Economic Recovery & Market Systems Coordinator (Syria)

General Description of the Programme:

GOAL is an international emergency and development NGO dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the poorest and most vulnerable. GOAL was established in 1977 and is currently operational in 13 countries world-wide. GOAL began operations within Northern Syria in 2012 responding to the acute needs of conflict affected communities with a support structure based in Turkey. GOAL has offices in Ankara, Hatay, and Gaziantep, Turkey and Amman, Jordan which support both the cross border and Turkey programming.

The scale and severity of humanitarian needs in Syria remains extensive. Household needs are persistent due to the protracted conflict, waves of displacement, and an erosion of household’s coping strategies. Conditions are expected to remain unstable and bring additional challenges to struggling communities. GOAL’s work in Northern Syria is primarily in Idleb and Northern Aleppo Governorates. The program has a heavy focus on Food Security, WASH, Livelihoods and Emergency response with a growing reliance on cash and voucher modalities. GOAL is the largest NGO provider of CVA assistance in North-West Syria. GOAL implements directly, with over 600 staff based in Syria working out of field offices in Idleb and Northern Aleppo, as well as implementing in adjacent geographical locations through Syrian NGO partners. GOAL’s CVA (Cash & Voucher Assistance) response in Syria primarily consists of MPCA (Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance), cash and vouchers for food and nutrition delivered electronically.

Job Purpose

The ERMS Coordinator is responsible for ensuring the high-quality implementation of GOAL Syria’s ERMS portfolio. The portfolio includes interventions supporting Micro and Small-sized Enterprises and other market-based programmes. The ERMS Coordinator is responsible for designing and planning ERMS interventions, reporting, and staff supervision and coordination. The ERMS Coordinator ensures the timely implementation of all ERMS activities and that these are carried out in line with GOAL guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The ERMS Coordinator is responsible for providing the needed technical support, capacity building, and management of GOAL’s ERMS and market teams in Syria and Turkey. The ERMS Coordinator ensures that GOAL Syria continues developing its economic recovery and market strengthening activities.

The ERMS Coordinator will also work closely with the other Coordinators, particularly the Food Security team to ensure the market-based programming portfolio is adapting to the market dynamics in Syria in a timely way. GOAL Syria has a large-scale food and nutrition security assistance programme that provides assistance via cash and vouchers. A key component of this activity are market based activities carried out by the market team to support this including but not limited to market assessments, and vendor assessment, selection and monitoring during the shopping period for CVA assistance. The ERMS Coordinator’s role also includes managing the market team and ensure these activities are being carried out appropriately and timely to support the CVA distributions. Lastly, the ERMS Coordinator will work with the Programme Quality Advisors to continuously improve the programme policies and procedures.

The ERMS Coordinator is part of the Programme Team, reporting to the Syria Assistant Programme Director for Food Security, Livelihoods, and Nutrition.

Duties and responsibilities

Programme Strategy, Development & Implementation – 50%

• Provide overall strategic leadership, management, and technical direction of the ERMS programming, which includes MSME support interventions, ensuring it remains inclusive, and gender and conflict sensitive.
• Lead the technical design and review of concept notes, logical frameworks, budgets, and full proposals under ERMS and work with other programme Coordinators to give guidance on how to make their programmes more market system focused using the Market based programming framework. Use the lens of system thinking, strategic partnerships, local capacities development focusing on local market systems in Syria.
• Lead the implementation of the ERMS and market-based programmes, ensuring all activities are executed in a quality and timely manner, according to workplans and donor proposal & requirements.
• Track progress of ERMS programme and the market teams activities against weekly, monthly, and annual plans. Identify gaps and systematically develop processes to gather data, analyse options, and propose evidence-based solutions to ensure timely and effective implementation of activities.
• Develop and manage tools, methodologies and processes pertaining to the effective ERMS programme beneficiary selection, management of the program, including project workplans, monthly workplans, frequent team meetings.
• In coordination with Food Security & Nutrition Coordinators, the ERMS Coordinator will be responsible for the design and implementation of the market teams activities to support the CVA distributions including, overseeing vendor’s selection and contracting and ensuring high quality market assessments are carried out, monitoring the performance of vendors as well as evaluating the impact the programme has contracted versus non-contracted vendors.
• Ensure that ERMS implementation plans are informed by sound analysis, with consultations with teams and concerned stakeholders, and that programme activities and modalities are devised in promotion of GOAL Syria’s programme strategy.
• Uphold the professional standards related to Economic Recovery programming in humanitarian assistance, in particular the Minimum Economic Recovery Standards (MERS).
• Develop monitoring and implementation tools/guidance documents such as SOPs, tools, and forms aligned with GOAL and donor standards and monitoring frameworks.
• Strengthen staff capacity on ERMS and ensure a clear understanding of key concepts through trainings and other capacity strengthening activities.

