Project Officer (World Bank) - Beirut

Lebanon’s economic, political, and social contexts have been significantly impacted by multiple, concurrent crises since 2019. Already experiencing a financial crisis, a massive explosion in the Port of Beirut (POB) in August 2020 caused considerable loss of life and injury, displacement, physical damage to infrastructure, and further affected the country’s economic standings. The COVID-19 pandemic and political deadlock worked to further deepen this crisis. Consequently, Lebanon's overall socio-economic welfare has significantly deteriorated, impacting various segments of the population including, but not limited to, the host community, internally displaced persons, forcibly displaced individuals, and migrant workers. Within this context, the NGO sector has been an essential lifeline for vulnerable groups, providing them with critical social services and supporting their immediate- and longer-range social recovery needs while national systems remain unable to fill these gaps. 

Project Description:

Supporting Lebanon’s Social Recovery Services. 

The project will focus on reducing vulnerabilities of groups who are identified to be significantly impacted by Lebanon’s enduring social, economic, and political fragility: (i) survivors of Gender-Based Violence (SGBV); (ii) those suffering from deteriorated psycho-social wellbeing; (iii) and/or those facing limitations related to being a person with disabilities and older persons. The project’s scope will entail providing grant financing directly to a selected number of NGOs, to enable them to provide social services to reduce vulnerabilities in these groups while strengthening their capacity to participate in the broader social recovery and reconstruction process. 

The World Bank has selected the IRC to act as the Project Implementing Agency to implement the Supporting Lebanon’s Immediate Social Recovery Services project. The IRC will take on project management, grant provision and/or procurement of services from NGOs and will be responsible for the fiduciary supervision of the selected NGO partners, in addition to improving their environmental & social safeguards capabilities. 

Job Overview:

The Project Officer is responsible for overseeing the various components of the “Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups Phase II” project including work-plan performance, budgeting, implementation, monitoring, and reporting.

Major Responsibilities:

Project Implementation

• Support the Health partners in developing their work plans
• Track/monitor day-to-day progress against project milestones, scheduled work plans and overall project objectives
• Carry-out regular field visits to ensure smooth implementation of project activities
• Prepare project updates for periodic review meetings
• Provide regular and timely updates on progress and challenges to line manager and other team members
• Work closely with Supply Chain, Admin, Finance and Partnership units to ensure smooth implementation of health activities and set corrective action measures to ensure consistent quality of health program
• Support in the coordination and planning for all World Bank Implementation Support Missions

   

Budget Monitoring

• Supervise and timely record project activities’ expenditures against budget
• Analyze the tracked monthly project expenses against the Financial Reports and accordingly and in coordination with the project team, develop action plans, related to the health partners and projects
• Review and provide analysis on health-related spending plans and lead on updating spending plans on a regular basis
• Track and monitor in kind contributions against budgeted amounts, ensuring that all in kind donations are properly recorded and accounted for on a separate tracker allowing for comparisons with financial reports to identify discrepancies and maintain accuracy.

Reporting and Documentation

• Deliver high quality, accurate and timely reports, as required
• Contribute to project narrative and ensure all projects reports are prepared and submitted on time
• Ensure collection and archiving of sources of verification – including supporting documents from the partners
• Ensure project records and documents are adequately prepared, compiled, shared and filed according to IRC and donor specific procedures
• Sends minutes from all the meetings and discussions internally within the project team, with project partners and external actors

Procurement

• Actively participate in the procurement planning processes in close coordination with the partner and procurement team, and follow-up with procurement and logistic teams on the procurement processes
• Submit accurate and precise purchase requests/item forecasts in a timely manner
• Actively resolve any procurement related issue raised by the partners in coordination with Supply Chain unit
• Ensure that the project team has adequate assets necessary for performing its duties
• Act as the key focal point for all STEP-related requirements, including timely submission of procurement plan, creation of STEP activities, developing and executing the roadmap, etc.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Senior Health Officer (80%) on tasks directly related to health projects and partners, such as budget monitoring, reporting, partner support, and coordination with procurement and finance; and WB Project Lead (20%) on the overall progress of health intervention administrative tasks related to STEP, support for organizing meetings, field visits, and other relevant health-related activities. As an integral part of the wider SRP2 team, the Project Officer will also participate in weekly all team meetings led by the Project Lead to ensure alignment and coordination within the project. The Project Officer will be required to maintain a timesheet/time log to track the days and time spent on each unit.

Internal Contacts: Country Program:  Health Program team, World Bank Project Management Unit,

External:  Health Partners

Job Requirements:

Education and Work Experience

• Bachelor degree in health related field
• 3 years’ work experience in an NGO implementing health programs

Demonstrated Professional Competencies & Technical skills

• Strong time management skills with ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal and communications skills.
• Strong analytical, presentation, and reporting skills.
• Strong IT skills including proficiency in Microsoft Excel.
• Excellent written and verbal English language abilities.
• Ability to be flexible, adaptable, creative, and innovative in a challenging and fast-moving multicultural environment and promote teamwork.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct.  These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability.  In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Candidates agree to disclose to IRC any situation of actual potential conflict of interest that impacts the capacity to serve the best interest of IRC and understand that any misstatement or misrepresentation described during the recruitment process and/or after hiring may lead to his/her disqualification or dismissal by IRC, and/or sanctions by the Donor (World Bank).