Palestinian SME Development Programme Project Officer

Consulate General of Italy

Jerusalem

Development Cooperation Unit

Terms of Reference

Palestinian SME Development Programme – Project Officer

Duty Station: Jerusalem

Office: Development CooperationOffice of the Italian General Consulate in Jerusalem

Programme: Palestinian SME Development Programme

Job Title: Project Officer – Local hiring

Duration: 1 year, with a 3 month initial appointment

Closing Date for applications:

Background:

Along the years, the Italian Development Cooperation has been actively involved in the process of strengthening and consolidating Palestinian institutions and economy in order to adequately respond to the Palestinian People’s quest for sovereignty and independence. Specifically, the Italian Development Cooperation recognizes the primary relevance that a sustainable economic growth has for the completion of the Palestinian institution-building process and for the promotion of social welfare and stability.

To this aim the Palestinian SME Development Programme (hereby referred to as “the Programme”), funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to tackle one of the major constraints faced by local SME-s: the possibility to access affordable funds in order to finance their investments, providing local companies with soft loans (through a Eur 25 million credit line) to purchase technology and know-how.

Within this framework, the Italian Development Cooperation Unit of the General Consulate of Italy in Jerusalem will appoint a professional to support the Head of the Economic Development Unit (HEDU) in the Programme management.

Purpose of the assignment:

The Project Officer shall assist Under the HEDU in performing the Programme activities in view to achieve expected results. He will also be requested to provide active support to all other initiatives financed and/or managed by the Italian Development Cooperation Office to support economic development in Palestine.

Tasks:

Under the overall supervision of the Director of the Italian Development Cooperation Office, the Project Officer shall assist and report to the HEDU. Namely he/she shall:

• Actively participate in designing and planning promotional activities to disseminate information on the Programme among possible beneficiaries and stakeholders;
• Develop and maintain effective working relations with Programme parties and stakeholders, such as chambers of commerce, business associations, international donor agencies and offices in view to achieve the Programme’s objectives;
• Assist the HEDU in revising of the Credit Line scheme, in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Finance (MoF) and according to guidelines provided by the Credit Line Steering Committee (CLSC);
• Contribute to the identification and design of new initiatives and related instruments, financed by the Italian Development Cooperation and supporting economic development in Palestine
• Draft reports and notes of meetings and activities performed;
• Draft brief studies and researches that may be requested during the Programme’s implementation;
• Participate in monitoring activities to verify the Programme performance according to set indicators.

The Project Officer may be requested to perform additional tasks consistently with the general mandate and activities of performed by the Italian Development Cooperation Unit.

Essential skills, experience and qualifications:

Education:MA in Economics or other related field or, alternatively, a University degree in Economics combined with a proven track record of professional experience of at least 5 (five) years in Economic/Private Sector development programmes.

Experience and competencies:

• At least 3 (three) years of professional work experience as project officer on Economic /Private Sector Development programmes financed and/or managed by international donors, UN agencies, International Finance Institutions (IFIs), governmental agencies;
• Proven knowledge of the SME sector in Palestine (structure, main needs and constraints).
• Knowledge of debt financing schemes, provided in the local credit market by banks and other financing institutions;
• Knowledge of programmes and initiatives financed by international donors and aimed to support SME access to finance in Palestine;
• Knowledge of policies and strategies of the PNA to foster and enhance private sector development in Palestine;
• Proven high proficiency on Project Cycle Management methodology, specifically referred to project identification, design and monitoring;
• Ability to draft economic reports, notes, brief studies and researches;
• Good analytical and communication skills;
• Ability to work in an international, multicultural environment.

Languages:

Fluency in Arabic and English.

Sound Knowledge of Italian would be a distinctive advantage.

Interested applicants are encouraged to apply by June 25, 2013, by submitting a personal resume and cover letter (both in English language) to the following email address: , reporting “SME Development Programme – Project Officer post” in subject.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews.