Country: Jordan
Closing date: 28 Feb 2017
Contract duration: 1 year, with possible extension.
Organization The World Service is the internationally recognized humanitarian and development arm of the Lutheran World Federation, assisting people in need irrespective of their ethnicity, religion or gender. We implement programs worldwide, working with both local and international partners, helping communities achieve their full potential and advocate for their universal rights. Our partners include Lutheran Churches and their related agencies, the European Commission (ECHO), the US Government (BPRM) and UNHCR, with whom we are a key implementing partner. For additional information please see www.lutheranworld.org.
Background To strengthen its commitment to high standards in humanitarian assistance, disaster preparedness, and rapid response, WS has created regional emergency hubs in Africa, Asia, Latin American, and in 2017 is creating a new MENA hub, for which it seeks a hub team leader (TL). The hub team leader (TL) position is a highly operational position that demands maturity, integrity, advanced management skills, and a good understanding of humanitarian action and principles. The hub TL is based in Amman/Jordan, but will travel extensively in the MENA region. S/he reports to the global humanitarian coordinator in Geneva, with a day-to-day administrative and consultative reporting line to the LWF representative for the LWF Jordan Country Program, based in Amman. When deployed to other LWF country programs in the MENA region, the hub TL will report to the LWF country representative or team leader for that program.
Basic purpose • Uphold the vision, mission, and values of WS. Uphold high standards in humanitarian principles and humanitarian practice. Reinforce humanitarian ethics, quality assurance, and accountability through staff training, reinforcement of the Core Humanitarian Standards, promoting people-centred and effective project management, and strengthening complaints mechanisms. • Provide leadership and management to establish new humanitarian operations in countries in the MENA region where WS does not yet have an operational presence. Tasks include opening new offices; liaising with government, UN, and donor representatives; obtaining country registration; hiring and training new staff; supervising project activities, and providing adequate hand-over orientation for new team leader or other top management staff. • Provide support to humanitarian operations in MENA countries where WS already has an operational presence, but requires additional reinforcement of humanitarian management, coordination, quality assurance, and fundraising capacity. • Enhance WS’s capacities in disaster risk reduction and disaster preparedness, particularly through trainings, on-the-job coaching, risk mapping, relationship building and networking. The Hub TL will focus on building capacities of World Service staff, staff of LWF member churches, and ecumenical and interfaith partners, including ACT Alliance members and ACT country and regional forums.
Required Qualifications • University degree in international relations, agronomy/agricultural development, social sciences, business or public management, public health, engineering, or a related field. An advanced degree is an asset, but not required. • 3–7 years of work experience in humanitarian preparedness, response, coordination, management, or a similar field is required. • Proven work experience in managing staff and projects in humanitarian assistance or development-oriented programs is required. This position requires an individual with high levels of integrity, analytical, leadership, and management skills able to work in remote locations without close supervision. • Work experience with faith-based or non-governmental organizations is strongly desired. • Knowledge and experience with United Nations agencies, governmental actors, bilateral donors, particularly in the context of humanitarian assistance, is highly valuable. • Able to manage time and resources flexibly when constrained by time and difficult work environments (typical field contexts in humanitarian work). • Team oriented and able to manage, lead, and train culturally diverse and, at times, relatively inexperienced staff members. • Excellent communication (oral and written) and interpersonal skills, including sensitivity to different cultural norms. • Past experience living and working in the MENA region and knowledge and familiarity of the MENA region’s history, culture, society, and politics. • Ability and willingness to travel extensively in the MENA region, as needed. The position will be based in Amman, Jordan, but require the individual to travel up to 80%, sometimes on short notice, within the MENA region. Occasional travel outside of the MENA region required, for workshops or conferences. Deployments typically last from one week to several months. Housing and travel allowances when on deployment will be covered by LWF. • Expertise or work experience in humanitarian sectors such as protection, WASH, food security, shelter, camp management, or other technical specialization are an asset.
Language Skills • English: Proficient (written, spoken) as most documentation will be required in this language • Arabic: Fluency or advanced communication skills (spoken, written) strongly desired. • Strong skills in other regionally important languages, including Turkish, Kurdish, or French, are an asset.
Main duties
Establish new humanitarian operations in the region. In the event of major new emergencies or escalations in pre-existing emergencies in the MENA region where WS does not have a field presence, the hub TL is the focal point for leading response efforts, including the following tasks: • Plan and carry out assessments; • Liaise with other NGOs, INGOs and UN organizations to determine operational areas of intervention, participate in coordination mechanisms, and report on LWF activities on the ground; • Coordinate the operational set-up of LWF emergency activities; • Recruit, hire, train, and supervise new staff, as necessary, until humanitarian operations are handed over to a LWF program or other field manager; • Line manage the Regional Emergency Hub staff, any consultants deployed to assist with emergency response from the Global Emergency Consultant Roster; • Build the capacity of local staff through orientations, classroom trainings, and on-the-job instruction and guidance. Ensure that newly hired staff are given a orientation to essential LWF policies and procedures, notably the LWF Code of Conduct. Reinforce the knowledge and capacity of staff, both new and continuing, in good practices in humanitarian assistance especially humanitarian principles and standards. • Ensure new staff receive the necessary training, support and guidance on World Service operational, management and finance guidelines; • Ensure that the planning, monitoring, evaluating and reporting (PME) systems are set up in accordance with WS procedures; • Prepare or assist with appeals and project proposals; • Collect, analyze and report on information including needs, risk, market assessments, monitoring reports, and lessons learned; disseminate information throughout the LWF network, as appropriate; • Provide timely periodic situation and operational reports to the global humanitarian coordinator; • Liaise with LWF donor representatives on the ground, exploring opportunities for partnerships and advocating on behalf of LWF. • Ensure compliance with all host country legal, contractual, labour and statutory requirements, including registration.
