Consultant to diversify financial mechanism for Syria operations

Post Title: Consultant to diversify financial mechanism for Syria operations

Contract type: Individual expertise (Service Contract)

Location of assignment: Erbil, Iraqi KRG

Starting date: 20 December 2023

Duration of assignment: 5 to 10 working days.

1. INTRODUCTION

Expertise France

Expertise France (EF) is a public agency part of the AFD group, merging six agencies under the supervision of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance with a strong inter-ministerial vocation. EF offers programme engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. EF operates in various fields of development and institutional cooperation including safety and security reform, post-crisis/ stability, public health, human rights, strengthening of institutions and NGOs and governance.

2. CONTEXT OF NORTH EAST SYRIA

Syrian conflict

The Syrian conflict keeps having a devastating and lasting impact on Syria and across the region. With the conflict almost entering its eleventh year, the needs of the affected populations for assistance, including 13.1 million people inside the country and more than 5.6 million refugees plus their overstretched host communities in neighboring countries, are of an unprecedented scale. In 2013, the Syria crisis has transformed itself from a humanitarian emergency to a multidimensional and protracted crisis directly affecting several countries in the region – mainly Lebanon and Jordan, but also Iraq, Turkey and Egypt – whose social and economic capacity to deal with the ever growing influx of refugees is all but exhausted. All actors involved in the response agree that this massive challenge requires a comprehensive regional response not only including humanitarian aid but also longer-term structural support to host countries and communities, especially as no political solution to the crisis is in sight in the short-term.

3. EF IN NORTH-EAST SYRIA

Since 2013, Expertise France (EF) implements direct non-humanitarian assistance programme in Syria. In this framework, EF develops and manages direct stabilization project to conflict affected communities in Syria through support to NGOs and CSOs with whom EF builds strong partnerships. Expertise France’s fields of intervention cover the following sectors: agricultural support, economic recovery, vocational training and health.

EF is implementing two projects in Northeast Syria since 2020, aiming to improve the livelihoods and access to healthcare of Syrian communities. These projects involve channelling funds to beneficiaries and organizations in NES.

4. JOB DESCRIPTION / ASSIGNMENT

Working under the authority and supervision of the Programme Coordinator (PC) of Expertise France and the desk officers for Syria in Paris, the consultant’s main mission would be to produce a mapping, and propose concrete alternatives to safely channels funds to Syria, based on the actual operational set-up of Expertise France’s operations in Syria.

In particular, the consultant would conduct the following tasks:

• Mapping of existing financial establishments proposing services for fund channeling to Syria, based in and outside Iraq. Such services should include but not be limited to: mobile banking, transfer agents (hawala), banks and other services but avoiding establishments under international embargo
• For each service providing establishment: provide details on reputation, price, location of delivery and main offices, speed of transfers should all be assessed and proposed in the mapping.
• Propose clear recommendations on best solutions based on constraints communicated by Expertise France during inception meeting
• Propose contact points for each of the proposed solutions
• Provide a mapping of financial set-up –in particular focusing on channeling funds – for other actors of the aid and developing sector operating in Syria.

5. DELIVERABLES:

• Short Final report with recommendations, mapping and contacts of operators (maximum 10 pages)
• Annexes to the report

All deliverables will be provided in English.

6. SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Education level:

• Relevant University degree in International development, Political Sciences, or Management

Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of relevant experience working in financial management for international aid and development actors
• Proven experience within livelihood sector and/or rehabilitation for a humanitarian, stabilisation or development organization;
• Proven experience with reporting (and sharing previous written reports)
• Familiarity with the context in North-East Syria;
• Good computer skills: MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint,Outlook).

Personal qualities:

• Good communication and reporting skills;
• Excellent command in written and spoken English