Public Administration Reform Implementation Specialist- OMSAR

POSITION INFORMATION

• Organization: UNDP Lebanon Through Stars Orbit Consultants and Management Development

• VA No.: UNDP/LBN/VA26/192

• Position Title: Public Administration Reform Implementation Specialist- OMSAR

• Duty Station: OMSAR- Beirut, Republic of Lebanon

• Duration: 1 month (without exceeding 3 working days per month)

• Vacancy Date of Issue: 11 October 2026

• Vacancy Closure Date: 17 October 2026

• National or International consultancy: National consultancy

To review the full Terms of Reference (TOR), please follow link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nlIguZCIKE2oYZbDjRL0bMuJ_2ONOWEo/view

BACKGROUND

For over six years, Lebanon has been facing a prolonged economic, financial, and social crisis. The country experienced multiple shocks, including economic and financial collapse, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut Port explosion, and, most recently, more than a year-long armed conflict that caused extensive damage and losses. These developments led to a severe economic contraction, depreciation of the Lebanese Pound, soaring inflation, fiscal imbalances, and a sharp decline in the real value of income, particularly affecting public sector employees. As a result, state institutions have been struggling to deliver on their mandates due to a lack of financial resources and a significant loss of skilled professionals in the public sector. Against this backdrop, the capacity for evidence-based policymaking, regulation, and the delivery of priorities has been severely constrained by the crises.

While the election of a president and formation of a new government mark a positive political turning point, the state continues to face major resource and capacity constraints in responding to the crisis, supporting post-conflict recovery, and addressing structural challenges. At the same time, there is limited visibility over development aid directed to Lebanon. Since the 2019 collapse, most donors have made funding conditional on broad reforms and progress toward an IMF agreement. As a result, only a small share of aid has been channeled through government systems. Most grants and loans remain off-budget, creating a disconnect between aid inflows and national public finance management.

To address the implications of these crises, UNDP has been supporting the Government of Lebanon (GoL) in restoring core functions and in resuming its role in service delivery, and to help in implementing priority reforms, while linking traditional public administration, civil service, and policy reforms with a digital transformation process, with the ultimate aim of reactivating the social contract.

In response, the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) has launched “Reinventing Government 2030,” which represents one of Lebanon’s most ambitious efforts to modernize the State and rebuild citizens’ trust in public institutions. The reform vision is structured across three phases:

Phase 1: Stakeholder Aspirations (Listen, Analyze, Prepare)

OMSAR engaged thousands of stakeholders—citizens, youth, diaspora, civil servants, municipalities, civil society, unions, media, political and religious leaders—through surveys, workshops, town halls, and interviews. This participatory phase has produced a unified vision and validated national reform aspirations.

Phase 2: Blueprint Design for Government Restructuring

This phase aims to reorganize ministries and public agencies by:

• Redefining mandates;

• Eliminating fragmentation and duplicated functions;

• Designing a Target Operating Model (TOM) tailored to Lebanon;

• Benchmarking against global governance models;

• Ensuring alignment with stakeholder aspirations and future state needs.

Phase 3: Full Implementation (2026–2030)

Execution of the restructuring plan, introduction of digital and process reforms, reskilling of human capital, and establishing performance-based management across government.

After completion of Phase 1, OMSAR has launched Phase 2 of the Reform. Central to this phase is the Baseline Assessment of the current state of affairs of GoL. The Reform’s design is manifested in the Conceptual Framework, which provides a basic outline for the Baseline Assessment. It envisages functional analysis of the Government of Lebanon along horizontal and vertical axes.

The horizontal axis establishes four universal Functions of the Government:

• National Directions and Policy Setting;

• Licensing and Regulation;

• Service Delivery;

• Delivery Oversight and Surveillance.

The vertical axis provides thematic or area classification of the governance model. In particular, it identified a number of sectors that could reach 28 sectors and around 120 subsectors.

Following several rounds of consultations with OMSAR, UNDP Lebanon has developed and validated a methodology for the Baseline Assessment in line with the priorities enshrined in the Conceptual Framework.

The methodology is based on a rigorous research design that ensures data is collected from multiple sources. In total, it includes four research methods. Each method is designed to build upon the previous one, moving from theoretical mandates to operational realities:

• Desk Research

• Survey

• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs)

• Focus Groups/Validation Workshops

To this end, UNDP seeks to recruit a national Public Administration Reform Implementation Specialist to support the review, validation and refinement of priority reforms under Lebanon’s “Reinventing Government 2030” Blueprint, with a particular focus on economic governance and the Centre of Government.

The overall objective of this consultancy is to assess and strengthen the 37 Ministry of Economy and Trade (MoET) reforms covering trade, the domestic market, the business environment, investment promotion, food security and insurance, as well as the Agriculture Sector and the 7 Centre of Government reforms under the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM).

This includes assessing the feasibility, sequencing and institutional implications of proposed structural changes at MoET, identifying potential institutional resistance and proposing appropriate mitigation measures, and reviewing the PCM reforms to identify required adjustments or alternative approaches. The consultancy will also support the mapping and assessment of existing councils and committees under the PCM and MoET, including recommendations on those to reactivate, merge or abolish, to ensure that proposed institutional arrangements are based on an accurate and comprehensive baseline.

Ultimately, this work will contribute to the validation and refinement of key economic governance and Centre of Government reforms, providing an evidence-based foundation for their effective implementation under Lebanon’s “Reinventing Government 2030” national transformation agenda.

SCOPE OF WORK, RESPONSIBILITIES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ANALYTICAL WORK

Under the general supervision of the UNDP Senior Economist and LPARD-P Project Manager, and in close coordination with OMSAR, the Public Administration Reform Implementation Specialist will be responsible for the following:

• Validate the Economic Governance reforms. Review the 37 MoET reforms, which cover trade, the domestic market, business environment, investment promotion, food security and insurance.

• Validate the Agriculture Sector reforms.

• Advise on the proposed structural changes at MoET. Assess the feasibility and sequencing, as well as the likely institutional resistance, and suggest mitigation measures.

• Review the Centre of Government reforms (PCM). Assess the 7 PCM reforms and propose adjustments or alternatives.

• Map councils and committees. Inventory the existing councils and committees under the PCM and MoET. Recommend which to reactivate, merge or abolish, so the proposed new councils build on an accurate baseline.

EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

The consultant is expected to complete the above tasks and activities within 1 month (without exceeding 3 working days per month).

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

• With day-to-day management by the designated Project Manager or institutional focal point.

• UNDP will be responsible for providing the contractor with all necessary materials related to the project in a timely, thorough and transparent manner. UNDP will also be responsible for providing clarifications and facilitating the work.

• Day-to-day transportation from home to office (and vice versa) shall be covered by the consultant’s own means. The Consultant will rely on his own means of communication and transportation.

DURATION OF WORK

The assigned duration for this consultancy is 1 month without exceeding 3 working days a month.

The mission is expected to commence immediately and to be completed by December 31, 2026, at the latest.

The time needed to review, complete and approve deliverables and outputs is five (5) working days.

DUTY STATION

The assignment is based at OMSAR- Beirut, Republic of Lebanon

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Master’s degree or equivalent in Development Studies, Sciences, Finance, Economics, Public Administration, Public Policy, Governance, or a related field.

• Experience: At least 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in public administration, economic governance, institutional management and/or public-sector policy, including substantial experience within the Lebanese public administration.

• Language: Fluency in the Arabic and English languages (both written and oral).

“The Personnel will be covered with Health insurance and Personal accident insurance; the fees shall be deducted from personnel's monthly payment”