Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Officer

Work Arrangement:

Job Description

The IRC Economic Recovery and Development (ERD) team is implementing emergency relief and early recovery programs in Northeast Syria. These activities support short-term, basic need provision and longer-term development of marketable skills and productive assets. Within its livelihood portfolio, the IRC provides employment support services, including vocational training, financial literacy and transferable life skills classes, and apprenticeships with existing businesses to promote the development of marketable skills and on-the-job training. The IRC also supports the delivery of micro-grants to new and existing enterprises to continue and grow their economic activities, improve their business processes, and better manage the demands of the crisis. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) include retailers and service providers, formal and informal businesses, home-based businesses, and capital support for household-level production.

The SME officer will do field and administrative tasks with a focus on business follow-up and trainees (apprentices) in the apprenticeship program.

Responsibilities:

- Design assessments to determine challenges, gaps, and support needs of local vendors and SMEs. - Carry out assessments and analyze data to determine specific interventions that would help businesses better manage. - Work with the ERD Coordinator, Livelihoods Manager, and ERD Technical Advisor to design specific interventions to support SMEs (such as access to finance, training and skills, tools and resources, and linkages to markets and wholesalers). - Work with the Livelihoods manager, and MEAL department to develop monitoring and evaluation tools to track the effectiveness of support provided. - Adjust support models based on feedback from SMEs and monitoring information. - Ensure that field activities are implemented in accordance with the approved Standard Operating Procedures (SOPS) and other IRC policies. - Ensure that SME-related activities are meeting target indicators in relation to approved milestones and of the desired quality to achieve the desired goal/impact. - Support the Livelihoods Manager in developing detailed activity plans in line with program objectives, ensuring that those plans are implemented and any expected delays and/or modifications are communicated and raised in a timely manner with the ERD Coordinator. - Following up and supervising all aspects of the Business Startup Grants Program such as the process of training beneficiaries on developing a business idea and filling in their Business Plan and Grant Application forms and providing them with appropriate advice and consultation until they submit their proposals to the evaluation committee in addition to conducting field visits to businesses locations. - Prepare and follow up on all the documents needed for the Business Startup Grants Program such as PRs, cash plans, payment sheets, payment reports, and contracts, also contributing to the process of evaluating the business plans and grant application forms submitted by applicants. - Follow up and supervise all aspects of the Apprenticeship Training Program such as the process of distributing the program applicants in the local market to be trained by a business owner (trainer), following up the progress in the daily training, supervising the process of evaluating the applicants after ending the training period and supervising the written test. - prepare and follow up on all the documents needed for the Apprenticeship Program such as PR of starting the program, PR of the training tools and materials needed for each cycle, cash plans, payment sheets, payment reports, memorandum of understanding, and apprenticeship enrollment forms. - supervise and follow up the process of distributing the cash for business start-up kits to all the nominated (eligible) beneficiaries from the Apprenticeship and Vocational training programs after a process of tests and evaluations. - supervise the process of following Business Startup Grants beneficiaries received business startup grants. This follow-up is to collect indicators related to the increase in monthly working days, monthly income, and knowledge. In the same way, supervised the process of following up with Apprenticeship beneficiaries who received Apprenticeship training to collect indicators related to the increase in monthly working days, monthly income, and knowledge.

Staff Performance Management, Learning & Development

- Hire, supervise, and build the capacity of team members in relevant technical and management competencies. - Develop and implement remote management capacity-building approaches to build the strengths of the teams in Syria. - Coach, train, supervise, and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting annual performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews. - Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions. - Approve and manage time, attendance, and leave requests to ensure adequate departmental coverage; ensure monthly, accurate timesheet submission and carry out probationary reviews. - Hold high-quality meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, minimally on a monthly basis. - Provide a measurable development plan including on-the-job learning with the aim of strengthening technical capacity, exchanging knowledge within the team and providing guidance on career paths. - As required, identify staff performance issues and work with Human Resources to document and address these in accordance with the National Staff Employment Policies. - Maintain open and professional relations with team members, promoting a strong team spirit and providing oversight and guidance to enable staff to successfully perform in their positions. - Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of both national and international staff. - Look for opportunities to support staff in their career growth, where appropriate. As part of the succession plan and nationalization goals, identify, train, and develop the capability and capacity of national staff to successfully transition roles and responsibilities, by the end of the assignment.

Qualifications

- University degree, preferably in business administration, economics, or an academic degree in other fields alongside relevant experience in this field. - At least 2-4 years of progressively responsible professional experience of managing a business or enterprise, and familiarity with the market and market actors. - Relevant experience with INGOs will be a plus. - Previous experience in an emergency or conflict-afflicted setting is required.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

- A commitment to IRC’s mission, vision, values, and IRC Way – Professional Code of Conduct. - Credible written, presentation, and verbal communication skills; ability to convey information effectively and solid experience providing training and staff development. - Validated a sense of professional discretion, integrity, and ability to handle complex situations diplomatically and to effective resolution. - Excellent management and interpersonal skills and a solid ability to promote harmonious/cohesive teamwork, in a cross-cultural context. - Validated ability to plan long-term, organize priorities, and work under administrative and programmatic pressures with detail orientation and professional patience. - Highly collaborative and resourceful; ability to establish positive working relationships with senior-level management and all other partners to maximize cooperation and productivity. - Curiosity, a desire to continually learn and develop and a sense of humor is a must. - Analytical ability in creating effective solutions to complex matters while adhering to labor laws and internal policies.

Language/Travel:

- English is required, while Arabic is desired. - Travel: 20% to field sites in ERD business locations in NES as well as attending regional and global workshops and meetings.

Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Livelihoods Manager

The position directly supervises: SME Assistants,

Indirect Reporting (If applicable): Senior ERD Manager

Key Internal Contacts: Livelihoods Center Officer, training officer, HR, Finance, supply chain, Access, and IT sectors.

Key External Contacts: HAO, market actors, and ERD's partners.

Professional Standards: IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. In accordance with these values, IRC operates and carries out policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Respect at Work Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Returning National Candidates: We strongly encourage national or returning national candidates to apply for this position. If you are a citizen of the Country in which this position is based and are currently located outside of your home country and possess over two years of international work experience, the Middle East Region has introduced an attractive remuneration package. The package includes competitive compensation, a return flight to post, a shipping allowance, temporary housing, and a relocation allowance. Certain restrictions may apply. IRC strives to attract, motivate, and retain qualified national staff in our programs.

Accountability to Clients: IRC staff must adhere to the commitment of contributing to the sustainability and development of its (CR) Client Responsiveness Mechanisms, preserving the culture of prioritizing the needs of our clients and affected communities by systematically listening to their perspectives and using their feedback to make programmatic decisions and give them greater influence over program design and delivery.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols, and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Diversity and Inclusion: at IRC MENA, we are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Organizations that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, nationality, and perspective are validated to be better organizations. More importantly, creating a safe workspace environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best is the right thing to do. So, bring your whole self to work.

IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. In keeping with our core values of Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality, IRC strives to maintain a work environment built on mutual respect in which all individuals treat each other professionally, and free of bias, prejudice, and harassment. IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of IRC Persons in any work setting. All IRC staff, wherever they are located, are accountable for creating an environment free of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and retaliation.