By continuing to browse this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Read our privacy policy

Area Manager

Multiple locations

  • Organization: DRC - Danish Refugee Council
  • Location: Multiple locations
  • Grade: Senior level - Senior
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Refugee rights and well-being
    • Project and Programme Management
    • Human Settlements (Shelter, Housing, Land, Property)
    • Managerial positions
  • Closing Date: Closed

We are looking for a highly qualified, self-motivated Area Manager who is able to work with diverse teams of both national and international staff as well as local government authorities, UN agencies, I/NGOs and other partners under difficult, stressful and sometimes insecure conditions.   

Who are we?   

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and Danish Demining Group (DDG) is a humanitarian, non-governmental, non-profit organization founded in 1956 that works in more than 30 countries through-out the world, including South Sudan. DRC/DDG fulfills its mandate by providing direct assistance to conflict-affected populations, including refugees, internally displaced people and host communities. Under its mandate, the organization focuses on emergency humanitarian response, rehabilitation, post-conflict recovery and humanitarian mine-action.   

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) in conjunction with Danish Demining Group (DDG) has been operating in South Sudan since 2005 initially concentrating on providing safe and supportive conditions for refugees returning from neighboring countries after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed.   

In 2012 - 2013, DRC opened its operations in Upper Nile and Unity States to respond to the large influx of refugees coming from Blue Nile State and South Kordofan (Sudan). In addition to the refugee response and since 2014, DRC has been then actively engaged in responding to the humanitarian needs of IDPs affected by the internal conflict through the provision of integrated approaches.   

With a total of 420 national staff, 50 expatriate staff and an annual budget of approximately USD 20 million, we are currently implementing multi-sectorial interventions through the provision of humanitarian services focused on CCCM, Protection, SGBV, FSL, Shelter and Infrastructure to both internally displaced persons and refugees across 5 field sites (Ajuong Thok, Bentiu, Maban, Malakal and Aburoc).   

Purpose of the post 

The Area Manager (AM) has overall responsibility for the implementation and strategic direction of DRC’s projects in the area, and for fostering effective relationships and communication with the majors Donors, UNHCR, ECHO, DANIDA, OFDA, OCHA, WFP, as well as sister NGOs and Government agencies operating in the area. The Area Manager combines a thorough grasp of program with amiable and inspirational leadership of a diverse team of international experts, and a large national workforce of emerging skill and professional capacities.

Reporting to the Country Director based in Juba, the Area Manager is the direct supervisor of an international and national team of Project Managers and Support Services staff who in turn oversee large teams of international and national program and support staff. The Area Manager provides routine support and guidance to project teams on project cycle management, budgeting, proposal development and operational functions, including finance, logistics and procurement. In addition, the AM provides oversight to ensure the successful implementation of all projects, with the support of the Technical Coordinators and constantly monitors the context to ensure programing is relevant and responsive to priority needs. In this capacity, the AM is also responsible for representing DRC externally at the area level, including with local authorities, in coordination fora, with other agencies as well as with donors. The Area Manager ensures a strong line of communications between DRC's Area office and DRC capital office in Juba, seeking Juba program direction and input on important programmatic and operational issues in a timely manner.

Finally, it is essential that the AM provides strong oversight of security management of the Malakal team and ensures all safety and security measures, including contingency plans and standard operating procedures, are in place and well understood and observed by all staff.

Responsibilities:

To achieve the objectives of the position, the Area Manager will perform the following tasks and undertake the following responsibilities:

Coordination/Representation

  • Actively participate and represent DRC in meetings with local and state authorities as well as in coordination meetings with other NGOs, UN agencies, donors and oher relevant stakeholders
  • Ensure a transparent, constructive and professional relationship with local authorities, other NGOs, UN agencies and donors.
  • Identify protection risks and concerns, as well as gaps in service provision to IDPs, host communities or refugees. In coordination with DRC Country office, proactively refer those concerns and gaps to relevant forums / advocate with government authorities or humanitarian partners in accordance with DRC strategy and policies.

    Programme Management

  • Overall responsible for the planning and timely implementation of all activities (shelter, construction, protection, camp coordination and management and shelter) ensuring adherence to DRC and donor policies and procedures
  • Overall responsibility for managing the DRC staff in the area office including ensuring positive and collaborative working relationships in line with DRC's Code of Conduct, leading performance planning and evaluation process including staff capacity building for the team in collaboration with the HR department.
  • Ensuring a strong communications between the area office and Juba Capital office. Facilitate coordination between Technical Coordinators based in Juba and Project Managers under the direct supervision of the area manager;
  • Contribute to the strategic direction of the DRC programs, in close collaboration with the Technical Coordinators in line with the DRC platforms, for instance, initiating strategy planning meetings at field level, and supporting development of corresponding strategic documents
  • Work with the Technical Coordinators, Grants Manager, Deputy Country Director - Programmes and Finance Manager to contribute to new project development, including both narratives and budgets
  • Maintain regular interaction and consultations with other DRC Area Managers to promote synergy and cross learning among DRC teams and projects in other program areas of the country.
  • Coordinate the development for emergency response in case of additional large-scale influx of IDPs or refugees
  • Ensure the timely and quality delivery of weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual project re-ports and staff contributions to organizational monitoring and evaluation requirements to ensure project quality, relevance and accountability to DRC's beneficiary populations
  • Provide oversight of all programming in the area office in compliance with DRC and donor regulations while upholding rigorous project cycle management standards.
  • Contribute to fundraising by leading the team to generate ideas for new proposal development and budgeting as well as extension of existing programs
  • Support program staff to create synergy between the sectors
  • Continuously monitor programme quality and develop relevant accountability initiatives in the field as well as strengthen the effort to document the impact of activities and DRC presence

