INTRODUCTION 

Expertise France is France’s public agency and interministerial actor in charge of international technical cooperation, the second-largest in Europe. As a subsidiary of Agence Française de Développement Group (AFD Group), it designs and implements projects that sustainably strengthen public policies in developing and emerging countries. Expertise France works in key areas of development: governance, security, climate change, health, education, and more. Alongside its partners, it contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Within its Peace, Stability and Security Department, the Stabilization & Resilience Unit delivers multi-sectoral recovery programs in fragile and conflict affected contexts through an integrated territorial approach that bridges emergency response and long term resilience. In particular, EF has developed a strong track record in stabilizing essential services, including health systems, in crisis-affected regions through tailored, locally grounded solutions. 

CONTEXT 

In Syria, EF has maintained a continuous presence since 2013, initially in non-regime areas of Northwest Syria (NOS), and expanding to Northeast Syria (NES) from 2019. Its programming has mobilized over €74.8 million across 25 projects and reached more than 3.8 million direct beneficiaries in sectors such as Health, Food Security and Livelihoods (FSL), Civil Society Support, Women Empowerment, and Climate Change Response. Through this approach, EF has restored access to essential services (health, electricity, water), supported economic recovery (agriculture, MSMEs, vocational training), and strengthened local civil society. To date, EF has collaborated with over 90 local CSOs, awarded more than 150 grants, and built a strong, trusted network that is central to its localized and participatory method of intervention. Since 2013, Expertise France (EF) operated through Syrian implementing partners and locally hired individual experts. Since December 2024, the political transition allows EF to resume work with the Syrian authorities and to implement projects throughout the country. In this context, EF identifies the need to benefit from the services of a consultant / consulting company for advice on the procurement and management of Individual Expertise in Syria. 

ASSIGNMENT

Working under the authority and supervision of the Syria Programmes Director (PC) of EF and the Syria Head of HR and Finance, both based in Erbil, the consultant’s main mission would be to advise EF on Syrian laws and regulations pertaining to the procurement of work services, to provide a benchmarking of perdiems and consultancy fees to help establish an appropriate and market-aligned scale of payment for individual experts, with a particular attention to potential differences across the country, and to conduct a market study on existing options for digital payments. In addition, EF may require punctual advisory services on specific topics pertaining to Syrian labor laws and regulations, procurement and vacancy websites, pools of experts etc.

DELIVERABLES 

The consultant/consulting company shall provide advisory services and tangible outputs aligned with the objectives of this assignment. All deliverables must be submitted in English, in both editable and PDF formats, and validated by EF’s Syria Programs Director.

For any additional information or clarifications regarding the application, we kindly invite you to consult the Terms of Reference.