Project or context description

Expertise France (EF) is a public agency created in 2015 and merging 6 French public agencies under the supervision of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance, with a strong inter-ministerial vocation. EF offers project engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. EF operates in various fields of development and institutional cooperation including safety and security reform, post-crisis and stability, public health, human rights, strengthening of institutions and NGOs and governance. Carrying out large-scale, multi-stakeholder projects, EF can ensure the cooperation between individuals, teams and institutions with very different statuses, cultures and specialties. Besides, EF has acquired a sound experience in administrative and financial management of large-scale international projects. 

In the context of the crisis in Syria, since 2013, Expertise France has designed and managed  stabilization projects to conflict affected communities in Syria, including through support to civil society organizations, and trying to strengthen the civic space. In that wake, Expertise France is implementing a EU-funded project, to support non-state actors both in Northeast and Northwest of Syria. 

The Project: Support to Syrian Non-State Actors

The project is supported by EU-DG NEAR for a duration of 22 months, its general objective is to support Syrian non-state actors to become actors of change in strengthening their governance and organizational capacities to become relevant policy interlocutors in the coming years. By enhancing their capacities, the project aims to lay a first stone towards the empowerment of non-state actors to actively contribute to policy dialogues, advocate for the needs of Syrian communities, and shape inclusive and sustainable policies.

The specific objective of the proposed intervention is to enhance the ability of Civil Society Actors to contribute constructively to decision-making processes and shape policies at the local level that address the needs and aspirations of Syrian communities. These objectives will be reached through achieving two connected outputs that will be implemented in parallel:

Output 1: Non-state actors are strengthened and able to engage in local-level policy dialogue on technical/sectorial issues.

Output 2: Dialogue, coordination and sector-based initiatives are established, experimenting sectorial dialogue and geographical coordination

The Project Manager will be in charge of the overall steering and implementation of the project. Under the direct supervision of the Programme Director in Erbil and in close coordination with the Desk officer in EF Headquarters (HQ) in Paris, he/she will carry out the following activities:

• Project planning and implementation of activities

-          Develop the overall and detailed project planning according to the logical framework and the project’s DOA;

-          Follow-up activities implementation on daily basis;

-Coordinate and follow-up with implementing partners organisations on a regular basis to monitor the proper and smooth implementation of activities;

-       Ensure that the programme remains within the remit of its initial design, budget and proposal. Propose adjustments when necessary and communicate needs for external support to HQ;

-     Ensure compliance of activities implementation with donor rules and contractual obligations as well as with EF regulations and procedures;

-          Perform any other related duties upon instructions.

• Monitoring, evaluation and reporting

-          Update detailed project planning on a monthly basis;

-     Help updating M&E system to monitor the project and indicators to enable regular assessment in association with the MEAL and Communication advisor;

-        Prepare and report to HQ on a monthly basis on project expenditure, forecast, progress and challenges, coordinate with the HQ Desk officer the preparation and holding of quarterly project operational and financial reviews and ensure timely preparation of deliverables as per EF requirements (PME tools, detailed financial forecast, etc.);

-          Prepare donor narrative and financial reports for HQ validation prior to formal submission;

-      Lead on, in coordination with the Programme Coordinator and HQ Desk officer, the preparation and holding of Steering Committees with donors as per contract obligations.

• Budget management

-          Develop the budget planning and update it regularly in association with the Admin and Finance Manager and the Grant Officer;

-         Steer the project budget, ensure efficient distribution of resources, maintain detailed budget forecast to maximize the use of available resources;

-         Monitor project expenditures, including implementing partners’ forecasts and expenditures through regular reviews with partners, and ensure that the budget consumption level is updated on a monthly basis in association with the Admin and Finance Manager and the Grant Officer;

-          Prepare and update relevant procurement and HR plans as per project needs.

• Human Resources and Team Management

-          Ensure clear delineation of responsibilities, determine yearly objectives for supervised staff, and evaluate performance;

-          Maintain good and efficient work conditions in order to meet programme objectives;

-       Ensure and maintain good and efficient work relationship of project team with the other office units (finance, admin, logistics, com, M&E);

-          Ensure good and efficient working relationship with HQ Stabilization and Resilience Unit;

-          Supervise the recruitment of local staff and assess the level of skills required;

-          Ensure knowledge transfer and team capacity.

• Strategy, Partnership and Coordination

-     Builds a network of civil society actors and non-state actors inside Syria, develops a deep knowledge of the civic space in Syria, participate to meeting, conferences and workshop to deepen its understanding of the specific context of civic space;

-     Liaise with other project implementing agencies, donors and partners on site on the analysis, proposals and field activities, in particular GIZ;

-  Ensure good and efficient project’ communication and visibility, lead on communication and visibility opportunities (seminars, publications, etc.) and liaise closely with the MEAL and Communication officer on communication deliverables;

-    Consolidate and analyse context information, research and learning into a feasible strategy adapted to the EF activities in the civil society/stabilisation sector in Syria;

-          Participate in various forums, sectorial coordination meeting, thematic groups and clusters on Civic Space in Syria.

Required profile

Qualification

•  A master’s degree in political or social science, international development, community development, ideally related to public health or humanitarian sectors;

Experience

• At least 7 years of professional experience working on donor funded projects;
• At least 3 years of project management experience as project manager. An experience of early recovery/development project management in an international context would be considered as an asset;
• Experience in management and capacity building of teams in complex contexts;
• Experience working with local NGOs and CSOs as partners; Experience in managing projects supporting Civil Society would be considered as an asset.

Knowledge and skills

• Good assessment, analytical, monitoring & evaluating, reporting and planning skills;
• Good budget management skills;
• Good coordination, interpersonal and team work skills;
• Ability to work with diplomacy and tact within different cultural contexts requiring cultural sensitivity;
• Understanding and knowledge of civil society and civic space  would be a plus;
• Fluent in written and spoken English and Arabic.

Duty station of the position: Erbil (Iraq). Potential travels to Syria, depending on the security context.

Duration of assignment: 12 months (full time – potentially renewable)