Humanitarian Team Leader

Humanitarian Team Leader

Are you keen to be an active member in a global humanitarian team responsible for DanChurchAid's (DCA) emergency response projects? As our new Humanitarian Team Leader you will be responsible for a small team of dedicated professionals working in some of the most challenging humanitarian situations in the world.

DCA’s Humanitarian Response and Mine Action Unit consists of 23 employees based in DCA’s headquarter in Copenhagen, Denmark, but also of Roving experts based outside DCA HQ. DCA responds to crisis in the world’s humanitarian hot spots and the unit is responsible for driving rapid, effective and quality responses that target the most vulnerable. The staff work within areas of humanitarian mine action, armed violence reduction, protection, cash and markets based programming, emergency food security & livelihoods, psycho-social support, GBV prevention, risk mitigation and capacity building of local actors.

You will be based at DCA’s headquarter but with frequent travels to DCA’s humanitarian programmes, potentially at a short notice. You should be ready to be deployed for longer periods (up to a month) in one of our programmes if needed, to provide support and surge capacity. Placements are potentially in challenging and crisis-affected settings.

The successful candidate for this job is a kick-starter, a motivator and a good team player. Moving in and out of unpredictable operational environments, the ideal candidate will identify priorities and targets, rapidly mobilizing DCA’s teams to move towards implementation.

Key tasks and responsibilities:

Personnel Management:

• Manage and coordinate a team based in HQ responsible for project and grants management

• Make sure that staff stays motivated and engaged, also during times with high workload

• Ensure that resources (people and budgets) are utilised effectively and efficiently in coordination with other teams of the Humanitarian Response and Mine Action Unit

• Ensure that the team has the right technical capacities for a strong humanitarian and emergency response unit

Project management

• Ensure good project management in collaboration with HQ and country teams in accordance with DCA guidelines and policies

• Rapidly assess emergency situations and support rapid and relevant emergency response to new, emerging and ongoing crisis in DCA focus and non-focus countries

• Facilitate and lead fundraising efforts as well as build and sustain donor relations

• Ensure that donor reports are timely and of high quality

• Plan and request technical support from DCA’s Humanitarian and Mine Action experts

Strategy, Advocacy and Standards

• Support strategy development for humanitarian response activities

• Actively participate in advocacy efforts led by HQ

• Ensure compliance with Core Humanitarian Standards in the unit and country teams

As the Team Leader you will keep yourself, your team and the Head of Unit abreast of the political, socio-economic and conflict situations in the countries and regions covered by your team as well as other crises and at-risk countries globally (natural and manmade disasters).

Key Competencies

The Humanitarian Team Leader will have a broad range of humanitarian competencies and experiences in her/his toolbox. While a specific sectoral expertise is not required, a broad and substantial knowledge of humanitarian response as well as sector coordination is essential. The successful candidate knows about the main trends in all the key sectors to be able to critically engage with sectoral experts, and to be able to identify which needs are the highest priority.

• Experience with people management is essential for this position

• Communication skills and the ability to get along with others in stressful situations are imperative

• Extensive experience with proposal writing and implementation of projects funded by donors such as Danida, US department of State, DFID, ECHO and EuropeAid

• Experience with and good knowledge of one or more of the humanitarian sectors (e.g. WASH, Shelter, and Protection) and/or Mine action

• Experience from working and living in field operations abroad, preferably with a national or international NGO or the UN system

• Strong analytical skills

• Experience with cash based programming and Mobile Monitoring Technology is desired

• Above all, this person is robust, a strong team player and an excellent communicator both verbally and in writing

Minimum Qualifications

• A minimum of 7 years of experience managing humanitarian aid/mine action programmes in complex environments, preferably with a widely-recognized NGO or the UN humanitarian system

• Experience in all phases of project cycle management in humanitarian response programmes and/or Mine Action programmes

• A demonstrated, general good understanding of humanitarian programming (e.g. cash based programming, mine action, protection) and humanitarian standards

• The ability to travel between 50 to 80 days per year

• Fluency in oral and written English. Working knowledge of French and/or Arabic is an advantage

• Prior experience with and good understanding of working with key humanitarian donors (BPRM, DFID, ECHO, Danida, USDOS) including their priorities

• Proven excellent communications skills – written and oral

DCA offers

• Contract starting as soon as possible
• Good colleagues in a rewarding and empowering work place
• Salary based on DanChurchAid´s collective agreement - an attractive pension scheme and insurance scheme will apply.
• Work time is 37 hours per week including lunch break.
• An interesting and challenging experience addressing humanitarian needs

Contact and Application

If you have questions regarding this position, please send them to Sune Hjelmervik Gudnitz, Head of Humanitarian Response and Mine Action Unit, at shgu@dca.dk. Please upload your motivated application and CV no later than 20 March 2018. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Applications received by email will not be considered. Please note that you should already have a permission to work in the EU.

Interviews will be conducted on an ongoing basis until the right candidate is found.

Qualified candidates regardless of race, age, gender, religion, or ethnicity, are encouraged to apply.

Please read the minimum qualifications of this position carefully. If you do not meet the minimum requirements for this position, please save your time and ours and refrain from applying.

To apply online, please go to "Join us" at www.danchurchaid.org