Senior Quality Officer - Akkar - FOR NATIONAL CANDIDATES ONLY

Background:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC works with people forced to flee from war, conflict and disaster and the host communities that support them, as well as with those who remain within their homes and communities. At-work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. IRC reaches over a million children annually with education and child protection programs in 25 countries around the world.

In response to the influx of Syrian refugees to Lebanon in mid-2012, IRC opened a country office and launched humanitarian assistance programming. IRC operates throughout Lebanon, with the main office in Beirut and field offices in Qobayat, Zahle, Tripoli, Tyre and Mount Lebanon. IRC’s programs assist Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese in host communities across multiple sectors: education, livelihoods, protection, women's protection and empowerment and child protection in close coordination with the Lebanese Government and broader Humanitarian Community.

High-quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs provide the foundation for children’s future academic success, health, prosperity and wellbeing. A large body of scientific evidence emphasizes the need for increased investment in early childhood, particularly for children experiencing conflict, crisis and displacement; these children are extremely vulnerable to the long-lasting effects that prolonged stress has on the developing brain.

In December 2017, Sesame Workshop and the IRC were awarded the MacArthur Foundation’s inaugural 100&Change grant to make real progress toward solving a critical problem of our time. With the extraordinary investment of $100 million, our partnership will transform the language, early reading, math, and social-emotional skills of a generation of children ages 0-8 affected by the Syrian war. Focusing on children in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria over the next five years, the inclusive plan combines the depth of in-person services, reaching 1.5 million children, with the breadth of mass media, reaching 9.4 million children. For more information, please visit: http://refugee.sesameinternational.org/.  

Job Overview:

The Senior Quality Officer ensures that the design, implementation and monitoring of the IRC ECD programs are in line with appropriate technical guidelines and meet high quality standards. The position strongly backs up the ECD team, by providing technical oversight and support, and plays a key role in ensuring harmonization of best practices across geographical areas. The position develops and delivers training and capacity building to different stakeholders, including IRC staff, local partners and authorities as needed.

Major Responsibilities:

Quality monitoring and implementation of ECD programs

• Perform regular quality supervisory visits to ECD facilities for quality assessment, monitoring, and guidance;
• Conduct a range of quality assurance tasks including observations, audits, completion of checklists and others;

• Asses the quality of implementation of different programs at IRC’s centers by using quality assurance indicators based on the guidelines and log frame;
• Support the ECD team in ensuring that the environment/premises standards are measured and respected across the centers, and performance is accomplished regarding selected indicators are adequate with the log-frame and technical guidelines;
• Based on observation, provide technical advice and pedagogical oversight to ECD staff, teachers and facilitators and develop quality improvement plans to ensure that program implementation in line with quality standards;
• Support the MEAL Department and other colleagues in the implementation of the accountability and feedback mechanisms (FARM), providing analysis of the surveys’ outcomes and beneficiaries’ feedback and ensuring complaints are properly redirected and addressed according to the standards;
• Support the ECD Field Manager and Field based-teams in identifying potential synergies and implementing pilots with other IRC programming sectors (Economic Recovery and Development, Women Protection and Empowerment, Child Protection, etc.).

Training and Capacity Building

• Identify capacity building needs within the ECD program and develop capacity building plans for ECD staff, facilitators and teachers;
• Oversee the implementation of capacity building plans at the field level, including training, coaching and on-the-job training;
• Lead the implementation of Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops and other capacity building initiatives in the field;
• Coordinate logistical arrangements for trainings and capacity building sessions in the field;
• Upon need, support ECD officers in the mentoring of Teachers, Facilitators and volunteers’ and monthly Learning Circles;

Knowledge Management

• Report activities on a weekly basis to the Field Manager and Technical Manager, highlighting immediately any difficulty or delay faced in the implementation of activities to the ECD Manager;
• Share monthly reports to direct supervisor against progress in the field, noting/identifying potential areas of improvement and technical recommendations.
• Identify and document programmatic lessons learnt and participate in knowledge management activities;
• Collaborate with the ECD manager regarding archiving system and overall organization of the records;
• Support the production of case studies, success stories and monthly program newsletters;
• Actively participate in coordination meetings, planning and reporting processes, monitoring and evaluation of activities;

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to:  ECD Manager (Field based)

Technical Reporting to:  Senior Technical and Quality Manager (Beirut based)
Position directly supervises:  none
Other Internal and/or external contacts:

Internal: Senior Quality, Training, and Capacity Building Officer, RMEAL team, IRC field teams, IRC sector staff and support departments.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor degree in Education, Social Development, or any other relevant related field;
• At least 3 years of professional experience working in capacity building, teaching, teacher training, and teaching material design (training and curriculum);
• Demonstrated experience in developing and facilitating trainings and workshops tailored for different audiences (ToT, capacity building, knowledge sharing, etc.);
• Strong understanding of educational quality standards and quality monitoring tools and strategies;
• Strong written and oral communication skills;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook;
• Outstanding interpersonal skills, and effective in representation and liaison with external parties;
• Flexibility, commitment, high work ethics and team spirit;
• Willingness to travel across Lebanon, and provide training to partners, staff members, communities (including informal tented settlements), etc.
• Fluency in Arabic and English, written and oral. Fluency in French is an asset.

Working Environment:  

The position is based in Qobayat, and expected to travel extensively within the Akkar area, and occasionally to Beirut. 

WOMEN OF ALL BACKGROUNDS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY