Area Manager

OVERVIEW

Position Title - Area Manager

Duty Station  - Kayah State - DRC/DDG Myanmar

Terms of Reference (TOR)

Background

Danish Demining Group (DDG) is the Humanitarian Mine Action department of Danish Refugee Council (DRC), a humanitarian INGO providing support to displaced and conflict-affected populations in more than 35 countries.

DRC/DDG operates in Myanmar since 2008, focusing on the protection of populations displaced by the conflict in the Rakhine, Kachin, Kayah and Northern Shan States. Mine Risk Education (MRE) and Victim Assistance (VA) activities are implemented since 2012 in Kachin and Kayah States while, in 2016, the organization opened an office in Northern Shan State where MRE and VA are also conducted. Since 2017, DDG piloted a Non-Technical Survey (NTS) in Demoso Township (Kayah State) and, in 2018, extended NTS to 2 additional townships in the same State. Future plans also include extending NTS to additional Townships in Shan State. The NTS/CL project aims at increasing the safety and security of local communities through the identification and marking of areas potentially affected by landmines and other Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) and by delivering Mine Risk Education (MRE) in those areas. DRC/DDG has an established office in Kayah which also implements programming in livelihoods and community-based protection.

Specific duties

The NTS / CL Manager/ Area Manager (AM) is responsible for the overall implementation of and reporting on all activities included in the project, including:

• Detailed planning of project roll-out, activities, and expansion in coordination with the DDG Head of Programme;
• Supervising technical projects implementation and staff in their duties;
• Responsible for the quality assurance and quality control of all NTS and MRE activities;
• Projects monitoring and evaluation;
• High-level liaison work with stakeholders, including Sate and Township government authorities, non-state actors, project donors and other mine action organizations in the projects implementation locations;
• Pro-active liaison and coordination with other international mine action organizations in the frame of the International Humanitarian Mine Action Forum (IHMAF) and the NTS working group,
• Coordinating and delivering training and retraining of project staff;
• Ensuring the implementation of projects according to DDG Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and International Mine Action Standards (IMAS);
• Liaise and closely coordinate with the senior management team in Yangon and fellow AMs in other regions;
• Oversight and management of all DRC/DDG operations in Kayah base, including: all financial, administrative, logistic and security aspects of Kayah based programmes;
• Responsible for security in the area and ensuring adherence to security procedures and monitoring developments in the security situation;
• Line manager for key senior staff in Kayah programme;
• Lead preparation of design of funding proposals to expand the portfolio of Kayah programme in HMA and related activities.

The post will report to the DDG Head of Programme.

Required qualifications

• A minimum of four years of working experience on NTS & MRE within the Humanitarian Mine Action sector,
• Proven understanding of IMAS and Land Release Process,
• BA degree in a relevant discipline from an internationally recognized university or equivalent experience,
• Proven experience with Project and staff management, preferably in a complex and fragile environment,
• Experience of managing an operational base desired,
• Experience of managing a diverse portfolio,
• Strong communication skills and experience of representing at levels including donors, stakeholders and duty bearers in Government,
• Proven ability to mentor and coach others, 
• Prior M&E experience,
• The capacity and willingness to be flexible and accommodating in difficult and sometimes insecure circumstances, 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.

Desirable

• IMAS EOD level 2 or NTS/Community Liaison training and/or qualification from recognized Mine Action organization,
• Hands on knowledge of working with IMSMA, web mapping and GIS software.

Personal competencies

• You are a strong leader with an acute sense of cooperation and networking, internally and externally,
• You have a documented ability to recruit, build and motivate a team,
• You have a strong cultural sensitivity and can adapt to South-East Asian cultures,
• You show initiative, have perseverance and an ability to keep a cool head under stress
• You have attention to detail and get the job done,
• You possess innovative and creative thinking, and strong analytical and reporting skills.

Conditions

Duty station: Loikaw (Kayah State). This position is unaccompanied and R&R will be provided according to DRC/DDG Myanmar policy. Applicants must be prepared to live and work in an environment with limited recreational and social facilities when working in field locations.

Contract: 12 months with a possibility for extension, subject to funding and performance. Salary and conditions in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Expatriates and Appendix 11 as posted at www.drc.dk under Vacancies grade A14. This position offers five weeks of paid annual leave per annum. Expected date of deployment in Myanmar is 2^nd January 2019. Signature of the contract is subject to funding availability.

Application closing date - 20 November, 2018 (COB/5pm)

Please note that, DRC-DDG will conduct the interview on a rolling basis. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted and invited for an interview. 

Further information

For further information, please contact DDG’s Programme Manager in Myanmar, Pascal Simon: pascal.simon@drcmm.org. For general information about the Danish Demining Group and the Danish Refugee Council, please consult www.danishdeminingroup.dk and www.drc.dk. Applications sent directly to Pascal Simon will not be considered.

Commitments

DRC has a Humanitarian Accountability Framework, outlining its global accountability commitments. All staff are required to contribute to the achievement of this framework. http://www.drc.dk/HAF.4265.0.html