Program Manager
AMIDEAST
مجموع سنوات الخبرة :21 years, 1 أشهر
Objective: The objective of the master’s scholarship program (MSP) is to provide 20 Palestinian professionals with master’s degree education at U.S. based institution, and to engage them after they return back home in the design and implementation of community development/follow on activities.
• Direct the MSP scholars’ in the design of their follow on activities: help the 20 MSP scholars identify follow on activity ideas that they are passionate about, work with them on identifying the targeted beneficiaries and organizations under their activities, and guide them in the development of their follow on activity proposals.
• Establish partnerships with the targeted organizations under the MSP scholars’ follow on activities: contact and facilitate meetings between the MSP scholars and the targeted organizations under their activities, discuss their proposed follow on activities, and agree on the implementation timeline and requirements.
• Guide the scholars during the implementation of their activities: conduct orientation meetings before the scholars start executing their follow on activities, provide them with technical guidance during the implementation of their activities, engage them in follow on activities progress review meetings, and review and approve the outputs and results of their activities.
• Financial and procurement management: Lead procurement of commodities and services under the scholars’ activities such as recruitment of trainers and consultants, signing of agreements, purchase orders and contracts, review and approval of deliverables, services and commodities, process payments, report expenditures, track budgets and prepare monthly sub-award reports.
• Monitoring, evaluation and reporting: conduct periodic field visits, update the MSP performance monitoring plan and Geo-MIS webpages, and assist the scholars in the development of pre and post evaluations and data analysis. Prepare periodic monthly, quarterly and annual reports.
• Representation, and participation in the donor periodic meetings: update the donor on quarterly basis about progress made under the MSP, join the donor during field visits, represent AMIDEST in meetings with organizations targeted under the MSP scholars’ follow on activities, and participate in conferences and workshops conducted by the donor and active organizations in the education sector.
• Development of the follow on component management system: It consists of follow on activity development approach, follow on activity implementation, procurement and financial management, monitoring, evaluation and reporting, compliance and filling.
• Leading the MSP conference: develop conference agenda, invitation letter template and prepare the invitee list, develop presentations’ templates and work with the MSP scholars on their presentations, discuss preparations for the conference with the donor, invite media to the conference and moderate the conference sessions and close the conference with the concluding remarks.
Ö Accomplishments: 15 out of the 20 MSP scholars have designed and implemented their follow on activities that focused on community development and knowledge transfer, four were out of the country and one was not responsive. The MSP conference was conducted in Ramallah and Gaza and was very successful according to the attendees and the donor.
Ö Samples of completed follow on activities: under Gaza Freelance business team follow on activity, 20 ICT skilled but unemployed youth were provided with a two month online freelance business training and engaged in online freelance paid assignments. The English literacy skills development follow on activity targeted 20 9th grade students who struggle in English reading and writing and provided them with a two month English training program. About 30 industrial engineering students were targeted under the lean manufacturing training follow on activity which lasted for four days.
Objective: lead the pre-solicitation, solicitation, administration and closeout phases of 13 million dollar fund in the sector of human rights and international humanitarian law.
• Strategy development: identify human rights priorities and intervention strategies through leading consultative meetings with civil society organizations, focus group meetings with human rights donors and development partners, and review of local and international human rights reports.
• Partnership management: develop call for proposals, application/evaluation templates, lead pre-submission workshops, lead application evaluation team, participate in the steering committee meetings, and work with the team on finalization of successful project applications and signing of grant agreements with successful CSOs. Oversee the implementation of grants according to implementation plans, budgets, and grant agreements and ensure compliance with donor rules and regulations.
• Management of grant team day to day operations: lead the grant team which includes two Facilitator and Capacity Building Advisors, Finance and Admin Manager, M&E Specialist, and two support staff. Provide them with guidance and support them in problem solving and decision making.
• Coordination and representation: conduct regular meetings with donors such as Diakonia, UNDP, and OHCR to prevent duplication and ensure complementarity. Lead partners’ periodic meetings, participate in partner events, and lead pre-application workshops, grant administration workshops, and donor coordination meetings.
• Lead annual report development: prepare annual report development plan, coordinate between all staff, gather staff contributions in one report and ensure availability of M&E data, no duplication…etc.
