Management Officer to ensure that project’s expenditures are in conformity with the NPTP-G Disbursement Plan, and supervising the adequate and on-time completion of project’s audit.

• Prepare quarterly/monthly reports for the Director General of MOSA on key project activities, results and challenges/issues faced. This involves: (i) participating in the development/updating as well as in the active management of the results framework of the NPTP-G; (ii) overseeing the data collection, analysis, and reporting carried out by the NPTP-G M&E officer and MoSA Field Work coordinators and social workers, and (iii) liaising with the NPTP M&E Officer as appropriate.

4) Ensure the efficient administration and coordination of the NPTP-G activities (15%)

• Manage all project administrative related activities under the supervision of MoSA DG 

• Follow up on the processing of contracts, payments, etc.; with direct cooperation of FOT التنسيق و التعاون المباشر مع فريق العمليات الائتمانية في رئاسة الحكومة

• Ensure proper professional relationships and enhanced coordination with a wide range of stakeholders, including service providers, relevant national and international partner agencies, relevant developing programs/projects, community leaders, local NGOs and other Community Based Organizations.

• Ensure the sharing, dissemination, and utilization of knowledge generated through M&E activities to enhance the effectiveness of the programs, with direct cooperation of M&E officer (based on regular impact assessments) التعاون المباشر مع مسؤول التقييم و الرصد ( بناءّ على قياس أثر التقييم بشكل دوري)

IV. Qualifications

• A Graduate degree in Economics, Social Sciences, Social Work, or a closely related field;

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience, of which substantial experience in project management;

• Knowledge of/experience with poverty-targeted social assistance programs that support self- employment and the provision of social services (e.g. education, health);

• Experience in the design and delivery of ToT, coaching services and/or soft skills/financial literacy training would be an asset;

• Experience managing projects financed by the World Bank and/other donors would be an advantage;

• Prior exposure to budgeting, procurement and financial management would be an advantage;

• Proven record in leadership positions that require managing large teams and a wide range of service providers;

• Ability to communicate and coordinate with a wide range of actors such as donors and government officials;

• Strong interpersonal skills and pro-active approach to problem solving;

• Strong writing and editing skills, including the ability to translate academically-oriented ideas into clear, concise, and interesting communications pieces targeting a non-academic audience;

• Proficiency of English and Arabic, both oral and written. Proficiency in oral and written French would be an advantage;

• Ability to work independently under limited supervision;

• Commitment to adhere to all MOSA policies and procedures;

• Competent in the use of computers and standard computer software.

V.        Timing and Reporting

The selected candidate will be hired for an initial duration of one year, with the possibility of renewal based on satisfactory performance. Pay will be commensurate with the candidate’s capabilities and experience. He or she will provide a timesheet and monthly report along with his or her monthly invoice for payment. The selected candidate will be paid on a monthly basis, provided basic monthly reports and deliverables are in good standing, and he or she is fulfilling the obligations listed in these Terms of Reference. The selected candidate will report to the Director General of MOSA, and will be based in Beirut, Lebanon. Regular travel within Lebanon is expected.