The South of Libya remains the most marginalized region in the country due to political fragmentation, socio-political instability, polarization, displacement, and regional instability. These factors have significantly hampered recovery and peacebuilding efforts, leading to weakened capacities of local government and civil society. The region struggles with inadequate planning and budgeting processes, limited voice, and participation of local actors, especially youth and women, who continue to face disproportionate barriers to civic and political participation, insufficient community engagement, and a lack of investment in public service delivery and local economic development.

While there has been a decline in violent conflict and related humanitarian needs since the signing of the UN-facilitated Ceasefire Agreement in October 2020, political uncertainty, instability, criminality, weak governance structures, lack of social cohesion, limited economic opportunities and localized conflicts have continued to challenge sustained peace in southern Libya. Recognizing these challenges, our client has established an area-based Local Peacebuilding and Resilience Programme under its Country Programme Document for 2023 – 2025, to mark the transition from immediate stabilization towards longer-term development and peacebuilding. In support of locally rooted approaches to addressing key development challenges faced by communities in the South, our client  advocates for local platforms as collaborative spaces that facilitate dialogue, participation, and engagement of local actors, such as local governments, private sector actors including those from the informal economy, and civil society, especially women, youth, and excluded populations. our client  furthermore contributes to strengthening their capacities relevant to their respective roles and responsibilities. The promotion of gender equality in locally led development processes constitutes a paramount consideration in these efforts.

The first output includes four community engagement activities aimed at specific information needs and knowledge gaps. The activities build on each other, targeting specific groups of interest and with various baseline knowledge, and culminate in the identification of practical solutions to be used in subsequent training activities for stakeholders which is however outside the scope of this assignment.

The four activities under this assignment include:

1. a)  Rapid assessment of the local governance ecosystems in Murzuq and Sebha evaluating current

   annual investment planning processes while delineating the actors involved. The latter should include the existing Local Peacebuilding and Development Committees to understand members’ capacity and involvement in the planning process, identify development needs, and operate autonomously beyond UNDP’s support. The assessment should identify technical and knowledge gaps in engaging in the planning process in an inclusive manner. our client will provide technical guidance in drafting the assessment methodology.

2. b)  Extensive community (online/offline) surveys in Murzuq and Sebha aimed at understanding obstacles and opportunities to political and civic participation.
3. c)  Assessment of women’s participation in local civic and political platforms and networks aimed at identifying ways to enhance women’s active involvement in these spheres, and at highlighting both structural and conjunctural challenges and opportunities that impact gender equality.
4. d)  Focus Group Discussions with members of the existing Local Peacebuilding and Development Committees in Murzuq and Sebha on how to strengthen the networks as collaborative spaces for dialogue, engagement and capacity enhancement of local actors, especially women, youth, excluded and marginalized populations, private sector actors and local authorities. FGDs will also be used to validate results of the rapid assessment;

   e) Community consultations (one each in Murzuq and Sebha), co-creating solutions with excluded and marginalized groups (IDPs, women, youth, persons with disabilities), to overcome the challenges of placing them at the center of public service design and establishing new mechanisms and alliances for collaboration and partnerships, beyond traditional stakeholders.

   As part of the second output, the consultant will be composing a comprehensive research report summarizing the outcomes of the assessments and data collection efforts undertaken as part of Output 1 and will provide in-depth understanding on how to (i) strengthen local platforms for more responsive, inclusive, and effective locally led development in the municipalities of Murzuq and Sebha; and (ii) promote gender equality in locally led development processes in those municipalities.

   our client  works with community mobilizers in the South and has established a solid network of partnerships with local institutions and communication platforms, such as the National Folklore Center in Sebha, local community centers, and the “Ebraz” online citizen engagement platform, that may be used to facilitate the assignment’s data collection requirements.

   Output 1: National and local authorities are able to comprehend the capacities and expectations of local civic engagement platforms in Murzuq and Sebha, including Local Peacebuilding and Development Committees, to participate in inclusive and participatory development planning and the design of more responsive, inclusive and effective public goods and services.

   Activities:

   1. a)  Produce a rapid assessment of the local governance ecosystems in Murzuq and Sebha evaluating

      current annual investment planning processes while delineating the actors involved, foremost the existing Local Peacebuilding and Development Committees to understand members’ capacity and involvement in the planning process, identify development needs, and operate autonomously beyond UNDP’s support. The assessment should identify technical and knowledge gaps in engaging in the planning process in an inclusive manner.

   2. b)  Implement an extensive (online/offline) community survey covering Murzuq and Sebha municipalities, emphasizing obstacles and opportunities to political and civic participation; Ensure a minimum women and youth representation in the responses of 30%.
   3. c)  Plan and conduct an assessment on women’s active participation in local platforms and networks in Murzuq and Sebha municipalities.
   4. d)  Undertake at least three Focus Group Discussions with about 35 members of the existing Local Peacebuilding and Development Committees in Murzuq and Sebha; Ensure a minimum women and youth participation of 30%.
   5. e)  Arrange community consultations (one day each in Murzuq and Sebha) with approximately 120 participants in total on co-creating solutions to putting excluded and marginalized groups at the center of public service design. Ensure a minimum women and youth participation of 30%.

      Output 2: A comprehensive rapid assessment is produced, equipping policymakers and citizens with the knowledge and tools to drive transformative local action in Murzuq and Sebha.

      Activities:
      a) Compose a comprehensive rapid assessment summarizing the outcomes of the research and data

      collection efforts under Output 1, including a set of recommendations and next steps on how to deliver on the aspirations of more inclusive and participatory development planning and more responsive, inclusive, and effective public goods and services.

0. ompetencies

Corporate competencies

• –  Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• –  Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• –  Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• –  Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

  Functional and technical competencies

• –  Self-motivated and ability to work under pressure and to meet strict and competing deadlines;
• –  Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically

  sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;

• –  Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• –  Facilitation skills and ability to manage large groups.

1. Demonstrable experience in successfully conducting stakeholder engagement through the planning and implementation of workshops and consultations is mandatory;
   Proven ability to facilitate collaboration between diverse stakeholders and reach consensus on difficult topics;
   Proven ability to access and coordinate with national and local authorities for endorsement of community engagement interventions;
   Versatile in the use of innovative technology and methods for data collection and analysis is desirable;
   Previous UN experience is desirable
   Fluency in English and Arabic is required.