Project Assistant - MADAD (Applications will only be accepted if submitted through the URL link provided below)

About Mercy Corps

Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps promotes economic and social development in marginalized communities and responds to emergency needs as they emerge. Since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011, Mercy Corps in Lebanon has shifted its programs towards emergency-based interventions while integrating long-term development programming by focusing on key sectors: Protection, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Governance and Conflict, and Livelihoods.

The Program

In 2019, Mercy Corps, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), Oxfam in Lebanon and Al Majmoua established the Consortium “Linking Vulnerable Populations and Inclusive Market Networks to Advance Sustainable Economic Development in Lebanon” - or “LINKED” - to contribute to sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic development in Lebanon. DRC is the consortium lead.

With support from the European Union’s Madad Trust Fund (MADAD), LINKED intends to deliver an integrated livelihoods package comprising a series of mutually reinforcing and sequenced activities. On the one side, it will aim to ensure vulnerable households have enhanced capacities to identify and pursue decent livelihood pathways and improve access to employment opportunities for vulnerable job seekers through enhanced marketable skills and linkages with employers. In parallel, it will seek to strengthen capacities of selected local businesses to provide decent, inclusive and sustainable income generation opportunities.

The €14.5 Million programme will be delivered in Bekaa, Tripoli and Mount Lebanon governorates most affected by Syrian displacement for a period of 32 months and will target Lebanese vulnerable populations and refugees. The action is designed so that each agency will serve as thematic lead for various elements of each output – DRC for employability, Mercy Corps for Business Support, Oxfam for Advocacy and Decent Work conditions, and Al Majmoua for financial inclusion – while DRC and Mercy Corps will be delivering the bulk of employability and business support activities in their own geographical area of implementation.

The Position

The Project Assistant contributes to the overall implementation of the program, with specific focus on the Cash for Work sub-component of the LINKED program in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. The Project Assistant will support in day-to-day impelemtnation of activities, including logistical, financial, and administrative support. The Project Assistant will mainly focus on the Cash for Work component of the program, including support with overseeing the implementation of Cash for Work activities, supporting with payments for beneficiaries, conducting field visits to ensure proper activity implementation, and community engagement.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

1. Provide day-to-day support, including administrative, financial and logistical support;
2. Conduct regular field visits to the projects location to ensure proper flow of work and smooth implementation;
3. Support the Senior Program Coordinator in planning and administration of project activities to meet project deliverables based on timeline and scope agreed with the donor;
4. Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance & reach objectives;
5. Assist in stakeholder outreach and identifying community support opportunities;
6. Assist in various activities related to the Cash for Work component, including area selection, MoU signing, laborers’ identification with key stakeholders and predetermined criteria, community mobilization and prioritization activities, and coordination;
7. Support in supervising municipal and community infrastructure support projects through cash-for-work schemes;
8. Assist the Cash for Work Coordinator, to track and monitor the impact over the lifetime of the project;
9. Coordinate payment procedures, including documentation, approval and actual payment, in coordination with the Cash for Work Coordinator;
10. Develop implementation work plans and monitor activities and their contribution to achieving program deliverables;
11. Oversee procurement of all materials for CFW projects in coordination with the Cash for Work Coordinator;
12. Report and follow up on any problems encountered in the field such as project participant complaints, local authority interference, security threats to MC staff, beneficiaries and activities;
13. Maintain all documentation relating directly to CFW activities required to ensure accountability to the donor, particularly where labor is concerned;
14. Implement Mercy Corps’ Gender Equity policy and applies Do No Harm approaches;
15. 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;
16. Other duties as assigned.

Organizational Learning 

As part of Mercy Corps’ agency-wide Organizational Learning Initiative, all team members are responsible for spending 5% of their work time in formal and/or non-formal professional learning activities. 

N/A

ACCOUNTABILITY:

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Senior Program Coordinator with technical reporting to Cash for Work Coordinator

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Program Officers, MEL Officers.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• Require B.A. with preference for engineering backgrounds (Civil Engineer, Architecture);
• Preferred experience in overseeing Cash for Work projects;
• Experience in assessing, implementing and monitoring of civil works or infrastructure improvement;
• Experience coordinating with local stakeholders and engaging with communities;
• Demonstrated ability to manage and communicate effectively with team members of varied work styles;
• Demonstrated flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving;
• Proven ability to learn quickly, lead a program to achieve stated results and objectives;
• Ability to effectively represent Mercy Corps and its interests to key stakeholders;
• Oral and written Arabic is required;
• Oral and written English skills is required;
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment;
• Experience with NGOs;
• Willingness to travel throughout the country.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

The successful Project Assistant will be able to contribute to the overall successful implementation of the program with main support infrastructure activities and cash for work program implementation. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision 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.