Senior Project Officer

Job Purpose The post holder will be responsible for the implementation of two peacebuilding projects, including a political dialogue project outside Beirut. S/he will be responsible for conducting extensive consultations to identify dialogue participants and select the themes of the dialogue. The post holder will work with guidance from a Project Advisor, who has in-depth understanding of conflict issues, relevant regional actors, and dialogue processes. Extensive travel will be required especially in the first six month.   The post holder will report to the Country Director and will work closely with the Project Advisor, the Senior Advisor and the Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Officer based in Beirut, and the Senior Programme Design and Assessment Officer (SPDAO) for MENA, based in London.   Duties and Responsibilities   1. Project Implementation Take the overall responsibility to manage,  implement and coordinate activities of the project with partners involvement Conduct consultations and participatory agenda setting, with guidance from the Project Advisor; identify key individuals and conduct extensive individual consultations in order to identify dialogue participants and themes Organise and coordinate the regular dialogue sessions, coordinate with all participants Lead on coordination and logistics for workshops and field visits Select and supervise consultants to conduct research or prepare materials for dialogue sessions Collect relevant  information to feed into the monitoring and evaluation of the project and assist in preparing donor reports and project completion reports, including financial reports, in coordination with partners Support in research efforts and contribute to reflections on project activities Maintain positive relationships and regularly update relevant authorities and local actors.     2. Grants Management and Donor Liaison Develop a detailed action plan and budget forecast and ensure activities are implemented in accordance with the agreed plans and budget Receive monthly project financial data from London Finance team and review for variances to avoid overspending or under spending Administer financial tasks related to project implementation, including preparation of money transfers, cash requests, processing of invoices and donor financial reporting Ensure the effective recording, documentation, and filing of project activities, internal and external project meetings Produce narrative and financial reports to the donor Maintain positive relations with the donor agency and provide regular updates, especially at critical junctions of the project implementation   3.     Project design, monitoring and evaluation Contribute and develop ideas for new projects, building upon the impact achieved by existing projects. Together with the MEL Officer and SPDAO, set up a monitoring and evaluation plans, and ensure monitoring data is collected as planned. Monitor project progress and impact and adjust indicators and activities if necessary. Oversee project evaluations, ensuring appropriate management responses if necessary. Disseminate findings of evaluations and ongoing monitoring and any lessons learned internally and externally.   4. Contribute to Alert strategies Contribute to team-wide communications and knowledge management, and participate in organisation-wide events and discussions on related topics/projects Represent Alert’s values and ideas and be a spokesperson for the organisation at relevant conferences, seminars and other meetings Contribute to organisation-wide learning and exchange on the use of dialogue as methodology for peacebuilding Any other tasks as may be reasonably required   Travel requirements This post is based in Beirut, Lebanon, with extensive travel to the regions, particularly the Bekaa.       PERSON SPECIFICATION   ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS     Talents At Alert, we have introduced Talent Management to our business model as we believe talented people are crucial to the success of our work.  We believe all individuals are talented and success comes in matching the right talents to the right roles. 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 communicating with men and women with diverse backgrounds, and strive to reach understanding and build consensus.    This is what we will be looking for above all else.       A degree, preferably to master’s level, in a subject of relevance to international peacebuilding Fluent in Arabic and English, and communicates clearly and effectively At least 3 years successful experience of implementing or coordinating projects; field experience, including working directly with stakeholders in the regions, is mandatory Knowledge of Lebanese politics and understanding of the impact of the Syria crisis on Lebanon Excellent inter-personal, communication and presentation skills Ability to influence and motivate others Demonstrates the ability to take the initiative Commitment to the mission and vision of International Alert Ability to work well with people of diverse backgrounds and in diverse roles Solution-oriented Fluent in English and Arabic       DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS     Experience in project management and donor reporting Knowledge and experience in the peacebuilding sector