Consultancy on Public Policy Making

Client of United Nation careers

Background and Objective Since the fall of the regime in December 2024, the Syrian Arab Republic has entered a new transitional phase of socio-economic transformation, marked by both emerging opportunities and challenges. Years of conflict have left the country s socio-economic fabric extremely fragile, with deepening religious and ethnic divisions, severe inflation, high unemployment, and a depletion of public resources. Critical sectors have been particularly hard hit, due to structural weaknesses, inequalities, failed public policies and inadequate infrastructure. As part of its mandate to promote human development and support democratic transition in the region, ESCWA implemented the NAFS programme since 2012. The programme has served as an inclusive platform for technical dialogue among Syrians from all backgrounds. It remained one of the key platforms to systematically assess the policy needs for a post-conflict Syria. In response to the evolving context, ESCWA continues to implement a range of projects and initiatives building on its long-standing efforts under NAFS to support Syria s transitional phase. These include supporting institutions, with training, research, analysis, as well as other tailored activities carefully aligned with the needs and priorities identified by Syrians. As Syria currently is in a transitional phase, there is a critical need to support the capacity of national stakeholders to design and evaluate public policies that are inclusive, responsive, and grounded in evidence. This will support the country's early recovery trajectory and ensuring the alignment of emerging policy frameworks with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The objective of this assignment is to support institutional development, with a particular focus on the design and delivery of public policy making and evaluation processes. The consultant/s will be responsible for conducting a mapping of policy evaluation approaches, including in conflict and post conflict affected areas. This work is intended to strengthen ESCWA s efforts not only in Syria but also across the broader region, thereby supporting evidence-based policy making and, promoting accountability, and policy evaluation culture.

Duties and Responsibilities Under the supervision of the Syria Portfolio Coordinator/ NAFS Programme Manager, the consultant/s will be responsible for the following task:

• Output 1: Prepare a draft manual on effective public policy evaluation methodologies, including both process and impact evaluations.
• Output 2: Finalize the manual on effective public policy evaluation methodologies after integrating revisions and feedback.