LEBANON – SUPPORT SERVICES COORDINATOR

ORGANIZATION’S DESCRIPTION

La Chaîne de l’Espoir is an international NGO founded in 1994. Its mission is to strengthen healthcare systems to provide everyone, especially children, with equal opportunities for survival and development. We operate in 28 countries through a comprehensive approach, focusing on children but also on mothers and disadvantaged communities:

• Prevention and screening from an early age, particularly within school health programs.
• Care and surgery to address the most urgent needs of children and their mothers.
• Training and skill transfers to local teams through our international network of experts in all surgical fields.
• Construction and equipping of hospital facilities tailored to local needs.

CONTEXT

La Chaine de l’Espoir, with its focus on access to pediatric secondary and tertiary healthcare, has been actively serving in Lebanon since 2005. This long-standing involvement has allowed La Chaine de l’Espoir to gain a deep understanding of the local context and the humanitarian situation, particularly in relation to pediatric health needs and the healthcare sector. Through 2005-2020, La Chaine de l’Espoir implemented interventions through local partners. Later, following compounding crisis, La Chaine de l’Espoir established a dedicated local team while keeping its collaboration approach with local entities.

La Chaine de l’Espoir’s journey in Lebanon started in 2005 with its support for the creation and operations of a Local NGO, HeartBeat-La Chaine de l’Espoir, dedicated to treating children with cardiac anomalies. The collaboration intensified during the Syrian crisis from 2012.The unique expertise of La Chaine de l’Espoir on pediatric cardiac care helped fill a critical gap in the healthcare sector, providing lifesaving and lifechanging treatments to vulnerable children who might otherwise not have access to such specialized care. From 2016 to 2020, La Chaine de l’Espoir expanded its services to include access to medico-surgical treatments for vulnerable children with congenital orthopedic disorders (COD), in partnership with URDA, a Local NGO, that has been extended, since 2021, with capacity building and early detection, in collaboration with Local NGOs Caritas Lebanon and Arcenciel with 605 children provided with access to lifechanging medico-surgical care in 2022.

In response to the Beirut Blast in 2020, La Chaine de l’Espoir established a permanent office in Lebanon to provide medico-surgical care to those affected by the blast, including both direct victims and those whose vulnerability increased due to the blast.

Hands-on La Chaine de l’Espoir developed an acute knowledge of the health sector and local and international actors, collaborating with various organizations, hospitals and health practitioners and syndicates. La Chaine de l’Espoir also takes part in medical seminars and is now positioned as a reputable and reliable expert health International NGO in Lebanon. In 2023, in response to identified pressing needs, La Chaine de l’Espoir launched a pilot project to provide children in need with access to general surgeries, for the first time working with a governmental hospital.

POSITION AND MISSION

The Support Services Coordinator, working closely and under the responsibility of the Head of Mission in Beirut, will play a pivotal role in providing comprehensive technical assistance and mentorship to the team responsible for finances, administration, human resources, and logistics in Beirut. This entails to not only offering guidance on day-to-day operations but also facilitating skills development and knowledge enhancement within the team.

Furthermore, the Support Services Coordinator will take the lead in formulating a robust strategy aimed at cultivating a sustainable support services department. This strategy will be carefully crafted based on a thorough assessment of program needs and an evaluation of existing capacities within the team. By leveraging insights gained from this assessment, the Support Services Coordinator will identify areas for improvement and outline clear objectives and action plans to address them.

In addition to proposing this strategy, the Support Services Coordinator will spearhead its implementation, working collaboratively with team members to ensure seamless execution. This may involve introducing new processes, systems, or training initiatives to enhance efficiency and effectiveness across all support service functions.

ACTIVITIES

1- Guidance on day-to-day operations

• Provide support to the Finance Officer to prepare, manage and ensure proper follow up of the projects’ budgets and allocations, financial proposals and financial reports ensuring that donor rules and regulations are adhered to in finance management;
• Guide the Finance officer in implementing best practices in financial management for La Chaîne de l’Espoir’s and its partners;
• Assist the staff in the archiving, both physical and/or digital, according to La Chaîne de l’Espoir standards, of all administrative, financial, and logistics documents of the office;
• Provide support to the Logistician to prepare, manage and ensure adequate follow-up of procurement, equipment, fleet, stock, archive, IT and logistics reports, ensuring compliance with donor rules and regulations, with a specific focus on drafting/revising procurement plans;
• Contribute to activities related to audits and other internal or external controls, as well as the implementation of accepted recommendations;
• Ensure production and consolidation high-quality reports and guaranty support service quality engagement in the preparation of external reports (donors, authorities, etc.) using data from the branch and partners;
• Actively participate in internal coordination meetings.

2- Immediate capacities’ progress

• Engage in collaborative discussions with the different departments to identify immediate challenges;
• Lead on assessing immediate training’s needs for support and/or program’s staff;
• Deliver training on core policies and tailored topics based on the assessment;
• Mentor personnel in the administrative, financial, and logistics departments and provide coaching;
• Provide Head of Mission with regular and updated information on progress made and challenges encountered;
• Lead, in collaboration with the Head of Mission, on the design and the implementation of short to medium term action plans with the Finance, Admin and HR officer as well as for the Logistic and Security Officer;
• Actively participate in identifying and resolving challenges in terms of structural and operational finance / logistics strategy;
• Advise on the necessary steps in the recruitment processes for the teams in the office;
• Provide feedback to the Head of Mission on existing dynamics among the staff aiming at enhancing a constructive communication.

3 – Operationalization of Support Department

• Design an evaluation plan of the existing capacities and resources;
• Assess the existing and anticipated needs based on the mission’s perspectives (short, medium, long term);
• Liaise with other Local NGOs and International NGOs to have a better understanding of in-country practices regarding their structural organization of support departments;
• Propose a robust strategy to establish a support department, based on the outcomes of the evaluation exercise;
• Review the strategy based on feedback collected from relevant staff in the Lebanon mission and the Headquarter;
• Lead on the implementation of planned measures (recruitment, induction, etc.).

4- Reporting

• Participate in the monthly mission’s situation report;
• Support the logistician in the monthly logistic report;
• Provide final report with long term action plan with recommendation based on preliminary observations.

TRAINING AND SKILLS

Training and Experiences

• Master in Management Science, Logistics Management, Financial or Accounting Management, or any other equivalent training.
• At least a 4 years of NGO field experience as a Financial/Administrative/HR/Logistics Coordinator
• Experience in managing projects funded by institutional donors.

Skills and Abilities:

• Patience, flexibility, and adaptability.
• Management skills.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Precision, analytical, and synthesis skills.
• Proficiency in computer tools (Word, Excel, etc.).
• Interpersonal and communication skills.
• Trainer and mentoring abilities
• Teamwork spirit
• Understanding of institutional donor funding.
• English and French required
• Adherence to humanitarian principles and the ethical code of La Chaîne de l’Espoir.

CONDITIONS

• 6 months full time contract as an expatriate in Beirut
• Starting date : May 2024
• Salary : Starting from 2 500 euros according to profile and experience
• Accomodation : covered by CDE up to 800 euros per month
• Monthly per diem and living allowance : 850 euros
• R&R (5 days) at 3 months
• Medical coverage with 50% of employer contribution
• Medical evacuation and repatriation insurance covered by La Chaine De l’Espoir
• Death and disability insurance covered by La Chaine de l’Espoir