Head of Programmes

Background

Legal Action

Legal Action (LA) is a Lebanese non-profit organisation comprised of human rights lawyers focused on identifying creative avenues for accessing justice for those who are experiencing protracted violations of their human rights. LA is funded by Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), an independent and unique  non-profit network and think tank of lawyers who provide creative legal assistance in fragile and conflict-affected areas.

In 2018, a consortium led by Euromed Feminist Initiative will implement a multi-county project “Strengthening access to protection, participation and services for women refugees, IDPs and host communities”, funded by the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis – MADAD. The overall objective is to improve the livelihood, agency and legal and social protection for Syrian women refugees, IDPs and host communities in the region, with focus on Lebanon, Iraq (Kurdistan Region) and Jordan. 

In Lebanon the project is implemented by a consortium composed of Euromed Feminist Initiative, Care International in Lebanon, Lebanese Democratic Women Gathering and Legal Action. The objectives are to enhance in Lebanon security and resilience for Syrian women refugees and women from host communities through supporting and coordinating comprehensive and structured services and referral mechanisms, as well as to support national institutions in their work towards more gender sensitive policy frameworks and legislation.

LA’s focus will be on the provision of legal aid, advice, information and representation for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Legal aid services will be provided by lawyers and Legal Information Officers (LIOs) operating out of 12 Social Development Centres (SDCs) across Lebanon.

Position Description

Reports to

President of the Executive Committee

Functions/Key Results Expected

Programmatic

• Providing overall management and strategic leadership over all LA projects and programmes;
• Working as a team with LA’s senior management staff and in consultation with LA’s donor, LAW, to make decisions about LA’s strategy, focus areas, future development and geographic expansion;
• Oversight and management of LA’s programme implementation:
• Overseeing a project providing legal aid and assistance to Syrian refugees and Lebanese host communities across Lebanon, with a focus on gender based violence cases, as part of a consortium and in partnership with the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs; 
• Working with national lawyers to identify gaps and weaknesses in current Lebanese legislation relating to refugees, women and other populations in need of protection and empowerment, and facilitating workshops and discussions on how to reform these laws;
• Organising workshops and community discussions between project lawyers, partner civil society organisations, police and other stakeholders in increasing access to justice in Lebanon.
• Ensuring LA projects and programmes are implemented to the highest possible standard through coordination of projects including managing all project staff, overseeing work done in field, etc;
• Undertaking technical legal work including research, report writing, drafting of policies and legislative amendments, developing guidelines and standard operating procedures for project lawyers;
• Development and maintenance of a network of relevant experts;

Keeping up to date with developments and initiatives in areas relevant to the programme.

Advocacy

• Attendance of conferences and events as a representative of LA, with a view to raising the profile of the organisation and its work;
• Participation in high-level meetings, including bi-lateral meetings with senior figures from government, international organisations and civil society;
• Acting as a media-facing spokesperson for LA for television, radio, or other news media where required;
• Working with project teams and partners on the development and implementation of relevant, effective advocacy strategies designed to enhance the impact of LA’s projects.

Fundraising

• Writing applications for funding to international donors, UN agencies, foundations and other funding sources, including by developing theories of change, project narratives, logical frameworks, budgets and workplans;
• Networking and liaising with possible donors;
• Keeping abreast of funding opportunities and feeding into LA’s fundraising matrix.

Administrative

• Management of LA’s Beirut office;
• Managing all project staff, ensuring reporting deadlines are met, writing narrative reports and checking them against financial reports and meeting with donors and partners;
• Manage budgets of LAW projects in cooperation with the Finance Manager;
• Assisting in and contributing to security assessments in preparation for staff travel within the region;
• Submitting business expense reports after travel and ensuring all records of expenditure are up to date;
• Assistance with relevant administrative or operations tasks as identified by LAW’s Executive Committee.

Skills and Qualifications Required:

• Qualified Lebanese lawyer with minimum of 10 years relevant experience;
• Excellent written research and drafting skills in both English and Arabic;  
• Experience working with cases of sexual and gender based violence;
• Experience advising government or judicial institutions preferred;
• Experience working in with refugees or IDPs and demonstrated understanding of protection challenges within the region;
• Experience in senior management positions, preferably at a non-governmental organisation;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and strong technical literacy;
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills and ability to work on own and take initiative;
• Ability to meet deadlines;
• Flexibility; someone who is familiar with the volatile and unpredictable nature of working in fragile environments, including environments with tensions between refugee and host communities;
• Ability to manage relationships at all levels, possess excellent negotiation skills and will demonstrate excellent communication skills.

Duration of the assignment

This is a one year position with the possibility of extension. Salary will be commensurate with experience and position.