Consultant (Social Cohesion Component) Full-time Job

Assignment Information

Assignment Sector: Social Cohesion and Conflict Mitigation

Assignment Title: Consultant (Social Cohesion Component)

Location: Damascus – Syria

Language Required: Arabic (Native) & English (Advanced Level) are mandatory.

Duration of Assignment: 24 months

Start Date (projected): May 2025

Background and Justification:

Country Background:

Syria has been enduring a crisis since 2011 which has turned into a multifaceted humanitarian disaster. Livelihoods have been devastated; unemployment levels have soared, economic growth has plummeted, the national social service infrastructure has been strained to its breaking point. With significant loss of life and continued displacement, social and demographic disruption has left communities and individuals in vulnerable situations, struggling to adapt, survive, and maintain any semblance of a “normal” life. As economic challenges increase due to international geopolitical tensions, it is likely that a greater portion of the population in Syria will experience difficulties to secure the necessary resources for food, shelter, health, and education for themselves and their dependents. With that will likely come even greater negative effects on society as a whole in Syria and increased tensions across identity and socio-economic groups.

The project will include four core objectives, supported by five components each providing different activities that address various needs:

Increase Income

Improved quality of agricultural produce.

Stimulated small enterprise growth through training.

Creation of job opportunities through sustainable businesses.

Skill Enhancement

Improved living standards for most vulnerable households.

Restore Infrastructure

Improved functionality of communal facilities.

Ensured better access to essential services.

Developed resilient community assets and infrastructure.

Improve Livelihoods

Improved governance capacity

Better community resilience to conflict

Capacity Enhancement of vulnerable population.

In close coordination with the project core team the consultant will play a major role in developing, monitoring, and reporting all activities planned within the project to restore social ties at the community level as follows:-

Responsibilities and deliverables:

• Lead on component activities implementation including stakeholder consultations.

• Support community needs/gap assessments including gender and vulnerability aspects.

• Engage with local partners to develop training and mentoring support packages.

• Assist community dialogue activities between key conflict actors/groups (design & facilitation).

• Help the program’s social innovation ideas generation for community development and inclusion.

• Engage in knowledge-based networks for program success, as necessary.

• Engage in regular reporting to monitor overall project performance (narrative & quantitative).

• Attend regular project planning meetings.

• Coordinate with other project components team leaders for joint planning as applicable.

• Work with M&E team to track program progress against set targets (quantitative & qualitative).

• Proactively find new opportunities to increase program sustainability/impact on the ground.

Required Qualifications:

To be successful in this role you will have:

• An advanced University degree, (Master’s Degree or equivalent) in social science or related fields.

• A minimum of 5 years progressively responsible experience, with a focus on implementing development projects and/or programmes, community consultations and facilitation with direct involvement in project planning, reporting and monitoring is desirable.

• Extensive experience in conflict resolution, stakeholder consultations.

• Excellent skills in negotiation, communication, analysis and drafting; Proven ability to work under pressure and ability to meet strict deadlines.

• Excellent computer skills; fluency in English is essential.

Duty Station:

The primary duty station will be in the company main office in Damascus City, Syria