Program Manager for Site Management and Protection

Who are we?

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency pursuing our mandate to protect and promote durable solutions to displacement-affected populations based on humanitarian principles. Our response in the occupied Palestinian territory is centred on empowering conflict affected communities to meet their basic needs and promoting safety and dignity by addressing protection risks. Operating from two hubs in Deir al Balah and Gaza City, and with a coordination office in Ramallah and a representation office in East Jerusalem, the DRC maintains an active presence with over 30 national and international staff and four civil society partners. DRC now aims to grow our operation into a Country Office, as part of the Middle East Hub, which also comprises Türkiye, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan.

About the job

The Program Manager – Site Management and Protection is responsible for leading DRC’s integrated humanitarian operations in Gaza within the Site Management (SM) and Protection sectors. The role ensures high-quality, timely, and accountable delivery of assistance to conflict-affected populations in accordance with DRC standards, donor regulations, and international humanitarian principles.

The Program Manager will provide strategic direction, technical guidance, and operational oversight to field teams and implementing partners. The position aims to strengthen coordination, ensure protection mainstreaming across all sectors, and promote community participation and resilience in displacement-affected areas.

The Program Manager oversees complex and diverse portfolio of local partners, responsible for scale up and roll out of DRC’s SM and Protection approaches in Gaza in coordination with SM, Protection, shelter and other clusters and relevant authorities.

The role aims to ensure SM and Protection teams provide a lifesaving response and coordinate with Shelter, WASH, Health, Nutrition, and Mine Action, ensuring an integrated response so that the displaced families can access basic needs and services in the sites and to work with DRC’s approach in mitigating displacement in hard-to-reach areas in Gaza.

About you

Responsibilities:

General Management

• Manage and oversee implementation of all DRC SM and Protection projects in Gaza in alignment with strategic priorities, donor requirements, and cluster standards.
• Supervise and guide teams to meet project objectives, ensuring clarity of roles, accountability, and performance standards.
• Support local partners through capacity building, mentoring, and regular coordination.
• Conduct regular team meetings, field visits, and supervision sessions.
• Develop and monitor project implementation and procurement plans to ensure effective resource utilization.
• Ensure integrated planning across SM and Protection components, promoting complementarity and joint interventions.
• Foster a respectful, inclusive, and collaborative team culture in line with DRC’s Code of Conduct and PSEA policy.

Technical Support

• Provide technical guidance and oversight for both Site Management and Protection teams to ensure quality and adherence to global and DRC standards.
• In collaboration with technical coordinators (Protection, MHPSS, SM), design and update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), tools, and guidance materials.
• Act as a reference point for Protection Mainstreaming and Age, Gender, and Diversity (AGD) approaches across all activities.
• Support development and rollout of technical training modules and mentoring programs for DRC and partner staff.
• Oversee data management systems, ensuring data protection and ethical handling of sensitive information.
• Ensure effective technical linkages between SM, Protection, and other sectors (Shelter, WASH, Economic Recovery, and Mine Action).

Coordination and Information Management: 

• Ensure representation of DRC in SM, Protection, Shelter and WASH clusters, offering technical support to Cluster team when needed.
• Contribute to joint assessments, advocacy efforts, and multi-sectoral coordination to address emerging needs.
• Participate in inter-agency planning and emergency preparedness exercises.
• In coordination with DRC local partners, ensure the site-based meetings are taking place on a regular basis and ensure all communications, including minutes of meetings are disseminated on a timely basis.
• Ensure local partners’ Site Management teams’ presence through Mobile SM approach. 
• Coordinate the operational entities, provision and equitable access to services and protection in accordance with international standards aimed at guaranteeing the dignity of people and equitable access to basic services and fundamental rights.
• Establish per site a contact master list of stakeholders working in the site. Site level service mapping and monitoring through the shared site monitoring tool (including levels of services delivered). These should be shared in the regular site level coordination meetings with all partners working in the site
• Ensure an efficient and equitable use of resources – once site needs and gaps are identified, work with local and international actors, local authorities, and clusters, to fill the gaps. Once site level referral process is established, utilise this as much as possible to channel site level referrals
• Monitoring of population size, movements (new arrivals and departures) within the sites in coordination with DRC local partners and SM cluster.