Ö Accomplishments: three call for proposals were developed one among them was a call for emergency proposals in response to the war on Gaza in 2014, and the second was in response to recent escalation in east Jerusalem in 2015. Partnerships with 50 human rights and civil Soceity organizations were established, six grant orientation and 6 grant administration workshops were conducted, several partners meetings and donor coordination meetings were conducted ….
Objective: The objective of the Food Security Governance of Bedouin Pastoralist Groups Project is to improve participation of Bedouin groups as recognized stakeholders in policy and decision making processes related to their food security and livelihoods.
• Project promotion and representation: lead project inception workshops and introduction meetings to governmental originations, non-governmental organizations, beneficiary groups and other relevant stakeholders. Develop and distribute project informational materials. Represent the project in front of governmental organizations such as Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Local Government and participate in periodic coordination meetings with international organizations such as FAO, CARE…etc.
• Partnership and project team management: lead three project partners and two contractors project staff in Gaza and the West Bank, coordinate between partners’ and contractors’ project teams, prepare overall project work plans, develop project tools and coach project teams, oversee project teams during implementation, receive and review contractors’ and partners’ periodic reports, lead partners and contractors periodic progress and coordination meetings and manage project teams’ dynamics. Ensure compliance with donor regulations and project implementation plan and budget.
• Contract management: review contractors’ technical and financial proposals, develop contract administration tools, supervise contractors during implementation, review and approve periodic technical reports, facilitate coordination and cooperation between contractors and partners, and lead periodic review meetings.
• Annual reporting: develop partners and contractors’ reporting templates, receive and review partners’ and contractors’ periodic reports, and consolidate all reports in the project annual report according to the donor reporting template.
Ö Accomplishments: project was introduced to several governmental and non-governmental organizations; four project inception workshops were conducted in West Bank and Gaza, seventy two beneficiary groups, seventy tow project committees and one hundred and forty four groups’ representatives were identified and selected, ten capacity building workshops were conducted, seventy two group profiles were developed… and annual report was prepared and submitted to EU.
Project Objective: The objective of Youth Voices for Community Action project is to build the capacity of a cadre of Palestinian youth in peace and nonviolence and help them identify and resolve conflict and violence issues in their communities.
• Partnership and project team management: lead seven project partners, in Gaza and the West Bank, and their sixteen employees, prepare project work plans, lead project various activities, conduct periodic planning, coordination and project progress review meetings, supervise partners during project implementation, receive and review monthly technical and financial reports, ensure adherence to project implementation plan and budget, and ensure compliance with donor’s regulations.
• Youth led initiatives/grants: lead six partners and their six youth groups in designing youth initiative activities and development of twenty two youth initiative proposals and budgets, educate partners’ project teams about youth grant technical and financial management, oversee youth led initiative implementation, ensure adherence to implementation plans, budgets and donor’s rules and regulations, review and approve initiatives’ outputs, receive and approve monthly technical and financial reports.
• Grant financial management: work with all partners on the development of youth led initiatives’ budgets, budget notes and annual projected expanses, review received monthly financial reports and ensure completeness of supporting documents, monitor all youth led initiatives budgets, guide partners in the procurement of commodities and services.
• Management of youth groups: manage seven youth group membership and stipend, monitor their field work under youth initiatives, conduct periodic meetings with youth groups to review youth initiatives’ progress, plan for central and national events, and listen to their concerns and needs.
• Monitoring, evaluation and reporting: design project M&E system and data collection tools, orient partners about M&E system and their roles in data collection, receive and analyze field data and update project monitoring and evaluation plan on the Geo-MIS. Prepare weekly and quarterly progress reports, success stories and articles; assist the Chief of Party in the preparation of periodic reports to donor.
• Conference and workshop management: design and conduct central conferences and workshops, prepare conference agenda and invitation letters, arrange and coordinate with presenters and speakers, select event venues and ensure readiness of all logistics, lead all conference activities, participate in the conference and closeout the conference.
Ö Accomplishments: six youth working groups were formulated and trained; they implemented eighteen youth led projects in six governorates in the West Bank and Gaza. Three central events and conferences were conducted: youth national meeting, planning and evaluation seminar and youth needs assessment workshop.
