Project Manager – Emergency Education

UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST – UNRWA   UNRWA is the United Nations agency responsible for the protection, care and human development of a population of some 4.6 millionPalestinerefugees living in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank,Jordan,Lebanon, and theSyrianArabRepublic. The Agency is committed to assistingPalestinerefugees in maintaining a decent standard of living, acquiring appropriate knowledge and skills, enjoying the fullest possible extent of human rights, and leading a long and healthy life. UNRWA is by far the largest UN operation in theMiddle Eastwith over 29,000 staff. Most of the staff members are refugees themselves, working directly to benefit their communities – as teachers, doctors, nurses or social workers. Project Manager – Emergency Education   Location Lebanon Field Office Type of Appointment Consultant Deadline for Application 06 December 2014 Vacancy Announcement Number 937/2014 Department/Division Education Department   BACKROUND As of mid October 2014, a total of 6,500Palestinerefugees from Syria (PRS) students have enrolled in UNRWA schools for the academic year 2014-2015. UNRWA has been responding to the education, recreation and psychosocial needs of PRS children of schooling age (from Grade 1 to Grade 12) since October 2012. UNRWA Education emergency education response for the PRS was divided into 3 phases. The first phase focused on providing a safe environment, psychosocial support and recreation activities to the children. During the second phase, from January 2013, PRS pupils were provided with more formal schooling and instructional material were prepared by UNRWA Lebanon Field Office in coordination with specialist in the Syria Field Office and Head quarters. During the past scholastic year the Agency developed a dual track approach. Those pupils who could be integrated into regular classes were admitted into the Agency schools along with their fellow pupils. Where this was impractical given the limitation in infrastructure, the number of pupils involved and the differences betweenSyriaand the Lebanese curricula, special classes were opened in order to provide academic support to PRS children. For the current scholastic year, all PRS pupils are being integrated into UNRWA regular system, undergoing the same rules and regulations and sitting for the Lebanese government exams. The implementation of the emergency education programme has been possible thanks to the contribution of several donors and partners. The incumbent will manage the portfolio of emergency projects of the Education Department focusing on providing assistance to thePalestinerefugees fromSyria.   MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES In accordance with established Agency policy and procedures, and under the overall supervision and guidance of the Chief Field Education Programme, the incumbent will: (A)    Be responsible for the overall effective and efficient project management including: i)    In collaboration with the Education M&E Officer, setting up the monitoring and evaluation framework and work plan of the projects; monitoring the impact and progress of the projects and designing and implementing changes. ii)   Administering the project’s overall budget; reviewing budget expenditure and ensuring that it is within the frame of the project financial resources, managing appropriate accounting system for the projects in coordination with relevant finance staff; iii)  Establishing projects schedules, analysing business plan and needs, and prioritizing resources allocation as well as frequent monitoring to evaluate progress, identifying problems and take appropriate and timely action to meet desired goals; iv)  Ensuring the projects progress reports, final report and ad hoc and informal updates to a range of stakeholders are correct for submission through the Field Director; v)   Facilitating training with a clear needs assessment and focus on outcomes. (B)    Mentor staff and selected stakeholders. Mentoring will provide particular emphasis on Project Cycle Management techniques, the development of logic frameworks in project management and “lessons learned” in order to develop organisational capacity for running and managing the projects and their suitability. (C)    Work within the organisational structure and mandate of the UNRWA Lebanon Field Office to accomplish the project, including: i)    Developing and maintaining productive working relationships with project stakeholders and team members to ensure the smooth implementation of the project and ongoing liaison with HQ; ii)   Coordinating activities with service and project departments to ensure the impact of the project on regular operations is minimised; (D)   Continue to implement an awareness campaign raising the profile and awareness of the project and its outcomes among the beneficiaries, the Lebanese community and a wider audience through the production of videos, press statements, reports, etc.   PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES (A)   Academic and Professional A University degree in Education, Educational Management, Managerial, Political or Social Science Development Studies or Business Administration. (B)   Experience At least five years of professional work experience in project management, preferably in education, particularly in relation to monitoring, evaluation and needs assessment. (C)   Language Excellent command of written and spoken English.   (D)   Skills and Competencies i)    Ability to develop clear goals and prioritize activities and assignments; ii)   Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others in a team environment and with people of diverse backgrounds, culture and nationalities; iii)  Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with colleagues, other staff, outside collaborators, including NGOs, academia, private sector and government departments; iv)  Experience and ability to devise, manage and analyse accounting systems and budget management; v)   Ability to develop, manage and implement monitoring and evaluation frameworks in project environment.   CONDITIONS OF SERVICE Salary: As per relevant salary scale. Contract Duration: one year - Extendable according to availability of Funds.   EQUIVALENCY Candidates with an equivalent combination of relevant academic qualifications, professional training and progressive work experience may also be considered.   GENERAL INFORMATION UNRWA is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications equally from men and women. It is Agency Policy to give full consideration to qualified disabled candidates whose disability does not impact their ability to perform the duties and responsibilities of the post. Priority will be given to fully qualify registered Palestinian refugees. Prior to the commencement of services,the consultant shall confirm and acknowledge in writing,and provide proof of the existence of,self-procured adequate private insurance against medical,disability and accident for the duration of the contract. As a member of the United Nations system, UNRWA maintains a close relatives’ policy.  In this regard, if a candidate has a close relative (mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter) who is already employed by the Agency, he/she can only be employed if the Agency is unable to find another suitable candidate.   UNRWA staff members with fixed term appointments may apply for any consultant/contractor consultancy while in service. Upon selection, a staff member may be offered the consultant/contractor contract upon resignation from fixed term appointments and a three month break-in-service. Candidates who are no longer employed by the Agency must have a minimum of 3 months break-in-service, before they apply to any consultant/contract positions.   UNRWA is a United Nations organization whose staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity,neutrality and impartiality. This includes respect for human rights,for diversity,and for non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. UNRWA staffs are expected to uphold these values at all times,both at work and outside. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. UNRWA is a non-smoking working environment. الأونروا هي منظمة تابعة للأمم المتحدة، وهي منظمة تفترض من موظفيها الالتزام بأعلى معايير الاستقامة والحياد والنزاهة. ويشمل ذلك احترام مبادئ حقوق الإنسان واحترام التنوع وتبني الوسائل غير العنيفة في حل كافة أشكال النزاعات.  المتوقع من موظفي الأونروا أن يقوموا بدعم هذه القيم في كافة الأوقات، سواء في أماكن العمل أم خارجه. إن أولئك الأشخاص الذين يتمتعون بالالتزام الكامل وغير المشروط بهذه القيم هم فقط الذين ينبغي أن يتقدموا بطلباتهم للعمل لدى الأونروا. الأنروا هي بيئه عمل لا يسمح فيها بالتدخين.   As an Area post, preference will be given to local candidates already based in the duty station of the post.   TECHNICAL & PRACTICAL TESTS REQUIRED Not applicable. INTERVIEW Only Short-listed candidates will be invited for an interview. (100%)   HOW TO APPLY If you have the skills and experience required above, and want to make an active and lasting contribution to improving the lives of Palestine refugees, then register on http://jobs.unrwa.org by creating a personal profile and completing the UNRWA Personal History Form; it is the responsibility of the candidates (internal and external) to make sure that their Personal History Form is duly completed with the needed information before they apply as amendments to the Form will not be accepted after the deadline of the vacancy announcement. Only applications received through this website will be considered and the system will not allow applications after the deadline. Please note that UNRWA only accepts degrees from accredited educational institutions. Candidates may also be invited to take a technical exam in order further evaluate their qualifications for the post. Due to a high volume of applications received, only short-listed applicants will be contacted –“سيتم الإتصال فقط بالأشخاص الذين تنطبق عليهم متطلبات الوظيفة”. The United Nations does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process. The United Nations does not concern itself with information on bank accounts. For any queries please send an email to: recruitmentquestions@unrwa.org. Please apply as requested above, do not send your CV To this email address, all cvs sent to this email address will be automatically ignored. يرجى تقديم الطلبات حسب التعليمات اعلاها وعدم ارسال السيرة الذاتية الى هذا البريد الالكتروني, سيتم تجاهل السير الذاتية التي ترسل الى هذا العنوان تلقائيا. or contact the recruitment unit on 009611840490.   Date of issue: 27 November 2014