Strategic Planner

Program  Background

The Government of Lebanon, with support from the international community, is implementing the second phase of the Reaching All Children with Education (RACE) initiative. First launched in 2013, RACE seeks to improve access to formal education for 460,000 Syrian refugee children and underprivileged Lebanese children in the country. Efforts under this new phase of RACE 2 are expected to minimize the short and medium-term costs of displacement for refugee families, while strengthening the long-term capacity of the Lebanese education system to prepare children for life and work once regional stability returns. MEHE, with the support of CERD, is responsible for implementing the support to RACE2 S2R2 program.

Program  Objectives

The Program Development Objective is to promote equitable access, enhance quality of learning, and strengthen the systems in Lebanon’s education sector in response to the protracted refugee crisis. The key results are as follows:

1. Increase in the proportion of school-aged Lebanese and non-Lebanese children (3–18) enrolled in formal education;
2. Increase in the proportion of students passing their grades, and transitioning to the next; and
3. Improvement in MEHE’s capacity to review, evaluate, and update Program implementation.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Strategic Advisory Support

1. Support in establishing CERD’s Strategic Plan including the preparation of the work phases and the expected deliverables.
2. Support in conducting situational analysis, literature review and organizational reviews to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks.
3. Support in defining CERD’s mission and vision, and in identifying the strategic objectives and priorities.
4. Support in developing annual work plans, policies and procedures, or in suggesting improvements to existing ones.
5. Support in identifying and assessing strategic issues, introducing solutions, facilitating strategic discussions, and managing strategic initiatives.
6. Support CERD President in creating presentations, reports, speeches, and outlines to communicate CERD’s strategy and related initiatives.  
7. Support CERD Quality Assurance Unit in identifying internal and external stakeholders to design a well-informed Strategy.
8. Coordinate CERD’s M&E framework with CERD’s Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) and the senior M&E officer.
9. Support in revising and establishing new processes and workflows that go alongside the implementation roadmap of the strategic plan, in strong coordination and tight collaboration with CERD’s Quality Assurance Unit.
10. Establish a sustainable, dynamic and interactive strategic planning process within CERD.
11. Provide advice on the optimal ways to map the existing, including donor funded projects.

Institutional Effectiveness and Quality Assurance Support

12. Coordinate closely with the Quality Assurance Unit on monitoring and ensure results are achieved according to schedule and performance standards and report critical issues for timely action.
13. Plan and/or collaborate with monitoring and evaluation initiatives to establish benchmarks, performance indicators, to assess/strengthen performance accountability, coherence and delivery of concrete and sustainable results in education programs.
14. Participate in major monitoring and evaluation exercises, program reviews and annual reviews of S2R2 and of the education sector at large, when applicable.
15. Work closely with the QAU to establish processes to assess progress and ways to engage stakeholders to take required action/interventions to achieve results.
16. Support in establishing the needed structure within CERD and in building the capacity of identified CERD entities and positions to ensure sustainability of QAU, IE and Strategic Planning functions within CERD.
17. Support the Quality Assurance Unit to establish CERD’s Institutional Effectiveness (IE) process and plan.
18. Advise and support in designing IE needed tools and programs.

Knowledge Management and Capacity Building

19. Promote critical thinking and innovative approaches and good practices through advocacy and technical advisory services.
20. Perform market analysis, research, benchmark, introduce and implement best and cutting-edge practices on education management and information systems.
21. Institutionalize and disseminate best practices and knowledge learned.
22. Organize/plan/implement capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders to promote sustainable results on education and related programs/projects.

Previous Experience

1. Minimum 7 years of experience in the Lebanese public education system.
2. Minimum of 10 years of experience in developing institutional capacities and providing technical assistance in the field of education and planning. 
3. Proven experience in similar assignments and projects.
4. Experience and familiarity with international and local organizations including NGOs and affiliated projects.
5. Previous experience in working with CERD and MEHE is a strong asset.

Behavioral Skills

1. Excellent communication and presentation skills both orally and in writing.
2. Proven experience in setting strategic plans.
3. Strong mentoring and advisory skills to ensure capacity building.
4. Motivational and team building capacities.
5. Mediation skills and conflict resolution skills.
6. Skills in program evaluation processes to ensure program effectiveness.

Technical and Computer Skills

1. Profound knowledge and past experience working in theories, techniques, and methodologies related to educational planning and organizational development.
2. Knowledge of market analysis including design and development of survey tools.
3. Effective use of technology for planning and reporting purposes.