Project Assistant

United Cities Lebanon/ Technical Office for Lebanese Municipalities (www.bt-villes.org)

United Cities Lebanon / BTVL leads the network of Lebanese local authorities that are members of the world organization United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) (www.uclg.org). This organization aims at promoting the principles of local democracy, partnership and solidarity between cities, in particular by supporting decentralized cooperation programs and by mobilizing funding and technical support for the implementation of the international actions of its members.

The Technical Office of Lebanese Cities (BTVL) is in charge of assisting municipalities on the technical and institutional levels, with an aim to promote elected officials and municipal agents’ capacity building, design and implement development projects, and strengthen their international relations.

Project: Assessing Unions of Municipalities for local economic development

Lebanon is currently crumbling under the impact of a financial, economic, social and health crisis which threatens to a large extent the livelihoods of its population. Recent studies show that the effects of this multi-dimensional crisis have been colossal on the daily lives of the citizens and the private sector. Indeed, the poverty rate in the country doubled in 2020 to reach 55%, against 28% in 2019. In addition, the explosion of the port of Beirut, which caused significant human damage, lead to tremendous losses estimated at about $ 7-10 billion. This terrible economic and social reality requires the active participation of all the actors who are supposed to play a role in economic development and recovery. Lebanese local authorities, namely municipalities and federations of municipalities, hold the responsibility of promoting and planning local economic development.

In this context, United Cities Lebanon is implementing the “Project for Assessing unions of municipalities for local economic development”. This project is funded by the European Union through its regional trust fund mobilized in response to the Syrian crisis, the European Madad Fund, and implemented jointly by UN-Habitat and UNDP.

The objective of this project is to help three federations of municipalities in assessing their potential for local economic development (LED). Specifically, the project will mobilize LED stakeholders and encourage them to undertake an assessment of economic structure and of LED governance systems in their respective areas. The assessment of the economic structure will help identify constraints and opportunities that affect the economic development of federations and pave the way for raising concrete recommendations on how to lead LED initiatives. This assessment of governance systems will also make it possible to understand the regulatory and institutional frameworks governing local economic development, as well as the existing financial and human capacities to undertake a strategic development effort.

Position – General task:

The project assistant will be in charge of supporting the Project Officer in the implementation of the project for Assessing unions of municipalities for local economic development.

Specific tasks:

• Support to the drafting of documents produced within the framework of the project (letters, emails, notes, reports, programmes...).
• Support to the organisation of meetings, workshops, missions of experts to Lebanon and all the events planned.
• Administrative and financial follow-up of the project: follow-up of the contracts with the experts, updating of the financial follow-up and evaluation documents, realization of the financial statements of the project, realization of the financial reports, follow up with suppliers (reservations, purchasing offers, payments, receipts…)
• Communication about the project (presentation notes and brochures, website, social media platforms, newsletter...).
• Support to tasks of general interest for United Cities Lebanon, including the assistance of logistics, financial, and accounting tasks.

Supervision:

- The person filling this position will be supervised by a Project Officer as well as the Chief Accountant with whom he/she will work in close coordination.

- During the entire duration of his/her mission, the project assistant will have to maintain a very good relationship with the entire team of United Cities Lebanon.

Education, experience and skills required

• Education: BA/MBA in economics, finance, accounting, or equivalent.
• At least 5 years of experience in a similar position.
• Project management skills.
• Skills in event organization.
• Skills in financial monitoring of projects, with great attention to details.
• Skills in managing projects funded by international donors.
• Excellent oral and written language skills in Arabic and English. French is a plus.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office is essential, in both languages.
• Communication skills.
• Manage all project documentation.
• Personal skills: must be methodical, pragmatic and rigorous.
• Interpersonal skills: must know how to work with a team and ensure professional discretion.

Work conditions:

- 2 months fixed-term contract (renewable).

- Location: Office of United Cities Lebanon in Beirut (Ras el Nabeh district, near the French Embassy) from January 3^rd 2022 to February 28^th 2022.

- Working hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

- The salary will depend on skills and level of experience.

- Interested persons are requested to send their CV and a cover letter in English to: [email protected]