Terms of Reference for Strategy Development Expert At Search for Common Ground

About Search
Search for Common Ground (Search) is a non-governmental organization working to transform the way societies deal with conflicts. We have over 37 years of experience in peacebuilding and are based in 53 local offices worldwide. We strive to build sustainable peace for generations to come by working with all sides of a conflict, providing the tools needed to work together, and finding constructive solutions. While conflict is inevitable, violence is not! Our mission is to transform the way the world deals with conflict, away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. Instead of tearing down an existing world, we focus on constructing a new one. We shift the everyday interactions between hostile groups of people, so they can work together to build up their community, choosing joint problem-solving over violent means. We first worked in Lebanon in 1996, and we opened up our office in Beirut in 2008. Since then, our activities and capacities have grown significantly. We rely on local staff as well as local partner organizations in order to ensure our work is culturally sensitive, sustainable and well-grounded in the context.

For more information, visit www.sfcg.org and https://www.facebook.com/sfcg.lebanon.

About the Project
Search is implementing a four-year project called “Advancing Inclusive Peace and Security in the Levant and Yemen”. The project’s overall goal is to strengthen women and youth’s meaningful, enduring participation in advancing inclusive peace and security in the Levant and Yemen.

The project aims to 1) to consolidate WRO and YLOs’ strategic engagement and influence in municipal and national peace and reconciliation processes; 2) to motivate key sub-national and national institutions to strengthen inclusive policies and standards facilitating inclusive youth and women’s participation in peace and security; 3) to promote shifts in social norms around women
and youth’s meaningful inclusion in peace and security at all levels, including stronger alliances with men and boys.

Consultancy Summary
The Strategy Development Expert will support the project participants in developing a contextualized integrated strategy/action plan for Women, Peace and Security and Youths, Peace and Security in one of the target countries. The target country does not have a NAP for WPS and YPS and therefore, the consultant will support in the drafting of ‘regional’ action plans.

S/he will be under the direct supervision of the project manager and in close coordination with the local focal points to support in the development of the strategies/action plans.

Goals and Objectives of the Consultancy
The goal of the strategy/action plan is to contextualize the WPS and YPS agendas according to the needs and realities of the local communities. Through the development of these action plans, we aim to guide and support the work of local organizations, and the policy making of local authorities. On another level, the strategy/action plans development will create an opportunity for local organizations to come together and identify collaborative ways of working to reach common goals. In addition, it will provide them with an entry point to advocate for inclusive policies with the local authorities.

The role of the consultant is to guide the participants in drafting this strategy/action plan and providing them with the needed tools and resources to do so. The consultant will be covering three areas (each with its own context that would influence the resulting strategy/action plan).

The participants in this activity are representatives of local organizations who are either women rights organizations or youth led organizations. These CSOs have access to their local communities and are best able to identify their needs. The goal of this consultant therefore is to support them in collaborating together to set a strategy and action plan for WPS and YPS which
would inform their future work and strengthen their international fundraising efforts. Search expects the consultant to provide the following:

1. A work plan for the development of the strategies (including tools and data collection needs, which the participants will conduct in between workshops);
2. Review the work of the participants after the workshops and provide guidance for the
   next meeting;
3. Copyedit and review the strategy/action plan before submitting them to Search.

Expected deliverables:

• Inception Report: this includes context analysis, tools and needs for strategy development, work plan for the duration of the consultancy with the relevant milestones and how each group will be able to develop their action plan (to be submitted in English);
• Kick-off meeting with the local focal points who will be facilitating the workshops (explanation of the tools, agendas and milestones) (to be conducted in Arabic);
• Preparation of all materials for the workshops (to be submitted in English and Arabic);
• Reviewing all workshop milestones and adjusting the upcoming plans accordingly (all of the documents will be in Arabic);
• Final versions of the regional strategies/action plans to be approved by Search (to be submitted in Arabic and English).Timeline

Year One: March – December 2023 (days of work: 15), the participants will have three workshops in this year (March, June and December);

Year Two: March – April 2024 (days of work: 5), the participants will have one workshop to finalize the strategy in June;

Year Three: August – September 2025 (days of work: 3), the participants will have one workshop review the strategy one year later and update indicators in September.

Budget
Total budget is 9,000 USD. This consultancy is strictly online and the budget is to cover the consultant’s time and effort. Search is responsible for recruiting participants, organizing the workshops, facilitating the meetings and all other logistics for this activity.

Required Profile
Search is looking for independent consultants to apply for this opportunity with the following profiles:

• Masters in Political Science, Public Policy, Gender and Youth Studies, Anthropology, or any other social sciences degree;
• Proficiency in English and Arabic.
• More than 5 years of experience in strategy development, public policy writing and
• analysis, research.
• Knowledge on Women, Peace and Security; Youths, Peace and Security; inclusive peace and security, inclusive and representative policymaking;
• Experience in working with international organizations.
• Solid communication skills, cultural awareness and sensitivity.
• Ability to work with people from various social and professional backgrounds and at all
• levels; and,
• Knowledgeable of local contexts.