EECD Technical Manager

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Job Overview:

Reporting to the EECD Senior Technical Manager, the EECD Technical Manager provides hands-on technical leadership and support across IRC’s Education and Early Childhood Development portfolio. The role is responsible for strengthening the technical quality of programming, developing and adapting technical content and tools, leading capacity-strengthening initiatives, and providing sustained technical support to program teams and implementing partners.

A key component of the role is supporting government ministries and national institutions, including MEHE, CERD, MoSA and MoPH as relevant, to develop, adapt, review and institutionalize EECD content, tools, standards and capacity-strengthening approaches. The Technical Manager will maintain regular technical follow-up with government counterparts to understand evolving needs, coordinate agreed technical deliverables and support their implementation.

The position requires significant field engagement, working directly with IRC teams and partners to observe program delivery, assess quality, coach staff, troubleshoot technical challenges and ensure that technical approaches are translated effectively into practice.

Major Responsibilities:

1. Technical Leadership and Program Quality:

• Provide technical leadership and oversight to ensure EECD programming is designed, adapted, and delivered in line with IRC technical standards, national curricula, and international best practices.
• Support the development, review, and contextualization of technical tools, curricula, and learning materials.
• Establish and maintain quality benchmarks and technical guidance to ensure consistency across program sites.
• Contribute to desk reviews, documentation of best practices and evidence-based approaches, policy briefs, reflection and learning sessions, and technical fact sheets.
• Provide technical input into programme design, proposals, modifications, workplans and technical components of donor reports as required.
• Identify emerging technical gaps and program quality issues and recommend practical adaptations and corrective actions.
• Support the integration of cross-cutting priorities, including disability inclusion, gender equality, SEL/MHPSS, safeguarding, protection and inclusive education, into EECD technical approaches.

2. Government and Institutional Coordination:

• Serve as the primary technical focal point for coordination with relevant government bodies and ministries, including the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), and the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).
• Represent IRC in technical working groups, sector coordination meetings, subnational level meetings, and relevant government-led forums.
• Support alignment of EECD programming with national policies, strategies, and standards.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with ministry counterparts, donors, and other technical stakeholders.

3. Field-Level Training and Technical Support:

• Design and lead the delivery of trainings, coaching, and capacity-building for facilitators, teachers, caregivers, and partners.
• Develop training materials, facilitator guides, presentations, practical tools and follow-up mechanisms to support effective application of learning.
• Conduct Training of Trainers (ToTs) and support trained government, partner and programme staff to cascade technical content while maintaining quality and fidelity.
• Conduct regular field visits and structured observations to assess quality of implementation, provide on-the-spot technical coaching, and identify capacity-building needs.
• Document training outcomes, observation findings, and lessons learned to inform continuous program improvement.

4. Partner Technical Support:

• Support partner technical assessments and capacity-strengthening plans.
• Provide ongoing technical follow-up, mentoring and coaching to implementing partners to strengthen their technical capacity and ensure adherence to quality standards.
• Contribute with technical input to partner review meetings and feedback processes.

5. Policy, Advocacy, and Representation:

• Support the design and implementation of EECD-related policy and advocacy initiatives in coordination with government stakeholders and strategic partners.
• Contribute with technical inputs to policy briefs, position papers, presentations, and advocacy materials.

6. MEAL and Learning:

• Work closely with MEAL colleagues to ensure program indicators, assessments, monitoring tools and data collection approaches appropriately measure technical quality and outcomes.
• Regularly review program and quality data to identify trends, gaps and areas requiring technical adaptation or additional support.
• Contribute to baseline/endline assessments, evaluations, research, success stories, and other learning initiatives relevant to EECD programming.
• Facilitate technical reflection and learning sessions with program teams and partners and ensure findings inform program improvements.
• Document promising practices, lessons learned and evidence from implementation and support their translation into technical guidance and systems-strengthening work.

Key Working Relationships:

• Reports to: EECD Senior Technical Manager
• Internal Contacts: EECD team, Regional team, Policy, Advocacy and Communications team, MEAL and Partnerships teams.
• External Contacts: Relevant government ministries focal points (including MEHE, MoSA, MoPH), local NGOs and INGOs, UN agencies, and local Education/EECD stakeholders and working groups.

Requirements

• 4-5 years of relevant professional experience in ECD programming, including technical design and delivery (a must).
• Previous NGO/INGO experience required.
• Demonstrated experience engaging and coordinating with government ministries and institutional stakeholders.
• Strong facilitation skills, and experience in training design, delivery, and capacity building.
• Good understanding of MEAL approaches and the use of data and evidence for programme quality improvement.
• Ability to translate evidence and programme learning into practical technical recommendations, tools and approaches.
• Strong representation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Development, or a related field.

Language Skills:

• Fluency in Arabic and English required.

Working Environment:

• Position is based in IRC Beirut office in Lebanon.

• The role requires frequent travel to programme and partner implementation sites across Lebanon.

• The position combines office-based technical work, government engagement, training delivery and substantial field-based technical support.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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