Near East Foundation (NEF) - Lebanon
Title: Enterprise Development and Employment Team Leader (TL) (national position)
Unit: Program, Near East Foundation in Lebanon
Reports to: Project Manager
Location: The position is based in Beirut
Travel: Frequent travel between project sites within Lebanon
Start date: 02/10/2023
(pending final project approval from the donor)
The Near East Foundation (NEF) is seeking candidates for an Enterprise Development and Employment Team Leader 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 ten countries. Its programs are organized around three themes: Inclusive Economic Development; Climate Resilient Development; Stabilization and Peacebuilding.
Position Description
The Enterprise Development and Employment Team Leader is a member of the Near East Foundation team in Lebanon. The purpose of this position is to set the NEF enterprise development and employment (EDE) strategies, lead the enterprise development and employment unit, oversee the unit's workplan and activities, support in developing relevant trainings materials and curriculums, and oversee the work of the team and consultants.
The program aims to reduce vulnerable households economic vulnerability and reliance on harmful coping strategies by increasing access to income-generating skills and providing livelihood opportunities.
Under the overall supervision of the Project Manager, the TL will have the following duties and responsibilities:
Implementation, Curriculum Development and Proposal Writing:
- Update NEF's enterprise development and employment strategies and work towards expanding NEF's livelihood services.
- Lead relevant assessments/research and generate internal and external reports accordingly.
- Oversee the overall implementation of the livelihoods activities as per donor agreement and NEF guidelines and agreed implementation strategy.
- Pro-actively work toward reaching the project objectives, i.e. strengthening the established home-based activities of vulnerable individuals, identifying potential opportunities and placement arrangements to apply these skills to access available economic opportunities and facilitating access to the necessary inputs to support their sustainability.
- Develop, update and follow up a detailed work plan, in line with project targets and deadlines.
- Oversee the development of all training materials related to enterprise development, employment, coaching and networking.
- Oversee the remote learning /online training materials and the delivery of the enterprise development trainings.
- Conduct regular field monitoring visits to provide support when needed to ensure quality implementation.
- Support in writing project proposals & concept notes related to livelihoods services.
- Contribute to donor reporting on quarterly basis. Contribute in the development of M&E tools including assessments, baselines, endlines, evaluations amongst other M&E requirements to ensure impact, learnings, trends etc. are analyzed to inform programs and program design.
- Develop new training materials based on the institutional needs assessment findings aiming to enhance and strengthen the partners enterprise development services.
- Develop and train staff and other partners on new Standard Operating Procedures, reporting and tracking tools as well as ED technical components.
- Monitor and track the overall progress, achievements, targets, budgets and proactively identify areas of improvements or challenges for adjustments.
- Lead on areas of capacity building for partners staff.
- Manage and lead the EDE technical unit/team at NEF Lebanon Office.
Reporting:
- Draft narrative and quantitative reports as per NEF internal requirements and donor requirements.
- Ensure internal communication and information sharing on project with relevant staff.
- Preparing & Updated information related to local ED providers, conditions, type of services, type of loans and assistance.
- Consolidate & Standardize ED and Livelihoods services in NEF's areas of operation.
Representation & Coordination:
- Represent NEF in relevant working groups at national level, and other relevant interagency workshops or events in related sectors.
- Assist with the coordination of visits to the NEF Lebanon program by HQ colleagues, donors, NEF board members, and other stakeholders.
- Coordinate the plans for the ED and Livelihoods components with the relevant partners and partners staff.
- Coordinate with other stakeholders relevant to the program and design joint initiatives where relevant.
- Coordinate with other NEF staff at the regional and HQ levels for ED initiatives, learning exchange, development of tools and SOPs, technical designs etc.
Other responsibilities:
- Work closely with relevant Beirut office technical team colleagues as required.
- Ensure compliance with applicable donor and NEF policies and regulations.
- Ensure all project documentation required by NEF and donor is accurately collected, organized and filed.
- Any other duties relating to the nature of the job as requested by the supervisor.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in development studies, business studies, social science, economics, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
- 6 years of experience in development and/or humanitarian organizations, including significant experience working as a certified business development trainer in the UN/INGO sector;
- Expertise in income generation, SMEs and/or agribusiness development, poverty alleviation, livelihood, job creation and employabilityand value chain development, social inclusion, etc.;
- Fluency in English and Arabic and ability to effectively write reports.
- Strong facilitation skills, including the design and management of effective trainings, workshops and meetings with a diverse population.
- Competence with MS Office applications, including Word, Excel and Outlook.
Position Criteria:
- Willingness and ability to frequently travel to field sites (Bekaa, Beirut, North and South of Lebanon).
- Ability to take initiative; highly self-motivated, with a strong capacity to work within a
- Ability to work independently, with strong work ethics and a high level of
- Capable of maintaining confidentiality and ensuring others do as
- Flexible, enthusiastic, and willing to learn from and support
- Excellent interpersonal and communication
- Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and cope with competing demands under tight
- Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships with people from different
- Strong commitment to humanitarian
Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible before Wednesday, September 13, 2023. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis; NEF reserves the right of conducting interviews before the closing date and can close the advertisement earlier in case of finding a suitable candidate.
To apply:
Please apply by submitting the following documents:
- Cover letter outlining relevant experience and availability
- Curriculum Vitae
- List of three references
Applicants are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Near East Foundation by visiting the NEF website at www.neareast.org.
The Near East Foundation promotes Equal Employment Opportunities for all applicants seeking employment and NEF employees. please note, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
