Job (Beirut): Lebanon Country Director – Alfanar Venture Philanthropy
Do you believe in the power of social enterprise to create meaningful and scalable social change in disadvantaged communities in Lebanon and across the Arab region? Alfanar provides grants and technical assistance to social enterprises, enabling them to achieve greater financial sustainability, and to scale their impact for their beneficiaries. Alfanar Lebanon was launched in 2012 and has impacted over 1,500 people directly in less than five years.
Alfanar provides a rare opportunity to help identify, scale and promote the work of truly inspiring social entrepreneurs in Lebanon. Alfanar currently has 13 investments in our portfolio across Egypt and Lebanon. We are looking to double our portfolio within the coming two years and to significantly grow support for our work in Lebanon and the Arab world.
Develop Alfanar’s social investment strategy in Lebanon with an emphasis on a growth in impact and sustainability. Grow Alfanar’s Lebanon portfolio of social enterprise investees through applications for investment and proactive investment sourcing
Conduct and assess due diligence on prospective investees and design pilot year investments
Provide initial capacity building for investees by conducting Alfanar Sustainable Social Enterprise Training (ASSET) modules
Manage growth and performance of investees through regular meetings to follow up on goals, to provide coaching and to source external consultants when needed
Assess investability of business plans and structure long-term investment when plans are backable (financing to include repayable grant component as and when appropriate)
Build Alfanar’s network of technical (business, marketing, finance, etc) pro-bono supporters in Lebanon, to help build the capacity of investees
Monitor and evaluate the performance of investees against social impact, financial sustainability and operational efficiency indicators of success
Organise quarterly meetings among Lebanon investees to encourage cross-fertilisation of ideas and peer-to-peer learning
Present to the Lebanon Board portfolio performance against indicators on a quarterly basis
Country Office Management and Representation
Represent Alfanar Lebanon both officially with relevant ministries, banks, and other legal institutions, and organisationally with investees, donors and other stakeholders
Strengthen the operations and organizational setup of Alfanar in Lebanon
Oversee day-to-day needs around finances, human resources recruitment, management and appraisal of additional team members as per approved plans, premises management, IT needs, and other back-office operations
Ensure compliance and risk management of country office finances, legal needs, audits, and other registration requirements
Participate in the development and improvement of Alfanar’s business plan, strategy and operations as needed
Develop Lebanon country strategy and ensure its effective and timely implementation within budget
Fundraising and Communications
Secure Lebanon income targets and ensure a growth of support for Lebanon’s portfolio of social investments and venture philanthropy activity
Identify and cultivate fundraising leads in line with the organisation’s business plans and fundraising strategy, pitch and secure support, attend and participate in external meetings and events when needed
Liaise with board members to facilitate and support Alfanar fundraising events
Represent Alfanar in front of supporters and donor-investors, organizing site visits to increase exposure to our work
Actively raise the profile of Alfanar and venture philanthropy in Lebanon and the Middle East
Work with Alfanar’s Communications Officer to ensure that Lebanon investments and achievements are effectively communicated to supporters and other stakeholders through regular newsletters, social media, and other outreach efforts
Work with Executive Director to achieve Lebanon income targets and ensure the growth of support for Lebanon’s portfolio of social investments
Experience and Qualifications
Experience in running a small organisation, a major project within a larger organisation, or a portfolio of social enterprises and grassroots organisations
Experience in setting strategies, budgets and work plans and implementing them effectively
Experience in reporting to Boards and other committees
Experience in contributing to a senior management team
Experience in putting together and managing a small team
Experience in fundraising and communications is a plus
Masters degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience
Exceptional communications skills in both English and Arabic languages
Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build rapport with diverse stakeholders ranging from marginalized populations, social entrepreneurs to international philanthropists
Passionate about Alfanar’s mission and values, venture philanthropy, sustainable development, social enterprise and the Arab world
Self-motivated with a passion for working in a fast-paced environment where proactivity, initiative and leadership are encouraged