Ö Sample of completed Projects: Violence against Women in Bethlehem, Violence against Children in Jerusalem, Muslim - Christian Relationship in Ramallah, Environmental Related Violence in Hebron and Sport Violence in Nablus.
Project Objective: engage Palestinian citizens in the Palestinian Authority decision making process through implementation of citizen-government dialogue, advocacy, policy development and public awareness activities.
• Program management and promotion: lead and manage all grant program phases including pre-solicitation, solicitation, administration and closeout phases. Prepare grant program manual, annual implementation plan, annual disbursement plan, promotional brochure, RFQ and RFA. Lead pre-bidding conferences and educate potential grantees about the program objectives, requirements and awarding process.
• Grant/project design and negotiation: lead the review and evaluation of concept papers project proposals, budgets, budget notes and monitoring and evaluation plans, chair grants evaluation committee meetings and lead negotiations and discussions of grants evaluation committee's comments with potential grantees and help them in project design. Develop and sign grant agreements including all certifications and attachments with grantees.
• Grant/project administration: lead the grant team in the project administration orientation meetings after singing grant agreements to explain to implementing partners grant management policies, procedures and requirements. Oversee implementing partners’ implementation and performance and ensure adherence to implementation plans and budgets. Review implementing partners’ monthly progress reports and monthly financial reports and ensure completeness of supporting documents and approve financial payments.
• Compliance: ensure adherence of implementing partners to donors' regulations and standards including branding and marking policies, procurement requirements and standards. Review and approve grant completion reports, prepare grant closeout certificates and approve final payment. Participate in closeout ceremonies and represent Chemonics in events and workshops.
• Partnership management: conduct periodic meetings with grantees, facilitate the dynamics between grantees and the Finance Department and the Technical Department, contribute and facilitate meetings between grantees and governmental organizations and resolve obstacles facing grant implementation.
• Financial management: review and work with potential grantees on the modification of proposed projects’ budgets and budget notes. Review and approve partners’ monthly financial reports and ensure completeness of all supporting documents, compliance with donor rules and regulations, and guide partners in the procurement of commodities and services.
• Program representation: represent Chemonics International in front of implementing partners, citizens, and governmental organizations such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Public Works and Housing.
• Grant team management: supervise the grants’ team that consists of two Grants Coordinators and one M&E officer, and liaise with the technical and financial staff. Prepare periodic weekly and quarterly progress reports.
Ö Accomplishments: grant program annual implementation plan; grant management system and electronic filing system were developed and implemented. Sixty civil society organizations were identified as potential grantees, seventy concept papers and forty grant full applications were reviewed and evaluated, fourteen grant agreements were signed and fourteen projects were supervised from start to finish. Two pre-bidding conferences and two grant administration orientation meetings were conducted and attended by more than 60 local NGOs.
Ö Sample of completed projects: Streamlining Relationship between the Farmers’ Sector and the PA Ministry of Agriculture, Media Capacity Building for Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Education, Change Management- Public Perspective for Government Response.
Program Objective: the objective of the food security program was to improve the livelihood and increase the income of Palestinian marginalized families.
• Cooperative selection and capacity building: conduct field visits to and evaluate sixty agricultural and women cooperatives to identify the targeted thirty five coops as target beneficiary coops under the Food Security Program using a coop evaluation tool. Oversee and lead the institutional capacity building component of all cooperatives targeted under the Food Security Program.
• Proposal development (pre-solicitation): participate, as a team member in the grants evaluation committee; contribute to the development of the RFQ and RFP. Participate in the evaluation of prospective sub-recipients qualification and received project proposals. Work intensively with implementing partners during the negotiation phase and modify their project budgets and project proposals.
• Grant/project administration: oversee and monitor the implementation of six grants through conducting weekly planning and review meetings with implementing partner project' teams, reviewing project outputs, conduction of field visits and meeting with project beneficiaries.
• Coaching partners’ project teams: provide project implementers with guidance and support in the areas of beneficiary selection, needs assessment, packaging materials design, production management, hiring of consultants, preparation of TOR, SOW and agreements…etc. Supervise grantees’ procurement of goods and services and ensure competition, proper solicitation, evaluation and awarding procedures and ensure compliance with procurement requirements.
