UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.


Background

The 4 August 2020 explosions dramatically showed the close interlink between security and development. The event was a tragic result of years of malpractices and corruption that have nourished a negligent attitude in properly addressing evident safety and security problems, including the risks posed by the trade of dual use goods in a port built in the proximity of a densely populated area. The sense of impunity also made the port and the sea a privileged spot for illegal trafficking and smuggling activities. The magnitude of the event exposed the vulnerability of the national system as well to prevent hazard, manage crisis and conduct complex investigation to identify timely the culprits and make them accountable before the justice.

Survey activities ongoing at the port and as well around the city of Beirut indicates presence of asbestos and revealed that poor storage of dangerous material is a widely spread dangerous practice; industrial sites also represent a potential risk for the health and life of the population. Radioactive waste, along with the growing industry of sealed radioactive sources in medical, industrial and research fields, poses a serious problem for authorities due to the lack of an adequate national store for disused radioactive sources. Assistance from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is ongoing and a national store for radioactive sources at the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission (LAEC) is being established. Proper storage of imported dangerous material, its disposal and detection of illicit entry of CBRN materials is also a key priority and law enforcement agencies and Customs officials play a key role in ensuring border and supply chain security. Adapting cargo information systems is essential to strengthening monitoring and risk-based controls of international supply chains to ensure that CBRN material are not illicitly entering; additional measures to strengthen dual-use trade controls are also required. The national CBRN team has also prioritized potential actions to enhance CBRN capabilities and particularly the need to reinforce the operational capacity of the first responders in the field, specifically the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), the Internal Security Forces (ISF) the Civil Defense (CD) and the Beirut Firefighters. UNIFIL, international donors (EUMS and USA) and national counterparts have commended the EU for the vision in starting a much-needed strategic assistance in drafting an Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP).

The modernization of the port infrastructure must be accompanied with critical improvement in its governance structures and management for economic recovery. Adequate control of people entering at the port and cargo control are lacking alongside with fully established governance structures, if Lebanon wishes to guarantee the proper management, security, and safety of the site. Staff operating at the Port must be aware of the peculiarities of the working environment and its inherent risks and be prepared to intervene in case of accident also in view of securing sensitive data to allow operational continuity. Such expertise might also apply to offshore oil and gas exploration sites, which are an important source of revenues, but also represent a risk for the safety and security of workers and proxy population. The Navy received consistent support from the UNIFIL MTF and EUMS (particularly France, Italy, and Germany), but other agencies (GS, ISF and Port Authority) with a key role in ensuring the rule of law at sea, on the coasts and at the seaports are lagging behind. This situation creates a gap in the security system, which can be easily exploited for criminal activities at sea, on the coast and within the seaports premises.

This project aims at contributing to mitigate the impacts of the current crisis; supporting a people centered recovery and improving human rights, while strengthening relevant systems and reinforcing the role and oversight of civil society in line with the priorities outlined in the Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF) for Lebanon.

This action has as overall objective (Impact) to contribute to a secure and safe environment in Lebanon through accountable institutions. As such, the main objective of this action is to improve the governance of the Port of Beirut, with focus on improving the CBRN risk governance and security and risk governance structure and institutional and operational capacities. By doing so, it is envisaged that the project would also strengthen institutional systems to manage multi-dimensional risks and shocks at national and sub-national levels.

In particular, the interventions will contribute to achieve the following outcomes:

  1. Reinforcing governance and effectiveness in the management of port and maritime affairs, in line with the rule of law and international conventions.
  2. Strengthening effectiveness in Disaster Management.

    Through the provision of expertise, supply of equipment and infrastructural support the action will assist Lebanon in promoting better governance of national administration and guarantee efficient operational capacity of military and civilian actors in charge of safety and security. The project will build the capacity of relevant stakeholders to operate in a transparent, accountable, and coordinated manner to prevent, respond to and investigate security threats by enforcing the rule of law according to international standards. Efficient control and improved risk analysis and sharing of information at national and international level will facilitate the control and safety of critical economic infrastructure and support the legal cross border trade thus contributing to improved economy and long-term development.

    In view of the above, and according to the EU COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of 14.12.2021 on the financing of the individual measure “EU response to the multiple crisis and support to a people-centered recovery in Lebanon” in favor of Lebanon for 2021, the UNDP is seeking the technical support of a senior legal expert to review the review existing laws, legislations, regulations, conventions related to the Port and mandates of all relevant stakeholders regarding the control on the trade of dangerous goods and counter illegal activities, and to identify gaps and delineation of mandates and recommend adjustments.


