Program Officer

Program  Background

The Government of Lebanon, with support from the international community, is implementing the Reaching All Children with Education (RACE) II Program. First launched in 2013, with Phase II becoming effective in July 2018, RACE seeks to improve access to formal education for 460,000 Syrian refugee children and underprivileged Lebanese children in the country. Efforts under this second phase Program 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 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

Under the S2R2 Program, the Center for Educational Research and Development (CERD) is looking for a Program Officer to support the front office in managing and monitoring CERD’s various initiatives. 

Below are the main tasks and responsibilities:

1. Provide technical support to CERD leadership, namely to CERD S2R2 Steering Committee in monitoring of the Program’s approved deliverables, ensuring a focus on quality of design, development and implementation.
2. Work closely with CERD’s Heads of Departments, namely the Educational Research Bureau (CERD-ERB) and the Joint Academic Department (CERD-JAD) to support in the identification and prioritization of educational activities/projects that concur to the S2R2 Program results as well as to CERD entities’ work plans.
3. Support CERD working teams, designated Focal Points (FPs) and technical experts in the design of relevant interventions/activities that respond to the Program results.
4. Support CERD working teams, designated Focal Points (FPs), and technical experts in the assessment of the program deliverables, be they internally developed or by external consultants / stakeholders.
5. Ensure that the CERD S2R2 planned activities/projects contribute to the overall Program targets.
6. Liaise with CERD’s Heads of Departments and FPs to ensure timeliness and quality of S2R2 deliverables.
7. Collaborate with the M&E Senior Officer, the Quality Assurance unit (CERD-QAU) and the FPs for the follow-up on the program indicators and tools with a focus on qualitative indicators.
8. Contribute to development of aggregate reports on various activities undertaken by CERD using quality assurance systems and M&E tools.
9. Support CERD in tracking activities in its Annual Workplan and provide updates on progress and lags to SPDA and CERD President on a regular basis.  
10. Support CERD management in gathering information and carrying out consultations during the development of the Annual Workplan.
11. Contribute to the development of the quarterly progress reports and coordinate closely with CERD S2R2 SFO, M&E Senior Officer and SPDA to provide overall guidance on the needed reporting.
12. Prepare periodic reports, and presentations as needed, to showcase progress on the agreed deliverables, flag any pending matters and recommend mitigation plans.
13. Perform other tasks related to the program objectives as assigned by CERD President or S2R2 Steering Committee.

Previous Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of experience working on educational development projects. (proven experience with the education public sector is strongly preferred)
• Experience in large-scale program or project design, implementation and evaluation.
• Experience working across teams.
• Experience in monitoring, coordinating and developing reports on large scale multi-faceted projects.
• Demonstrated experience in, knowledge of, and agility with new learning technologies in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment.

Behavioral Skills        

1. Strong analytical and presentation skills.
2. Proven ability to innovative solutions finding.
3. Ability to cope with pressure and mitigate challenges.
4. Ability to convey complex information in a structured manner.
5. Ability to get along with co-workers and deal with the general public tactfully, courteously and professionally.
6. Outstanding project management and organization skills.
7. Ability to lead and utilize motivational techniques and strategies.

Technical and computer skills

1. Strong knowledge of the Lebanese Education Sector is a plus.
2. Project Management skills.
3. Strong capacity building and coaching skills.
4. Effective knowledge and use of technology.