Deputy Director - SAFER Consortium DR Congo Goma BN

Background

SAFER (Strategic Assistance for Emergency Response) is a rapid response mechanism made up of 5 members: Acted, Concern Worldwide, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Solidarités International and financed by 4 donors: BHA, ECHO, FCDO and SDC.

SAFER has a national mandate but operates mainly in the 4 provinces of eastern DR Congo where the crises are currently most acute: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu and Tanganyika. 

The Consortium provides an emergency response to population displacements caused by conflict or natural disasters. It responds to the priority needs of affected communities through three areas of intervention: Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA), Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and integrated protection in emergencies. 

The Consortium is led by the Consortium Coordination Unit (CCU), comprising of a Consortium Director, his deputy and 4 technical advisors: 2 Monitoring and Evaluation advisors, 1 Protection advisor and 1 WASH advisor. Each member of the Consortium is represented in this unit as they hold at least one of these positions.

The Consortium needs a strong leadership and coordination function in order to operate effectively and deliver on its vision to be a leading national and global rapid response actor that supports the ability of vulnerable, conflict-affected people to cope and recover from shocks and influence national and global policies regarding the use of rapid response interventions in conflict contexts. The Consortium Director position is hosted by Mercy Corps, and the position of Consortium Deputy Director position by NRC. 

The SAFER Consortium Deputy Director represents the interests of all five partners, and ensures it is working effectively and efficiently across member agencies.

What we are looking for:

The incumbent should demonstrate the ability to cultivate harmonious relationships with all partners, fostering unity and collaboration. They must possess the capacity to offer evidence-based solutions and exhibit a solution-oriented mindset. Essential attributes for success in this role include proficient negotiation skills, effective communication abilities, and adept team management. Moreover, the individual should demonstrate strong influencing capabilities, diplomatic acumen, and meticulous attention to detail.

What you will do: 

In this position, you will:

• Chair the OCU (Operational Coordination Unit) meetings, considerations on challenges and opportunities for the consortium including identification of lessons learned exercise. 
• Support and report to the Consortium director on the implementation of the Consortium long term strategy.
• Support learning across member organizations to improve grant effectiveness and better respond to the needs of communities.
• Provide sectorial technical support through the supervision of the technical advisors and/or directly for Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) and Rapid Response technical issues. 
• Carry out field visits and provide technical recommendations to the SAFER consortium partners.
• Ensure that relevant tools are in place to enhance and monitor program quality and ensure timely, on scope and on budget implementation of the grants. 
• Ensure that an effective intervention monitoring system is in place (intervention tracker, issue log register) to enable quality reporting and ad hoc updates as necessary, including a visualization tool (dashboard) and programmatic updates/presentations. 
• Support the technical review of project proposals and reports.
• Represent SAFER in operational and technical coordination meetings (OCHA, Cash Working Group, etc.)
• Ensure a humanitarian situation monitoring based on alert displacement. 
• Assume the Consortium Director's interim when requested. 

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the role

What you will bring:

• Advanced university degree in a relevant field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in senior project management and/or coordination for an international organisation with responsibility for programming in a humanitarian, conflict, or post-conflict context; or equivalent. 
• Experiences and knowledge of Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), are highly desired.
• Proven experience in Cash Based Assistance.
• Proven experience in project cycle management and grant management.
• Strong communication, interpersonal, facilitation and diplomatic skills, including the professional credibility to provide coordination and guidance to member organisations.
• Fluency in French and English, both written and verbal are mandatory.

Context-related skills, knowledge and experience:

• Knowledge about RRM and Emergency Response in MPCA, WASH and Protection.
• Experience working with ECHO, FCDO, BHA and SDC.
• Experience working in complex emergencies, volatile contexts.
• Experience working in DRC and knowledge of the context an asset.

What we offer:

• Duty station: Goma, DR Congo (Goma is a non-family duty station)
• Contract: 12-month contract (from 1st July 2024)
• Travel: up to 20% 
• Salary/benefits: grade 9 on NRC’s scale.
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability. 
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative. 

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Important information about the application process:

• To apply as an internal candidate, log in with your official email, or click on Opportunity MarketPlace.
• When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
• Submit your application and CV in English or French, ensuring to attach your latest CV.
• Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
• We receive many applications for each vacant position, and as a result only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• We invite applications from all qualified and interested candidates. Send in your application by 12th April 2024.
• If you have any questions about this role, please email cwa.recruitment@nrc.no with the job title as the subject line.

Why NRC?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.