Project Support Officer - Strengthening Resilience Project

About us

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. We do this by making a positive contribution to the UK and the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust.
We work with over 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Each year we reach over 20 million people face-to-face and more than 500 million people online, via broadcasts and publications. Founded in 1934, we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body.

Geopolitical/SBU/Function overview

The British Council has been in Lebanon since 1946.  As the United Kingdom’s international organisation for education and cultural relations, we are building on the British Council’s respected and trusted brand by expanding existing programmes and developing new opportunities with government and key stakeholders across the public, private and NGO sectors.  We employ 50 staff, including five regional and five Syria post and our portfolio spans our main sectors of English, Education, Society and Arts.  

The Programmes team within British Council Lebanon manages all aspects of business development and delivery.  Working closely with colleagues across British Council (regionally, locally and in UK), the team is responsible for ensuring the quality and consistency of projects and programmes, meeting the expectations of partners.  This includes:  managing all aspects of delivery, compliance, risk and finances across the portfolio. 

The post holder will be responsible for supporting Project Coordinators and Project Manager in the management and delivery of the SRII Project. The post holder will also be responsible for supporting and delivery communication deliverables aligned to programmes communication plans with the support of the Communication Manager. 
The post holder will be the focal contact for internal and external stakeholders regarding procurement, logistical support of activities and events, in addition to online and offline communication.  Therefore, s/he is required to demonstrate excellent customer service, communication, entrepreneurship and team working skills, as well as administrative and organisational competencies in full compliance with British Council corporate standards in finance, IT, procurement, customer service and HR policies and standards. 

Main opportunities/challenges for this role

To support in implementation of SRII project through working with the Project Manager, Programme Field Coordinators, M&E Manager and Communications Coordinator and external consultants to achieve the project objectives and outcomes.

Main Accountabilities:

Project implementation

• Closely liaising with the Project Manager regarding the project objectives and outcomes
• Finalising and delivering all arrangements within an agreed time frame
• Entering data including reports and supporting documents on internal information sharing systems including sharepoint and G-drive
• Supporting the M&E in data collection and data entry of monitoring and evaluation forms
• Reporting on project progress on a weekly basis and drafting a monthly narrative report including targets, achievements, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations
• Reporting on key milestones and where risks are emerging in the projects in relation to logistics, procurement and payments

Finance and compliance

• Provide financial management support including the effective use of SAP, raising PO’s, journals and creating vendors in line with the British Council policies
• Invoicing and maintaining financial files and records
• Drafting contracts with vendors and stakeholders in coordination with the Project Manager 
• Supporting the Project  Manager to provide commentaries on the monthly variance between forecast and actual 
• Provide planning and re-forecasting support for the  project manager
• Follow up procurement and financial procedures to be compliant with British council
• To ensure documentation of all supporting documents in preparation for auditing

Events and meetings 

• To provide support in the planning of PVE briefing, Active citizen workshops and other events by  ensuring timely  booking  of venue, flights  and accommodation arrangements as necessary,   organising hospitality, transport, accommodation, marketing materials and management of external consultants and trainers requirements therefore contributing to the successful running of events
• To invite and follow up with the attendees of workshops and events
• To provide the logistical support for the preparation of 25 World Cafés, summit and meetings with council of ministers in coordination with the Programme Field Coordinators
• To ensure documentation of supporting documents of all events and workshops including attendance sheets and photos

Communication

• To update the weekly calendar
• To draft minutes of meetings and share it with relevant team members and stakeholders
• Liaising with Marketing and Communication to ensure proper visibility and branding of the project

Key Relationships

Internal

• Project Manager
• Programme Field Coordinators
• M&E Manager
• Communications Coordinator
• Business support/security team
• British Council cross-departmental teams (Marketing and Communications, Finance)

External

• Vendors
• External trainers and consultants

Role Requirements

Passport requirements/ Right to work in country: Post holder must be eligible to work in Lebanon.  When required, successful candidate needs to secure, at his/her own cost and liability, the appropriate work and residency permits and any other required document, as well as any renewals thereof, from the Lebanese competent authorities.

Notes:

• Hours are variable according to events and can include evenings and occasional weekends.  The role includes representing the British Council at external events where appropriate.  On certain days it may be necessary to work longer hours to cater for key deadlines. 
• The post holder will understand and make decisions which are affected by to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) legislation and policy. Additionally he/she will exploit opportunities brought by diversity and build them into all planning.
• The post holder will understand the importance of child protection and ensure polices and processes are in place to offer maximum protection of young people at all relevant events and venues and ensure compliance with BC Child Protection policy.

Person Specification:

Language requirements

Essential

• Written and spoken English at Proficiency Level (B2)
• Fluent in written and spoken Arabic. Able to write official letters to Ministries and relevant partners

Qualifications

Essential

• University degree or proven relevant experience 

Role Specific Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• 2 years’ experience in communication/administrative/project support  role at local and/or international organization
• 2 years’ experience in project management
• Sound IT knowledge and ability to use IT systems  
• Effective interpersonal, communication and influencing skills (including managing complex and numerous internal and external stakeholders ) 

Role Specific Skills 

Essential

• Project Management Skills  -level 1
• Financial planning management Level 2
• Communication skills – level 2

Assessment Stage

SHORTLISTING AND INTERVIEW

British Council Core Skills

• Managing projects (Level 1)
• Communicating and influencing (Level 2)
• Planning and organizing (Level 1)
• Analyzing data and problems (Level 1)
• Managing finance and resources (Level 2)
• Using technology (Level 2)
• Managing risk (Level 1)
• Managing accounts and partnerships (Level 2) 

Assessment Stage

SHORTLISTING AND INTERVIEW

British Council Behaviours

• Creating Shared Purpose (Essential): Communicating an engaging picture of how we can work together 
• Connecting with others (Essential): Making regular opportunities to understand others better 
• Working Together (Essential): Establishing a genuinely common goal with others
• Being Accountable (more demanding): Putting the needs of the team or British Council ahead of my own
• Making it happen (Essential): Delivering clear results for the British Council
• Shaping the future (Essential): Looking for ways in which we can do things better