Community participation:

• In coordination with DRC local actors and DRC SM specialists, ensure effective site level community governance is in place.
• Ensure that different gender, PWD and vulnerable or minority groups are represented and participate to the established representation structures
• Establish a community system under protection guidance to monitor and maintain common facilities
• Mobilization and participation of the inhabitants of the site for supervision and maintenance of infrastructure
• In close collaboration with DRC SM specialists and DRC local partners, ensure dissemination of information regarding assistance and services both to the population living in the site and to other interested parties
• In coordination with DRC MEAL and DRC SM/Protection specialists, ensure establishment of Complaint feedback mechanism to collect, analyze, share, refer and / or take action regarding the population’s complaints and feedback.
• Ensure with DRC MEAL support that DRC local partners are providing feedback to community on actions taken against their complaints and feedback (closing the loop)
• In collaboration with the community, ensure conducting awareness-raising activities regarding services and risk mitigation e.g. protection and WASH messaging

Site improvements and maintenance:

• Working closely with DRC SM specialists, support local partners identifying site improvement work based on findings from safety audits and other site level assessments of site environment and infrastructure
• Support DRC local actors in designing site improvement work (ie; BoQ, assessing local market, tracking procurement, PDM)
• Ensure care and maintenance of site infrastructure, including minor repairs and cleaning, while mitigating the impacts of environmental degradation (including through CfW and provision of cleaning materials)
• Mobilization and participation of the inhabitants of the site for supervision and self-help maintenance of infrastructure
• Establish dedicated community facilities such as site level community centres, communal kitchens, distribution areas etc.

Program design, management, and implementation:

• Conduct assessments, identify gaps, participate in concept notes and proposal development.
• Ensure community and stakeholder participation, develop all the implementation plans and manage the implementation of all the SM and Protection activities.
• Refer identified gaps to relevant forums or advocating with SM and Protection clusters, authorities, and humanitarian partners for additional support.
• Contribute to the strategic direction of the oPt Country Program Operation through participation in strategic planning meetings and developing strategic documents
• Supervise the implementation of the projects through monitoring and evaluation with the DRC MEAL team (quality control, monitoring objectives, and indicators), to ensure that SM and Protection activities are implemented following agreed strategies, principles, implementation plans, and donor requirements.
• Ensure protection data is securely managed and confidentiality maintained.
• Ensure timely and regular project documentation and reporting on the project – including performance/progress assessments against pre-defined project objectives, outputs, activities and indicators.
• Promotion of learning from relevant best practices internally and externally.
• Support preparation and review of donor reports for Site Management components for submission.

Finance and Administration

• Act as budget holder for all SM and Protection projects.
• Ensure budget monitoring, forecasting, and financial reporting are timely and accurate.
• Approve expenditures and procurement requests in line with DRC financial guidelines.
• Support preparation of budget revisions and donor financial reports in collaboration with Finance and Grants teams.
• Ensure adherence to administrative procedures and internal controls.

External Relations

• Represent DRC at the Site Management, Protection, Shelter and WASH clusters in Gaza on a regular basis and establish strong links with all relevant sectors.
• Provide technical support to the Country Office in donor relations when necessary.
• Maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders including UN agencies, NGOs, local authorities, and donors.
• Liaise with DRC technical coordinators to align field-level operations with national strategies and advocacy messages.

Capacity building:

• Set clear work plans and objectives, and promote career growth opportunities within teams.
• Lead recruitment, onboarding, and capacity development for new staff.
• Together with the DRC SM and Protection specialists, and the Program Development and Quality Manager identify gaps in capacities and opportunities for the roll-out of targeted capacity building activities for the local partner staffs and community groups.
• Take lead in the arrangements of venue training in terms of ensuring procurement and logistics support in collaboration with support service team.
• Support DRC SM and Protection specialists in coaching and mentoring of DRC and DRC’s local partners staffs.

Other Duties:

• Support contingency planning, emergency preparedness, and rapid response when required.
• Perform any other relevant tasks as assigned by the Area Manager or Technical Coordinators.
• Ensure all project activities adhere to DRC’s Protection Policy, Code of Conduct, and humanitarian principles.

 Experience and technical competencies:

• Minimum 5–7 years of experience in humanitarian project or program management, including at least 3 years in CCCM, Protection, or related sectors.
• Proven ability to manage multi-sectoral projects and diverse teams.
• Strong knowledge of protection principles, community participation, and humanitarian coordination frameworks.
• Experience in project cycle management, proposal development, and donor reporting.
• Demonstrated experience in capacity building and mentoring of staff and partners.
• Strong analytical, leadership, and communication skills.
• Experience in working with local partners and managing partnerships.
• Excellent planning, organizational, and problem-solving abilities.
• Previous experience with DRC or similar INGO is an asset.

Education

University Degree in areas relevant to Community Organization, Humanitarian Work, Humanitarian Protection, Psychology, or related fields.

Languages:

• English (Expert))
• Arabic (Optional, Added advantage)

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies: 

Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process. 

Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback. 

Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation. 

Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly. 

Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer

Contract length: March 2026 with possibility of extension (subject to performance and funding)

Band: F2 / Management

Work location: Gaza- OPt

Start date: 15/12/2025

Application process

All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English. Applications sent by email will not be considered.

Closing date for applications: 17/11/2025 Due to the urgency of the position, the applications will be reviewed on the on-rolling basis
 

For more information about the Danish Refugee Council, please visit our website drc.ngo.

Danish Refugee Council is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive and positive work environment based on mutual respect for all employees. All applicants are considered for employment regardless of personal characteristics or attributes.