Provide support to the expansion of existing humanitarian projects. The hub TL may be embedded in an already existing LWF field program and called to assist in the following ways: • Lead or support needs, market, and risk assessments; • Support the scale-up of emergency interventions, including providing expertise in sectoral areas, project management, humanitarian quality assurance and supervisory capacity; • Prepare or assist with emergency appeals and project proposals; • As needed, recruit, train, and supervise new staff; • Build the capacity of local staff through proper orientations, classroom trainings, and on-the-job instruction and guidance. Ensure that newly hired staff are given orientation to essential LWF policies and procedures, notably the LWF Code of Conduct. Reinforce the knowledge and capacity of staff, both new and continuing, in good practices in humanitarian assistance especially humanitarian principles and standards; • Lead or support negotiations with UN agencies, EU regional offices and other humanitarian actors, including representation at coordination meetings and mechanisms.
Support to disaster preparedness capacity building for emergencies in the MENA region. When not fully engaged in active disaster response as described above, the hub TL will, in consultation with the global humanitarian coordinator and the LWF Representatives in the region covered by the mandate: • Conduct a mapping of countries in the MENA region that are subject to current humanitarian crises and at risk of future humanitarian disasters, both natural and man-made. Identify potential and current partners, including member churches, in at-risk countries with whom to build and strengthen relationships to better prepare for disasters. • In consultation with the World Service global humanitarian coordinator as well as the regional program coordinator for the MENA region, draft a disaster preparedness and response plan for the MENA region which: 1) identifies disaster preparedness and DRR activities and strategies that LWF can promote on a regional and country-by-country basis, and 2) identifies priority countries and partners with whom to engage; • Provide trainings on emergency preparedness and DRR, security in emergencies, proposal development for ACT appeals and institutional donors, and other relevant topics for WS staff and the staff of LWF member churches, fellow ACT Alliance members, and other partner organizations; • Work together with country management teams and the LWF global humanitarian coordinator, ACT forums and member churches in the region to develop emergency contingency plans (including ACT forum Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans (EPRPs), where relevant), disaster risk reduction plans, and security plans; • Support the development of the Global Emergency Consultant Roster (e.g. make suggestions to the World Service global humanitarian coordinator of well-qualified candidates) to ensure that it includes professionals capable of responding in the MENA region;
Supervise MENA Regional Hub staff and any roster deployments or seconded staff. The hub TL will be responsible for managing staff under his/her direct supervision, including the following: • Provide line management of additional MENA hub staff, if any, unless they are deployed to other operations where they report to LWF representatives or team leaders there. In such cases where subordinate hub staff are deployed in other operations, they should maintain an informational reporting line to the hub TL. • Recruit, hire, orientate, supervise, and evaluate additional MENA hub staff in consultation with the World Service global humanitarian coordinator. • Line manage consultants deployed from the Global Emergency Roster and LWF staff seconded to emergency operations supervised by the hub TL, unless specified otherwise. • Ensure staff from the MENA Hub, visitors to operations run by hub TL, and any consultants or seconded staff are briefed on security, social and cultural norms and local conditions for the MENA region.; • Ensure that all staff under his/her supervision are provided with thorough orientation to the World Service’s mission, values, strategy, LWF Code of Conduct, and essential LWF policies and principles needed to properly complete their job.
Promote good relations and collaboration with LWF colleagues, affected populations, donors, related agencies, the ACT Alliance, and other humanitarian actors. • Ensure World Service emergency responses work with and through established ACT Alliance networks and mechanism (e.g. ACT Forums and EPRPs) when possible; • Promote partnership, communication and collaboration with affected populations, as central to overall accountability; • Communicate with LWF country representatives and team leaders in the MENA region so that they are aware of the MENA hub’s activities and strategic priorities and to promote better coordination on shared priorities like capacity building; • Coordinate with the UN system and cluster groups, whilst respecting the leading role of LWF representatives and team leaders in their respective countries. • Maintain a network of peers in emergency coordination in the LWF field programs, related agencies, ACT Alliance organizations, and ecumenical and interfaith partners in the MENA region to facilitate learning, sharing, collaboration, and more effective humanitarian coordination;
Other Duties: • Report back regularly to the World Service global humanitarian coordinator on activities, progress, and conditions on the ground; • Promote effective coordination and collaboration between the activities of hub staff and the LWF Communications Services, particularly for raising the visibility and profile of LWF activities and communicating with external audiences. • Fulfil any other such duties as may be assigned by the World Service global humanitarian coordinator in Geneva.
How to apply:
To apply please follow the link:https://lutheranworld.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0ms88?cjb_hash=O_gfju98&apply_now=true