Project Manager

Project title: Improving Citizenship Education The Education Sector Development Plan is a national strategy for education reform developed at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE). This project supports all the activities of one of its ten components, Citizenship Education. Reform for Citizenship Education includes three main activities: 1) Evaluate and develop the citizenship education curricula and its learning and teaching resources; 2) Teachers and administrator to implement active citizenship program; and 3) Develop democratic school environment through parent and student councils and community service programs. Over a 30-month period, these activities will be carried out by the various governmental agencies of the MEHE. Representatives from each agency will form the Citizenship Education Steering Group (CESG).   The MEHE agencies and CESG will receive full support by the Project Team. The Project Team is led by the Institute of Education, University of London (IOE) and, in Lebanon, by its two implementing partners the Center for Lebanese Studies at Oxford University (CLS) and the Lebanese Association for Educational Studies (LAES). The Lebanon Project Team comprises two principal investigators (CLS and LAES), the Project Manager, Professional Officer and Working Group Administrator. With a team of European experts, they aim to build capacity for education reform by supporting the governmental agencies through periodic workshops, conceptual and methodological frameworks and continuous coaching and mentoring.   Roles and responsibilities   As Project Manager, you will oversee the coordination of all the activities to take place with the CESG by working closely with the principal investigators, European project team, Working Group Administrator and Professional Officer.   Duties will include:   1. Leading the planning and implementation of the project   2. Providing continuous evaluation and monitoring of all activities by    - Preparing intermittent reports on the progress of the activities and the work packages.    -  Gathering information on capacity building and drafting reviews for the project team.    - Reporting on progress, problems and approaches taken to address issues to the Advisory Group in Lebanon, CESG and the project team in Europe.  3. Significantly contribute to the development of workshops coordinated by the entire project team (Europe and Lebanon) and the management of carrying out the work package activities in close coordination with the Principal Investigators, Professional Officer and Working Group Administrator.   4. Coordinating the implementation of project tasks and ensuring the provisions of resources based on the approved work plan.   5. Ensuring all activities and deliverables are met within the set project timelines   6. Tracking project deliverables amongst the different stakeholders, including students, teachers, principals and parents.   7. Providing continuous direction and support to project team and stakeholders. 8. Monitoring the financial records and project’s budgets at CLS and LAES, invoices, fees and timesheets, and expense claims; checking for accuracy and completeness prior to payment approval. 9. Leading weekly briefings with the Lebanon Project Team to review progress of tasks and identify and address needs and challenges.   10. Supervising the work details and tasks of the Working Group Administrator.   11. Drafting high-quality correspondence and e-communication in Arabic and English.   12. Acting as a key contact point, providing clear advice, guidance and information to the project team members, CESG and participating agencies and stakeholders, including students, teachers, school administrators and parents.   13. Proactively coordinating closely with the Principal Investigators, Professional Officer, Working Group Administrator and administrators at CLS and LAES and the research and evaluation officers at the IOE.   14. Ensuring high standards of ethical practices through transparency and provisions of accurate information.   You will be based at the MEHE and responsible to the Principal Investigators (CLS, LAES, IOE).   Selection criteria   Essential Proven familiarity and experience with the public education sector and its governance.  Proven leadership and administrative experience in education development projects.  Experience in writing comprehensive reports for large-scale education development projects.  Excellent record keeping skills, a high degree of accuracy in work practices and the proven ability to pay close attention to detail.  Excellent interpersonal and oral communication skills, including a confident manner in dealing with a wide range of people; the ability to interact with people at all levels with a sense of absolute tact, discretion and diplomacy. The ability to monitor and review budgetary expenditure to identify areas of shortfall and overspend and suggest appropriate means of addressing them.  The ability to assess a situation and take appropriate follow-up action, e.g., monitoring progress on a task and liaising with colleagues to ensure that outstanding action is taken quickly.  The ability to work effectively with other team members and make a significant contribution to the team. Mastery in English, French and Arabic written and oral.  Minimum holder of a Masters degree in education, development or related fields. Minimum of 10 years experience in the field of education and/or education development Desirable   Experience in supporting educational programs for active citizenship, such as student councils, active classroom learning, human rights education and community service programs.   Experience in producing learning resources materials.   Research degree in education (PhD or EdD).