JOB DESCRIPTION: LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST.
CARE International in Lebanon. This position is open to national and international candidates for 3 months while a full-time candidate is identified.
Background
CARE is a leading relief and development non-governmental organization fighting global poverty. With more than 65 years of experience and a long-term presence in many of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries. CARE is supporting projects in 84 countries. CARE helps tackle underlying causes of poverty so that people can become self-sufficient. CARE is amongst the first to deliver emergency aid to survivors of natural disasters and war and, once the immediate crisis is over, we help people rebuild their lives.
CARE International has been actively programming in Lebanon since April 2013 working with host communities and refugee populations as a result of the Syrian crisis. Currently, CARE International in Lebanon operates from two offices located in Beirut and Tripoli with programs being implemented also in the South of the country. All our projects focus on ensuring women and girls have a voice in their own development and have access to basic services. Our portfolio of programs encompass strengthening economic opportunities, WASH, shelter and protection working with and through local partners.
Role Description
CARE Lebanon (CIL) is seeking a highly qualified local economic development specialist for its Lebanon Country Office, in Beirut. She/he will lead a small team of dedicated professionals and be responsible for all aspects of CIL local economic development and livelihood strategy, design, planning and implementation of all projects in this sector in Lebanon.
Working with CARE teams in Shelter, WASH, and Protection, the LED Specialist will further CARE’s urban community-based approach to livelihoods and explore a range of economic opportunities across the country. The candidate will utilize CARE’s Urban Neighborhood Approach which considers whole neighborhoods as an ‘entry point’ for assistance. Interventions target extremely vulnerable families (refugees and host community members) living in unstable and insecure conditions in poor neighborhoods and will complement existing activities by taking an integrated assistance to address vital needs in communities. Activities target both Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese host communities in order to improve the sub-standard living conditions of families at risk and to facilitate community engagement and social stability.
CiL has identified ’building resilient livelihoods’ as a one of the key intervention areas to support women and youth living in poverty and contexts of protracted crisis. Through resilient livelihoods CARE aims to assist in facilitating the provision of a stable source of income and enable people to thrive. This approach also acts as a buffer in times of shocks and stresses. Building resilient livelihoods will also allow the linkage of humanitarian interventions with longer term economic development programming. CIL is aiming to expand its current portfolio and evolve its strategy with a focus on urban economic opportunities, private public partnerships and vulnerable women in order to increase its impact and reach as the Syrian crisis enters its seventh year.
Detailed Responsibilities & Tasks:
Leads the strategy development of the urban Economic Development and women’s economic empowerment programs
- Oversee the overall implementation of CARE Lebanon’s local economic development (LED) program
- Coordinate the necessary market assessments, needs assessment, gap analysis and scoping exercises to redefine CARE’s priority interventions and strategic planning in the Lebanese context.
- Support the Country Director and Deputy Country Director-Program in the identification of funding opportunities for longer term economic development programming
- Lead on the development of new programs and partnerships, in line with identified needs and within CARE’s strategy in Lebanon, including the elaboration of donor proposals, in close collaboration with program and program support teams.
- Actively participate in the reviews of the mission’s strategic documents and planning.
- In close collaboration with the Gender Advisor, ensure that programs and interventions reflect and further gender issues
- Contribute to the technical and operational advocacy strategies of the CO, in collaboration with the regional operations and CARE network.
Support in technical expertise to program
- Ensure the coordination between CARE’s different sectors and economic development projects to guarantee a homogenous programmatic approach in CARE’s areas of interventions.
- Provide technical support to the program teams for the setting of an adequate implementation methodology in programs and support the overall implementation of the programs.
- Ensure and/or supervise regular training of the teams
- Produce Standard Operational Procedures and Processes to enable a quality project implementation in line with CARE’s Accountability Framework and donors’ compliance.
- Support new business development through contribution to proposal development
- Work closely with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) team to advise on the specifics of cash based interventions and/or local economic development exercises, as well as with other Technical Advisors and Coordinators at central level to ensure coherence and complementarity of LED interventions with other sector programs implemented and developed by CARE Lebanon.
Oversight of projects implementation
- Develop detailed work plan for the project (for all project teams) and overseeing the implementation of activities, updating work plan accordingly on a weekly basis
- Support the Project Managers in ensuring quality implementation and production of all necessary reports and studies
- Determine technical specifications and quantities needed for proposed projects in coordination with local authorities and technical staff
- Providing daily and weekly progress reports and a bi-weekly update of the project management framework;
- Support in recruiting and training staff of the LED team
Promote learning and research within the LED Department
- Ensure that lessons learned from the local economic development interventions are well disseminated and understood by all staff of CARE Lebanon and integrated into current and planned programs.
- Explore the modalities of scientific and technical partnerships (laboratories, universities, private sector, etc.)
- Support the data collection and analysis and contribute to reports writing
External Representation
- Establish positive relations and close collaboration with other agencies involved economic development & livelihood programs in Lebanon
- Ensures information is efficiently communicated between the field and the national coordination.
- Represent CIL in sectoral coordination at regional, national and sub-national levels and with the technical authorities
- Coordinate, with the support of the DCD-P, the Economic Development program representation of CIL among partners, donors, private sector, and different authorities
Essential Profile of the Applicant:
- Operational experience in urban economic development programming in middle income countries
- Excellent skills and experience working in a range of public-private partnerships; women’s economic empowerment opportunities; micro and small business start-ups; microfinance; internships and other
- At least 6 years’ experience working within the NGO, UN, local organizations and/or donor community at a senior level in the area of livelihoods and economic opportunities
- Post-graduate qualification in a relevant discipline
- The ability to assemble vast amounts of information and identify critical aspects
- Able to communicate complex subject matter (in a written and oral form) into accessible and simple guidance that is accessible to people with varying language skills
- Experience of working with a diverse range of stakeholders, ensuring effective consultation and engagement is achieved
- Fluency (written and oral) in English. Arabic an asset
Application Procedure:
Interested applicants to send their resumes and cover letter to recruitment.careliban@gmail.com by November 25, 2017