Senior Advisor, Stabilization
Damascus, Syria
Global Programs – Middle East and North Africa /
Full Time - International /
Remote
This role is initially based remotely, with clear anticipation that it will move to Damascus, Syria, during the project's inception phase.
*Please note: This position is an unaccompanied post and is contingent upon donor funding. Contracting is subject to confirmation of project award and scope.
The contract period is one year, renewable contingent upon funding and performance.
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.
Position Summary
Search for Common Ground is seeking a Senior Stabilization Advisor to provide strategic, technical, and operational leadership for a multi-year, multi-component stabilization initiative in Syria. The Advisor will lead efforts focused on peacebuilding, social cohesion, and local mediation, ensuring that programming is contextually grounded, conflict-sensitive, and locally led.
As a key member of the country leadership team, the Senior Stabilization Advisor will work closely with national and international partners, local civil society, and technical teams to ensure the design and implementation of high-quality interventions that contribute to inclusive, community-driven stabilization.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic & Technical Leadership
- Provide overall technical direction for peacebuilding and social cohesion programming, ensuring alignment with peacebuilding priorities and the specific context of the Syrian conflict.
- Develop and refine strategies for peacebuilding, social cohesion, and reconciliation.
- Lead conflict and political analysis to inform programming.
- Integrate cross-cutting themes (gender, inclusion, Do No Harm, conflict sensitivity).
- Contribute to proposal development and strategic planning.
- Represent Search in technical forums and external engagements.
Program Management and Delivery
- Support effective implementation of high-quality programs across multiple sites, ensuring alignment with workplans, donor compliance, and adaptive management.
- Translate strategy into work plans and technical tools.
- Monitor implementation quality and support real-time adaptation.
- Coordinate with MEAL, grants, and field teams for coherent delivery.
- Address operational risks and support inter-sectoral integration.
Capacity Building
- Strengthen the capabilities of staff and partners to design, deliver, and sustain effective stabilization efforts.
- Develop guidance materials and context-specific tools.
- Facilitate learning and knowledge-sharing across teams.
- Support partner capacity assessments and institutional strengthening.
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.
In this position, you are expected to demonstrate Search’s core competencies:
- Inspires and supports team development while resolving challenges within a clear strategic vision.
- Builds strong, collaborative relationships with partners and key stakeholders.
- Balances routine operations with continuous improvement and innovation.
- Adapts to changing contexts with creative, solution-oriented approaches.
- Promotes consistent standards across functions, fostering global collaboration.
- Models ethical behavior, reduces ambiguity, and sets a high standard for conduct.
- Navigates complexity with clear decision-making and adaptive leadership.
- Seeks creative, compliant solutions within complex, international frameworks.
- Coaches and mentors others, sharing knowledge to strengthen team capacity.
- Serves as a trusted expert, offering technical guidance and practical solutions.
- Leads collaborative problem-solving and innovation across the consortium.
- Engages teams in strategic discussions to support ongoing growth and development.
- Upholds and promotes safeguarding principles, demonstrating accountability and awareness in all actions.
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 peacebuilding, reconciliation, and social cohesion 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.
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.
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.
Posting closing date: 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.
Search is an equal employment employer whereby we do not engage in practices that discriminate against any person employed or seeking employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information or any other status or characteristic protected under applicable law.
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.
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.
