National Consultant – Sustainable Local Governance and Social Stability Consultant

VA No.: UNDP/LBN/VA26/132

Position Title: National Consultant – Sustainable Local Governance and Social Stability Consultant

Duty Station: Field-based in Tripoli and the assigned districts, with occasional visits to the UNDP North Office in Tripoli as required.

Duration: 30 working days within a four-month period

Vacancy Date of Issue: 04 August 2026

Vacancy Closure Date: 11 August 2026

National or International consultancy: National consultancy

To review the full Terms of Reference (TOR), please follow link:

https: //drive.google.com/file/d/1gOrUIKyxgB1XfHPi8mP9nNYcgyAE2PB4/view?usp=drive_link

Background

Lebanon continues to face unprecedented and overlapping crises that have significantly affected social cohesion, public trust, and local governance structures. Tripoli, Lebanon's second-largest city and one of its most vulnerable urban centers, has been particularly affected by rising socio-economic pressures, weakened municipal capacities, unemployment, and recurring inter- and intra-community tensions. These challenges are compounded by longstanding historical divisions, uneven development, and declining confidence in public institutions.

In response, UNDP, in partnership with UNICEF and IOM, is implementing the "Tripoli Peace Initiative: Safeguarding Stability in Lebanon," funded by the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The project aims to strengthen social stability in Tripoli by addressing the root causes of tensions through inclusive local development, participatory governance, youth engagement, and community-based peacebuilding processes.

As part of the project, UNDP's Peacebuilding Project, through its local implementing partner NAHNOO, conducted a comprehensive Conflict Analysis by the end of 2025. The analysis assessed local conflict dynamics, social-cohesion challenges, governance gaps, and emerging drivers of tension in Tripoli. Its purpose was to inform conflict-sensitive programming, strengthen local stability mechanisms, and support inclusive and sustainable community-engagement processes.

Building on the findings, consultations, and stakeholder engagement conducted through the Conflict Analysis, the Municipality of Tripoli recognized the importance of moving towards a practical and sustainable next phase focused on strengthening participatory local governance and institutionalized community-representation mechanisms.

In this context, UNDP seeks to recruit a National Consultant to conduct a participatory and conflict-sensitive assessment and develop a practical governance framework and implementation methodology for establishing neighborhood-based representative structures in Tripoli.

Scope of work, responsibilities and description of the proposed analytical work

The overall objective of the consultancy is to support the Municipality of Tripoli in developing:

A revised, evidence-based classification and division of neighborhoods and localities within Tripoli Municipality, based on social, demographic, geographic, governance, and conflict-sensitivity considerations. A proposed methodology for establishing representative neighborhood committees through locally endorsed community-election processes. The proposed neighborhood committees are envisioned as sustainable social-stability and participatory-governance mechanisms formally linked to the municipality. They will support improved coordination between communities, the municipality, donors, and development actors while strengthening legitimacy, representation, accountability, and social cohesion at the neighborhood level.

Under the supervision of the Local Peacebuilding Coordinator in the North and the Peacebuilding Project Manager, the Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

Review and analysis of existing resources and context

Conduct a desk review of existing resources related to Tripoli's governance, urban divisions, social dynamics, local conflict drivers, and participatory mechanisms. Review and analyze the findings of the Conflict Analysis Report. Identify and document the principal criteria and considerations for redefining and classifying neighborhoods and localities in Tripoli. Consider geographic boundaries, demographic characteristics, community identities, social-cohesion dynamics, municipal service coverage, governance arrangements, and conflict-sensitivity factors. Stakeholder consultations and participatory mapping

Conduct consultations with municipal officials, Mokhtars, civil society organizations, youth and women representatives, community representatives, and other local actors. Conduct participatory discussions and mapping exercises to validate existing neighborhood boundaries and identify community-representation structures. Analyze local-governance dynamics and social-cohesion and tension-related considerations relevant to neighborhood classification and committee formation. Submit a summary report documenting the consultations, key findings, and recommendations. Development of the neighborhood-classification framework

Develop an evidence-based and conflict-sensitive framework for classifying and dividing neighborhoods and localities within Tripoli Municipality. Develop proposed classification criteria, supporting rationale, neighborhood profiles, and recommendations for municipal adoption and future updates. Produce a proposed neighborhood-classification map and accompanying methodology. Document the recommended boundaries, classification process, data sources, stakeholder-validation process, and justification for the proposed divisions. Development of the neighborhood-committee methodology

Develop a practical and conflict-sensitive methodology for establishing representative neighborhood committees. Take into consideration the applicable legal and institutional framework governing municipalities and community-representation mechanisms in Lebanon. Propose the committees' governance structure, composition