Emergency Response Team Leader

Position: Emergency Response Team Leader
Location:TBD – Various locations globally, potentially including remote and insecure locations
Reports to: Country Director / Regional Director / Global Humanitarian Director
About RI: Relief International (RI) is a leading global change organization and home to teams of humanitarian professionals committed to transforming adversity into renewal for the world’s most vulnerable populations. By partnering with beneficiaries and communities on the front-lines, RI innovatively bridges the gap between immediate relief and long-term community development.
Position Summary:
The Team Leader (TL) will be deployed to mobilize resources, plan and manage a response to a natural or man-made disaster, and to provide strategic direction to the country program in collaboration with the Country / Regional Director and the Humanitarian Director. The Team Leader is responsible for identifying needs and resources and elaborating program plans and proposals for the emergency response in line with Relief International national and global priorities, donor priorities, and in line with identified gaps in the overall response. The post holder will play a strategic role in the mobilization and effective scale up and management of RI emergency programs, taking the lead in representing the organization to donors, obtaining funding, and identifying and pursuing new program opportunities for the response. The post-holder will also develop and manage programs and / or support function staff and ensure that all relevant RI policies and procedures with respect to HR, safety and security, code of conduct, equal opportunities and other relevant policies and procedures are in place, implemented and adhered to.
The TL will report to the Country Director, Regional Director or the Global Humanitarian Director, depending on the emergency and its location, but will administratively depend on the Country Director and office of the country s/he is based in.

Position Responsibilities and Duties:
Emergency Response Planning and Resource Mobilization

• In coordination with the Country Director and Global Humanitarian Director, and as needed, lead all aspects emergency and disaster response, including internal and external inter-agency coordination at the country level, networking with donors and authorities, conducting emergency assessments, leading the design and drafting of proposals, and re-allocation of country staff and assets as appropriate.
• Provide timely and expert advice to Country Director and in country program teams on implementation of various components of the emergency response programs.
• Lead the process of developing immediate and longer term response plans, ensuring that RI’s response meets immediate humanitarian needs and strategically positions the organization for longer term program funding opportunities.
• Pro-actively ensure immediate and effective direct communications and networking with donors that produces actionable and timely business intelligence.
• In collaboration with Regional PD Officer and country staff, lead and ensure that preparation of funding proposals are of the highest quality and closely responsive to donor requirements
• As needed personally draft entire, or substantial parts of, funding proposals and budgets
• Track funding and program trends to understand specific donor priorities and resources.
• Initiate, establish and cultivate relationships with new donors.
• Actively identify and pro-actively pursue new opportunities for program growth and start-up, in coordination with relevant country, regional and GSO Program Development, Grants and Program staff.
• Assess other humanitarian actor's activities to identify geographic or sector gaps in the response and map partner agencies / other actors in the response.
• In close collaboration with regional and global support office management, participate in negotiation of contracts and agreements with donors, ensuring both programmatic and financial relevance
• Identify, and where appropriate, initiate and maintain program partnerships with external agencies.
• Plan and supervise needs assessments and data collection in support of program design.

Emergency Response Program Management

• Assume overall management and oversight of emergency response in collaboration with the Country Director.
• Have oversight over the development of 6-24 month master budgets for the response
• Take overall leadership on the implementation and monitoring of program budgets, keeping relevant stakeholders informed and ensuring any necessary corrective actions are taken in order to ensure activities are delivered on time and to prevent under or over spending on agreed budgets.
• Manage multiple grants (across multiple sectors), ensuring strict compliance of program activities with RI national and global policies and procedures and with relevant donor regulations and agreements, SPHERE guidelines and the NGO code of conduct.
• Establish project monitoring plans and systems for identifying and tracking the indicators and develop processes/procedures and forms to support monitoring, timely implementation and inform learning.
• Conducts routine visits to all impact areas of operation to track progress and resolve challenges.
• In coordination with programs staff ensure the preparation of timely program and donor reports on project activities in compliance with internal RI requirements and any relevant donor requirements.
• Ensure optimal safety and security management procedures and practices are in place for the emergency response program and continually monitor the safety and security situation, adapting staff safety and security procedures accordingly in collaboration and cooperation with any relevant security staff.
• Oversee effective functioning of logistics systems to procure, store and distribute stock, supplies and services for the timely delivery of project objectives.
• Ensure strong accountability to beneficiaries.
• Lead on organizational level operational practice, innovation and learning in consultation with Global Humanitarian Director and other functional leads.

Personnel Management and Development

• Plan, identify and resource appropriate and effective structure & staffing needs for entire response (including ensuring that personnel policies are in accordance with national laws)
• Act as a Point of Contact for Child Protection, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Harassment, and Code of Conduct policies, and train staff and beneficiaries on reporting misconduct mechanisms.
• Oversee the development & implementation of staff well-being (policy) and ensure appropriate staff well-being and R&R policy and processes in place
• Ensure that capacity building plans and performance management systems are in place to develop the requisite competencies in staff to ensure ongoing sustainability and quality of response into recovery phase.
• Coach and mentor international staff and national level counterparts and link in to wider organizational talent development mechanisms.

External Representation

• Represent RI’s emergency response on a national, regional and international level to donors, partners, relevant government bodies, the media and members of the humanitarian community.
• Help shape broader sector strategies through influence of and leadership within inter-agency coordination forums.
• Regularly undertake high level representation and advocacy with Government partners and officials as well as donor representatives. Establish systems for communication with local Government partners, relevant line departments and community representatives in the project area(s).

Skills, Experience, Knowledge:

• This position demands a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding, fast paced and often insecure environment.
• Extensive experience (over 7 years) of working within a senior management role within a complex country program in an emergency response (disaster or conflict) or fragile state. Previous experience of managing program teams in first phase emergency response is essential.
• Proven expertise of leading in fundraising, seeking and securing new donors, successful proposal writing and reporting.
• Evidence of understanding the challenges of donor and grant/contract management and the implications for program management
• Experience of managing large and complex, multi-donor, multi-sector programs (including ECHO, DFID and OFDA / USAID) in a first phase response.
• Substantial experience in the financial management of budgets, including preparing financial
• projections, general financial management and reporting.
• Strong report writing skills and experience
• Excellent English language skills, and knowledge of local language desirable.
• Demonstrated project cycle management skills, inclusive of work plan/timeline/deliverables/and budget tracking and course correction.
• Experience of international level representation with key stakeholders, and co-ordination with other NGOs/UN
• Experience of M&E and beneficiary accountability systems in large and complex programs
• Politically and culturally sensitive with qualities of patience, tact and diplomacy
• Commitment to the aims and principles of Relief International. In particular, a good understanding of the humanitarian mandate and principles.

HOW TO APPLY:

Please visit: http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH07/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=RI&cws=4&ri...