Gender And Protection Officer

The Near East Foundation (NEF) is seeking candidates for a Gender and Protection Officer to be based in its Lebanon Office in Beirut. For 100 years, NEF has worked to build more sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive communities in the Middle East and Africa through education, governance, and economic development initiatives. Working through a network of country offices and local partners, NEF currently operates in eight countries: Armenia, Jordan, Lebanon, Mali, Morocco, Palestine, Senegal and Sudan. Its programs are organized around three themes: Peacebuilding, Sustainable Agriculture, and Microenterprise Development. Position Description The Gender and Protection Officer is a member of the Near East Foundation team in Lebanon, reporting to the Project Manager. The purpose of the Gender and Protection Officer position is to ensure the management, implementation and accomplishment of the gender-related objectives and activities of the BPRM-supported project. This 1-year project will reduce household economic vulnerability and reliance on harmful coping strategies by increasing access to livelihoods and protection information and skills; home-based income-generating activities; and training and career guidance linked to savings and protection for adolescents. The Gender and Protection Officer will: (a) coordinate GBV awareness and protection workshops with partners and participants; (b) ensure that CBOs have proper GBV and protection protocols in place; (c) GBV awareness and protection are mainstreamed into programming; (d) safe spaces environment for project participants mainly women and men are available within the CBOs and meet necessary standards. The Gender and Protection Officer will perform his/her duties and responsibilities in accordance to project proposal and budget in addition to the programmatic, administrative and financial policies/ regulations of the Near East Foundation. In consultation with the NEF Project Manager for Lebanon, the HQ Senior Practice Area Lead for Protection and Gender and in collaboration with the project staff including local partner organizations, s/he will develop annual implementation plans and budget, allocate appropriate resources to accomplish the plan, manage staff if needed and ensures that an appropriate monitoring system is in place to track progress and deviations of project implementation. S/he establishes and maintains effective working relationships with local partner organizations, key government departments and any relevant local or international organizations.  Responsibilities The Gender and Protection Officer will: Ensure that project components and activities implemented are gender sensitive as outlined in the project proposal and budget in accordance with NEF policies and regulations; Develop, monthly updates, quarterly and annual implementation plans for protection, gender inclusion and mainstreaming in coordination with project staff and local partner organizations; Lead protection  and gender-focused programmatic approach and activities; Maintain ongoing communication with project stakeholder regarding project progress and challenges for protection areas and promoting and inclusion of gender in all operations; Continuously assess protection aspects, gender context, assumptions and changes in the working environment to ensure that the project focus, strategies and activities for protection and gender inclusion and responding to GBV remain relevant and to propose adjustments when needed; Build the capacity of project team on gender, responding to GBV and protection; Ensure that gender and protection strategies, guidelines and framework are in place to guide project implementation and ensure that all activities would promote gender and provide equal opportunities among participants; Monitor progress on gender inclusion and protection for different project activities implemented; Identify impact and success stories relevant from the different GBV activities conducted and Gender inclusion; Documentation of all processes and materials related to gender, GBV and protection activities conducted; Share information and documents with project team, partners, HQs and other stakeholders relevant to gender and protection; Coordinate with UN agencies, INGOs, LNGOs, government departments around protection and gender issues for refugees and host communities including UN-Working Groups on protection/GBV. Establish a positive working relationships with relevant government offices, local and international organizations, academic institutions, UN Working Groups mainly the protection/GBV and private sector actors with activities relevant to protection,  gender inclusion, mainstreaming and responding to GBV to identify areas for potential collaboration in coordination with country director; Collate/compile field-generated information and complete required progress/final reports related to gender, GBV activities and protection in a timely manner and in compliance with donor requirements for onward incorporation in the program report; Maintain frequent communication with NEF office in Lebanon and HQ to ensure consistent information sharing; Provide team guidance and technical capacity and   to the project team through orientations,   operational plans, daily interaction, regular team meetings, learning and reflection events to implement effectively and efficiently gender, GBV and protection aspects of the project.   Ensure compliance with applicable donor rules & regulations related to gender and protection; Recommend project changes including realignment of activities, budgets, contract extensions related to GBV and protection components Manage GBV, gender and protection line items within the budget. Including monthly review of expenditures. Prepare procurement plans and requests relevant to GBV and protection activities.   In coordination with the Safety, Security and Compliance Office ensure security and appropriate use of project and NEF assets; Implement programmatic and financial directives as provided by the Finance Manager and Project Manager; Perform other duties as assigned. Qualifications and Requirements: The successful Gender and Protection Officer must be a self-directed individual with the following qualifications: 3-5 years of experience in development and/or humanitarian organizations, including significant experience of working with partners to deliver development interventions and/or humanitarian program with gender, women and youth focus.   Expertise in protection, gender analysis and mainstreaming in refugee context is a must including youth and adolescents rights, programming with rights based approach-focus in addition to one or more of the following focus: income generation, SMEs, social inclusion and protection and alternative basic education. Proven record of effective management, including project planning, implementation and managing a budget; Fluency in English and Arabic and ability to effectively write reports; Proven skills in partnership building, influencing and negotiation with a range of development actors, including governments, UN agencies, academic institutions, networks, national/local NGOs and community groups; Strong facilitation skills, including the design and management of effective trainings, workshops and meetings with a diverse population with clear gender focus; Sensitivity to cultural differences and the ability to work effectively across a wide variety of cultural contexts; Effective team player, able to develop and maintain effective working relationships; Flexible, creative and problem solving-oriented; Competence with MS Office applications, including Word, Excel and Outlook.