Regional Partnership Adviser - Middle East

Background

NRC currently has over 3,000 staff across the Middle East dedicated to assisting people affected by displacement in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Libya and Palestine. Its humanitarian interventions are based upon its programming expertise for vulnerable displaced people that were forced to flee in six Core Competencies: Education, Shelter, WASH, Livelihoods and Food Security, and Information Counselling and legal Assistance (ICLA).

The Regional Programme Department, based in Amman and managed by the Regional Programme Director, is responsible for the strategic development of NRC programming in the region by maximizing the support to and the development of Country Offices’ (CO) as well as by exploring and creating synergies between COs. This department is primarily focused on strategic guidance, technical support, capacity development, quality assurance and business development.

In line with global efforts towards a meaningful localization of humanitarian assistance, NRC has joined the ‘participation revolution’ through its commitments to the Grand Bargain (2016). As such NRC is seeking to work more and better with and through local actors. In particular, as NRC continues to expand its efforts in the Middle East and North Africa, it is seeking more diversified and strategic partnerships with civil society, state authorities and the private sector. As a result, the Middle East Regional office is looking a Regional Partnership Adviser to join the team in the Middle East Regional Office (MERO).This role will be critical in supporting NRC's regional programming strategy and contributing to the organization's overall mission of helping those affected by displacement in the Middle East.

Job Purpose

As Regional Partnership Adviser, your role will be to provide technical support to country office teams in the MERO region to help them effectively deliver with and through local actors. You will support regional-level strategic thinking and alignment on partnerships, including the development of partnership strategies for the MERO region. Facilitating learning and knowledge sharing on the experience of partnership with local actors in the MERO region will also be a critical part of your role.

Your specific responsibilities will include advice and guidance to the Heads of Programmes at the country level to ensure optimal partnership strategies, structures, systems, and resources are in place. You will e guarantee compliance with NRC Partnership policies, guidance, and procedures, as well as contribute to the development of strategies, policies, tools, and new approaches. Overall, as a Regional Partnership Adviser, you will play a vital role in contributing to NRC's mission of helping those affected by conflict in the Middle East by fostering strong partnerships and maximizing the organization's resources and impact.

What we are looking for 

We are looking for someone who is passionate about meaningful localization and has a broad programmatic experience in the humanitarian field in the Middle East. We expect you to be comfortable with leading complex strategic development projects across different technical areas, working transversally with a broad range of colleagues, and developing userfriendly tools, frameworks, and guidance. In this function, you will be required to work well with others and understands complex organizational structures and governance systems.

What you will do

• Contribute to the development of NRC’s vision, strategies, tools, and new approaches to strategic local partnerships and ensure compliance with NRC Partnership policies, guidance, and procedures;
• Support MERO in developing an innovative regional Partnership Strategy and related tools using systems thinking;
• Provide technical support to Country Office teams in the region to help them effectively and better work with and through the entire system of actors that is available locally;
• Facilitate learning and knowledge sharing across countries in the region on their experience and best practices for strategic partnerships;
• Liaise and coordinate with other functions where there are interdependencies within the MERO region (in particular the regional Head of Business Development Unit and the regional Market Systems Adviser), with other NRC regional offices and with Head Office (HO) workstreams.

Specifically you will be responsible for; 

• Strategy development and Vision Setting -  Lead on the conception and writing of the strategy document that will set MERO’s regional Partnership Strategy and on the adaptation of NRC systems and tools so that they are better able to support the creation of such strategic partnerships. This will involve developing a framework that clarifies the different nature of relationships and types of actors in the Middle East with whom strategic partnerships can be sought using a systems-thinking approach and tools development.
• Explore and enable possible regional-level partnerships with regional actors within the Middle East, providing support and guidance on the development of regional partnership agreements.
• Technical Support to Country Office Teams - Support existing Country Offices (COs) in the Middle East in developing their country-level Partnership Strategy in line with their Country Objectives as well as NRC regional Partnership strategy and NRC’s global mandate.
• Support in the expansion of NRC in North Africa with operational models that rely on delivery of assistance with and through local actors
• Sharing and Learning - Act as the focal point for information on MERO partnerships, including through developing a regional mapping of actors with whom NRC engages in the region. • Facilitate peer-to-peer learning among MERO Country Offices and develop a exchange network of key staff across the region that can share best practices in relation to partnership. 

Professional competencies, qualifications & Skills required:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant senior-level experience (leadership/management/adviser) within the humanitarian field, with evidence of some level of field experience working with a wide range of partners, and in particular local actors including authorities, the civil society and the private sector, from complex and volatile contexts is required.
• Head of Programme experience – or similar - is an asset.
• Some familiarity with systems-thinking approaches and tools and localization efforts and trends in the humanitarian community.
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, in person and remotely.
• Written and oral fluency in English is mandatory and Arabic would be highly valued.

Behavioural competencies

• Strategic Thinking 
• Initiation action and change
• Communicating with impact and respect
• Influencing
• Handling insecure environments

What We Offer

NRC is an equal opportunities employer and aims to have staffing diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, nationality and physical ability.

We offer an opportunity to match your career to a compelling cause and a chance to meet and work with people who are the best in their fields.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply and join our work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility: At NRC we think outside the box. We encourage ideas and give responsibility to all employees at all levels, to help solve the complex issues that we face. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take initiative.

We are also looking for people who share our values:

• To be dedicated in what we do;
• To be innovative with our solutions;
• To act as one unified and inclusive team;
• To be accountable to the donors that make our work possible; the people we exist to serve, and to each other… the members of our NRC family.

Additional Information:

Duty Station: Amman, Jordan

Travel: Upto 30%

Grade 9 in NRC's grading structure

Reporting to: Regional Head of Programme Development and Support

For more information regarding the role, here is the detailed job description.

We invite applications from all qualified and interested candidates. Send in your application by latest March 21 2023.

Please ensure you attach copies of your academic and professional certificates.

For any queries, please email us at mero.recruitment@nrc.no with the job title as the subject line.