Project and Communications Coordinator

Overall Purpose

The Arab Reform Initiative (ARI), as the lead partner of the project entitled “Strengthening Civil Society Actors: Towards a Just Environmental Transition in the Middle East and North Africa” (MENA) is seeking a full-time / Lebanon-based Project and Communications Coordinator to support the above-mentioned project implementation.

He/she will be a) closely working with and reporting to the Program Director to ensure smooth project implementation; b) ensuring regular and effective coordination with consortium partners in the MENA region and other relevant stakeholders; and c) leading on innovative visibility and communication approaches.  Moreover, he/she will ensure high impact and quality delivery through sound project management and financial sustainability.

About ARI and the “Strengthening Civil Society Actors: Towards a Just Environmental Transition in the Middle East and North Africa” Project

ARI is an independent policy research center whose key mission is to articulate a home-grown agenda for democratic change and social justice in Arab countries. We operate on the principles of gender equality and diversity. We conduct policy analysis and innovative field research, combine scholarly work and advocacy, and produce tools to strengthen practices of active citizenship and influence political transformation processes. We also empower research from the MENA region by providing an international platform for dissemination. ARI engages academic researchers, think tanks, social movements, civil society actors and activists, decision-makers, media, and the public on issues of democratization, social justice and full citizenship. ARI works in partnership with regional and international institutions to promote sustained South-South and South-to-North exchanges and dialogues related to reform initiatives across the region. ARI has offices in Paris, Beirut and Tunis.

Within ARI’s Environmental Politics program, the “Strengthening Civil Society Actors: Towards a Just Environmental Transition in the Middle East and North Africa” project aims to (i) link and empower CSOs – as well as locally-led initiatives –  to be able to meaningfully participate in public policies and to influence policy dialogues in and about the region and (ii) ensure that efforts to tackle climate change and environmental degradation include inputs from impacted communities, address long-standing inequalities and ultimately support the emergence of accountable and democratic governance structures.  The project will create new venues and mechanisms for cross-regional, intergenerational, cross-sectorial exchange and coalition-building for shared learning and collective action planning. It will also generate key forum for South-South and South-to-North exchanges that provide unique opportunities for knowledge production and sharing, advocacy and policy influencing.

It is funded by the European Union (EU) with ARI as the lead partner and implemented through country partners consisting of the American University in Cairo/Alternative Policy Solutions (APS) in Egypt and the Morocco Institute for Policy Analysis (MIPA) in Morocco.

Scope of Work

The Project and Communications Coordinator will have the following key responsibilities:

Project Coordination

• Working closely and building positive relationships with project partners in all countries of interventions and ensuring all project deliverables are met. This also entails maintaining regular communication channels with partners.
• Monitoring and contributing to the achievement of all project activities and milestones, in close consultation with the Program Director.
• Overseeing and organizing workshops, policy dialogues and events in Lebanon and Tunisia (with support from a Tunis-based assistant).
• Organizing webinars, consultation meetings, supporting in convening roundtable discussions and other events Ensuring that researchers are on track to meet project deadlines. Ensuring outreach to other relevant stakeholders in collaboration with the Program Director and ARI’s wider team.
• Maintaining and managing ARI’s mapping of stakeholders
• Supporting the Program’s visibility and outreach and the preparation of website content
• Developing and maintaining relations with all environmental researchers and advocates and establishing communications mechanisms. This also includes maintaining an updated environmental politics program database and regular communications with regional partners.
• Ensuring project outcomes and impact are measured and reported according to agreed standards with solid quantitative and qualitative indicators as per the logical framework.
• Supporting ARI’s Communications team and ARI’s social media accounts and the development of other visual and audio media for dissemination of project results and building new networks.
• Carrying out day-to-day administrative and coordination tasks necessary for overall project success.

Partners Coordination and Donor Reporting

• Coordinating with partners to ensure timely and meaningful reporting on all project deliverables.
• Assisting the Program Director in the preparation of the narrative reporting as per EU requirements as well as project briefs to other relevant audiences.

Financial and Budget Management

• Working closely with the Finance Officer to ensure the project budget targets are regularly agreed with the Program Director and monitored on a monthly basis to reinforce good financial management practices.
• Planning, forecasting and monitoring spending in line with agreed projects budget and expenditure for both ARI and individual partners.
• Ensuring solid procurement processes are in place for suppliers and service providers to achieve internal and donor compliance. This also includes developing terms of reference and calls for applications, where relevant.

Qualifications

The Project and Communications Coordinator shall be committed to environmental justice in MENA and to supporting knowledge production/research, capacity building and voices/networks of environmental advocates within MENA with the following background and experience:

• A master’s degree in Social Sciences, Environmental Policy, Management, Development, or any other relevant fields. Candidates with a bachelor’s degree with relevant working experience will also be considered.
• A minimum of 3-5 years of working experience in multi-stakeholder projects.
• Prior experience coordinating or working on EU-funded projects (or international donors-funded projects) highly desirable.
• High level of organization and rigor with detail, and ability to manage many different moving parts at the same time.
• Ability to work with limited supervision, be flexible and comfortable in a multi-cultural work force.
• Good communication skills and the ability to build positive working relationships with the project team and partners.
• Excellent command of English and Arabic is a must.

Contract Conditions 

This is a full-time contract for 12 months (renewable based on successful performance) with an immediate starting date. It is preferable for the candidate to be based in Lebanon.

To Apply

Please send your CV (max. two pages) and a cover letter describing your qualifications and motivation for the position to: [email protected] with the reference “ARI-EPC” subject.