Senior Advisor, Stabilization

Job description

This role is initially based remotely, with clear anticipation that it will move to Damascus, Syria, during the project’s inception phase.

Note: This position is an unaccompanied post and is contingent upon donor funding. Contracting is subject to confirmation of project award and scope.

Search for Common Ground

In a world often divided, Search for Common Ground stands for the power of bringing diverse people together to find solutions. By meeting this moment with Search, you join a powerful global peace movement that believes in the profound impact of courageous multipartiality - that all voices should be heard and respected in shaping a better, more connected world, and a collaborative vision is essential for lasting peace.

Search for Common Ground adopts a dynamic approach by developing solutions tailored to the specific needs of communities. We engage with leaders and elected officials to advance dialogue and collaboration. We are community leaders. We are youth activists. We are women. We are Peacebuilders. We have been doing this work for over 40 years, and we have developed a deep understanding of what peace looks like, enabling us to quantify our impact and design more effective programming. Peace moves at the speed of trust, so we invest for the long haul. When we’re no longer needed, we leave, leaving behind people and institutions with the ability to manage future conflicts.

Team Summary

The FCDO ISF Syria: Syria Stabilisation Response Mechanism responds to the evolving dynamics of the Syrian context by advancing UK security and policy objectives through innovative, high-risk, and politically informed programming. It pilots flexible and adaptive approaches to support a sustainable and inclusive political settlement in Syria. Core interventions include technical assistance and support for Syrian-led initiatives in the areas of transitional justice, locally led peacebuilding, Social cohesion, and Security sector reform. The program is managed through a Consortium Management Unit (CMU), which acts as the central coordination and management body of the consortium. The CMU oversees daily implementation while ensuring strategic alignment, coherence, and accountability across all consortium partners. As part of this dynamic and high-impact team, the Manager, Grants and Compliance will play a critical role in safeguarding donor integrity, supporting programmatic flexibility, and enabling compliance across complex and adaptive interventions.

Program and Team Summary

The Senior Stabilization Advisor will be a key member of the country leadership team, providing strategic and technical leadership for stabilization programming in Syria. As the technical lead on a multi-component initiative focused on peacebuilding, social cohesion, transitional justice (TJ), and security sector reform (SSR), the Advisor will ensure that all interventions are conflict-sensitive, contextually relevant, and locally owned. This role involves close collaboration with regional and technical teams, local partners, and external stakeholders to shape program direction, strengthen implementation, and ensure alignment with broader peacebuilding and governance strategies. It offers a unique opportunity for a dynamic and solutions-driven professional to drive forward high-impact, inclusive stabilization initiatives in one of the most complex conflict environments globally.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic & Technical Leadership

• Lead the design and refinement of Syria’s stabilization strategy, ensuring integration of TJ, SSR, and social cohesion across all program components.
• Embed conflict sensitivity, Do No Harm, and political economy analysis into all phases of programming.
• Provide expert guidance on engaging informal governance actors, community leaders, and former conflict participants in inclusive transitional processes.
• Ensure that delivery of the social cohesion, stabilization and recovery mechanism reflects best practice, incorporates lessons learned, and supports broader political goals.

Program Management and Delivery

• Provide strategic oversight for project implementation, ensuring timely, adaptive, and results-focused delivery.
• Foster strong relationships with government institutions, civil society, international actors, and communities to support coordination and local ownership.
• In collaboration with the MEAL team, monitor impact and support adaptive learning, compliance, and quality assurance in line with donor requirements and Search standards.

Capacity Building and Stakeholder Engagement

• Design and deliver tools, training, and mentorship to strengthen the capacity of local partners and civil society organizations in key thematic areas, including transitional justice (TJ), security sector reform (SSR), gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), and peacebuilding.
• Together with the Team Leader, build linkages between grassroots actors and national or international institutions to ensure local priorities inform higher-level strategies.

Research, Learning, and Policy Engagement

• Oversee the design and implementation of context and conflict analyses, stakeholder mappings, and community perception studies to inform strategic planning, adaptive programming, and risk management.
• Contribute to the development of knowledge products, learning briefs, and donor reports, with a focus on capturing insights and lessons learned from locally led stabilization, governance, and reform initiatives.
• Represent the program in technical forums, policy dialogues, and donor coordination platforms related to Syria’s transition, SSR, and TJ.

Communications and Compliance

• Lead efforts to effectively communicate the achievements and impact of donor-funded stabilization initiatives. Support the development of success stories, visibility materials, and strategic messaging to highlight the value of locally driven peacebuilding efforts.
• Build and maintain influential relationships with key stakeholders—including donors, government actors, and international partners—to advocate for evidence-based approaches to peacebuilding, stabilization, and governance reform.

Competency Behavior Indicators (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

• Motivates colleagues and direct reports to develop while resolving problems within the context of a proactive and broad vision set by the organization.
• Builds and maintains collaborative relationships with vendors, organizations, professional associations, partners, funders, and Search’s network of experts to facilitate work intended to provide a service to Search.
• Manages and contributes to both routine activities and initiatives while also making progress on continuous improvement efforts.
• Juggles multiple demands and adapts to new situations with fresh ideas or innovative approaches.
• Contributes to the development and implementation of the departmental strategy based on organizational goals and objectives.
• Confirms and socializes standards across functions globally within or in collaboration with Shared Services teams while allowing for thoughtful collaboration in an international context.
• Practices ethical behavior to meet Search’s expectations for conduct minimizes ambiguity and sets an example for others.
• Builds a framework and sets in motion a plan to overcome challenges by making sense out of complexity and an uncertain future, staying cognizant of the implications of a choice for the department, and being decisive while also applying flexibility for further change as needed and changing work plans to meet environmental factors.
• Sets up procedures and team building to ensure high quality of work (e.g., review meetings).
• Seeks out creative solutions within a complex and international environment while working within an organizational framework of compliance, ethics, best practices, and standards.
• Shares information, advice, and suggestions to help others to be more successful; provides effective coaching.
• Sought out as an expert to provide advice or solutions in their technical or functional area.
• Convenes groups or teams through problem-solving and creative thinking processes, leading to the development and implementation of new approaches, systems, structures, and methods
• Involves team members in thought leadership discussions and decision-making to lead to continued growth and development for team and department members
• Remains alert and responsive to any safeguarding risks, acquires relevant knowledge and skills that will enable them to promote strong safeguarding practices, understands the safeguarding policy and procedures, and conducts themselves in a manner consistent with the Safeguarding Policy.

