POSITION DESCRIPTION Title: Deputy Head of Program Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Duration of Contract: Up to December 31, 2017 Reports to: Head of Program
BACKGROUND
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a humanitarian, non-governmental, non-profit organiza-tion founded in 1956 that works in more than 35 countries throughout the world, including Ethiopia and Djibouti. DRC fulfills its mandate by providing direct assistance to conflict-affected populations, including refugees, internally displaced people and host communities. Under its mandate, DRC focuses on emergency humanitarian response, rehabilitation and post-conflict recovery. DRC commenced work in Ethiopia in 2009 and currently provides assistance in shelter, WASH, livelihoods and protection in the Gambella, Tigray and Somali regions of the country as well as in Ali-Sabieh and Obock in Djibouti. Activities implemented by DRC are funded by money raised from the Danish public and by project grants from Danida, UNHCR, ECHO, the European Commission, OCHA, BPRM and other bilateral and multi-lateral donors. POSITION’S SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES The Deputy Head of Program, in coordination and cooperation with the Head of Program, is expected to pursue the following objectives in her or his daily work: • To assist the Head of Program (HoP) in the coordination and management of the DRC Ethiopia and Djibouti Program Department in terms of planning, designing pro-grams/projects, resource utilization and reporting, and ensuring accountability, innovation and learning; • To strengthen systems of coordination, programming support, quality assurance, monitor-ing, budget management, and reporting, including frequent travels to field sites; • To oversee the development and management of donor proposals, grants and reporting. • To strengthen day-to-day relations with national duty bearers, primarily authorities such as ARRA, ONARS, and relevant line ministries at federal and regional level;
RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS To achieve the overall and specific objectives of the position, the Deputy Head of Program will perform the following tasks and undertake the following responsibilities:
- Coordination and Management
• Work with the Head of Program on providing input on the strategic direction of program within the context of Ethiopia and Djibouti and support the identification of opportuni-ties; • Support the HoP in the daily oversight and administration of the Program Department to ensure sound management, staff oversight, staff capacity enhancement, and the optimal utilization of resources; • Support the integration of technical inputs, vision, conceptualization of the strategy, and annual planning into day-to-day programming activities; • Support the development of the annual planning process and project activities; including preparation of proposals, work plans, budgets and progress reports.
- Operational support and program development
• Contribute to the updating and application of DRC’s sector and area specific strategies; • Supervise the grants unit, to ensure the timeliness, quality and relevance of DRC’s project proposals and grant management tasks, in full compliance with DRC and donor regula-tions; • Ensure the close collaboration of the grants unit and field operations with the finance, HR, logistics and procurement departments, by facilitating joint meetings and information shar-ing; • Support area and project managers in the conceptualization, design and drafting of new projects, in line with DRC’s country and sector strategies; • Directly coordinate the development of proposals for new and key institutional donors; • Monitor the quality and progress of project implementation and expenditure, including by regular field visits, and agree and ensure the implementation of corrective or preventive ac-tions.
- External relations
• Ensure the updating and application of DRC’s Communications and Visibility strategy; • Ensure and coordinate the representation of DRC in technical working groups (WASH, IDPs, Protection, Shelter, etc.) and other coordination meetings in Addis Ababa and field locations; • Develop mechanisms for and lead the systematic coordination and information sharing with relevant governmental bodies to built platforms for coordination, collaboration and advocacy; • Provide quality assurance for DRC’s operational or strategic partnerships with national non-governmental partners, such as national NGOs, independent institutions, and private partners.
- Staff relations
The Deputy Head of Program will report directly to the DRC Head of Program. The Deputy Head of Program will have direct supervisory responsibility for the Grants Unit in Addis Ab-aba and will provide management support to the technical advisors and area managers report-ing to the Head of Program. The Deputy Head of Program will draw on the human resources available in the Program Department to ensure the successful completion of the key responsi-bilities and tasks.
PERSONAL SPECIFICATION
To be successful in this role you must have: • A relevant post graduate university degree, e.g. in international politics, international de-velopment, economics, history, or similar; • 10 years’ experience in different progressive positions; with minimum 5 years of senior management experience, preferably in an INGO; • Significant experience in project management is essential; minimum 3 years of work expe-rience in project design, implementation, coordination and/or management in complex en-vironments; • Strong familiarity and technical skills within one or more of DRC’s key sectors in Ethiopia and Djibouti (protection, livelihoods, WASH, Shelter, NFIs) is a strong advantage; • Direct operational experience in conflict-affected or post-conflict countries and/or broad knowledge of themes relevant to conflict and/or post-conflict is required. International ex-perience is a strong advantage; • Excellent English spoken & written skills; French language skills is an advantage; • Dedication to the delivery of high quality, timely and relevant humanitarian assistance; • Strong personal integrity and respect for humanitarian values; • Prior experience working in multi-cultural settings and proven ability to engage colleagues, partners, donors and authorities with respect; • Previous experience with DRC an asset.
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested candidates should send a CV and cover letter in English addressed to the DRC Hiring Committee only through vacancies@drcethiopia.org, with the subject “Deputy Head of Program”. The applicant’s cover letter should state the reasons for applying for this particular position and not be generic. The cover letter should also include the applicant’s salary requirements. Please do not send additional materials other than a CV and cover letter, they will not be re-viewed. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis before the deadline, and interviews will be held as suitable candidates present themselves. Deadline for applications is December 18, 2016. DRC highly encourages qualified female candidates to apply. Only Ethiopian Nationals will be considered for this position.
