Expression of Interest - Junior Software Engineer Developer - TA to MEHE 72.3038.6-001.07

1. Introduction:

About The Project

As Lebanon sinks deeper into an economic and financial crisis, compounded by the ongoing war that has forced many families to evacuate their homes and seek refuge in schools, the education sector and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) are in urgent need of support. This support is critical to sustaining operations and ensuring that high-quality education can still be provided to all children residing in Lebanon, despite the increasingly difficult circumstances. The situation is becoming more complex, with a growing number of dropouts and out-of-school children, a significant migration of students from private to public schools due to unaffordable fees, declining teacher motivation, transportation challenges, and the lack of basic resources in schools, such as electricity. Schools have also been damaged or destroyed, further exacerbating the crisis. These challenges have collectively contributed to a significant decline in the quality of education.

Given these pressing issues, it is essential to provide support to MEHE, including the Directorate for General Education (DGE) and all other departments, to ensure learning continuity even amid war and other crises. The goal is to build a more resilient education system that delivers quality, inclusive, and safe education for all children. To address the current gaps, the Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (TA to MEHE) focuses on "building an education system better equipped to deliver quality basic education" through the following three outcomes:

• Outcome 1: Enhance the governance capacities of the MEHE in the field of strategic and operational planning, monitoring, and reporting, budgeting and public finance management.
• Outcome 2: Enhance the capacities of the MEHE for the delivery of quality teaching and learning by management and educational staff empowered with 21st century skills development.
• Outcome 3: Enhance the performance of the public education system (MEHE) through improved management and business operating procedures.

2. Description of the assignment

This assignment focuses on establishing in-house application development capacity at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE). The goal is to support the development of critical financial applications and data integration systems that will enhance the ministry's operational efficiency and donor reporting capabilities.

We are seeking qualified individuals to express their interest in contributing to the Technical Assistance (TA) to MEHE as a Junior Software Engineer / Developer. The selected expert will play a crucial role in developing and maintaining software applications, building data integration pipelines, and supporting the establishment of sustainable IT capabilities within MEHE.

This opportunity offers a chance to collaborate with MEHE and contribute significantly to the advancement of Lebanon's education sector through innovative software solutions and robust data management systems.

The purpose of this Expression of Interest (EOI) is to identify potential candidates who can deliver specialized expertise as a Junior Software Engineer / Developer.
The selected expert will work under the guidance of the Senior Application Development Specialist and will be instrumental in pioneering MEHE's transition from outsourced to in-house application development.

3. Scope of Work:

The Junior Software Engineer will be responsible for supporting application development, data integration, and system maintenance activities:

• Application Development & Integration: Collaborate in designing, developing, and testing a new school financial application that integrates with MEHE's core systems and donor reporting frameworks.
• Data Pipeline Development: Develop and maintain ETL/ELT pipelines to extract, transform, and load financial data from multiple sources including accounting, SF-PCF, EMIS, and donor systems.
• Dashboard & Reporting Solutions: Build and maintain finance dashboards covering revenues, payments, commitments, donor tags, and KPIs to support decision-making processes.
• Data Architecture & Traceability: Develop trace audit tools and contribute to Data Architecture documentation including entity-relationship models and data dictionary.
• Donor Reporting Support: Map financial and budget data to donor reporting formats and support compilation of donor reporting packages.
• Quality Assurance & Testing: Conduct comprehensive testing of applications, dashboards, and data pipelines to ensure reliability and compliance.
• Documentation & Training: Develop technical documentation and deliver training sessions to MEHE staff on system usage and maintenance.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with finance, administrative, and education experts to ensure IT solutions meet operational requirements.

Duration: Up to 100 working days (within 6 months)
Expected Contract Period: From 01.10.2025 to 30.03.2026

Working Languages: English and Arabic

4. Qualifications and Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or a closely related field (required).
• Master's degree in a relevant discipline is a strong asset.
• 2-5 years of professional experience in software development, data engineering, or database management.
• Proven record in designing ETL/ELT pipelines and data validation.
• Experience in enterprise or public-sector application development, preferably financial or administrative systems.
• Proficiency in Microsoft development technologies: ASP.NET, MVC, ADO.NET.
• Strong command of programming languages: C#, VB.NET, SQL/T-SQL, JavaScript, HTML, XML.
• Solid understanding of relational databases and MS SQL Server.
• Familiarity with dashboard/BI tools (Power BI, Tableau, or similar).
• Knowledge of secure coding practices and system integration.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Team-oriented with cross-disciplinary collaboration abilities.
• Effective time management and task prioritization skills.
• Fluency in Arabic and English (French is an asset).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with budgeting, financial execution, and reporting processes.
• Knowledge of data lineage and audit requirements.
• Experience working in the education sector or government ministries.
• Familiarity with donor reporting frameworks and public finance management standards.

5. Deliverables

• New school financial application co-developed with senior developer and integrated with MEHE systems.
• ETL/ELT pipelines built, tested, and documented for multi-source data integration.
• Finance dashboard (v1) with KPI widgets and donor-facing reports operational.
• Trace audit tool and Data Architecture v1.0 documentation delivered.
• Donor Matrix integration and reporting packages completed.
• Applications, dashboards, and lineage tools validated and compliant through comprehensive testing.
• User guides, job aids, and staff training materials delivered.
• Support and maintenance plan with knowledge transfer documentation.
• Monthly timesheets and comprehensive end-of-mission report.