COOPI is looking for a Project Manager in Lebanon

The impact of ongoing economic crisis and the COVID-19 outbreak continue to aggravate the loss of jobs and livelihoods amongst refugees and host communities. Before the recent crisis, Lebanon was already the country which hosted the highest number of refugees per capita, influx that has put a huge burden on national resources and has significantly increased the need of humanitarian support in the country.

COOPI has been implementing and leading an EU funded project in Akkar. Project with support of Lebanese and international partner and with direct involvement of Union of Municipality aims at developing and establishing a sustainable Solid Waste Management system for the municipalities involved in the project. In 2021 COOPI started also a CfW project in Tripoli and Akkar funded by AICS.

Description of the project

The project's intervention promotes the access of the most vulnerable people among the refugee community and the Lebanese community to short term income opportunities through Cash for Work activities, contributing to the economic revitalisation of the area and, at the same time, supporting the rehabilitation of public utility infrastructure for the benefit of the whole community. People meeting project criteria will then be selected as direct beneficiaries of the cash-for-work activity, for a period of 60 days over three months.

Responsibilities

The Project Manager will have direct responsibility on the project coordination and implementation. He/she is responsible for the project’s execution in technical, economic/financial terms, in terms of resources management on field, and in terms of internal and external reporting in compliance with COOPI and the donor’s procedures. He/she ensures the expected results attainment in budget management. He/she ensures the delivery of the project on-time, on-quality, on-budget.

In compliance with the conditions and rules indicated by the donor and by COOPI, the project manager is responsible the following tasks:

Activity planning and management

• Plan and monitor the activities’ progress, in cooperation with the project staff and in compliance with the signed contract ;
• Prepare monthly reports to the head of mission and regularly organizes project review meetings to discuss solutions with relevant heads of department ;
• Contribute at analyzing possible opportunities of project designing/funding in collaboration with the Head of Mission ;
• Elaborate, write and prepare all necessary documents to present new projects, in accordance with the organization’s processes and procedures ;
• Cooperate with the Communication and Fund-Raising office for all communication, awareness and fund raising activities implemented in and for the country, also supporting the donor’s visibility.

Staff Management

• Select the local staff to be employed in projects, in compliance with the country’s rules/laws and with the COOPI’s regulation in the country ;
• Consistently monitor staff’ activities to ensure the upholding of the highest quality standards ;
• Plan and organize capacity building activities for the local staff ;
• Evaluate local staff employed for projects and participate to the evaluation of the project, upon request by the direct supervisor by making use of the organizations' tools.

Administrative and financial management

• Plan all expenditures in collaboration with the Project Administrator/ Administrative Coordinator ;
• Regularly monitor all incurred expenditures on the project’s budget and supervise bank and cash accounts.

Logistics

• Prepare the Purchases Plan in cooperation with the Project Administrator and in coordination with the HQ Administrative Coordinator ;
• Ensure the organization and donor’s procedures respect when purchasing goods and services ;
• Is responsible of the correct management of all goods purchased for the project ;
• Contribute to strengthen the security assessment and ad hoc procedures, specifically applying the general country procedures to the specific context of the project.

Reporting and proposal writing

• Ensure the preparation, in compliance with the deadlines, of all financial and narrative interim and final reports ;
• Is responsible for the preparation of all formal communication and contract modifications requests of the project to the donor ;
• In coordination with Head of Mission she/he contribute to development of country program and sector project by proposing and writing new proposal and identifying potential donors.

Institutional relations

• Communicate with the donor’s officer, the local authorities which are competent in the aspects related to the project, the project’s partners and beneficiaries, in compliance with the organization’s guidelines ;
• Will be project focal point, in coordination with the Head of Mission ;
• Represent COOPI in all relevant clusters and working groups, contributing to raise the organization’s profile and keeping the organization abreast on the latest technical guidance and recommendations ;
• Will report on COOPI activities on ActivityInfo and participate in the LCRP process as necessary.

Requirements

Essentials

• Advanced degree in Business/Economic or Agronomy, International Development or equivalent work ;
• Minimum 3 years experience in the humanitarian field and in a similar position, with a track record of success and results achieved, including at least 23 year implementing livelihoods programming ;
• Experience of working in project management on one or more among the main donors (UN, EU, ECHO), with priority to AICS ;
• Experience in report and proposal writing ;
• Experience of working within a volatile environment with responsibility for security planning, monitoring and management ;
• Proficiency in written and spoken English and Italian ;
• Computer literacy, with high proficiency in the use of standard office software applications (e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint);
• Ability in project management in a comprehensive way (logistics, programme, reporting, staff management, administration); and to use properly the standard project management tools ;
• Ability to conduct sectorial analysis and to understand and transform into possible proposal the policies and strategies of the donors ;
• Ability to organize and supervise a complex team ;
• Ability to organize work efficiently and deliver assignments in a timely manner often under time constraints ;
• Previous experience in CfW project and expertise in FSL Sector ;
• Strong analytical and practical problem-solving skills ;
• Institutional relations management and cultural context understanding ;
• Strong supervisory abilities, and demonstrated capacity of teamwork and of coordination with the relevant actors ;
• Very good inter-personal and writing communication skills.

Plus

• Knowledge of Arabic will be an asset ;
• Professional experience in the country is an asset ;
• Previous experience also in agro-livelihood ;
• Valid driving licence.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the application closing date, once a sufficient number of applications have been received.
Please note that only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Interviews will be conducted on rolling basis and the vacancy will be closed when filled, thanks for understanding.

Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) is an Italian humanitarian non-governmental organization founded in Milan in 1965. For more than 50 years of long-term support and constant presence in the field, COOPI has been engaged in breaking the cycle of poverty and responding to specific emergencies in numerous sectors, including Food Security, Humanitarian Aid, Health, Socio-Economical Services, Water and Sanitation, Human Rights, Education and Training, Migrations and Sustainable Energy.