Country Expert on Accountability - Consultancy

Strengthening Media Capacity and Civil Oversight for Accountability in Lebanon

Project Background

Lebanon's governance environment is heavily impacted by systemic crises and erosion of the national integrity system. This project aims to strengthen the organizational capacity of six Lebanese media and civil society organizations (CSOs) to evaluate public data sources, apply advanced analytical workflows, and execute evidence-based accountability work.

The project integrates cutting-edge technology, AI-assisted research routines, and automated data monitoring workflows to enhance the analytical capacity of independent media and CSOs scrutinizing public procurement, registries, and financial data in Lebanon.

This project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with Media in Cooperation and Transition (MiCT). It is funded by Germany through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

• Duration: 12 months
• Level of Effort: 5 days per month (Total: 60 working days)

Role Objective

The Country Expert Accountability provides senior political-economy and integrity expertise, ensuring all project activities, baseline assessments, partner selection, capacity-building modules, and public monitoring products are grounded in Lebanon's institutional reality and high verification standards.

Key Responsibilities & Scope of Work

• Practical Integrity Baseline & Priority-Theme Assessment: Lead the analysis of priority integrity themes (e.g., public procurement, public spending, conflict of interest, market regulation). Map bottlenecks, enforcement gaps, priority datasets, and practical leverage points; produce the Baseline Note and Baseline-to-Delivery Brief.
• Partner Selection: Develop selection methodology and criteria for candidate CSOs/media outlets, participate in shortlisting, and document selection rationales.
• Applied Capacity-Building Delivery: Lead the technical reform literacy track, train cohort organizations on public financial management, institutional oversight mechanisms, policy/budget analysis, verification routines, and do-no-harm standards.
• Reform Monitoring & Communication Products: establish transparent verification protocols and editorial/production guidance. Review and quality-assure thematic briefs, scorecards, and investigative monitoring outputs produced by the cohort.
• Advocacy Accompaniment: Support in translating analytical findings into realistic, issue-specific advocacy strategies and response-tracking routines.

Key Deliverables

1. Practical Integrity Baseline Note & Baseline-to-Delivery Brief.
2. Selection criteria and review contribution for cohort selection.
3. Delivery of two-track applied capacity-building modules and curriculum materials.
4. Verification protocols and technical sign-offs for reform-monitoring products.
5. Input into issue-specific advocacy strategy templates and guidance notes.

Qualifications & Requirements

• Advanced degree in Political Science, Governance, Law, Public Administration, Economics, or related fields.
• Minimum 8 years of professional experience in anti-corruption, public financial management, integrity monitoring, or civic oversight in Lebanon.
• Deep knowledge of Lebanese public data structures, legislative processes, and political economy.
• Fluency in Arabic and English (written and spoken).