Senior Scaling and Advocacy Manager - Beirut - National Candidates Only

Background

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities that support them, as well as with those who remain within their homes and communities. At-work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. IRC reaches over a million children annually with education and child protection programs in 25 countries around the world.

In response to the influx of Syrian refugees to Lebanon in mid-2012, IRC opened a country office and launched humanitarian assistance programming. IRC operates throughout Lebanon, with the main office in Beirut and field offices in Qobayat, Zahle, Tripoli and Mount Lebanon. IRC’s programs assist Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese in host communities across multiple sectors: education, livelihoods, protection, women's protection and empowerment child protection and early childhood development in close coordination with national partner, the Lebanese Government and broader humanitarian community.

High-quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs provide the foundation for children’s future academic success, health, prosperity and wellbeing. A large body of scientific evidence emphasizes the need for increased investment in early childhood, particularly for children experiencing conflict, crisis and displacement; these children are extremely vulnerable to the long-lasting effects that prolonged stress has on the developing brain.

In December 2017, Sesame Workshop and the IRC were awarded the MacArthur Foundation’s inaugural 100&Change grant to make real progress toward solving a critical problem of our time. With the extraordinary investment of $100 million, our partnership will transform the language, early reading, math, and social-emotional skills of a generation of children ages 0-8. Focusing on children in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria over the next five years, the plan combines the depth of in-person services, reaching 1.5 million children, with the breadth of mass media, reaching 9.4 million children. For more information, please visit: http://refugee.sesameinternational.org/.

Job Overview:

The Senior Scaling and Advocacy Manager will be the project focal point for Lebanon Country level scaling and advocacy efforts ensuring proper facilitation and the scaling process The Senior scaling and Advocacy Manager will be responsible for documenting adaptive learning, iterative change processes with support from the Ahlan Simsim country and regional team. This will include co-designing and co-facilitating in-country activities over the course of the project with the goal of continuously adapting the Ahlan Simsim scaling efforts to expand and deepen its’ impact in Lebanon.

Main responsibilities

Manage and oversee the Ahlan Simsim scaling design, planning, and implementation:

- Lead and facilitate the evidence-based scaling efforts on a country level from planning through adaptation to scale.

- Cultivate a shift in mindset towards system thinking and scaling within the team and with partners.

- Work with the ECD coordinator, ECD team, and Regional Partnership & Scaling Advisor to develop scaling plans and budgets.

- Coordinate with the technical, M&E and research focal points in the team to ensure that iterative scaling cycles are integrated into all aspects of the work.

- Coordinate with the partnerships IRC staff to ensure scaling is rooted in the IRC partnerships management system.

- Ensure close coordination with the technical team on a country and regional level to facilitate the development of adaptable and scalable AS models/packages.

- Ensure the rollout and implementation of all tools that aim to track, assess, and document scaling by coordinating with IRC team and partners for realizing a learning and adaptation strategy.

- Lead on regular operational plan meetings to ensure alignment and progress on scaling activities.

- Plan for and materialize an iterative scaling process whereby change and adaptations are driven by real-time data collected throughout the lifecycle of the AS program.

- Conduct background research on previous and ongoing efforts related to ECD service delivery in X country, including desk review of project documentation, national strategies, conducting key stakeholder interviews, and attending related meetings and events.

- Support work in coordination with the governance unit on political economy analysis (PEA) for country context and other background research.

- Develop proposals, presentations, and briefs on an ad hoc basis

- Conduct a quality review of all documents related to scaling including the outputs shared by the team and scaling partners.

- Ensure scaling plans and implementation are consistent with PEERs processes and procedures.

Ensure proper relationship building and management with key stakeholders and partners:

- Facilitate Social Network Analysis workshops on a country and regional(in-country) level.

- Cultivate and manage all relationships with key local stakeholders in close coordination with the ECD coordinator.

- Ensure proper flow of information between the IRC and partners.