    Duties and Responsibilities

    Under the supervision of the Project Manager, the Expert will be responsible of the following tasks:

    • Review mandates of all relevant stakeholders regarding the control on the trade of dangerous goods and counter illegal activities: Identify gaps and delineation of mandates and recommend adjustments. At least the mandates for the following agencies will be reviewed: i) Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MPWT); ii) Lebanese Navy who have a significant role to play in enforcing the Port Security Policy, with special emphasis on the Joint Maritime Operations Group (JMOG); iii) General Security (GS); iv) the Lebanese Customs Agency (LCA), v) Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), vi) LCA Maritime Brigades; vii) Customs Brigade (CBD) and viii) Anti-Drug Police (ADP). The review of the above agency mandates will also highlight gaps and develop recommendations to develop and strengthen the internal governance of the above agencies. The review of the above mandates should be done against state of the art codes for ensuring security in ports including the ILO and IMO Code of Practice on Security in Ports and the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) and their amendments.
    • Review the main codes related to the Port: the revision is to ensure that the mandates of the agencies cover, as a minimum, the following functions: i) ensuring the performance of all port facility security duties; ii) controlling access to the port facility; iii) monitoring of the port facility, including anchoring and berthing area(s); iv) monitoring restricted areas to ensure that only authorized persons have access; v) supervising the handling of cargo; vi) supervising the handling of ship’s stores; and vii) ensuring that security communication is readily available. The revision shall focus on the port security and risk management.
    • Review the Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP): which the EU helped Lebanon draft, in order to ensure synergies and coherence between above mandates and the draft policy- particularly regarding governance, security and safety.
    • Recommendations: Based on the revision and assessment of all laws, legislations, regulations, codes, conventions and mandates, the expert will draft short- and medium-term recommendations for needed legal improvements and adjustments.

      For additional information, please refer to ANNEX I – Terms of Reference


      Competencies

      Competencies

    • Handle sensitive information and related communications.
  3. Define issues, appraise situations, analyze problems, evaluate alternatives, and develop sound, constructive, expert conclusions, recommendations, and decisions.
Exercise sound independent judgment within policy guidelines.Respond calmly and effectively in emergency situations.Strong communication skills.Ability to work within a team to achieve common goals and objectives.Fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English.


Required Skills and Experience

I. Academic Qualifications:

At least Master’s degree in Lebanese law, political science, or related legal background.

II. Years of experience:

A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible professional experience in national and/or international law.Demonstrated experience in national laws and law enforcement agencies regulating maritime operations. Previous work on maritime laws is desirable (A minimum of 2 experiences).Demonstrated experience in dealing with international conventions regulating the international cooperation (A minimum of 2 experiences).Proved experience in providing legal analysis and support to public administrations including military and paramilitary entities with strong knowledge of the Lebanese Administration (A minimum of 2 experiences).

Note :

Please note that this procurement process is being conducted through the new online tendering system of UNDP. Applicants who wish to submit a proposal must be registered in the system. Kindly register by visiting the link below and follow the instructions provided in the user guide in the document attached:

http://supplier.quantum.partneragencies.org/ using the profile you may have in the Quantum portal.

In case you have never registered before, follow the Supplier Portal Registration Link to register a profile in the system. The Supplier User Guide has been uploaded to the following link. Do not create a new profile if you already have one. Use the forgotten password feature in case you do not remember the password or the username from previous registration.

The supplier webinar is now available in the following link: https://www.undp.org/procurement/business/resources-for-bidders.

Please note that all required documents are found on UNDP Quantum Platform under negotiation reference: UNDP-LBN-00093

The application must include all of the following Mandatory documents:

P11/CVAnnex 3 (Offerors Letter) with password protectedMethodology

Please put value of 1 USD in the price line instead of the financial proposal amount.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The amount of Financial Offer MUST not be mentioned anywhere in the submitted documents or eTendering system except the line item tab. The Financial Proposal MUST be password protected and the password will be requested later as per the IC requirements. Failure in compliance with the mentioned conditions shall result in rejection of the offer.

Any request for clarification must be sent in writing via messaging functionality in the portal. UNDP will respond in writing including an explanation of the query without identifying the source of inquiry.

Proposals should be submitted online through the UNDP Procurement platform Quantum no later than; 10 February 2023 at 11:59 PM Beirut Local Time. Proposals will not be received through email.

This vacancy is archived.

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