Research Consultant – review of DRC’s Market System approach in Lebanon At Danish Refugee Council

Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, is currently looking for a highly qualified research consultant to review its market support system approach in Lebanon. You will be responsible to conduct a mid-term review research of the market system support activities implemented by DRC in the North, Bekaa and Beirut governorates. The objective of the research is to gather evidence of impact of the market system activities, develop lessons learnt for future projects and develop a comprehensive report of the impact of the current situation on Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the North, Bekaa and Beirut governorates.

About the Consultancy

The DRC’s Economic Recovery Department is conducting its annual Livelihoods Learning Journey, aiming at annualy reviewing its achievements and seeking improvements for the next year. This year the focus of its Livelihoods Learning Journey is on the Market System Approach. Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

· To provide lessons learnt from the MSMEs support and Local Business Clusters (LBC) activities (specifically on the processes used within DRC, the selection of MSMEs, the cash support versus in-kind, etc.)

· To provide operational recommendations on how the MSME support can be improved if needed to have greater impact

· To show the impact of the MSMEs support and the LBC on the market system

· To show the impact of the current political, economic and health situation on the MSMEs

All of the above outputs would be feasible by gathering evidence from the field already collected by DRC (data collected from MSMEs beneficiaries, from interviews with the staffs, from internal documents such as SOPs etc.), as well as through primary and secondary data gathering and interviews with key stakeholders.

The expected outcomes of this research will be:

· A well designed report detailing the output of the research with graphics for reader friendliness

· This report will be used to organize a learning review within DRC to adjust the activities for 2022 upon the lessons learnt and develop new activities as recommended, and will be used as a support to develop new projects

About you

To be successful in this role we expect you to be expert in Market System approach, to have experience in conducting research and particularly program review, and to have a strong knowledge about the situation in Lebanon. Moreover, we also expect the following:

Required

· At least four-year of relevant experience in livelihoods, market support, business sector;

· Excellent level of written and spoken proficiency in English and Arabic languages;

· Demonstrable experience in developing similar products for programs related to the humanitarian sector;

· Experience and understanding of the Lebanese market and issues faced by businesses in Lebanon;

· Demonstrable extensive experience in research.

Desirable

· University degree in Economics, Entrepreneurship, or other relevant discipline;

· Knowledge of formal and informal economic and market of the Bekaa, North and Beirut governorates;

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:

Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.

Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.

Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.

Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.

Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

More about the consultancy

Consultancy Duration: 4 Weeks

Start date: 15th of November 2021

The consultant should be based in Lebanon.

For questions regarding the vacancy please contact sama.kanaan@drc.ngo