- Ensure partners’ feedback is taken forward in all aspects of the project whether in technical, scaling, partnerships, RMEAL etc.

- Identify ECD champions within different partner organizations and work closely with them on all the aspects of scaling.

- Hold collaborative design meetings to ensure that scaling activities and workplans are addressing the partner’s ECD-related needs.

- Coordinate with the RMEAL team to develop a continuous capacity building plan for the scaling partners to ensure the adaptation of their existing monitoring systems.

- Coordinate with ECD Senior program manager and ECD Field Managers to identify potential local actors from the program implementation areas for partnership and scaling opportunities

Generate evidence-based learnings for scaling:

- “Tell the story” of how the Ahlan Simsim program scaled in X country, including capturing key decisions, opportunities, and challenges faced by relevant actors and documenting the piloting of the scalable models developed for each scaling pathway.

- Document and share learnings with country and regional teams to facilitate cross-national and cross-country data-driven learnings.

- Facilitate and document key scaling-related events and meetings as decided in coordination with the ECD Coordinator.

- Proactively share lessons learned within the X country program as well as with regional stakeholders to assist decision-makers in identifying, adapting, and scaling other evidence-based ECD solutions.

- Participate in Scaling community of practice within the IRC and with the wider scaling community.

- Participate in regional scaling and partnership check-ins to facilitate cross-learnings.

- Work in close coordination with the ECD coordinator to ensure learnings from scaling are embedded within the country strategy.

- Coordinate with the RMEAL team on a country level and regional level to ensure alignment on the AS learning agenda.

Lead and coordinate advocacy efforts as they relate to scaling:

- Develop policy goals in close coordination with key partners and IRC staff.

- Coordinate the development of the advocacy plan with the support of the advocacy advisor.

- Identify Decision makers and influencers for each policy goal in close coordination with Advocacy advisors on a country and regional level.

- Facilitate and oversee the implementation of the advocacy plans.

- Maintain proper data collection for advocacy indicators.

- Ensure advocacy activities are conducted in close coordination with the partners.

- Work closely with the regional partner to support advocacy efforts and coordination of coalitions.

- Support regional advocacy efforts by participating in different coordination groups, workshops, and conferences.

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports to: IECD Coordinator

• Position indirectly reports to: Regional Partnership and Scaling Advisor

• Position supervises: Consultants where needed and relevant

Other Internal and/or external contacts:

• Internal: Regional Partnership Advisor, Regional, Lebanon, and HQ Ahlan Simsim staff; IRC Technical Unit staff, Partnerships Staff

• External: Government officials; partners organizations; Community representatives; Sesame Workshop staff

Requirements:

• At least 5 years of experience working in partnership with Government, civil society organizations (CSOs), or other local organizations at an international nongovernmental organization (INGO) or similar organization;

• Based in Beirut, deep knowledge of the Lebanon country context;

• Experience facilitating or co-facilitating workshops and meetings; comfortable managing group dynamics, leading workshops and activities, and keeping agenda on track and directed at end goals;

• Experience in managing or co-managing multi-stakeholder initiatives, capacity to understand and adapt to different institutional cultures, and relational ease with both high level government representatives and technical staff;

• Knowledge and practical application of scaling literature and systems change processes is preferred;

• Experience in working on advocacy with focus on policy change or implementation

• Strong interpersonal communication and problem-solving skills;

• Strong planning, organizing, and team-building skills;

• Strong analytical and writing skills;

• Ability to adapt workshop content to group dynamics, environment, and feedback;

• Ability to work independently, meet deadlines, and manage work plan and timeline with minimal oversight;

• Ability to periodically travel domestically and internationally;

• Knowledge of early childhood development or education in Lebanon is a plus;

• Fluent in written and oral Arabic and English required, French is a strong plus.

Working Environment:

• Standard office work environment

• Field travel required 40%

• Position is based in the IRC office in Beirut, Lebanon