Project Officer - Strengthening the Capacity of CSOs Project

Experience Needed :   At least 3 years of experience in development or civic engagement projects 

Education Level:         Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. social sciences, development studies, public administration, or management).

Contract LENGTH :      3 years 

Location :                    Cairo - Maadi

About Life Makers Foundation

Life Makers Foundation (LMF) is an Egyptian youth-led, voluntary, and non-governmental umbrella organization. It was established in 2011 to foster youth engagement in addressing emerging challenges at the local and global levels. Since its establishment, LMF has worked closely with community-based organizations to build youth capacities and support their efforts to develop their societies and respond to humanitarian needs and disasters. LMF operates in 24 governorates through a nonformal network of partner youth-led organizations and registered offices across Egypt, with a broad portfolio of projects and local initiatives in the sectors of Health, Education, Livelihoods, Humanitarian Assistance, Environment, and Youth Participation.

LMF adopts the core principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence in its operations to ensure the provision of assistance with no discrimination towards differences in ethnicity, religion, race, or any other consideration. LMF provides development and humanitarian interventions for the most vulnerable while preserving their dignity and ensuring their participation.

Life Makers is a voluntary, non-governmental, non-religious, non-political, and non-partisan movement that was launched in 2003 to mobilize the best of the human spirit to alleviate human suffering and protect human life and human rights.

About the Project 

This project aims to strengthen the role of local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Beni Suef, Fayoum, Luxor, Aswan, Sohag, Qena, and North and South Sinai, enabling them to engage in sustainable development actively. The project provides sub-grants and tailored capacity-building support to at least 30 local CSOs. Through training, coaching, and institutional development, CSOs will be empowered to improve their services and community impact. The project also promotes structured coordination between CSOs and local authorities. Key thematic areas include economic empowerment, civic participation, women and youth empowerment, inclusion of persons with disabilities, digitalization, and sustainable development.

Job Purpose  

The Project Officer will support the implementation of the EU-funded project in Upper Egypt and Sinai and will focus on one of the project’s main components: sub-granting, capacity building, and local stakeholder engagement. Under the supervision of the Project Manager (and guidance of the Senior Officer), the Project Officer will be responsible for day-to-day execution of activities in their respective component, working closely with partner CSOs and Field Coordinators to ensure the project’s outputs are delivered effectively.

Key Responsibilities:

• Work collaboratively with the project team to implement activities under the officer’s assigned component (sub-grants or capacity building), ensuring alignment with the project work plan and objectives. This includes regular coordination with the other Project Officer to maintain synergy between the sub-granting and capacity-building efforts.

For the Sub-Grants :

• Assist in designing and announcing the Calls for Proposals for CSO sub-grants. This includes helping to draft application guidelines, define eligibility and selection criteria, and clearly communicate the rules on allowable activities, costs, procurement, record-keeping, etc., to applicants.
• Coordinate outreach to potential applicant CSOs and respond to inquiries during the call period. Collect and log all incoming grant applications, checking for completeness and eligibility.
• Organize the evaluation of sub-grant proposals: schedule and support the selection committee meetings, prepare evaluation forms, and ensure that the scoring and selection process is properly documented. Maintain transparency and fairness throughout the process, in accordance with donor accountability standards.
• Once sub-grants are awarded, facilitate the orientation of sub-grantee organizations on their roles and responsibilities. In coordination with the Project Accountant, explain the financial reporting requirements and compliance rules for the grants (e.g., eligible costs and EU financial reporting for funds to third parties).
• Monitor the implementation of sub-grantee projects. Maintain regular communication with sub-grantees to review progress and reports, and conduct field monitoring visits jointly with Field Coordinators. Verify that sub-grantees are on track to achieve their objectives and adhere to the project’s guidelines, and assist them in resolving any implementation issues.
• Manage a tracking system for sub-grant deliverables and schedules. Ensure timely submission of sub-grantee narrative and financial reports, review these reports for accuracy, and coordinate feedback or capacity-building support for sub-grantees in project management as needed.

