Knowledge Management Manager (Beirut) - FOR NATIONAL CANDIDATES ONLY

Background/IRC Summary: 

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities that support them, as well as with those who remain within their homes and communities. At-work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. IRC reaches over a million children annually with education and child protection programs in 25 countries around the world.  

Years of war in Syria have pushed millions from their homes and into poverty, and millions more have become refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and further afield. Equally complex is the emergency in Iraq, where waves of fighting and displacement have overwhelmed infrastructure and services and pushed communities to the brink. The economic, social, and health effects of these dual crises have changed the entire region. In the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq) IRC responds to displaced people’s acute and longer-term needs with integrated programs that improve health and safety, prioritize children’s education, foster economic wellbeing, and empower communities to regain control over their lives. 

In 2017, Sesame Workshop and IRC won the inaugural MacArthur Foundation 100&Change competition, a $100 million grant to make measurable progress toward solving a significant problem. In 2018 the LEGO Foundation made an additional investment to Early Childhood Development Programming in the Middle East and Bangladesh, further contributing to this effort. The Ahlan Simsim program is five-year intervention to bring vital early learning and nurturing care to more than nine million children and families affected by the ongoing civil war in Syria. Among other activities, the program will create multimedia programming for children affected by the conflict. Together with the Sesame Workshop and with support from the Brookings Institution, we will develop a pliant platform to reach young children and their caregivers wherever they are and measure how we impact their lives.  At the core of Ahlan Simsim’s project objectives is the ambition to work in partnership and collaboration with other organizations in areas such as design, service delivery and policy change. 

Brookings/Real-time Scaling Lab Summary

As part of the second phase of the Millions Learning project, the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution and the Ahlan Simsim program are collaborating to establish a Real-time Scaling Lab that will support the process of scaling the Ahlan Simsim program in Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. The Real-time Scaling Lab is not a physical space but rather a process to learn from, document, and support the adaptation and implementation of a multi-component solution that uses proven techniques to measurably transform children’s learning and social-emotional skills. The Real-time Scaling Lab will utilize a reflective, adaptive learning approach to expand and deepen the impact of the Ahlan Simsim program as well as to share lessons learned regionally and globally. The process of establishing the Real-time Scaling Lab and observing how policymakers, practitioners, and funders identify, adapt, and implement this innovative solution will be rigorously documented so that the process itself can be replicated across the program’s geographic priority countries (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria). Lessons drawn from the Ahlan Simsim Real-time Scaling Lab (as well as similar Real-time Scaling Labs that Brookings and partners implement in other countries) will help inform future national, regional, and global policy regarding large-scale improvements in quality education, especially in humanitarian settings.

The Knowledge Management Manager will be the project focal point for Lebanon Country-level knowledge management related to the process of expanding and deepening the impact of – or “scaling” – the Ahlan Simsim solution. The position will be the focal point in Lebanon for documenting an adaptive learning, iterative change process with support from the Ahlan Simsim regional team and the Brookings Institution. This will include co-designing and co-facilitating in-country workshops over the course of three years with the goal of continuously adapting the Ahlan Simsim solution to expand and deepen its’ impact in Lebanon, as well as feeding into a global publication drawing insights from across the Millions Learning Real-time Scaling Labs.

The Knowledge Management Manager will be responsible for the following key objectives:

• Serve as the focal person responsible for knowledge management for Lebanon
• Support the IECD Coordinator to oversee and support Real-time Scaling Lab in Lebanon
• “Tell the story” of how the Ahlan Simsim program scaled in Lebanon, including capturing key decisions, opportunities, and challenges faced by relevant actors
• Capture the details of how the Real-time Scaling Lab approach functioned in Lebanon and how it supported the Ahlan Simsim scaling process

Specific responsibilities will include:

• Support work in coordination with the governance unit on political economy analysis (PEA) for Lebanon country context and other background research;
• Capture key decisions, opportunities, and challenges that actors in relevant partner and government organizations take related to ECD scaling goals;
• Attend and document key scaling-related events and meetings as decided in coordination with the IECD Coordinator
• Proactively share lessons learned within the Lebanon country program as well as with regional stakeholders to assist decision-makers in identifying, adapting and scaling other evidence-based ECD solutions;
• Work closely with the Ahlan Simsim regional team to ensure Lebanon country staff are up-to-date on ECD new research and knowledge generated from other country contexts;
• Work in close collaboration with the Brookings Institution to co-create and implement the Real-time Scaling Lab in Lebanon, as a core approach to delivering on Ahlan Simsim’s scaling and partnership strategy;
• Conduct background research on previous and ongoing efforts related to ECD service delivery in Lebanon, including desk review of project documentation, conducting key stakeholder interviews, and attending related meetings and events;
• Contribute to planning, participate in, and document semi-annual in-person convening in Lebanon as well as smaller period in-person and virtual meetings;
• Support implementation of the Lebanon scaling plan aligning relevant Knowledge Management and Information gathering priorities with the ambition and focus of the scaling goals;
• Complete and submit periodic “research and documentation tools” (created by Brookings) on the Microsoft Teams platform, including but not limited to: Core Ingredients Checklist, Scaling Lab Quarterly Report, and Scaling Plan Guidelines;
• Work closely with the regional team and Brookings to develop an overall lessons learned document on the Real-time Scaling Labs’ experience that could feed into IRC’s partnership management system and ensure scaling plans and needs are consistent with PEERs processes and procedures; and
• Contribute to planning, and actively participate in and document, global cross-lab workshops and virtual meetings to share lessons and insights with other Real-time Scaling Labs.

Key Working Relationships:

•  Position Reports to:  IECD Coordinator
• Position indirectly reports to: Regional Partnership and Scaling Advisor
• Position supervises: Consultants where needed and relevant

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

•  Internal: Regional Partnership Director, Regional, Lebanon, and HQ Ahlan Simsim staff; IRC Technical Unit staff (Education, Research Learning and Evaluation, Health, Violence Prevention and Response, Economic Recovery and Development, Governance, Gender Equality); Grants Management staff, Partnerships Staff, ECD coordinators  
•  External: Brookings Institution staff, Sesame Workshop staff; Government officials; Implementing partners organizations; Community representatives

Qualifications

• At least 5 years of experience working in partnership with Government, civil society organizations (CSOs), or other local organizations at an international nongovernmental organization (INGO) or similar organization;
• Based in Beirut, deep knowledge of the Lebanon country context;
• Experience facilitating or co-facilitating workshops and meetings; comfortable managing group dynamics, leading workshops and activities, and keeping agenda on track and directed at end goals;
• Experience in managing or co-managing multi-stakeholder initiatives, capacity to understand and adapt to different institutional cultures, and relational ease with both high level government representatives and technical staff;
• Knowledge and practical application of scaling literature and systems change processes is preferred;
• Strong interpersonal communication and problem-solving skills;
• Strong planning, organizing, and team-building skills;
• Strong analytical and writing skills;
• Ability to adapt workshop content to group dynamics, environment, and feedback;
• Ability to work independently, meet deadlines, and manage work plan and timeline with minimal oversight;
• Ability to periodically travel domestically and internationally;
• Regular access to high-speed internet for conference calls and document sharing;
• Knowledge of early childhood development or education in Lebanon is a plus; and
• Fluent in written and oral Arabic and English required, French is a strong plus.

Working Environment:

• Standard office work environment
• Travel required 40%
• Position is based in the IRC office in Beirut, Lebanon

WOMEN OF ALL BACKGROUNDS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY