Forum Director (FONGIM) At Norwegian Refugee Council

About Us

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. We work in crises across 31 countries, providing emergencies and long-term assistance to millions of people every year. We stand up for people forced to flee, advocating their rights. NORCAP, our global provider of expertise, helps improve international and local ability to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from crises. NRC also runs the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre in Geneva, a global leader in reporting on and advocating for people displaced within their own country.

Employment with NRC may lead to employment in or deployment to Regions, Countries, Areas or Offices that may be host to considerable health, safety and security risks. NRC takes this very seriously and we have procedures in place to reduce known risks, but will never be able to take away all risks. NRC requires staff members who travel on an international contract to the field to undergo an medical examination with our medical provider. Employees must produce a Health Clearance Certificate before departure stating that there are no relevant health concerns. If staff are unable to provide this, NRC reserves the right to terminate the Contract of Employment.

Context

The Mali INGO forum (FONGIM) is an association recognized by the authorities and currently has 95 international NGO members. The FONGIM aims to ensure/strengthen, in an independent manner, coordination between member INGOs, local and national authorities, the United Nations, donors, diplomatic representations and external partners.

It facilitates better sharing of information and expertise, the establishment of common guidelines among member INGOs, and the respect of fundamental principles for a more coordinated, efficient, and effective use of humanitarian, recovery, and development resources in response to the needs of the Mali population.

The FONGIM’s activities are statutorily developed around 5 pillars:

Information / exchange platform
Coordination / representation / relationship with partners
Advocacy
Communication
Access
Capacity building

For more details on the association’s organization, statutes, charter and services offered to its members, see https://sites.google.com/site/malifongim/home

Role and responsibilities

The FONGIM Director is overall responsible for facilitating, leading and quality managing the work of the INGO Forum ensuring it remains relevant to the needs of its members and is appropriate to the context.

The FONGIM Director will have purview of INGO engagement across Mali and engage predominantly at the high level elevating operational concerns in strategic decision-making mechanisms and processes and also engaging in regional and global platforms to raise the profile of the Mali context.

Generic responsibilities:

Compliance with and adherence to FOGIM approved policies and procedures and to and donor policies, guidance and procedures
Proactive agenda setting; facilitating a space for INGO collaboration; enabling sharing of information and analysis for effective decision-making
High-level representation of INGO interests in external meetings and planning efforts nationally and globally; and strategically guide and encourage common advocacy and policy engagement.
Manages the Executive Directorate staff, which includes FONGIM’s national and international staff
Manages office operations in Bamako and in regions.
Provide strategic and day-to-day management of the permanent office (personnel, budget, security, etc.);
Provides leadership to the office by encouraging delegation, accountability and teamwork;
Ensures the development of and compliance with procedures for the operation of the FONGIM office
Be responsible for the budgeting, budget management and accountability;
Be responsive to staff, ready to support them as needed.
Specific responsibilities

Strategic Coordination

Contribute to build and maintain a strong INGO-forum encompassing both development, nexus, and emergency response
Ensure transparent coordination mechanisms and regular information sharing between INGOs and other stakeholders.
Enable INGOs to coordinate at strategic and operational level in Mali by facilitating high quality, regular meetings of Country Directors, Senior Field Managers, thematic working groups, representatives of the INGO Forum and other mechanisms that maximizes the impact of INGO action in Mali. Ensuring information flows, feedback, drafting of relevant agenda and timely follow up on action points.
Encourage active and open dialogue between the NGO Executive Direction and INGO forum members.
Help maintain high quality countrywide coordination within humanitarian actors and between humanitarian and conflict mitigation/peacebuilding, recovery and development/governance actors.
Coordinate visits of high-level evaluation missions, UN and NGO missions, researchers, donors, diplomats as required
Increase and enhance INGO engagement with national NGOs and civil society groups to create potential coalitions around key thematic areas.
Identify opportunities and strategies for coordination with peacebuilding and development actors and humanitarians in Mali in line with the Nexus approach
Provide a regular and reliable conduit for the UN, Government, donor representatives and other stakeholders to communicate and coordinate with NGOs