• Technical, financial and annual reporting: review implementer partners’ monthly progress reports, monthly financial reports and project final technical and financial reports. Prepare and submit project weekly, monthly and quarterly reports, and reflect project progress to program management in weekly meetings.
• Monitoring and evaluation: participate in the development and implementation of ACDI/VOCA’s monitoring and evaluation system, project performance indicator tracking table, M& E plan, training pre and post evaluation and coop assessments.
Ö Sample of completed Projects: Olive Production, Harvesting, Pressing and Oil Storage Project, Small Ruminant Milk Collection, Processing and Marketing Project, Value Added Food Production Project.
• Project management: manage several projects through preparing project master and operational plans, lunching project activities, leading project teams, supervising project implementation, conducting periodic review meetings with donors and clients, monitoring project progress and preparing weekly and monthly progress reports.
• Diagnostic assessments: conduct organizational, administrative and operational diagnostic assessments and evaluations through interviewing organization’s personnel in all departments including sales and marketing, production, MIS, purchasing, inventory, human resources and service departments. Prepare organizational assessment reports and discuss report findings with concerned organization employees.
• Quality management systems: develop, implement and audit quality management systems that cover all organization operational and administrative aspects including organization structure, job descriptions, organization policies, standard working procedures such as inventory control, purchasing management, personnel manual, sales and marketing management, production management and control…etc.
• Environmental management systems: develop, implement and audit environmental management systems that include identification of environmental aspects and impacts, environmental objectives and programs, environmental measurement and monitoring …etc.
• Training: develop and conduct technical training on environmental management, quality management and process and product quality monitoring and evaluation systems.
Ö Sample of completed Projects: Environmental Management System Project - Pharmaceutical Sector in West Bank. Emergency Credit Program for SMEs in West Bank and Gaza.
Summary of Achievements:
•Preparation of management development technical and financial proposals for hospitals, contracting companies, production factories …etc.
•Participation in marketing the consultancy's services.
•Development and implementation of quality management system according to ISO 9001:2000 for plastic pipes production factory.
Summary of Achievements:
•Sanitary lab teaching assistant - civil engineering department.
•Participating as a wastewater analyst in the Wascapal project.
•Preparation of management development plan for the wastewater laboratory.
• Human resources management system: conduct diagnostic assessment of client organizations’ human resources management system and develop organizational structure, job description, training management procedure, recruitment procedure, attendance procedure, employee performance evaluation, vacation management procedure, heath insurance management procedure and end of service management procedure.
• Procurement management system: conduct diagnostic assessment of client organizations’ procurement management system and develop purchasing procedure including direct purchasing, quotations and bids, vender approval procedure, received materials inspection and testing, inventory control procedure and periodic physical counting procedure.
• Logistic management system: conduct diagnostic assessment of client organizations’ logistic management system and develop and supervise the implementation of fixed assets management procedure, custody procedure, transportation means control system, and office maintenance management procedure.
• Monitoring and evaluation system: develop and supervise the implementation of M&E system in the client organizations, system consists of department objectives and indicators, process performance indicators, employee performance indicators, product performance indicators and service performance indicators. Data collection and analysis procedure and continual improvement procedure.
• Other systems: production control systems, sales and marketing systems, quality control systems and auditing system, sampling and statistical quality control.
• Process re-engineering: participate as a team member in process analysis and change management projects. Review all client organizations’ management systems and processes and recommend effective management changes on process level and on the organization level.
• Quality management systems: develop organizational policies, operational and administrative procedures and forms, provide coaching to client’s employees and supervise quality management system implementation. Develop project management systems for public institutions, system covers project master and operational planning, project implementation and control and strategic planning.
Ö Sample of completed Projects: Total Quality Management Project for Jericho Municipality, Environmental Management System Project (ISO 14000) for PALTEL.
GPA of 84.8% Award: 1998, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Chemical engineering award. Internship: Jul’ 1998 – Sep’ 1998 Intern, Sant Joan Despi water treatment plant, Barcelona, Spain Summary of Achievements: •Participation in two researches : using copper sulfate as disinfectant and using potassium permanganate as disinfectant •Participation in the design of copper sulfate unit and activated carbon tanks.