Monitoring & Evaluation, Learning, Accountability and Reporting – 15%

• Develop learning agendas and ensure learning from the ERMS programme is captured, consolidated, contributing to knowledge building to be disseminated internally and externally.
• Support ongoing monitoring and evaluation processes, including development of tools and review of evaluations.
• Together with the Accountability Coordinator support, ensure the ERMS programme is accountable to local communities by actively encouraging feedback from BNFs to ensure the assistance is fair and transparent.
• Take the lead in the completion of learning briefs, success stories, and case studies showcasing the ERMS programme.
• Ensure needed endline/impact assessments and monitoring procedures are taking place as needed and checking any need for program adjustments based on these reports and lessons learned.
• Participate in writing quarterly and annual reports. Ensure needed information for reporting is collected accurately and timely.
• In collaboration with the MEL Coordinator, find and implement innovative monitoring techniques to assess medium to long-term impact of the ERMS programmes.
• Lead the design, implementation, and write-up of market assessments that serve the ERMS programme, GOAL Syria’s market based program portfolio and also support the development of new market-based programming activities within GOAL Syria’s overall programme.
• Coordinate the development, implementation and analysis of regular price and market monitoring.

Representation and coordination– 15%

• Coordinate activities and planning at the technical and operational level with other programme coordinators and programme quality Coordinators to ensure effective collaboration, integration, and synergies in the implementation of GOAL Syria programming.
• Coordinate and collaborate with Systems and Finance departments
• Support the Assistant Programme Director in identifying and developing opportunities for new collaborative partnerships with international and national NGOs, donors, and other stakeholders for ERMS activities.
• Support the Assistant Programme Director in identifying and developing new funding opportunities for ERMS activities.
• Represent GOAL at UN cluster coordination forums (i.e., Cash Working Group, Early Recovery and Livelihoods Sector, FSL cluster, BHA partner meetings etc.) as agreed with the Assistant Director of Programmes.
• Coordinate with BHA partners to share lessons learned related to ERMS related activities.
• Participate in GOAL HQ Programme Technical Network meetings, collaborate, and engage with GOAL’s Global Markets & Cash Advisors.

Staff Management & Leadership – 20%

• Recruit, technically manage, and coach GOAL ERMS and market staff in Turkey and in Syria. Develop staffing plans and ensure quality and timely performance management processes with staff.
• Develop and deliver development and capacity building plans for the ERMS and market staff.
• Promote a professional environment conducive to collaboration, teamwork, confidence building in new approaches and professional development within GOAL Syria.
• Staff Supervision and Leadership all ERMS and market teams.
• Support the regular review of the Programme org chart and JDs and any necessary revisions to promote effectiveness and efficiency.
• Identify strategic needs and opportunities for staff capacity building to ensure high quality programme implementation.
• Ensure that all members of the ERMS and market teams understand and complete GOAL performance management and professional development process.
• Model and promote GOAL core competencies, approaches to safety and security, and staff care.

The duties and responsibilities set out above are not exhaustive and the ERMS Coordinator may be required to carry out additional duties, within reason, and proportionate to their level of skill and experience.

Requirements (essential)

• Bachelor’s degree qualification in economics, international development, business, food security, humanitarian assistance, livelihoods or any other relevant field
• Minimum 3 years of experience in a management position in a humanitarian/recovery context
• Minimum of two (2) years technical experience in ERMS (Economic Recovery and Market Systems), livelihoods or micro and small business enterprise) based programming
• Proven technical skills and experience in market-based programming including but not limited to programme set up, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
• Experience of designing and/or implementing market assessments and analysis tools, including market systems analysis
• Strong grasp of project development and management and proven capacity in budgeting and financial management
• Proven problem solving and coordination skills, flexibility and calmness under pressure
• Fluent written and spoken English language skills
• Strong computer skills with particular competencies with Microsoft Office applications

(including MS Word and Excel)

Requirements (desired)

• Arabic language
• Knowledge of GOAL’s target areas in Idlib and Aleppo governorates and understanding of the humanitarian crisis in Syria
• Proven capacity for policy development, and long-term strategic planning
• Masters in a suitable field