    Support Services: Human Resources, Supply Chain, Finance and Administration

  • Overall responsibility for managing DRC Area office, including efficient and effective financial operations and budgeting, administration, human resources, logistics, procurement and security in compliance with DRC and donor regulations
  • Maintain a site-level budget overview and collaborate regularly with the Juba-based finance team to monitor spending and ensure the timely utilization of all grants
  • Support project managers and support staff in the development of site specific budgets and spending plans
  • Ensure full compliance with DRC and donor financial guidelines and policies while managing the projects
  • Lead the implementation of an area nationalization/staff capacity building strategy which feeds into the National Staff Nationalization policy
  • Support site-level recruitment processes and ensure that relevant staffing structures are in place, are reflective of appropriate gender balance, and promote opportunities for nationalization
  • Promote professional development by identifying training and capacity building opportunities and
  • Ensure staff are well versed on DRC's Code of Conduct, accountability, respectful dialogue with the refugees and host communities, and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse
  • Collaborate with the Juba Human Resources department to ensure staff performance plans and evaluations are conducted on a regular basis
  • Guide the Logistics staff, technical managers, program coordinator, support staff and Juba-based logistics and procurement team to develop and track the implementation of site-specific procurement plans
  • Ensure the observance of DRC procurement, logistics, warehousing and asset management procedures procurement and also full compliance with Donor regulations and policies and standards

    Safety and Security

  • Assume overall responsibility for staff safety in the area of operation in close coordination with DRC Safety Coordinator/Advisors
  • Ensure that all relevant information regarding safety, security and the context is collected, updated and shared in a regular and timely manner
  • Ensure that the Safety Focal Person manages basic security planning including information gathering and regular updating of risk assessments, standard operating procedures, and evacuation and contingency plans
  • Make decisions and assist the Safety focal point to manage security incidents at local level, in consultation with the Country Director and the Country Safety Advisor

Experience and technical competencies  

  • A Post-graduate University Degree in Political/Social Sciences, International Development or Business Administration
  • Solid experience in program management (4 to 6 years)
  • Field experience and broad knowledge of characteristics relevant to conflict-affected or post-conflict contexts, and specific operational experience with refugee emergency and recovery programming within a host community
  • Ability for rapid analysis of complex issues, strong decision-making, and translation of programmatic learning and priorities into operational strategies
  • Recent program management/oversight in all or some of the following sectors: Protection, SGBV, Camp Coordination and Camp Management, Shelter/NFI, Livelihood, Demining
  • Solid experience (3 years) in project cycle management, including proposal writing, budget management and donor reporting
  • Experience of coordinating activities across multiple locations
  • Experience with different donors i.e. ECHO, OFDA, DFID, DANIDA, BPRM, UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF valued
  •  Experience of staff management of both expats and national staff in challenging environments
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, cross-cultural communication and ease in managing a multi-ethnic team
  • Proven experience of capacity building and training, including preparation of materials and facilitation and roll out of a training plan
  •  Knowledge of finance monitoring and follow up tools
  • Good team leadership and conflict resolution skills, consensus team building, and adaptability 
  • Patience and understanding to work with and develop capacity of national staff
  • Good computer and IT skills and strong communication and writing skills
  • Ability and willingness to work in remote and isolated location with changing security situation

    Desirable qualifications

  • Strive for excellence, autonomous, motivated and able to work with limited guidance and supervision;
  • Demonstrate integrity, professional, strong work ethics, solution oriented, positive and constructive attitude
  • Experience working in security-sensitive environments and enforcement of team security protocols is an asset.
  • Take the lead, leadership skills, proven managerial skills
  • Strong communication skills
  • Prior experience with DRC or/and in South Sudan is an added advantage

Key stakeholders

  • Project Managers, Technical Coordinators, support team, communities, government officials, Juba support teams

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Expatriates; please refer to www.drc.dk under Vacancies. This position will be placed at Employment Band – E1).   

Application process  

Interested? Then apply for this position by clicking on the apply button.   

  • All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in English. CV only applications will not be considered.   
  • If you have questions or are facing problems with the online application process, please contact job@drc.dk   
  • Applications close 3rd February, 2019.   

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

Need further information?   

For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website www.drc.dk   

This vacancy is now closed.
However, we have found similar vacancies for you: