Grants Finance Assistant

Expertise France

Expertise France (EF) is a public agency created on 1st January 2015 under the supervision of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance with a strong inter-ministerial vocation. EF offers programme engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. Expertise France is the French public agency for international technical assistance.

EF designs and implements cooperation projects addressing skills transfers between professionals. The agency also develops integrated offers, assembling public and private expertise in order to respond to the partner countries' needs. With a business volume of 148 million Euros, a portfolio of over 500 projects in 100 countries, and 63,000 days of expert missions every year, Expertise France promotes French and European development policy goals.

EF operates in various fields of development and institutional cooperation including safety and security reform, public health, human rights, strengthening of institutions and NGOs and governance. Carrying out large-scale, multi-stakeholder programmes, EF can ensure the cooperation between individuals, teams and institutions with very different statuses, cultures and specialties. EF has acquired a sound experience in administrative and financial management of large-scale international programmes. www.expertisefrance.fr

1. Project background

The multiple crises that have impacted Lebanon for several years have led to a serious deterioration in the standard of living of the population and increased the risks of economic, social and political instability in the country. With the start of the Syrian crisis in March 2011, more than one million people had to seek refuge in Lebanon. This influx of refugees has had significant human, social, economic and political repercussions and has weakened the structures of assistance to fragile populations. The last two years have been marked by the collapse of the economy, the October 2019 protests, the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosion of the Port of Beirut. This accelerated succession of economic and social humanitarian crises has led to a dramatic increase in poverty levels among displaced populations and vulnerable host communities.

In the spring of 2021, the World Bank estimated that the economic and financial crisis hitting Lebanon would be among the ten, and probably the three most serious crises in the world since the middle of the 19th century. The banking sector has ceased lending operations and is no longer attracting deposits, and the Lebanese pound (L.L.) continues to lose value with soaring inflation.

Local NGOs play an essential role in crisis contexts in Lebanon, through their proximity to the most vulnerable populations and their presence in the most affected areas of the country. Their activities contribute to improving access to basic services in a context of saturation of public services. They also play a key role in strengthening social cohesion in the face of the growing risk of communal tensions.

Six years after the signing of the “Grand Bargain” on aid localization, aimed at repositioning local actors at the center of humanitarian action, the role of local NGOs in the aid ecosystem in Lebanon still needs to be strengthened, and strengthening their capacities remains a major lever for the sustainability of crisis response actions in the country. Lebanese NGOs must therefore be supported in strengthening their management capacities, technical skills and sectoral specialization to assert themselves as effective and relevant actors in the response to current crises.

2. The Shabake2 project

The Shabake 2 project is part of the Peace and Resilience Fund – Minka Middle East, which aims to contribute to the response to the consequences of the Syrian crisis, and to act on the prevention and management of the protracted crisis in Lebanon. In addition, the intervention with a dynamic and mature Lebanese civil society makes it possible to concretize the French commitments of "localization of aid" within the framework of the "Grand Bargain" of the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit. The project is also a continuation of the first phase conducted by Expertise France (EF), which supported 13 local NGOs, and conducted a study on the local associative fabric and a mid-term evaluation, the conclusions of which feed into phase 2.

Following the lessons learned in Phase 1, the Shabake 2 project rebalances the objectives with increased attention to the rapid and concrete effects that NGO grants will achieve on the ground. The overall objective of the project is to strengthen social cohesion and support peace and stability by accompanying local NGOs in their key crisis management role and providing sustainable support to vulnerable host communities and Syrian refugees.

It aims to strengthen purpose-driven, technically sound and locally rooted NGOs to support their abilities in weathering the crises as they arise, gaining greater financial autonomy and contributing to Lebanon's recovery. An emergency response component, funded by the Crisis Centre (CDCS) of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), is included in the programme, which makes it possible to articulate different French emergency and development instruments as part of a comprehensive approach to support Lebanese CSOs.

The project is structured around three components:

1. Enable NGOs to be trusted partners in the implementation of vulnerability reduction projects and thematic actions
2. Support local NGOs in their efforts to respond effectively to ongoing emergencies and crises in Lebanon
3. Strengthen the technical and organizational capacities and the economic model of partner NGOs for a better localization of aid for the benefit of vulnerable populations.

3. Job Description / Assignment

Working under the management of the Grants Officers and in link of the Admin and Finance Manager, and in collaboration with field facilitators embedded in the areas of grants implementation, the Grants Finance Assistant will be particularly in charge of financial supervision, reporting and accountability of partner NGOs. S/He will be involved in the monitoring of all financial activities of the partner NGOs within the project period. Moreover, he/she will be in contact with the partner NGOs of the project, and he/she will coordinate their reporting efforts.

This process will support the Grants Officers in assessing the compliance of the NGO partners with Expertise France's regulations and internal procedures, as well as the development of sound grant management processes to ensure Expertise France's compliance with its donors.

Responsibility 1: Financial & Administrative Support:

• Ensure that all financial reports of the partner NGOs are received by the set contractual deadlines.
• Follow up the financial partnerships with NGOs on a monthly basis and make sure they comply with internal regulations regarding supporting evidence and take necessary actions when needed in coordination with the Grants Officers and Field facilitators.
• Ensure that administrative and financial procedures linked to project implementation are followed by the NGO partners.
• Follow up and ensure that all administrative/financial documents related to project implementation are up to date and stored in an organized way.
• Support in managing partner’s cash flow to ensure timely and secure transfer of funds to meet program needs.
• Support the Grants Officers in the preparation or amendment of partner budgets.
• Assist the NGO partners & the Grants Officers in the preparation & monitoring of the budget forecasts.
• Support in drafting partner contracts & templates for NGO reporting.

Responsibility 2: Reporting, documentation, and knowledge management

• Follow up with NGO partners on their reporting (compare both Forecast Vs Actuals)
• Collect data/reports from NGOs and ensure the accuracy of data/reports.
• Checking partners’ financial reports and supporting documentation
• Present reliable monthly financial reports to the Grants Officers and alert, when necessary, on budget / and supporting documentation issues.

4. Technical Skills, Experience & Knowledge

Education level

University degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Economics, or any other relevant field.

Qualifications

• At least 3 years of relevant experience in compliance, grant management, or any other related field.
• Knowledge of the Lebanese civil society and the Lebanese aid ecosystem in general.
• Good computer skills: MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook).

• Fluency in English & Arabic (written and spoken). Knowledge of French would be an asset.
• Excellent reporting skills.
• Strong relationship skills and the ability to work effectively with local stakeholders.
• Proactive, results-oriented, and detail-oriented.

Previous work experience with international agencies would be an asset.