Position Information

·       Position title: Partnerships and Project Manager

·       Location: Beirut, Lebanon - the position will be based primarily within the premises of Expertise France

·       Duration: 12 Months

·       Indicative starting date: September 1^st 2026

·       Employer: Expertise France

·       Projects covered: Building Alliances with Local Actors for Dignified Inclusive response – BALADI

Context

Expertise France is France’s public agency and interministerial actor in charge of international technical cooperation, the second largest in Europe. As a subsidiary of Agence Française de Développement Group (AFD Group), it designs and implements projects that sustainably strengthen public policies in developing and emerging countries. Expertise France (EF) works in key areas of development: governance, security, climate change, health, education, and more. Alongside its partners, it contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

EF’s Jordan–Lebanon Country Direction, effective since 1 January 2025, provides the framework for managing EF activities in both countries. Under the responsibility of a Country Director based in Beirut, the Lebanon office comprises a team of more than 30 staff members, including 3 expatriates and 5 International Technical Experts (ETI).

Expertise France in Lebanon manages and develops a portfolio of approximately EUR 40 million. Its activities are structured around three priority areas of intervention:

-        Governance and Sovereign Functions: support to public administration reform processes; border security and maritime security projects; provision of technical assistance to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice.

-        Social Sectors and Support to Vulnerable Populations: support to Lebanese civil society organizations; and implementation of projects promoting gender equality across all sectors of society.

-        Climate Adaptation and Green Economy: promotion of the circular economy through the regional ANMO Green Forward project; support to climate change adaptation strategies through the Adapt’Action facility; and assistance to the Lebanese Civil Defense.

The BALADI project aims to support six local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Lebanon, to implement post-conflict and gender sensitive recovery initiatives in three priority areas, in close collaboration with local authorities. Through its support to integrated and locally rooted emergency responses, the BALADI project will further strengthen coordination with local authorities and inclusive governance mechanisms to bolster local resilience and preparedness in target areas, responding both to immediate acute needs of vulnerable populations and strengthening local actors’ contingency planning and emergency response capacity to crisis.

The general objective of the project is to foster integrated post-crisis recovery through coordinated early relief and inclusive assistance to IDPs and vulnerable host communities in Lebanon through locally led delivery mechanisms through (i) strengthening local crisis responsiveness and resilience in priority areas across Lebanon and (ii) improve equitable access to essential, gender responsive and recovery services for crisis-affected populations, particularly women and girls in priority areas of Lebanon.

The project will require close coordination with different national and local public entities including but not limited to municipalities, Disaster Risk Management (DRM) units, and relevant ministries. 

Mission

The Partnership and Project Manager will be responsible for the overall management of Expertise France’s activities and expenses under this project. S/he will ensure the operational, budgetary and technical oversight of the activities implemented by Expertise France and its partners.  The Partnership and Project Manager will lead on the execution and follow up of the activities under this project and the coordination with project’s partners and relevant stakeholders. S/he will be responsible for representing the project to relevant Lebanese authorities and for liaising with the donor.

Main Responsibilities

Project planning and operational management

·       Lead the overall planning, coordination and implementation of the project, ensuring the effective delivery of activities in line with the approved work plan, implementation schedule, budget and contractual commitments;

·       Monitor implementation progress, operational challenges and institutional developments, and adapt planning and implementation modalities as necessary to ensure the timely and effective delivery of project results

·       Update when needed the contractual documents (Description of Action, Logframe, Budget) in line with EF procedures and the donor’s requirements;

·       Ensure overall strategic coherence of activities with available budget, human and technical resources and oversee their optimal allocation throughout implementation;

·       Provide high-level guidance to ensure that project implementation remains coherent, realistic, and aligned with the strategic objectives of Expertise France, the donor’s priorities, the Lebanese beneficiary institutions and the locally identified recovery needs;

·       Supervise the overall grant implementation cycle, from partner selection and proposal validation to grant closure, ensuring consistency, quality and compliance across all six sub-grants to achieve the project’s objectives;

·       Supervise the effective and successful mobilization and coordination of short-term experts supporting municipalities and partner CSOs, ensuring the quality and relevance of the provided technical assistance with local needs.

