Country Manager - Lebanon

Salary: Between £44,500 and £52,221 per annum, plus excellent benefits for expatriate staff, including accommodation, a relocation package, annual flight back home and medical insurance cover. We are looking for an entrepreneur with solid management experience and an understanding of conflict in the Middle East to lead our team in Lebanon. As head of this dynamic country programme operating in a highly complex context, you will be responsible for providing leadership that deepens our peacebuilding impact and expands our work. You will be a proven leader, with the ability to develop strategy, manage staff, and maintain relationships with a wide range of interlocutors. You are knowledgeable about peacebuilding and international development, including in the Lebanese context and have experience of managing projects and programmes in difficult operating environments. To be great in this job you are likely, first and foremost, to have a talent for entrepreneurial and strategic programme development. In turn Alert will offer you the opportunity to be part of a team of peers working to build peace in one of the most challenging regions of the world. (for external ads only) Note: The above are some of the requirements for the job. For the full job requirements and an application pack (the person specification section of which will form the basis of short-listing), please visit http://www.international-alert.org/jobs. In your application, please indicate the full job title of the role you are applying for.   International Alert helps people find peaceful solutions to conflict. We are one of the world’s leading peacebuilding organisations, with nearly 30 years of experience laying the foundations for peace. We work with local people around the world to help them build peace. And we advise governments, organisations and companies on how to support peace. We focus on issues which influence peace, including governance, economics, gender relations, social development, climate change, and the role of businesses and international organisations in high-risk places.   www.international-alert.org Job Purpose The purpose of this job is to lead and develop Alert’s peacebuilding work in Lebanon. Our work to date involves leading a multi-party dialogue process, advising the international humanitarian community on conflict sensitivity, working with the Ministry of Interior and security forces to support people-centred security sector reform, and connecting the citizen and the state through establishing participatory dialogue mechanisms. Alert’s methodology is based on long term engagement in conflict affected regions and it will be important for the post-holder to hone and develop a clear strategy that sustains over time, a strategy which will also make reference to the wider Levant region. Duties and Responsibilities 1. Strategic development Maintain a coherent country strategy for the long term development of the Lebanon programme; Communicate this strategy internally and externally, collaborating with others to maximise impact and effectiveness; Manage effective relationships with principle partners – within Lebanon and outside, as the programme evolves; Contribute to strategic thinking on Alert’s potential role in the wider Middle East region, factoring this into Alert’s strategy for Lebanon.   2. Programme Management Be responsible for quality management of outputs, including research, dialogue and policy advocacy; Co-ordinate the operational activities of Alert staff working on the Lebanon programme; Manage Alert’s institutional presence in Lebanon, including legal status and office base; Build and sustain relationships with donors, government actors and civil society leaders; Line-manage an effective team of locally hired staff and consultants.   4. Grants and financial management This post has ultimate accountability for the sustainability of the Lebanon Country Office and for ensuring the proper management of Alert financial resources in the Lebanon Country Office and its components (strands / projects), including: Overseeing and conducting spot checks on all accounting and finance functions in the office; ensuring robust systems, policies and procedures are in place and are complied with by all staff; Undertaking timely and accurate annual budgeting, forecasting and business-planning for sustainability; Ensuring submission of timely, accurate monthly financial reports and other data to headquarters, donors and local authorities; Ensuring compliance of the office, budget holders and partners with local legislation, Alert policies and procedures as well as donor regulations; Be responsible for an annual budget of approximately £1,000,000.   5. Project design, monitoring and evaluation Assess impact as the programme proceeds and make adjustments as necessary; Allow time for planning and designing a follow-on phase to current project plans; Manage the development of new project concepts and proposals in collaboration with the Senior Programme Design and Fundraising Officer; Contribute to and draw on the work of Alert’s Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DME) work – including the Programming Framework; Work with the Senior Programme Design and Fundraising Officer to devise an effective fundraising strategy for the programme.   6. Contributing to Alert’s organisational processes and strategies Contribute to organisational processes, such as strategy development and roll-out; Take proactive steps to ensure that effective relationships are created and maintained with staff at different levels within the organisation; Provide information orally and in written form to the Head of Development and other internal and external audiences as necessary on the progress of work in Lebanon; Contribute to Alert’s initiative on Knowledge Management, e.g. by articulating lessons learned from the Lebanon office, contributing to project diaries, etc. Any other tasks as may be reasonably required Travel requirements This post is based in Lebanon, with occasional travel to London and the region for debriefing and input to organisational programmes. PERSON SPECIFICATION ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS Talents For this role, the skills, qualifications and experience listed below are important, but we believe that to be great in this job you are likely, first and foremost, to have a talent for entrepreneurial and strategic programme development. To do this you will have strong process and interpersonal skills which will enable you to gain and maintain the trust and respect of local political actors and local civil society organisations. These are the personal qualities we will be looking for above all else.   A degree in a relevant subject Experience of managing teams and projects in challenging environments Knowledge of conflict dynamics in the Middle East Excellent facilitation skills Has considerable experience of dialogue processes and the sensitivities involved in this kind of work Writes well, including experience of writing funding proposals Has implemented projects when based in a conflict-affected or conflict-prone context Has engaged with senior political and civil society figures and has earned the respect of these figures Experience of financial management gained in an (I)NGO or a business   DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS A master’s level degree in a subject related to peacebuilding Has worked in Lebanon Has practical experience of monitoring and evaluation Fluency in Arabic Summary Terms and Conditions Pension After the successful completion of six months of employment the post-holder becomes eligible for Alert pension rights, backdated to the start of employment at Alert. Pension contributions are paid into a personal pension of the employee’s choice and are currently equivalent to 10% of gross salary. Leave entitlement 25 working days per year plus Lebanese statutory holidays. Notice period There will be an initial six month probationary period during which notice will be one month on either side. On successful completion of the probationary period notice will be three months. Working hours Full time staff are expected to work a standard 35 hour week, with some flexibility around start and finish times to be agreed with the line manager. All staff are required to work core hours 10am – 4pm. Sport’s club membership Staff can take advantage of subsidised membership of a local sports club, upon successful completion of the probation period. Relocation Allowance There will be a relocation allowance. However, as this is an unaccompanied post, the relocation allowance does not, unfortunately cover dependants.