Industry Partnerships Specialist

Higher Education Program - Lebanon

World Learning is a leading international non-profit organization advancing education, systems strengthening, and inclusive development through programming around the world. We are seeking an experienced Industry Partnerships Specialist for an anticipated USAID-funded program in Lebanon focused on strengthening higher education institutions capacity to improve the quality of their programs and build relationships with the private sector to ensure that their graduates are well-prepared to enter the workforce.

The Industry Partnerships Specialist will lead the strategies and approaches for the capacity strengthening of HEIs to create and sustain effective partnerships with industry, working closely with key HEI and private sector stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have strong technical expertise in private-sector engagement and experience with HEI-industry partnerships.

Recruitment is contingent upon successful award of the project.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of strategies and approaches for strengthening the capacity of HEIs to build and sustain productive private sector partnerships that adequately plans for sustainability;
• Provide technical assistance to HEI communities of practice focused on private sector engagement and industry partnerships;
• Develop evidence-based and contextually relevant models, resources, and tools for market-driven internships, apprenticeships, and other work-based learning interventions;
• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with private sector firms and associations in selected sectors and seek their active participation in sector development;
• Facilitate the establishment of sector-specific HEI-industry clusters and ensure their successful implementation, recommending appropriate interventions to overcome entrenched challenges;
• Monitor and evaluate activities (track, monitor, evaluation and report on results)
• Contribute to work plans, reports, visibility products, and other program deliverables
• Provide technical guidance to the Chief of Party, program staff and consultants, and consortium partners to troubleshoot problems related to the project's technical approach and deliverables;
• Other responsibilities as assigned.
  
  

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a related field; master's degree preferred;
• A minimum of (5) five years of demonstrated experience in private sector partnership development for donor-funded projects, preferably in Lebanon;
• Experience sustaining or supporting the creation of HEI-industry linkages preferred;
• Experience in capacity development and/or institutional strengthening in private sector engagement preferred;
• Strong communication skills and ability to build and maintain strong relationships with private sector and higher education institutions counterparts;
• Understanding of the economic, entrepreneurial, and employment landscape in Lebanon;
• Experience with USAID projects is a plus;
• Professional level of verbal and written fluency in English and Arabic, French a plus;
• Commitment to inclusive programming that encourages full participation of individuals regardless of gender, disability status, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or other marginalized status.
  
  

The World Learning Inc. Family

For more than 90 years, World Learning Inc. is a thriving global organization made up of The Experiment in International Living, the nation's most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students; School for International Training, offering accredited undergraduate study abroad programs through SIT Study Abroad and internationally focused master's degrees through SIT Graduate Institute; and World Learning, a global development and exchange nonprofit organization.

World Learning | worldlearning.org

World Learning has worked to create a more sustainable, peaceful, and just world. World Learning's education, development, and exchange programs help people find their voices, connect with their communities, strengthen the institutions that form the backbone of a democratic society, and build relationships across cultures. With World Learning's support, these emerging leaders tackle critical global issues like poverty, conflict, and inequality.

The Experiment in International Living | experiment.org

The Experiment in International Living is the nation's most experienced provider of international education through exchanges for high school students. For more than 90 years, The Experiment has empowered young people to step off the beaten path, experience the world as a classroom, immerse themselves fully in another culture, and build the knowledge and skills needed to confront critical global issues.

SIT | sit.edu

School for International Training (SIT) was founded in the early 1960s as a training center for the first Peace Corps volunteers. For nearly 60 years, SIT has prepared students to be effective changemakers and global citizens through experiential education focused on the world's most critical global issues. SIT Study Abroad offers accredited summer and semester undergraduate programs in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, as well as comparative programs on multiple continents. SIT Graduate Institute offers global and hybrid certificates, master's, and doctoral degrees.

An organizational commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.

We are a globally diverse community of staff, faculty, board members, alumni, students, and participants who believe that inclusive and equitable practices are at the heart of a peaceful and just world. Each of us strives to honor diverse voices and lived experiences, examine our own biases and privileges, actively work to address inequities in our structures, and foster a community of open dialogue. We are committed to acting with accountability, transparency, reciprocity, authenticity, and empathy.

World Learning is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action/veterans/ADA employer, committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce.