Deputy Country Director – Programs

Title: Deputy Country Director – Programs

Department or Program: Management

Location: Beirut, Lebanon with regular field visits to implementation areas

Position Category: Director’s level reporting

Reporting to: Country Director

Direct Reports: Technical Advisors, Program Managers, Awards Partnership Manager, MEAL Manager

Technical reporting: Regional Program Director

Dotted linework coordination: HR, SCO, and Finance team

ABOUT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL: Relief International (RI) is a leading non-profit organization working in 16 countries to relieve poverty, ensure well-being and advance dignity. We specialize in fragile settings, responding to natural disasters, humanitarian crises and chronic poverty. Relief International combines humanitarian and development approaches to provide immediate services while laying the groundwork for long-term impact. Our signature approach — which we call the RI Way—emphasizes local participation, an integration of services, strategic partnerships and a focus on civic skills. In this way, we empower communities to find, design and implement the solutions that work best for them. RI includes the four corporate members of the RI Alliance: RI-US, RI-UK, MRCA/RI-France and RI-Europe. Under our alliance agreement, we operate as a single, shared management structure.

POSITION SUMMARY

The DCD-Programs will be responsible for developing, planning and leading RI’s programs implemented in Lebanon. The job holder will ensure the successful development and implementation of projects within the portfolio while focusing on program quality assurance, donor compliance, coordination with external stakeholders, grants and personnel management. The position reports directly to the Country Director for Lebanon. The DCD-Programs will also coordinate closely with RI-Lebanon Heads of Departments (Supply Chain and Operations Manager, HR, Finance) and members of RI’s Regional Support Office (RSO).

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

Program Management Oversight:

• Oversee program implementation in consultation with the relevant Program Managers and Technical Advisors and facilitate cross-cutting communications with all country teams;
• Ensure program objectives are met according to the required timeframes and budget;
• Focus on program quality assurance by overseeing and guiding the MEAL Team, Program Managers and Technical Advisors, and ensuring regular monitoring and evaluation of project activities, and learning events;
• With support from Technical Advisors, Program Managers and Head of Departments, prepare and implement guidelines to standardize procedures across projects, when possible;
• Ensure effective and agile project contingency plans are always up to date and evolving as needed;
• Ensure that program activities comply with all donors’ regulations, Lebanese legislation and professional standards;
• Ensure high quality management of project budgets. This will require close coordination with Finance Manager, Program Managers and Awards and Partnership Manager;
• Ensure the high-quality start-up and closeout of all projects within the RI-Lebanon portfolio;
• Ensure adequate and real integration of programs, with a special attention to the Health, Nutrition, Mental Health and Livelihoods integration;
• Act as a focal point for gender/protection mainstreaming and support field teams with training materials, technical advice and support in these areas;
• Conduct monthly field visits to assess and provide feedback on the quality of the program activities and interventions;
• Set up Quality Benchmarks according to RI program quality standards and ensure with the Program Technical Advisers regular monitoring and quarterly reviews.
• Ensure overall implementation is in accordance with agreed work plans, donor agreements and framework.

Program Development:

• Work closely with Country Director to identify potential donors for funding projects in Lebanon, including participating in donor meetings and other forms of direct donor engagement;
• With the support of the MEAL Manager, design assessments to inform program development initiatives for programming in Lebanon;
• Identify new partners and other key stakeholders to work with for new projects and to expand/ deepen RI-Lebanon’s portfolio;
• Lead on designing new evidence based programs well-coordinated with other actors in cooperation with the Country Director and any other relevant program teams;
• Provide guidance and oversight to the entire program development process to ensure the new opportunities are aligned with the needs at the field level;
• In collaboration with Country Director, ensure timely submission of high-quality concept notes and proposals.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Reporting

• Ensure high quality drafting and timely submission of all reports required by the donor(s).
• Oversee the preparation and submission of quality technical and program reports and timely submission as per the grant agreement;
• Report progress of program implementation to the donor periodically as per contract’s agreement and on an ad-hoc basis;
• In collaboration with the MEAL Department, ensure strengthening of the program evaluation framework to assess strengths of the program, as well as areas for improvement, and to identify and implement action plans regarding areas for improvement;
• Ensure that activities are on track and all MEAL tools are in place and provide feedback to program teams;
• Ensure accountability to community is maintained and strengthened to ensure that communities are at the center of our interventions

Strategic Engagement

• Lead in depth analysis of humanitarian context, trends, gaps, challenges and opportunities;

• Lead on implementation of RI Lebanon’s program strategy in coordination with field offices and other key leads, including reviewing and adapting as necessary depending on the changes in needs and in alignment with RI Global Strategy 2021-2025;

• Develop new programmatic initiatives to support the strategic direction of RI in Lebanon in alignment with needs and RI Global Strategy 2021-2025;

• Develop long-term goals and objectives to achieve the successful outcome of the program;

• Provide overall guidance and direction focusing the program team on achieving agreed targets and long-term strategic objectives;

• Stay updated and regularly update the Country Director regarding developments/changes to the operational environment nationally and in the locations and sectors where RI operates – including, but not limited to political developments, major/relevant security developments/incidents, key programming initiatives by other stakeholders;

• Identify and evaluate the risks and possible threats associated with program activities and take appropriate action to control the risks, communicating and collaborating regularly with the Country Director, Supply Chain and Operations Manager and Security Manager;

• Act as Emergency Focal Point (EFP) for Lebanon Country Office in link with RI Humanitarian Department (Emergency alerts, Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans, Emergency Sitrep);

• Actively engage in regional and global initiatives to ensure country perspective is represented

External Coordination

• Proactively ensure RI’s reputation as a key actor implementing programming inside Lebanon by consistently representing RI and actively participating in networking opportunities;
• Ensure coordination with/active engagement in relevant sector working groups, and bi-laterally with other implementing agencies as appropriate;
• Prepare for and ensure to the extent possible the positive outcome of meetings with senior-level external actors including national and local authorities, donors, U.N. agencies, coordination fora, private sector.

Team Management and Employee Supervision

• Ensure effective management of the Program, MEAL and Grants team leading by example, supporting them in their efforts to direct the implementation of programs in coordination with other departments;
• Participate in the recruitment, selection, orientation and training of key project/ program staff, and other staff;
• In collaboration with the HR team, develop an adapted and focused capacity building plan for staff when relevant;
• Ensure timely and quality staff performance management of directly managed staff, making sure all program team follows best practices in this regard;
• Ensure proper communication within the program team, making sure that the strategy, decisions and future endeavours are shared in a transparent manner;
• In collaboration with the HR team, help address disciplinary, conflict and abuse issues within the program team;
• In accordance with RI’s HR policy and in-line with RI’s staff care efforts, maintain a healthy work environment, with reasonable workloads and proper leaves. Work with CD and HR manager to assess and prevent risks of excessive stress and burnout in the workplace.

Staff Care (for Directors/Managers/Coordinator/Supervisors)

• Review Staff Care issues with the direct reports on a regular basis; continuously monitor individual staff members’ capacity for self-care; and take adequate actions to ensure that staff well-being measures are in place and in alignment with the RI’s policies. Ensure an adequate attendance and participation in all Staff Care trainings as requested by the Organization and Country office.

Safeguarding

• Demonstrate visible commitment and active involvement with the Programs’ key managerial personnel to ensure timely, adequate and visible alignment of workplans with RI’s Safeguarding standards and strategy along with the Safeguarding Action Plan and Safeguarding Audit findings for the Country Office;
• Demonstrate commitment to address safeguarding risks through active participation in safeguarding groups, trainings and other steps which are deemed critical to strengthen the safeguarding organizational culture at RI Lebanon.

Direct reporting, dotted line work coordination and external coordination

• The Job Holder reports directly to Country Director.
• Under the supervision of the Country Director, the job holder will have a dotted-line work coordination with HR, SCO, and Finance departments in order to ensure that tasks are being implemented in alignment with the needed work plans and deliverables

Working Conditions

The Job Holder will be working from RI’s office in Beirut. Frequent travel to other field offices in Lebanon, implementation areas (across Lebanon) will be required on an “as-needed” basis.

Competencies (RI’s Competency Framework)

Field Competencies

Contributions to program achievements

Accountability towards Beneficiaries and Stakeholders

Flexibility and Resilience

Organization Competencies

Accountability

Cultural sensitivity

Leadership Competencies

(For Managers & Directors Only)

Leadership & Management of people

Strategic thinking & Visioning

Building collaborative relationships (Networking)

Results orientation

Qualifications and Skills Requirements

• At least five years of managerial experience implementing complex donor-funded projects, with an emphasis on those that focus on humanitarian assistance to vulnerable communities and partnership management.
• Experience with project development, reporting, budgeting and grants management.
• A solid comprehension of MEAL approaches and processes.
• Strong knowledge of gender/protection mainstreaming elements
• Graduate degree in Education, Health, International Relations, Program Management, or related field.
• Solid knowledge of several donor regulations (i.e. PRM, BHA, UN agencies, RDPP, etc. are desired)
• Strong leadership and management skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Team player with strong negotiation/ collaborative communication skills.
• Dedication to the mission.
• Fluency in written and spoken English. Arabic is a plus.
• Strategic thinking.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, representation and negotiation skills.
• Ability to work under pressure, both independently and with teams
• Flexibility
• Ability to work in a dynamic environment and to multi-task to meet deadlines
• Promotes teamwork, contributes towards building team consensus and acts as a team player
• Consistently approach work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
• Demonstrates ability to identify problems and take initiative to propose solutions

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Relief International is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Relief International (RI) is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to RI’s Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

RI Values

We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities. We value:

• Inclusiveness
• Transparency and accountability
• Agility and innovation
• Collaboration
• Sustainability