Program & M&e Assistant

PROGRAM 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, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps has implemented community development programs focused on promoting economic development and increased opportunity for disadvantaged communities, while responding to emergencies as they emerged in the country.  In 2012, the program portfolio shifted in response to the massive refugee influx from Syria and Mercy Corps in Lebanon has solidified its emergency response programming while integrating longer-term development programming by focusing on key sectors: Protection, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH), Governance and Conflict, and Livelihoods.  The conflict that began more than five 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 is launching the Youth for Tomorrow program, which will be implemented in Saida, Mt. Lebanon, and Tripoli.   This three-year program is part of a regional initiative by Mercy Corps, funded by the Government of Canada, in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to build improved, evidence-based provision of psychosocial support and market-driven skills to vulnerable youth in the region.  The program will benefit from regional synergies to increase impact and will contribute to improving the evidence base for interventions of this type.   The program will engage Syrian, Palestinian and Lebanese adolescent boys and girls, between the ages of 12 – 18 who are not currently enrolled in school or are at high risk of dropping out. The program will also engage young adults between the ages of 19 – 35 from among refugee and host communities to act as mentors and facilitators within the project.  Youth for Tomorrow will provide adolescents on-going psychosocial support and market-driven skill-building opportunities while building an enabling environment for young people through community engagement and provision of enhanced adolescent and youth services.      GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY: The program assistant will provide support to the Program Manager and Deputy 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. 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. In addition, the program assistant will work closely with the Monitoring and Evaluation Project Coordinator to ensure that the regular monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the project activities and tracking progress based on indicators.   ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:Do This Program Implementation: Support the project administratively including: Managing internal file structure and ensuring project staff are using the file structure. Maintaining all project schedule with locations and times of activities and personnel Maintain report schedule calendar Tracking administrative and financial processes such as procurement requests Support in logistical arrangements for meetings, workshops, and conferences Ensure documents such as Standard Operating Procedures, that need to be regularly updated, are always current by tracking expiration dates and update cycles.   Support M&E Coordinator Support  data management    o   Conduct \coordinate visits to partner’s centers for monitoring and follow up activities o   support in  using technology   Support Programs Assist in program implementation when needed. This could include visits to site, training support, or informal translation support Provide services to project team such as note taking, as needed   Other duties as assigned. Organize local organizational training sessions and support to improve the organizational and technical capacity of local partners;   SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: N/A   ACCOUNTABILITY: REPORTS DIRECTLY TO:  Program Manager  WORKS DIRECTLY WITH:  Program Team, Operations, Finance, and M&E Teams   KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:  BA/S or equivalent in Business, social work, social sciences, human rights, or other relevant field required, MA preferred; Minimum of 1 year1 of experience performing required tasks in a complex emergency or relief context Child protection-related program experience required; Strong understanding of refugee issues in the current Lebanon context; Mature, responsible, and diplomatic in their interactions with others; Meticulous to detail and has a strong background in budgeting and/or procurement/operations; 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;   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