Local Economic Development Advisor

Job description

GIZ has been operating in Syria since 1976. It has thus established valuable contacts in civil society and garnered experience that is now crucial for supporting the country. From 2013 onwards, it worked without government involvement with the assistance of local non-governmental organisations. Despite the difficult conditions, GIZ has consistently contributed to improving people’s living conditions.

In view of the developments since December 2024, which have led Syria into a decisive phase of transformation, GIZ plans to reopen its Country Office in Damascus in 2026. It is currently implementing projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Foreign Office (FFO), with co-financing from the European Union and other donors. From 2026, the portfolio is planned to be expanded by several new projects.

The Strengthening Socioeconomic Resilience (SERNOS) project aims at improving the socioeconomic conditions for vulnerable groups, such as internally displaced persons, returnees, host communities, women and youth. The project implements the approach of Transitional Development Assistance (TDA), supporting a structure-building environment for local economic growth and development. This is done by strengthening organisational and business capacities of collective economic structures, as well as supporting actors to shape peaceful participation and decision-making processes. The project implements in partnership with civil society and non-governmental organisations in several governorates in Syria.

Within SERNOS, the Local Economic Development Advisor is responsible for the project’s activities that strengthen the organisational, entrepreneurial and social capacities of collectively organised actors, such as savings groups, women’s groups, cooperatives and self-help organisations, market committees and business incubators.

Your tasks

• Developing and steering project activities that strengthen collectively organised actors and their members, and advising partner organisations on their implementation

• Advising partners and supported structures on organisational development (e.g. roles, decision-making and standard operating procedures), on services for their members such as savings and lending, dispute handling and access to basic services, on income-generating initiatives, and on representing their members’ interests towards local administrative structures

• Steering the development of partner proposals, operational and budget plans according to GIZ standards for concluding financing arrangements, and accompanying partners throughout implementation

• Monitoring and reporting on the implementation of partner activities and contributing to project reporting

• Facilitating exchange and peer learning among supported structures and partner organisations, and coordinating with other GIZ projects and actors working on local economic development in the project locations

• Ensuring conflict sensitivity, gender equality and the inclusion of persons with disabilities across the activities in the area of responsibility

• Supporting the team in records management, in particular in keeping the project’s MS Teams environment and Centralised Organisation of Records well structured and in ensuring that project documentation is complete and filed in line with GIZ standards

• Supporting the management in the strategic and technical development of the SERNOS project

• Where appropriate and reasonable, performing additional tasks upon request of the management

Your profile (required qualifications, competencies and experience)

• University degree in economics, social sciences, agriculture, development studies or in a relevant field

• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in a comparable position working on local economic development, community-based savings and lending, cooperative or association development, or support to micro and small enterprises

• Demonstrated experience with participatory approaches and social cohesion or conflict-sensitive programming

• Professional experience in working and cooperating with Syrian and international implementing organisations

• Experience in implementing project activities in the framework of financing arrangements with national and international public benefit organisations

• Political sensitivity and analytical thinking, consulting, communication and cooperation skills as well as intercultural competence

• Willingness to travel regularly to project locations across Syria

• Professional fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic, knowledge of Kurdish or German is an asset