Field Officer, Gaziantep

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC or “the Federation”) is the World’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network.  The Federation is a membership organization established by and comprised of its member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.  Along with National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Federation is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.  The overall aim of the IFRC is to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world. It works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises.

The Federation is served by a Secretariat based in Geneva, with regional and country offices throughout the world.  The Secretariat is led by the IFRC Secretary General and provides the central capacity of the International Federation to serve, connect, and represent National Societies.  The Secretariat’s focus includes providing support to the IFRC governance mechanisms; setting norms and standards; providing guidance; ensuring consistency; coordination and accountability for performance; knowledge sharing; promoting collaboration within and respect for the RCRC Movement; and expanding engagement with partners.  The Secretariat’s headquarter is organized in three divisions: (i) Partnerships, including Movement and Membership; (ii) Programs and Operations; and (iii) Management. The Secretariat has five regional offices, as follows: Americas (Panama City); Africa (Nairobi); Asia/Pacific (Kuala Lumpur); Europe (Budapest); Middle East and North Africa (Beirut).

The Turkish Red Crescent Society (TRCS) is the largest humanitarian organization in Turkiye, and, as an auxiliary to the government, has been playing a leading role in providing assistance to the refugees and migrants since the beginning of the Syria crisis.

Turkiye is currently battling the repercussions of its biggest natural disaster in a century and the humanitarian needs are of immense proportions, sparing no one, including host communities, refugees and asylum seekers. The country has also been hosting around 4 million registered refugees, including Syrians, Iraqis, Afghan, Iranian, Somalian and other nationalities. Over 50 percent of the refugee population in Turkiye resides in the area affected by the earthquake.

The IFRC Turkiye Delegation and the Turkish Red Crescent Society (TRCS) have been implementing the largest cash programme in the world, the Emergency Social Security Network (ESSN) project, funded by ECHO. In addition, the TRC has been providing a first-line response to the earthquake, distributing shelter items, NFIs, mass nourishment, hygiene items, PSS and more. The IFRC Turkiye Delegation continues to support TRCS in its response to the growing humanitarian needs in Turkiye resulting from the earthquake, Syria crisis and other concurrent crises.

IFRC is currently seeking a Field Officer to join the Field Coordination team in Gaziantep. IFRC’s Field Coordination team is responsible for regional representation and oversight of all field-level activities of the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) programme, supporting also the earthquake response team in coordination and data collection activities when needed. The IFRC Regional Coordinators Istanbul and Gaziantep, while the Field Officers are present in Istanbul, Gaziantep and Ankara.

Under the supervision and guidance of the Regional Coordinator based in Gaziantep, the Field Officer will provide support to response, programme and field-level technical activities within the earthquake response and ESSN programme. S/he will be contributing to field level planning, coordination, capacity support and monitoring, whilst working closely with TRC field teams with the aim of assuring timely implementation of activities to meet operational objectives.

Operations support

• Actively support the finalization and implementation of TRC and IFRC field plans through conducting joint field missions with TRC field teams within the region.
• Assess the needs and capacities of TRC and relevant institutions, such as the SASF (Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundations), and report needs for mobilizing additional human and logistical resources.
• Arrange field level visits of management; including coordinating with TRC on preparing Joint Monitoring Missions (JMM) and other ad-hoc IFRC leadership missions.

Coordination, cooperation, networking and partnership

• Maintain a good working relationship with TRC field and SASF offices; including making available relevant information for SASFs, PDMM (Provincial Directorate of Migration Management) and Nüfus in a timely and professional manner.
• Participate in regional coordination and support field level coordination for planning, monitoring and oversight activities.
• Support relationship development between IFRC, SASFs, and other public authorities and stakeholders through supporting the Regional Coordinators to foster trust and identify capacity support needs.
• Liaise with local public authorities, UN agencies, and international and non-governmental operating agencies.
• When requested by the Regional Coordinator, act as the IFRC focal point for preparing and leading ESSN presentations in regional inter-agency working groups, including ESSN Task Force meetings and/or the Basic Needs WG.
• Identify sensitive issues relating to protection, outreach, SASF allowance, and ensure immediate communication to IFRC management through the appropriate management line.

Programme monitoring, evaluation and reporting  

• Produce reports and updates as per the frequency required.
• Provide adequate oversight to assure field level organizational accountability.
• Organize and join TRC on field monitoring missions and provide oversight of field level activities to assure adequate quality of field level activities.
• Support TRC and the IFRC’s Monitoring and Evaluation team and other workstreams in data collection and analysis.
• Regular feedback to IFRC management to assure leadership is fully informed on any material developments which could affect the ESSN programme, the earthquake response and/or IFRC.
• In coordination with TRC and IFRC Referral and Socio-Economic Empowerment (SEE) team, visit TRC Community Centers regularly to share relevant information and receive updates relevant for IFRC's programmatic objectives.
• Actively support the finalization and implementation of TRC and IFRC field plans. Conduct joint field missions with TRC field teams within the region (on average 2 to 4 days each week).

Information Management

• Ensure the Gaziantep region’s field documentation and reporting is organized and stored in the relevant cloud files and as agreed with the line manager.
• Support the visualization of field data using Power BI.
• Provide language support during leadership or other missions to the Gaziantep region.

General

• Perform any other duty as requested by the line manager.

Required:

• Relevant university degree or equivalent qualification

Preferred:

• Basic Red Cross Red Crescent Movement Training Courses or humanitarian response training or equivalent knowledge

Required:

• Minimum of 2 years relevant work experience in development/relief operations
• Minimum of 2 years work experience with an International Organisation, international non-governmental organization, NGO and/or government development agency
• Field experience in disaster and crisis management operations
• Practical experience in monitoring and assessments (including FGDs and interviews)
• Knowledge and understanding in the use of participatory tools in community planning approaches
• Experience liaising with government actors and general field coordination

Preferred:

• Experience within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
• Substantial experience in community led processes
• Good knowledge and relevant work experience in cash transfer programming and/or social safety nets
• Background in report-writing 

Required:

• Political and cultural sensitivity
• Effective team and project management skills
• Good mentoring and capacity development skills
• Good stress management skills
• Good analytical skills and solution focused person
• Ability to work well in a multicultural team
• Demonstrated accountability
• Knowledge of the region and Turkiye
• Fluently spoken and written English and Turkish
• Good command of another IFRC official language: Arabic

Competencies: Communication, Collaboration and Teamwork, Judgement and Decision Making, National Society and Customer Relations, Creativity and Innovation, Building Trust

Functional competencies: Strategic orientation; Building alliances; Empowering others