Advocacy and policy leadership

Participate in important policy and planning processes underway at the UN and government level that requires field level operational inputs from INGOs e.g. Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), multi-donor and UN longer-term recovery and development planning.
Actively represent INGO Forum members in senior humanitarian and/or development platforms e.g. HCT, Humanitarian-Donor Group, CMCOORD, relevant technical groups and ensure engagement with and high profile external discussions and ensure the dissemination of high quality written feedback.
Regularly network and represent the INGO community at high-level fora and bilateral meetings including with UN, Donors, Member States, military and government, and other representative bodies.
Work effectively with delegated representatives of the INGO Forum and ensure accountability to members.
Represent INGO Forum members at global meetings and conferences and raise members’ advocacy messages and key priorities by participating in high level panel discussions, round tables and closed-door meetings.
Lead in implementation of Advocacy Strategy while mobilizing and leveraging support from member organizations.
Work with Advocacy Working Group/platform in country to regularly draft policy and positioning papers and briefs in line with collective views of INGO Forum members on topics of concern.

Membership mobilisation for coordination and information sharing

Acting as focal point for information/experience sharing with and among NGOs on relevant issues including managing NGO Forum and INGO membership, contact lists and mailing lists
Support the effective functioning of FONGIM permanent and ad hoc working groups
Offer regular analysis on key thematic and operational issues impacting country context, humanitarian responses and affected populations.
Ensure timely response to requests for help and information from member organizations, non-member organizations and other stakeholders, such as donors, governments and UN agencies.
Identify gaps in research and analysis that could be used by large numbers of the membership and hire and manage staff/consultants as needed to assist with and complement this task.
Provide oversight on the development and/or maintenance of the Forum Web site and rebranding of the Forum including development of a toolbox of branded materials and templates

Fundraising, networking and donor relations

Ensure high quality INGO Forum proposal development and donor reporting, as well as donor liaison on key areas of progress in collaboration with the Steering Committee.
Actively engage high profile targets and allies within UN, Government, donor and diplomatic communities in Mali and externally to further advocacy objectives.
Stay informed on global, regional and national opportunities to further advocacy objectives by anticipating key dates and ensuring adequate time to contribute productively. Liaise with relevant consortia to this end.
Collect, analyse and share information relevant to members and external stakeholders, often with the goal of influencing policies and improving operational or protection space.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

Team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work.

Competencies

Competencies are important in order for the employee and the organisation to deliver desired results. They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following two categories:

Generic professional competencies for this position:

5+ years of experience in a conflict or post-conflict setting with an INGO in a coordination or senior management role (e.g. Country Director or similar levels). Experience of working in complex humanitarian situations is preferred.
Tertiary undergraduate/postgraduate qualifications in international relations, political science, development or other relevant field
Proven high profile management, coordination and advocacy experience in humanitarian context.
Demonstrated communication, leadership skills, interpersonal and negotiation skills
Documented skills in developing proposals, budgets and reports
Strong advocacy experience in conflict-affected countries
Demonstrated knowledge of humanitarian architecture, the UN system (HCT, ICC, Clusters), in an integrated mission context
Knowledge of international humanitarian law and humanitarian reform a plus
Experience working in MLI would be an asset
Strong understanding of conflict sensitivity and protection
Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities.
Knowledge of law/legal aspects would be a plus
Computer literacy

Context/Specific skills, knowledge and experience:

Knowledge of the Mali context or previous experience working in Mali or West Africa
Experience in administration and coordination of coalition or secretariat functions a plus.
Strong communication, inter-personal, facilitation and diplomatic skills.
Fluency in English & French, both written and verbal, with strong writing and editing skills.
Excellent computer skills.

What We Offer

12 months with possibility of extension
Grade 11 in NRC scale
Duty Station: Bamako with 15% travelling
An opportunity to match your career to a compelling cause
A chance to meet and work with people who are the best in their fields

The role is open to international candidates who can show a commitment to NRC and being part of a challenging, but important mission to make a difference.

Find the full job description here.

DEADLINE TO APPLY: 12/10/2021