Coordination between stakeholders:

·       Coordinate and maintain strategic relationships with project stakeholders, mainly national and local public entities;

·       Coordinate with project partners, provide strategic, thematic and operational support as required, and ensure coherent implementation of activities across; 

·       Ensure coordination and complementarity with other initiatives in the regions of intervention, to avoid duplication of effort and beneficiaries, to maximize impact and outputs and to strengthen synergies with ongoing humanitarian and recovery interventions; 

·       Facilitate dialogue between stakeholders and support decision-making processes in a sensitive and evolving security environment;

·       Act as the main operational focal point between Expertise France, the donor and relevant project stakeholders ensuring effective communication, coordination and issue resolution throughout project implementation; 

·       Maintain regular operational coordination with the donor and relevant focal points;

·       Build trust and organize regular coordination and communication with municipalities to foster constructive collaboration between local authorities and civil society;

·       Chair project governance meetings, including steering committees and coordination meetings with project stakeholders.

Administrative, financial and reporting oversight (Monitoring)

·       Ensure compliance with Expertise France's internal procedures, project management tools and donor requirements throughout project implementation;

·       Ensure sound financial management by monitoring and tracking the burn rate through regular internal exercises, such as budget-vs-actual (BvA), expenditure-vs-activity (EvA), workplan-versus-expenditure etc.

·       Monitor overall budget implementation and ensure compliance with Expertise France financial management rules, grant procedures and donor contractual requirements;

·       Coordinate closely with the Project Support Unit on procurement, contracting, finance, logistics, security and reporting matters.

·       Manage the Field Partnership Officer to support CSO partners in developing workplans, procurement plans, financial forecasts, and activity plans for each of their interventions.

Partnership Management

·       Oversee the implementation and closing of partnership agreements in compliance with EF grants standards;

·       Ensure partners meet contractual obligations and organizational requirements;

·       Oversee and support Field Partnership Officer as required to monitor partnership performance and address challenges proactively;

·       Facilitate regular coordination and review meetings with partners;

·       Ensure compliance with donor requirements, organizational policies, and applicable regulations;

·       Validate consolidated data and reports from the partner CSOs ensuring their accuracy;

·       Oversee the internal monthly/quarterly information updates summarizing achievements and planned activities;

·       Support the documentation of best practices, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations arising from project activities;

·       Maintain accurate partnership documentation and records.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

·       Implement MEAL plans for assigned interventions, ensuring alignment with donors, EF, and MEAL standards.

·       Ensure proper MEL documentation in accordance with EF standards, including maintaining MEAL folders, raw and analytic datasets, evidence, tools, analysis workbooks, and all related documentation.

·       Lead the implementation of data collection activities in close coordination with the project team and other relevant teams as required.

·       Collect monitoring data and update the project logframe as necessary, integrating the data provided by the Field Partnership Officer relevant to partner organizations. 

Qualifications and Skills

·       University degree in a relevant field such as Management, Political Science, Social Sciences, or a related discipline;

·       5 to 8 years of professional experience in project management, working with local CSOs/NGOs;

·       Demonstrated experience in project management, including activity planning and budget monitoring;

·       Excellent knowledge of the Lebanese civil society, and the Lebanese aid ecosystem in general;

·       Experience working on crisis-response contexts, aligned with DNH and conflict sensitivity standards;

·       Fluency in English and Arabic (written and spoken). Excellent command of French is a plus;

·       Strong experience in project steering, institutional coordination, representation functions, and engagement with public entities;

·       Good analytical, writing and reporting skills.

·       Previous experience managing donor-funded projects, preferably financed by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and European Union (EU);

·       Good understanding of multiple donor institutions, policies, and cooperation mechanisms;

·       Strong leadership, organizational, communication, and negotiation skills;

Reporting Line

The Project Manager will report to Expertise France’s Portfolio Manager and work with the relevant operational teams and the project support unit.  S/He will manage a Field Partnerships Officer, who will be the first line of communication with the local partners.

S/he will maintain regular coordination with different project stakeholders including but not limited to the donor, partner municipalities, key ministries, and any other stakeholders identified in the project.

Application

Interested candidates are invited to submit a CV and cover letter in English detailing their qualifications, relevant experience, and motivation for the position no later than 05 August 2026 at 23h59 Beirut time / 22h59 Paris time.

Documents requested for the application are:

·       CV

·       Cover letter

·       Contract details of 3 relevant professional references

Applications must be sent via Expertise France's recruitment platform and must include a CV and a cover letter specifying the reference of the position.  The cover letter should include the Contract information of 3 relevant professional references

 Incomplete applications will not be evaluated.

Candidates interested in this opportunity are invited to submit their application as soon as possible.

Expertise France reserves the right to proceed with the candidates on a rolling basis.

The selection process consists of the following phases:

·       A shortlist of candidates will be created at the discretion of Expertise France.

·       Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a technical test

·       A technical interview will follow for the final phase of the selection.