Senior Emergency Response Program Manager

Position summary

CARE experience has shown that capacity is often stretched beyond its limits by humanitarian disasters, and that additional senior staff resources are needed to provide operational and strategic support from the onset to ensure a more effective response and to reduce financial and operational risks. In support of its new Humanitarian Strategy, CARE International is building a standing team of emergency response specialists. Members of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) are expected to be deployed to the field about 60% of their time, on average.

Because of the nature of the work, demands are fast-paced and unpredictable. This position requires an individual who is very flexible, provides expertise and leadership at a senior level and who works well within a team. Experience in integrating gender equality considerations into humanitarian interventions is required.

The Senior Emergency Program Manager (Team Leader) will be a key member of the RRT within the Humanitarian Assistance and Emergency Team at CARE Canada. The Senior Emergency Program Manager is intended to spend the majority of her/his time in the field ‘roving’ between emergency locations. Non-deployment time will be spent at home with responsibility of overall management of the CARE Canada hosted rapid response team, training/coaching/mentoring and preparedness planning.

Responsibilities

Rapid Response Team Coordinator (40%)

1. Coordination of emergency deployments: Work with the CI-HR coordinator on the identification and prioritization of rapid response deployments for RRT members. Oversee availability, staff movements and ensure that all relevant parties are kept up to date on changes to the planning and revisions of assignments. Ensure that Terms of Reference have been secured and are agreed with Country Office teams.
2. Development of systems and processes for the management of the rapid response team: work closely with HR, Admin and IT to develop systems that ensure effectiveness and efficiency in rapid deployments.
3. Financial management and reporting: Monitor and track salary expenditures against cost recovery targets. Ensure commitments outlined in IPIAs on reporting and geographic focus of deployments are met for reporting to CI Members funding the RRT. Work closely with Fundraising, Marketing and Communications with the view to identifying restricted resources for CARE’s Rapid Response Team.
4. Training/capacity building; Work with the CI-HR coordinator and the CI-Capacity Building coordinator to develop on-boarding protocols, staff orientations, and a training and capacity building plan for the CARE Rapid Response team.

Deployable Team Leader (60%)

The primary responsibility as a deployable team leader includes leading and coordinating assessment teams, managing the start-up of emergency operations and responses and, as time allows, contingency and emergency preparedness planning and development along with the refinement of required systems and procedures. A key underlying principle of the approach to this work is gender equality and women’s empowerment, as outlined in the Humanitarian Strategy document.

The position will respond to the fluid and changing requirements of Country Offices and involve frequent travel at short notice. Each deployment is expected to be associated with a detailed Terms of Reference developed by the specific country office, but generally speaking such assignments will require a combination of the following areas of responsibility:

1    Assessments: Lead and manage emergency assessment teams, rationalizing inputs and decisions for the team, leading the representation and coordination with other actors and determining final assessment recommendations for CARE responses. Specifically, ensure that all assessments identify the specific needs of men, women, boys and girls; that priority is given to equitable access to emergency assistance for women and girls; and that the teams themselves are gender balanced.

2    Strategy: Provide detailed strategic analysis of the humanitarian context, including basic gender, protection and/or environmental impact analyses with clear and relevant recommendations for program design, funding targets and implementation period. Clearly explain impact on communities, and determine program requirements across sectors and within a gender equality framework. Make recommendations on programming feasibility and resources implications with specific reference to funding requirements and strategic recommendations that will further women’s empowerment. Participate in program development and management, including external coordination with INGO, UN and national authorities. If required, conduct and lead donor negotiations with key institutional partners.

3    Operations: Manage emergency response start-up based on assessment findings and strategy recommendation, focusing on operational requirements for both program and program support. Collaborate with sector specialists to ensure effective programming that meets international standards. Support enforcement of guidelines for safety and security of staff and assets. Ensure a proper phase-out and plan for transition to full operations to be led by other, long-term Country Office staff.

4    Preparedness: Support emergency preparedness activities through the development, refinement and application of CI standards/protocols/guidelines for assessments and emergency start-up operations. Assist in contingency planning and emergency preparedness planning by reviewing Country Office preparedness levels and supporting the institutionalization of contingency planning processes. Coordinate with sector specialists to build capacity within CARE to respond efficiently to emergencies including identification of training possibilities.

5    Gender Equality: Ensure that gender equality is integrated into all aspects of emergency response and preparedness activities and operations. Help build country office and staff capacity in considering and integrating gender equality throughout their emergency response strategy and approaches all the way along the continuum from needs assessment to after-action review.

6    Team building:   Ensure that country office staff are fully integrated into the emergency response, that the programme developed is building on CO experience and that there is ownership of the programme by the senior leadership of the country office. All efforts must be made to ensure that an emergency response is integrated to the fullest extent possible into the existing country office structure.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years senior management experience in complex and natural disasters; both slow and rapid onset
• Experience and commitment to promoting gender equality within humanitarian work
• High level of demonstrable leadership and strategic management skills - including management and leadership of multi-sector teams in an emergency setting
• Ability and willingness to undertake frequent travel; ability to deploy at short notice for up to 12 weeks
• Experience and capacity to work in harsh conditions and insecure environments
• Track record of high resilience under pressure and ability to support and motivate teams in these situations
• High political acumen and excellent team building and interpersonal skills
• A very good understanding of the humanitarian system, principles and key relief sectors (e.g. strong knowledge of and demonstrated experience with IHL, the Red Cross Code of Conduct, SPHERE, IASC Gender, HAP and understanding and experience of the cluster approach to coordination and response)
• Capacity to work closely with communities affected by disaster, including familiarity with participatory assessment methods, with a focus on gender equality and ability to identify specific needs of men, women, boys and girls.
• Excellent research, assessment, report writing, proposal development, and emergency strategy development skills.
• Well-developed written and oral communications skills with high level experience in representation, negotiation, training, coaching and mentoring
• Excellent skills and interest in mentoring and capacity building of national staff in a broad range of emergency response and leadership skills including gender equality and diversity
• Language skills essential (excellent written and spoken English is essential, a second key language (French or Spanish) is highly desirable

Key competencies

• Strong ability to prioritize work
• Strong organizational skills; ability to multi-task, and/or provide timely feedback on an as needed and/or urgent basis;
• Strong ability to meet deadlines;
• Results-oriented focus; keen drive, with an infectious enthusiasm and passion for delivering results
• Cultural sensitivity, empathy, ability to work under stress required
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English; French is an asset
• Superior interpersonal skills, with a preference to working as part of a team for a diverse group of individuals with competing priorities

Education and training

Required

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in International Development or Humanitarian Action or in a related field, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

Desired

• Specialised training in humanitarian/emergency response.
• Technical proficiency in one of CARE’s focus areas (WASH, shelter, food security/nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, gender in emergencies, gender-based violence, logistics)

Other Conditions

• Expected percentage of time traveling: 65% of the time
• Special conditions: Ottawa

If you are someone who thrives on challenge, loves to be part of a dynamic team and you are passionate about making a difference, then this opportunity is for you. Please apply directly at: www.careersunited.org before November 28th, 2014.