Ethiopia: Area Manager - Ethiopia

Background

DRC has been providing relief and development services in the Horn of Africa and Yemen since 1997 and initially focused assisting those who are displaced by conflict in Somalia, but now works with those in the region impacted by forced displacement. DRC has offices across the region, and opened its first office in Ethiopia in 2009, and the program overseen in Addis Ababa now covers nine offices spread across Ethiopia and Djibouti to address the needs of refugees, IDPs, and migrants in transit.

Dollo Ado sits on the border with Somalia and is close to the Kenyan frontier as well, which is an under-developed and remote area. DRC has had an operation In Dollo Ado since July 2011, when approximately 200,000 refugees streamed across the border from Somalia following the drought and starvation there. DRC partners with UNHCR and the Ethiopian Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) on various interventions in the district, particularly in promoting livelihoods for the refugee population. DRC is increasingly interested to also address issues around durable solutions for refugees and issues of mixed migration in Dollo Ado.

Job profile

The Area Manager (AM) is responsible for overall management and strategic direction of DRC humanitarian and resilience program in Dollo Ado under the direct supervision of the Deputy Country Director (DCD) based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The AM will also represent DRC with the local and regional government bodies (especially ARRA and woreda, or district, administrators), international organizations (especially UNHCR, WFP, and IOM), other stakeholders, beneficiaries, and other (I)NGO’s as part of regular and quality communications to maintain good relations. The post-holder will need to clearly understand and ensure fair, accountable and transparent management of program, finance and human resources and promote a learning environment for staff and the organization. The AM will also be responsible for compliance to Standard Operating Procedures for safety, security and general operations.

Key responsibilities

Program Management

• Overall responsibility for the design, implementation and effective monitoring of agreed livelihoods and other projects and activities with refugees and/or host communities.


• Ensure effective monitoring, evaluation and documentation of all activities and processes, and that the analysis of data collected (at various levels) is proactively used to inform activity changes to improve program quality.


• Ensure the development and implementation of all activities in line with the Common Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and DRC program policies especially regarding non-discrimination due to gender, age, ethnic background, and disability.


• Seek funding opportunities to scale up and/or expand activities working closely with the Country Director, DCD, Head of Programs (HOP), and Grants team. This includes identifying and undertaking assessments as well as writing concept notes and proposals.

Technical Facilitation

• Engage strategically with all technical sectors in which DRC is active in Dollo Ado as needed and provide management and strategic input/oversight for all DRC programming in Dollo Ado.


• Facilitate linkages with and support from DRC technical specialists at the country and regional levels.


• Oversee and provide strategic support to sectorial teams in Dollo Ado.


• Where possible and appropriate, technical support, advice, and guidance to DRC programming in Dollo Ado.


• Support DRC’s engagement with mixed migration issues in Dollo Ado.

Representation and Relations

• Represent DRC with the regional/local governments, UN bodies and non-government organizations as required.


• Ensure appropriate DRC staff members attend the ad hoc and regular coordination meetings, clusters, technical working groups as applicable to DRCs program and work in Dollo Ado.


• Engage with all relevant stakeholders as regularly as possible. This includes local and refugee leadership, local and regional governmental bodies, donors, and partners.


• Ensure accurate and on time reporting internally and externally, including contributing to external donor reports and ensuring, in close coordination with the DCD and HOP, monthly DRC progress reports are sent to the Ethiopian government, UNHCR, and any other donor or oversight agency.

Team, Financial, and Budgetary Management

• Manage DRC’s field office in Dollo Ado as well as DRC’s operations throughout the Liben Zone of the Somali Regional State, Ethiopia.


• Lead regular staff and management meetings at Afar regional level.


• Manage direct reports to agreed job priorities and identify learning and development needs for program staff, under your direct and indirect supervision.


• Bring human resource/staff management issues to the senior management team and/or DCD for decisions.


• Control all financial transactions for DRC’s operations in Dollo Ado.


• Monitor and manage all project budgets for projects being implemented by DRC in Dollo Ado.


• Ensure effective and efficient use of resources, including financial, human, and all physical assets.


• Ensure that program teams work closely with the support team to delivery DRC policies and procedures in finance, procurement and logistics including effective planning weekly, monthly and quarterly.


• Overall responsibility for security for DRC operations in and around Dollo Ado including ensuring adherence to agreed security protocols, recommending changes to security protocols and delivering the agreed security action plan.


• Conduct any other activities as requested by the HOP, DCD and/or Country Director.

For general information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult www.drc.dk.

Reporting

The Area Manager will report to the Deputy Country Director, Ethiopia/Djibouti, under the overall supervision of the Country Director, Ethiopia/Djibouti.

Conditions:

Contract: Six months

Other employment conditions in accordance with the Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Global Expatriates recruited by the Horn of Africa Regional Office. This position is rated as A13 on the DRC salary scale available at www.drc.dk

Availability: May 2016

Duty Station: Dollo Ado, Ethiopia with frequent travel throughout the Liben Zone and to Addis Ababa. Note that this is an unaccompanied position and that this position qualifies for R&R.

General

Commitments: DRC has a Humanitarian Accountability Framework, outlining its global accountability committments. All staff are required to contribute to the achievement of this framework.

Qualifications

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  University-level degree in development, social sciences, economics, or other relevant field.

  
  


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  Minimum of five (5) years experience in humanitarian, development, and/or emergency program management and implementation, including quality monitoring and evaluation processes. Work experience that demonstrates a progressive increase in responsibility is desirable.

  
  


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  Technical expertise and/or experience in relevant sectors of humanitarian programming, such as livelihoods, shelter, WASH, protection, mixed migration, or the like.

  
  


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  Proven ability to build external relationships with diplomacy, tact and professionalism in a complex and demanding environment.

  
  


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  Demonstrated ability to manage and support multi-sector programs, including operational planning and problem solving.

  
  


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  Demonstrated experience of team management and team-building.

  
  


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  Demonstrated experience of financial and asset management,

  
  


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  Demonstrated ability to undertaken representation with senior government officials.

  
  


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  Strong analytical capacity for program design and development.

  
  


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  Ability to work independently and as part of a team

  
  


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  Proficiency in common computer packages and financial software i.e. Word, Excel, Power point etc.

  
  


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  Must show an ability to work effectively in an isolated and challenging environment.

  
  


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  Excellent professional written and oral English language skills.

  
  


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  Knowledge of Somali or Amharic languages would be a plus.

  
  

How to apply:

Application and CV

Interested candidates who meet the required qualifications and experience are invited to submit updated CV and cover letter explaining their motivation and why they are suited for the post.

We only accept applications sent via our online-application form on www.drc.dk under Vacancies.

Please forward the application and CV, in English through the online application on www.drc.dk under vacancies no later than 15 April, 2016.

If you have questions or are facing problems with the online application process, please contact job@drc.dk

For general information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult www.drc.dk.