Program Officer

Position Title: Program Officer

Background: 

The USAID-funded Quality Instruction towards Access and Basic Education Improvement (QITABI) project, aims to expand equitable access and improve learning outcomes for vulnerable students in Lebanese public schools. The project will have an immediate focus on alleviating the strains to the system that are resulting from the continuing inflow of Syrian refugee children into Lebanese public schools.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in Lebanon (MEHE), QITABI will improve facilities, services, and teaching as well as effectively engage communities and school councils to improve learning and increase the chances of youth remaining in the education system.

The project has three components:

Component 1: Improving reading outcomes for primary level public school students  

Component 2: Expanding access to safe and relevant education for vulnerable public school students

Component 3: Strengthening management system to better direct and monitor education

Overall objective: To support in the project efforts to enhance coordination and managing effective implementation of the project interventions.

Research

• Provide technical expertise in developing desk reviews and conducting research and data collection
• Participate in reviewing, analyzing and summarizing background documentation, policy documents and writing reports
• Participate in conducting research to identify appropriate program components activities and assist in drafting proposals/concept notes and papers.
• Compile best practices, lessons learnt, experiences and best practices from the field.
• Assist in the backstopping of program in close collaboration with component leaders
• Support in reporting process by retrieving/processing data, updating data based on a pre-defined report structure, and can analyze/interpret data to produce insights and recommendations
• Contribute and assist in the production of regular reports (weekly, quarterly and component WP). This will include producing PowerPoint presentations, analysis of surveys, infographics, technical reports and recommendation papers
• Prepare briefings and program materials

Coordination with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education

In close coordination with the DCOP, Component Leads, the incumbent will lead on the following tasks:

• Coordinate closely with project partners on the smooth implementation of Component 3 interventions including the National Assessment strategy
• Support the institutionalization of QITABI project interventions, in support of future roll-out of project activities and evidence based policy formation
• Assist in the backstopping of the component in close collaboration with the Senior Policy Advisor
• Develop Final Evaluation notes after the piloting of each approach/project (results achieved, lessons learned, recommendations for similar future projects);
• Perform other duties as requested

Qualifications and requirements

• A masters’ degree in Education, development or related field
• Project management and administration experience is required
• Good understanding of education concepts and issues in development context
• Demonstrable research capacities with hands-on experience in report writing, analytical pieces desirable
• Good analytical skills with good planning and problem-solving abilities
• Excellent proficiency in oral and written communication skills in English and preferably Arabic
• Proven performance in organizing and coordinating major initiatives, events or challenging inter-organizational activities.
• Adapts flexibly to changing situations, overcomes obstacles and recovers quickly from set-backs.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills and ability
• Good communication and interpersonal skills and ability
• Experience of using Microsoft Office ( MS Word, MS Excel, Power Point etc.
• Strong IT skills