Project Manager

ANERA BACKGROUND

Since 1968, Anera has helped refugees and others hurt by conflicts in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan live with purpose and hope.

Anera, which has no political or religious affiliation, works on the ground with partners in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Lebanon and Jordan. We mobilize resources for immediate emergency relief and for sustainable, long-term health, education, and economic development. Our staff serve in their communities, navigating the politics that constrict progress to get help where it’s needed most.

That’s how Anera received more than $171 million in support of programs in 2023 alone, and it’s how we will keep building better lives until hope finds its way in the Middle East.

JOB OVERVIEW

The Project Manager is responsible for leading the implementation of a multi-component program supporting SMEs, youth entrepreneurs, and access to finance through a revolving fund. The role involves overseeing SME outreach and selection, coordinating loan and grant processes with MFIs, and ensuring applicants understand all financial and compliance requirements.

The position also manages the youth entrepreneurship track, including screening business ideas, delivering training and mentorship structures, and guiding participants toward seed funding. The Project Manager will assess business viability, monitor progress, identify early red flags, and ensure project activities are completed on time. 

The role requires strong field engagement, relationship building with SMEs and youth, collaboration with field officers, and effective tracking of impact indicators such as business growth, job creation, and youth start-up sustainability.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Project Manager is responsible for:

• Lead the overall implementation, and management of the program, ensuring alignment with donor requirements, organizational goals, and quality standards.
• Oversee SME outreach, application review, selection processes, and follow-up, ensuring applicants meet both financial and non-financial eligibility criteria.
• Manage the youth entrepreneurship component, including business idea screening, training delivery, mentorship, seed funding allocation, and ongoing coaching support.
• Supervise field teams and trainers to ensure timely and high-quality delivery of activities across all project sites.
• Coordinate with loan officers, MFIs, and private-sector partners to ensure consistent guidance, compliance with revolving fund requirements, and effective market linkages.
• Develop and implement tools, SOPs, scoring criteria, and monitoring systems, with the support of the Program Manager, to track program outputs, outcomes, and impact indicators.
• Monitor program progress, identify risks and challenges, propose corrective actions, and report to donors and senior management.
• In coordination with the Program Manager, manage budgets, verify deliverables, and oversee procurement, financial compliance, and administrative processes.
• Represent the organization with external stakeholders, including donors, government agencies, private-sector partners, and community actors.

QUALIFICATIONS and COMPETENCIES

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Economics, Business Administration, Social Sciences, or a related field; a Master’s degree is an asset.
• 5–7 years of progressive experience in workforce development, SME support, entrepreneurship programming, or start-up acceleration.
• Demonstrated experience leading project implementation, managing multi-component programs, and coordinating field operations.
• Proven ability to supervise teams, manage budgets, and ensure compliance with donor regulations and reporting requirements.
• Strong organizational, strategic planning, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to prioritize multiple high-level tasks.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and negotiation skills, with the ability to build trust and collaborate effectively with youth, SMEs, private-sector partners, and stakeholders.
• Solid understanding of labor market trends, entrepreneurship concepts, training curricula, and impact measurement.
• Commitment to inclusion, safeguarding, Do No Harm, and PSEA principles.
• Fluency in Arabic and strong command of English (written and spoken).

Equal Employment Opportunity

Anera strives to be an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, creed, political or national views or background, ethnicity, religion, age, handicap, sex, or any other factor unrelated to ability to perform the required work. Anera does give strong preference in employing Lebanese, Palestinian, or other resident Arab nationals (other than for the country director position and internships). In all cases, recruitment decisions are first and foremost based on merit and qualifications. Anera holds local project institutions to the same standards.

Code of Conduct

Anera is committed to conducting its operations with the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and professionalism across all contexts in which we work. We strive to deliver high-quality services and maintain a reputation built on fairness, respect, responsibility, and sound judgment. All employees, managers, officers, and representatives are expected to uphold these standards at all times and act per their duty of loyalty to Anera. No individual may misrepresent the organization or speak on its behalf without proper authorization. Confidential and sensitive information—including financial data, strategic plans, or information related to partners and beneficiaries—must be handled with the utmost discretion and only shared on a need-to-know basis, in line with Anera’s confidentiality and privacy policies. Any violation of the Code of Conduct may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination. The level of disciplinary response may take into account whether the violation was self-reported and whether the individual cooperated in the investigation process.

Our values

We are inspired: We are committed to energize, engage, and motivate others to forge the best outcomes for the diverse communities we serve.

We are people-centric: We are respectful and empathetic. We believe that each person, no matter their circumstances, embodies promise and has the power to shape the lives of their community and world.

We are collaborative: Teamwork and collaborative action are at the heart of how we do our work and deliver results.

We are versatile: In a region burdened by obstacles, we make the right connections to find a way and bring can-do, innovative approaches to everything we do.

We are impactful: We make a lasting difference in the lives of those we serve by delivering impactful solutions at the local community level.

We are accountable: Our words, actions and results stay true to our mission and values.