Deputy Chief of Party

Amideast is a leading American non-profit organization engaged in international education, training and development activities in the Middle East and North Africa. Founded in 1951, Amideast in its early years focused on promoting U.S. study to students in the MENA region and managing U.S. scholarships and exchanges such as the flagship Fulbright Foreign Student Program.  While these important programs continue apace, our work has expanded significantly. Today Amideast programs and services touch the lives of half a million individuals a year – improving educational opportunities and quality, strengthening local institutions, and developing language and professional skills critical for success in the global economy. Read More at: https://daleel-madani.org/civil-society-directory/amideast Copyrights © 2019 Lebanon Support. All rights reserved.

Summary of Position: Amideast seeks a qualified Deputy Chief of Party for the anticipated $12M, five-year USAID-funded New Higher Education Capacity Development Activity in Lebanon. This activity will aim to provide technical assistance and institutional capacity building to local higher education institutions and to key official higher education entities in areas such as strategic planning, administrative and financial management, and collaboration with other stakeholders, to improve their effectiveness at the system level and to develop linkages with the private productive sector.

Based in Beirut, the Deputy Chief of Party (COP), will provide day-to-day management and overall technical direction and coordination of project activities. This position will provide technical leadership in design and work planning across program activities and lead implementation of activities ensuring coordinated higher education institutional performance improvement and effective and sustainable collaboration among higher education institutions, industry, and government stakeholders to improve teaching and learning, research, and innovation. **Only citizens of Lebanon or permanent residents with work authorization will be considered. This position is contingent on funding** Primary Responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

• Capacity Building and Organizational Development:
  • Lead the capacity development of local Lebanese organizations to enhance their ability to independently secure donor funding for higher education institution performance improvement initiatives.
• Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL):
  • Collaborate with the leadership team to review and assess work plan activities, ensuring alignment with program goals and progress toward desired outcomes.
  • Support reflection, adaptation, and strategic adjustments to enhance program impact.
  • Provide input on key messaging for reports and communications to stakeholders.
• Team Collaboration and Consortium Management:
  • Foster collaboration among technical and functional teams, identifying opportunities for synchronization and shared success.
  • Oversee and support implementing partners and subawards to ensure coordinated and effective action across the consortium.
• Stakeholder Engagement:
  • Establish and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders, including government officials, donors, implementers, private sector partners, and civil society organizations.
  • Facilitate cooperation and partnerships with international partners, donor projects, and other organizations to achieve program objectives.
• Leadership Support:
  • Act as the Chief of Party (COP) in their absence, providing leadership and decision-making support as required.
• Other Responsibilities:
  • Perform additional duties as assigned to support program success and sustainability.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a relevant field, or a bachelor’s degree with at least 10 years of relevant experience.

• Minimum of 8 years’ experience in higher education initiatives, reform, local organizational capacity development, or related fields.
• Prior experience with donor-funded initiatives.
• Relevant experience in Lebanon and/or the Middle East region.

• Proven ability to enhance the performance of core functions in higher education institutions, including student-centered teaching, research, and fostering sustainable collaborations among academia, industry, and government.
• Technical experience in entrepreneurship programming and youth workforce development.
• Tangible results in building the administrative and technical capacity of local organizations.

• Demonstrated ability to develop and manage work plans and budgets flexibly, ensuring objectives are met on time and within budget.

• Success in establishing strong relationships with higher education institutions, senior government officials, local educational organizations, industry, international donors, and other stakeholders.
• Proven experience in building consensus among diverse actors.

• Skilled in providing technical direction and written inputs for program reports and communications.

• Strong leadership abilities with excellent interpersonal skills.

• Advanced fluency in English (required).
• Fluency in Arabic (required).