Education and Experience

• Minimum of 15 years of professional experience in peacebuilding, international development or stabilization ideally in conflict-affected or fragile settings.
• Proven experience operating in conflict environments, particularly in support of local governance structures or security actors addressing the needs of vulnerable populations.
• Demonstrated expertise in Syria or comparable conflict/post-conflict contexts within the Middle East.
• In-depth knowledge of Security Sector Reform (SSR) and Transitional Justice (TJ), with a strong ability to adapt technical frameworks to practical, locally grounded initiatives.
• Demonstrated leadership in the design, planning, and technical delivery of peace and security interventions, ideally at the sub-national or community level.

Preferred Education and Experience

Prefer experience working on major programs funded by key international donors, particularly the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Type and Nature of Contacts

Routinely coordinates with colleagues and consultants on-site and in the field and resolves problem situations with tact.

Interacts with consortium members, their finance and logistics teams, and consortium management colleagues.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements

This position is based in Damascus, Syria, and is designated as an unaccompanied, non-family duty station. Given the volatile security environment, strict adherence to safety protocols is required. While on-the-ground operations are being finalized, the role will initially be remote, with regular in-country travel as security conditions allow and international travel up to 20%.

Supervisory and Budget Responsibility

Manages one or more direct reports and/or consultants and/or manages one functional area.

Posting closing period:

This posting will close on 15 July 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and the position may be filled before the closing date. Early applications are strongly encouraged

As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key responsibilities.

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Only applicants invited for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls, please. Please see our website www.sfcg.org for full details of our work.All Search Employees must adhere to the values: Collaboration- Audacity - Tenacity - Empathy - Results. In accordance with these values, Search enforces compliance with the Code of Conduct and related policies on Anti Workplace Harassment, Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Conflict of Interest, and Anti-fraud. Search is committed to safeguarding the interests, rights, and well-being of children, youth, and vulnerable adults with whom it is in contact and to conducting its programs and operations in a manner that is safe for children, youth, and vulnerable adults.Search for Common Ground does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.View our code of conduct here and our privacy policy here.

Les descriptifs de pouvant ne pouvant être exhaustifs, le titulaire du poste pourra être amené à entreprendre d’autres tâches qui correspondent globalement aux responsabilités clés ci-dessus.

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Seuls les candidats invités à un entretien seront contactés. Pas d’appels téléphoniques s’il vous plaît. Veuillez consulter notre site Web www.sfcg.org pour tous les détails de notre mission.

Tous les employés de Search doivent adhérer aux valeurs de Search : Collaboration- Audace - Ténacité - Empathie - Résultats. Conformément à ces valeurs, Search fait respecter le code de conduite et les politiques connexes sur la lutte contre le harcèlement au travail, la protection contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection des enfants, les conflits d’intérêts et la lutte contre la fraude. Search s’engage à préserver les intérêts, les droits et le bien-être des enfants, des jeunes et des adultes vulnérables avec lesquels elle est en contact et à mener ses programmes et ses opérations d’une manière qui soit sûre pour les enfants, les jeunes et les adultes vulnérables.

Search for Common Ground ne fait pas et ne doit pas faire de discrimination fondée sur la race, la couleur, la religion (croyance), le sexe, l’expression de genre, l’âge, l’origine nationale (ascendance), le handicap, l’état matrimonial, l’orientation sexuelle ou le statut militaire, dans aucune de ses activités ou opérations.

Consultez notre code de conduite ici et notre politique de confidentialité ici.

Dado que la descripción de funciones no puede ser exhaustiva, el titular del puesto puede tener que realizar otras tareas que coinciden en líneas generales con las responsabilidades clave mencionadas.

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Sólo se contactará con los candidatos invitados a una entrevista. Se agradece no recibir llamadas telefónicas. Consulte nuestro sitio web www.sfcg.org para conocer todos los detalles de nuestro trabajo. Todos los empleados de Search deben adherirse a los valores de la organización: Colaboración - Audacia - Tenacidad - Empatía - Resultados. De acuerdo con estos valores, Search hace cumplir el Código de Conducta y las políticas relacionadas con luchar contra el acoso en el lugar de trabajo, la protección contra la explotación y el abuso, la protección de la infancia, los conflictos de intereses y la lucha contra el fraude. Search se compromete a salvaguardar los intereses, derechos y bienestar de los niños, jóvenes y adultos vulnerables con los que está en contacto y a llevar a cabo sus programas y operaciones de una manera que sea segura para los niños, jóvenes y adultos vulnerables.  Search for Common Ground no discrimina ni discriminará por motivos de raza, color, religión (credo), género, expresión de género, edad, origen nacional (ascendencia), discapacidad, estado civil, orientación sexual o condición militar, en ninguna de sus actividades u operaciones. Consulte nuestro código de conducta aquí y nuestra política de privacidad aquí.