For the Capacity Building & Stakeholder Engagement :

• Identify the capacity development needs of the partner CSOs through analysis of the project’s baseline assessment and ongoing consultations. Using these findings, contribute to the design of a tailored capacity-building plan that addresses the specific gaps and priorities of sub-grantee CSOs.
• Organize and coordinate training workshops and learning sessions for CSOs across the target regions. This will include planning a series of formal trainings—approximately 9 regional multi-day trainings and 2 dozen local trainings on priority topics identified by the needs assessment. Handle all logistical arrangements for trainings (venue, materials, trainers) and ensure content is relevant and accessible to participants.
• Facilitate on-the-job coaching and mentoring for sub-grantee organizations. Work with expert mentors or LMF’s volunteer network to ensure that each sub-grantee receives at least 10 days of individualized coaching (both individual and group mentoring) to build their organizational capacity. Track coaching provision to ensure this target is met for all sub-grantees.
• Plan and convene regular consultative meetings between CSOs and local authorities in each governorate to promote dialogue on local governance and development issues. These forums should occur frequently (with around 50 meetings across all target areas over the project) and be structured to encourage constructive collaboration between civil society and government.
• Support the establishment of sustained consultative mechanisms or platforms that formalize cooperation between CSOs and local government (e.g., creating a local civil society-government committee or working group in each area). Aim to help set up about 6 such mechanisms in the target regions as a legacy of the project.
• Assist in organizing annual multi-stakeholder conferences on local governance. Each year, contribute to planning a conference that brings together CSO representatives and local officials from all target governorates to share best practices, discuss policy issues, and showcase project achievements (three conferences in total over the project period). Coordinate event logistics, speaker invitations, and content preparation for these high-visibility events.
• Ensure detailed documentation of all capacity building activities and stakeholder meetings (attendance, topics, outcomes). Provide regular updates and reports on these activities, including success stories or case studies of improved CSO capacity or enhanced CSO-government collaboration, to feed into the project’s M&E and reports.
• Work closely with the Field Coordinators to execute activities at the local level. Guide Field Coordinators on scheduling trainings or meetings in their governorates, mobilizing participants, and following up on action points from mentoring or consultation sessions.
• Adhere to and promote the project’s cross-cutting principles in all activities – ensuring that training content and stakeholder dialogues address issues of gender equality, inclusion of persons with disabilities, and environmental sustainability. All capacity building and outreach initiatives should reflect these principles and comply with EU visibility requirements.

Core Competencies and Skills

Achievement focused:

• Follow Results-based management (RBM) in achieving planned goals and objectives.

Working Smart:

• Achieve more in less time.
• Balances between work life and personal life to ensure the sustainability of high-quality performance.
• Able to contribute and create a participatory, enjoyable, fulfilling, and rewarding work environment.

Accountability:

• Holds self-accountable to making decisions and managing resources efficiently.
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance.

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for himself/herself (and the team), takes responsibility for self-development and encourages others to do the same
• Widely shares their vision, engages, and motivates others to contribute to the bigger vision of LMF.
• Future orientated and thinks strategically.
• Thinks globally and acts locally.

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships with project team, colleagues and external partners.
• Values diversity as a source of competitive strength.
• Approachable, good listener and easy to communicate with.

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions.
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Integrity:

• Honest and encourages openness and transparency

Qualifications and Experience: 

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. social sciences, development studies, public administration, or management).
• 3 to 5 years of experience in development or civic engagement projects, preferably in roles directly related to project implementation with civil society organizations.
• For the Sub-Grants Officer: Demonstrated experience in managing or coordinating grant programs for NGOs, which includes preparing calls for proposals, evaluating project proposals, and monitoring funded projects. 
• Knowledge of EU grant procedures or compliance for funding third parties is an advantage.
• For the Capacity Building Officer: Demonstrated experience in organizing and facilitating capacity building activities such as trainings, workshops, coaching programs, or community meetings. 
• Experience in fostering collaboration between civil society and government stakeholders is highly desirable.
• Familiarity with the challenges and needs of local CSOs in Egypt. Prior experience working with community-based organizations in Upper Egypt or Sinai (or similar contexts) will be considered a strong asset.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail – capable of handling multiple event logistics, maintaining records, and managing schedules efficiently.
• Strong communication and interpersonal abilities. Must be able to engage effectively with a wide range of actors, including local NGO staff, volunteers, and government officials.
• Ability to work well in a team and coordinate with colleagues remotely across different governorates. Should be proactive in sharing information and jointly solving problems with team members.
• Good writing skills for reporting and documentation purposes. Competency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and basic data management tools is required.
• Fluency in Arabic (spoken and written) is required for daily communication with local partners; good command of English is also required for reporting to the donor and reading project materials.