Government Liaison Coordinator - Tehran based (Iran Nationals Only) - Iran

Rights Respected, People Protected

About NRC

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a non-governmental, humanitarian organization with 60 years of experience in helping to create a safer and more dignified life for refugees and internally displaced people. NRC advocates for the rights of displaced populations and offers assistance within the shelter, education, food security, livelihoods, legal assistance, and water, sanitation and hygiene sectors. The Norwegian Refugee Council has approximately 6000 committed and competent employees involved in projects across four continents. NRC runs the world’s largest standby rosters NORCAP, with 650 professionals, ready to be deployed on 72 hours’ notice when a crisis occurs

NRC in the Islamic Republic in Iran

NRC started operations in Iran in 2012. We currently deliver humanitarian assistance in 6 provinces in the sectors of Education, Food Security and livelihoods, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Shelter construction, as well as Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA). We co-lead several technical inter-agency working groups and provide capacity building to humanitarian partners in country. Next to our programs, NRC Iran also built an advocacy unit to develop joint messages and initiatives amongst INGOs to improve rights of the displaced.

Following several recent breakthroughs, NRC Iran is scaling up substantially its activities in support of the Government of Iran efforts towards an estimated 3,6 million Afghans residing in country and is expanding its programme unit.

About the position: Government Liaison Coordinator for NRC Iran

We are looking for a highly qualified Government Liaison Coordinator to harmonize, strengthen and develop NRC’s relations with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in particular the Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrant Affairs (BAFIA). 

The Government Liaison Coordinator supports the Country Director in harmonizing, strengthening and developing NRC's relations with National level Authorities of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (GoI). He/She will liaise with relevant officials to ensure timely approval of NRC projects and mission related requests. He/She plays a key role in successful conduct of the NRC mission in Iran and reports directly to the Country Director.

Our ideal Candidate:

Are you NRC’s future Government Liaison Coordinator? NRC has a fantastic opportunity for a person with strong organizational skills and a proven capacity to deliver results in a complex operating environment. Are you experienced in negotiations with senior authorities? Are you detail oriented in your written communication and have strong interpreter skills?  Are you able to coordinate important amounts of information and communicate professionally under pressure?

Task Description

1. Ensure adherence with NRC policies, tools, handbooks and guidelines
2. Liaison and follow up with relevant Government officials and authorities for activity related approvals, government reporting as well as administrative requests (visa, vettings, missions)
3. Ensure the development and implementation of internal systems and procedures. In particular, develop a Government liaison SOP and regularly update to maintain relevance
4. Plan and facilitate meetings with relevant government officials as per mission requirements
5. Supervise NRC’s Government Liaison consultant, organise his workload and tasks
6. Monitor legal and policy developments relevant to NRC, internally share summaries and brief the Country Management Group upon request
7. Prepare and develop status reports as required by the Country Director
8. Promote and share ideas for improvement of the Government Liaison function in NRC
9. Ensure capacity building of staff in skills related to Government Liaison purposes
10. Promote the rights of displacement affected populations in line with the advocacy strategy
11. Develop and update stakeholder analysis related to Iranian Government structures
12. Draft, submit, centralize follow up and record physical and electronic archives of all communications with national level government authorities, including but not limited to: programme inquiries and authorization requests, mission requests, validations, reporting, visas, permits (office, work, residence, exit-re-entry), staff vetting, meeting request, etc.
13. Ensure proper archiving and filing of all incoming and outgoing documents and statistics
14. Ensure timely submission of Government required reporting, in particular quarterly and annual report to BAFIA
15. Ensure that communications and translations across NRC are harmonized, factually and grammatically correct. If necessary, develop a network of translators that are approved by NRC in terms of quality
16. Support and accompany NRC management for meetings with Government authorities and facilitate translation
17. Maintain a Government Liaison calendar for senior management to be able to plan meetings as much as possible
18. Capture lessons learned with regards to collaboration with different levels of the GoI
19. Other duties as assigned by his/ her supervisor

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 year of work experience relevant for the position
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including capacity to negotiate with government and non-government stakeholders
• Previous experience in an NGO is an asset
• Excellent English and Farsi language skills, both written and verbal
• Ability to operate and work independently
• Detail oriented and strong organizational skills

Context/Specific skills knowledge and experience:

• Experience of liaison and/or representation with senior Iranian authorities is an asset

• Knowledge of Government structures within the Islamic Republic of Iran
• Knowledge of Iranian legislation and policies related to INGO work in the country

• Understanding of and respect for humanitarian work, particularly relating to refugee and displacement issues.

We Offer

Duty Station: Tehran

Contract duration/until: End of 2018 with extension possibility

Salary/Benefits: According to NRC’s salary scale and terms and conditions