Access Adviser - Lebanon

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships.

1. Role and responsibilities

The purpose of the Access Adviser position is to guide NRC’s work to increase humanitarian access in hard to reach areas with high needs and limited humanitarian response.  The role will promote efforts on humanitarian access and coordination, providing support in the development of access strategy, analysis and operational support and capacity building to field based Access focal points in their day to day implementation.

Generic responsibilities

1. Support the development of the access strategy, technical SOPs and guidelines
2. Work closely with the NRC hosted interagency LHIF Access, Safety and Coordination body to strengthen the relationship between the LHIF Access group and NRC, as well as collaborate with the LHIF Access Adviser to provide capacity building in access negotiation, including training and sensitization of staff to principled humanitarian access negotiations
3. Represent NRC as a humanitarian organization in community outreach meetings and in access negotiation meetings with government and non-government stakeholders
4. Strategically network with interlocutors, in a fully principled and transparent manner.
5. Coordination of humanitarian negotiations, messaging and community outreach plans with all NRC field offices.
6. Coordinate and manage Access activities in line with proposals, strategies and donor requirements
7. Develop partnerships in the humanitarian community and coordinate with relevant authorities to design solutions to identified problems
8. Effectively promote the application and operationalisation of humanitarian principles in the humanitarian response in Lebanon.
9. Identify opportunities for strengthening access measures, as well as opportunities for promoting community acceptance and accountability to the affected population
10. Work with the LHIF Access Adviser to prioritise and analyse access related information from relevant stakeholders including patterns and trends through the joint production of monthly information and quarterly trends reports
11. Ensure alignment and compliance with NRC policies, guidance and procedures
12. Oversee and take responsibility of mainstreaming protection guidelines in the NRC’s related activities as per NRC’s Protection mainstreaming guidelines and ensures that all breaches/concerns reported are properly resolved.

Specific responsibilities

1. Advise the NRC Lebanon Country Office on how to plan for and deliver programmes in high risk and/or hard to reach areas, with an aim to maximize assistance, protection, programme quality and duty of care and support the practical implementation of this advice.
2. Support the NRC Lebanon Country and Area Offices / Country Management Group in making strategic, informed decisions related to humanitarian access and the practical application of humanitarian principles.
3. Ensure capacity building of staff in areas related to humanitarian access (i.e., humanitarian principles, negotiation, etc.).
4. Expand and maintain NRC’s network of relevant contacts through direct liaison as well as strategic support to stakeholder engagement.
5. Utilize and/or develop methods of assessing humanitarian needs in areas that are difficult to access in Lebanon, to inform the NRC Country Office’s geographic targeting, operational planning and advocacy.
6. Continuously monitor and evaluate the political, social, security and humanitarian situation for developments affecting humanitarian access, to inform NRC’s response.
7. Support the development and implementation of the advocacy strategy with advice and input related to humanitarian access.
8. Actively contribute to interagency LHIF access coordination efforts in Lebanon
9. Development and support of field teams to implement context specific access criteria, approaches and tools.
10. Facilitate effective information flow between field level realities and capital level coordination in Beirut.
11. Help organize and facilitate workshops and other capacity development, as necessary.
12. Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.

Critical interfaces

By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are:

• Access & Protection Advocacy: Advocacy Manager, Protection Specialist
• Programme Implementation: Programme teams, Emergency Field Teams, ICLA Community Assistants, HSS Field Teams
• NRC leadership: Head of Operations, Security Manager, Country Director, Area Managers, Head of Programme

1. Competencies 

Competencies are important in order for the employee and the organisation to deliver desired results. They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following two categories:

1. Professional competencies

These are skills, knowledge and experience that are important for effective performance.

Generic professional competencies:

• Experience of community engagement
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Fluency in Arabic and English, both written and verbal
• Ability to work under stress and in high-risk contexts
• Ability to travel regularly to the field independently is essential.
• Flexibility to work outside standard working hours.

Context/ Specific skills, knowledge and experience:

• Significant Access negotiation experience in all of NRC’s Hard to Reach areas
• Exceptional knowledge of the formation and organisational workings of non-governmental actors in Lebanon
• A minimum of three years experience in a similar role within an NGO (local or international), with humanitarian access functions.
• A minimum of three years experience in representing an NGO in formal and informal networks
• Experience with developing and implementing access related strategic objectives
• Knowledge of the humanitarian coordination system and the mandates of the actors involved.
• Knowledge of International Humanitarian Laws
• Good knowledge of the social, economic and political dynamics in all areas in which NRC works
• Strong data analytical and interpretation skills.
• Commitment to international humanitarian standards and principles.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced and often demanding environment.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and experience in humanitarian setting.

2. Behavioural competencies

These are personal qualities that influence how successful people are in their job. NRC’s Competency Framework states 12 behavioural competencies, and the following are essential for this position:

• Planning and delivering results
• Empowering and building trust
• Communicating with impact and respect
• Handling insecure environment
• Influencing
• Strategic thinking

Extra Information

Salary and Benefits: This is per the NRC Grading Scale - Grade 8

Reports to: Head of Operations

Supervision of: No direct supervision

Duty station: Beirut

Travel:50%