Project Coordinator-World Food Program (Wfp)-E-Card

PROGRAM SUMMARY The conflict that began more than three years ago in Syria has resulted in a steady increase in Syrian refugees to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. To date, more than one million refugees have fled to Lebanon, and the numbers continue to mount. All refugees who have entered Lebanon are staying with host families or in rented accommodation. As numbers rapidly increase, humanitarian conditions are deteriorating. The burden on host communities and the financial and emotional stress on refugees and their hosts is tremendous. Mercy Corps is responding to these needs by addressing humanitarian and longer-term development needs alike. Mercy Corps will be working with the World Food Program on their innovative electronic voucher program in the Beqaa that will allow hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees to meet their food needs and help boost the local economy. Mercy Corps’ project will involve the distribution of e-cards to newly arrived refugee households, monitoring the households’ use of the e-card, including food consumption patterns, monitoring the shops where the e-cards can be utilized, and monitoring market prices to ensure that the impact of the program on the local economy is understood. GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY Working under the direction of the Director of M&E and Syria M&E Advisor, the Project Coordinator is expected to lead the M&E Assistants in conducting the seven-fold monitoring of the WFP e-card project. The monitoring will consist of: i) Post-Distribution Monitoring; ii) Pre-Assistance Baseline Monitoring; iii) Shop Monitoring; iv) Price Monitoring; v) Non-redeemed card analysis; vi) Hotline Tracking; vii) Distribution Monitoring. The Project Coordinator will be at the forefront of the engagement with the Syrian refugee community receiving the e-cards, municipalities, and other local stakeholders in all aspects of implementation. The role will involve utilizing the team to fulfil specific deliverables outlined in the project plan, as well as strategically positioning the organization to expand the initiative. S/he will work closely with the Area Manager, M&E Assistants, and other ongoing Mercy Corps programs in the area, in order to ensure a coherent and comprehensive program is implemented, lessons are learned and experiences shared across the various sectors and program teams. ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS Program Implementation: Lead in planning and implementing activities to meet key deliverables based on timeline and scope agreed with the donor; Plan and oversee the day-to-day monitoring and/or assessment tasks of the M&E Assistants to meet key deliverables based on timeline and scope agreed with the donor; Work with the Area Manager in liaising with key stakeholders to build Mercy Corps acceptance within local communities and municipalities to facilitate program implementation, including informing the wider community actors about Mercy Corps’ programming; Contribute to understanding of and support for mobile data collection hardware and software; Ensure the development of appropriate monitoring, tracking and reporting systems, tools and templates that enhance monitoring of project outputs and quality, generate quality evidence on project impact and promote and ensure use of data for decision-making processes; Trouble shoot any administrative problems and report any challenges or bottlenecks to the Director of M&E and Syria M&E Advisor and Area Manager; Prepare weekly reports to be submitted to the Director of M&E and Syria M&E Advisor. Contribute to other ad hoc reports to meet donor and internal requirements; Oversee the M&E Assistants in filing and record keeping of project activities; Implement Mercy Corps’ Gender Equity policy and applies Do No Harm approaches; Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission; Other assigned tasks, as necessary.  Capacity Building Build the capacity of all relevant team members to develop and maintain a robust M&E system; Adapt existing protocols and plans to mentor and coach colleagues to build their capacity to enable them to develop high quality reports. Organizational Learning As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve - we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves. KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE Training skills and experience building staff capacity; Advanced computer skills and experience developing data management systems; Experience with qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methodologies required; Strong management skills, with good understanding of relevant cross-cultural issues and ability to work with refugee and host community populations; Positive, respectful attitude and collaborative approach to problem solving; Demonstrated attention to detail; ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently as well as cooperatively with team members;  SUCCESS FACTORS: The successful Project Coordinator will combine program management skills with experience in community mobilization. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and working independently are essential. Demonstrated flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving is essential in a complex security and political environment like Lebanon. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.