Assistant Project Manager

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY: Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. The agency pursues its mission through emergency relief services, sustainable community development, civil society and economic development initiatives. Mercy Corps has been present in the Middle East since the 1980s and currently has offices in Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Libya. Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps promotes economic development and increased opportunity for marginalized communities while responding to emergencies as they have emerged. Until recently Mercy Corps’ focus has focused on bolstering civil society and give voice to under-represented groups through the empowerment of young leaders. Recently, the country office portfolio expanded in response to the massive refugee influx from Syria, to address key needs like non-food items/winterization, water and sanitation, child protection, and capacity building. The conflict that began more than three years ago in Syria has resulted in a steady increase in Syrian refugees to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey.  To date, more than one million refugees have fled to Lebanon, and the numbers continue to mount. All refugees who have entered Lebanon are staying with host families or in rented accommodation.  As numbers rapidly increase, humanitarian conditions are deteriorating.  The burden on host communities and the financial and emotional stress on refugees and their hosts is tremendous. Mercy Corps is responding to these needs by addressing urgent basic needs, child protection as well as the psychosocial impact of the conflict and displacement. With the support of the Government of Canada, Mercy Corps will support Syrian and Lebanese adolescent boys and girls, between the ages of 13 – 17 who are not currently enrolled in school or are at high risk of dropping out of school as a means of providing them with life skills, drawing adolescents away from their segregation, and encouraging greater interaction between host communities and refugees. Furthermore, program will reach out to young adults between the ages of 25-35 from among refugee and host communities, seeking their involvement and building their skills to act as coaches to adolescents in the program. GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY: The Assistant Program Manager will provide support to the Program Manager in all aspects of implementing the program to ensure that it meets its key deliverables on-time and within budget.  He/she will closely work with local partner organizations to ensure accountability to Mercy Corps’ policies and donor rules and regulations, as well as other local actors including municipalities and service providers. He/she will support in many of the administrative, financial, and operational logistics of the program, as well as the drafting of reports, outreach material, standard operating procedures, among other programmatic documentation. The Assistant Program Manager will liaise between the Program Manager and the field teams. He/she will provide daily support to the field teams by following up on tasks, assignments, ensuring quality, and that targets are met. Moreover, he/she will handle administrative tasks, as well as support with meetings, trainings, work-plans, procurement and cash projection plans, filing and documentation, as well as other tasks as  to ensure accountability to Mercy Corps’ policies and donor rules and regulations. The Assistant Program Manager will work closely with community based organizations (CBOs) to support and provide guidance in implementing adolescent-focused activities in host communities and will ensure timely and quality implementation of community outreach, psychosocial support, life-skills training, mentorship, and adolescents-led community projects.  In addition, the Assistant Program Manager will work closely with the Monitoring and Evaluation Project Officer to ensure that the regular monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the project activities and tracking progress based on indicators. ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: Program Implementation: Handle all financial, administrative, and logistical tasks such as issuing Payment Requests, Procurement Plans, Budgeting, etc and working with the field teams to compile an updated monthly procurement and cash projection plan; Conduct filing and ensure all documentation is recorded, saved, and filed based on MC minimum standards; Draft all contracts, Terms of Reference, etc and ensure they are updated and on-file; Assist the Program Manager in all operations related to the project implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting; Coordinate with partner CBOs and field teams on ensuring the process to reach minimal standards for safe spaces for adolescents, working with the field teams in data collection of community outreach mapping; Oversee and provide guidance to Field Officers, CBOs staff, coaches and other MC staff on an as needed basis in relation to finances, operations, and M&E; Prepare weekly updates and monthly progress reports, including challenges and recommendations; Provide day-to-day support and coordination with local partners and service contractors, including administrative, financial and logistical support. Trouble shoot any administrative problems and report any challenges or bottlenecks to Program Manager; Support Program Manager in implementing activities, organizing meetings, community engagement and awareness raising/information dissemination events; Support the Program Manager in the monitoring and evaluation of partner CBOs; Support and participate in monitoring and evaluation system design and implementation for all aspects of the project, including monitoring  program progress by developing and applying monitoring tools to inform reports to donors and key stakeholders; Participate in developing data collection tools in collaboration with the M&E department and provide training where necessary to CBOs, young people, and field staff; Coordinate in collaboration with the M&E department on the tools used to measure the impact of the project; Establish and maintain and manage the data entry process for a comprehensive and an updated database for the project; Build capacity project team and partner CBOs on the data collection and management, analysis, reporting techniques and requirements for relevant donors; Facilitate in collaboration with M&E documentation, project data, lessons learnt and best practices for internal and external sharing; Help in the development of the Standard Operation Procedures (SoPs) and support in the streamlining of them in the community centers; Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission; Organize local organizational training sessions and support to improve the organizational and technical capacity of local partners; Other duties as assigned. KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:  Minimum of 6 years of experience performing required tasks in a complex emergency or relief context Experience working in youth projects with a protection or educational background; Understanding of community based protection networks preferred, but not required; Understanding of youth advocacy, community engagement, and/or caregiver involvement preferred; Child protection-related program experience required; Strong understanding of refugee issues in the current Lebanon context; Strong management skills, with good understanding of relevant cross-cultural issues and ability to work with refugee and host community populations; Demonstrated skills in data collection and database management, organized, and able to handle many responsibilities simultaneously; Mature, responsible, and diplomatic in their interactions with others; Meticulous to detail and has a strong background in budgeting and/or procurement/operations; Experience supporting and delivering training on M&E or implementing M&E tools; Good writing skills, including reports, best practices, cases studies, etc; Ability to work independently with limited supervision, as well as part of a team; Very strong written and oral communication skills in both English and Arabic, including report development, writing and editing; Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office applications including Excel and Word Positive, respectful attitude and collaborative approach to problem solving; Demonstrated attention to detail; ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently as well as cooperatively with team members; Significant knowledge and understanding of the current political, economic, cultural and historical context of South Lebanon preferred; SUCCESS FACTORS: Deep commitment to humanitarian principles and values  Willingness to learn new skills and methodologies Ability to work under pressure, independently and with limited supervision Demonstrated organizational skills Demonstrated creative problem-solving skills Security, political and cultural aware Ability to multi-task while meeting several pressing deadlines Pays attention to detail and is meticulous, thorough, and results-oriented