Planning & Development Manager

The Budget & Financial Planning Department is looking for a Planning & Development Manager, reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Budgeting & Financial Planning.   

Role Summary

The Planning & Development Manager is mainly responsible for managing the institutional development initiatives, and long-range financial and operational planning functions. This position bridges financial stewardship and institutional strategy, ensuring the university’s growth agenda focusing on new program development, capital investments, partnership development, and revenue diversification all grounded in sound planning frameworks and financially sustainable models.

The Manager coordinates closely with the AVP for Budgets & Financial Planning in addition to academic leadership, administrative divisions, and external stakeholders to align institutional resources with strategic priorities.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

• Oversees the financial evaluation and development of new institutional initiatives, including academic programs, research centers, auxiliary enterprises, and revenue-generating ventures
• Manages the preparation of business plans, market studies, and feasibility analyses for proposed developments, ensuring rigorous financial and operational scrutiny prior to institutional commitment
• Manages the pipeline of development projects from concept through approval, coordinating cross-functional teams and ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and financial capacity
• Develops and maintains a university-wide project portfolio dashboard that tracks the status, financial performance, and strategic alignment of active and pipeline initiatives
• Leads the development of the university’s long-range diversified financial plan (5–10 year horizon); integrates the under-development projects in the University’s holistic view in terms of revenue forecasts, capital requirements, and operating cost assumptions
• Builds and maintains comprehensive institutional financial models that support scenario planning, stress testing, and sensitivity analyses for strategic decision-making
• Collaborates with the Budget and Financial Planning Office to ensure alignment between the long-range plan and the annual operating budget cycle
• Monitors macroeconomic trends, higher education policy developments, and peer institution benchmarks to inform and refine planning assumptions
• Monitors the development and maintenance of the university’s multi-year capital plan, introducing new projects based in the consolidation model based on financial return, and operational need
• Coordinates with Facilities Management, Information Technology, and academic units to compile capital project requests and validate cost estimates
• Conducts financial analysis of major capital investments including construction projects, technology upgrades, land acquisitions, and equipment purchases
• Monitors capital project expenditures against approved budgets and flags deviations for corrective action
• Sets clear goals, expectations, and priorities for the team. Monitors individual and team performance regularly fostering a high-performance, collaborative team culture
• Provides on-the-job training, coaching, and mentoring to enhance staff skills, efficiency, and professional growth
• Performs other duties pertinent to this job as assigned by the direct supervisor

Minimum Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business Administration, Public Administration, or a closely related field
• Minimum 6 years of progressively responsible experience in institutional development, financial planning, or management consulting, with at least 2 years in a supervisory or managerial capacity
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder planning processes and delivering major development projects
• Advanced financial modeling skills, including long-range planning models, capital budgeting, and scenario analysis
• Advanced written and verbal communication skills, with experience in preparation of presentations for executive and board-level audiences
• Strong project management capabilities with the ability to lead multiple concurrent initiatives under tight timelines

Work Schedule

This role follows a standard Monday–Friday work schedule. However, due to the nature of managerial responsibilities, flexibility is required. The position may occasionally require availability after regular working hours, on weekends, or on holidays to support operational needs, ensure business continuity, and meet critical deadlines.

Interested candidates should email their CVs with a letter of interest outlining the applicant’s relevant experience to vacancy4@lau.edu.lb, specifying the job title in the subject line. 

CVs should include the exact month and year while listing the candidate’s professional experience and educational background.

Closing date for accepting applications is Saturday, July 04, 2026.

No applications will be accepted after this date, and only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

The Lebanese American University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.