Background of the Operation
About Cesvi ETS Foundation
CESVI is a secular and independent organization, founded in Italy in 1985, that promotes global solidarity and social justice through humanitarian development actions. The name CESVI, which stands for Cooperazione, Emergenzia e SVIluppo (Cooperation, Emergency, and Development), reflects its philosophy of action, centered on empowering beneficiary communities to drive their own progress. In this way, international aid is not limited to temporary charitable action, but seeks to promote genuine sustainable development among the most vulnerable populations.
CESVI is part of the international network Alliance 2015, created in 2000 with the goal of halving extreme poverty worldwide by 2015, within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals. This network comprises seven European non-governmental organizations.
Cesvi in ​​Colombia
Cesvi has been present in Colombia since 2019, carrying out interventions based on humanitarian assistance and development projects in the livelihoods, protection, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), food security, and cash transfer sectors. These actions respond to the most urgent needs of vulnerable populations located in the north of the country and the Pacific coastal region. Among the groups that have benefited most are victims of natural disasters, migrants, returning Colombians, and people in highly vulnerable situations, with particular emphasis on victims of the internal armed conflict, women victims of gender-based violence (GBV), female heads of household, adolescents, and children, among others.
About the project
On August 10, 2026, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake with its epicenter in San José del Palmar (Chocó) severely affected western Colombia, causing loss of life, injuries, displacement, and extensive damage to homes, schools, health centers, and critical infrastructure in the departments of Chocó and Valle del Cauca, among others. Chocó and Valle del Cauca are among the most affected areas, exacerbating pre-existing conditions of poverty, food insecurity, and limited access to basic services, in a context of armed conflict and geographic isolation.
The intervention will be deployed via two access routes to the communities. One land route, with its operational base in Quibdó, will serve the communities of Istmina, Certegui, Condoto, and Tadó. The other maritime route, managed from Buenaventura, will serve the San Juan coastline.
Position Objective
Lead and coordinate the comprehensive implementation of CESVI’s emergency response to the earthquake of August 10, 2026 in the departments of Chocó and Valle del Cauca, ensuring compliance with the agreed results, activities, schedule and budget, the proper management of the territorial team and the cross-cutting incorporation of the approaches of gender, protection, do no harm, accountability and PEAS.
Job description
The Emergency Response Coordinator will be responsible for leading the comprehensive implementation of the intervention in Chocó and Valle del Cauca, ensuring the proper planning, execution, monitoring, and closure of activities. Their role will be to ensure that the results, products, indicators, timeline, and budget are met in a timely, efficient, and technically sound manner, while also leading the territorial team (community managers, cash transfer agent, and administrative and logistics assistant) deployed along the two access routes to the communities.
Their main functions will be:
- Coordinate the planning, implementation, monitoring and closure of the emergency response in Chocó and Valle del Cauca, ensuring compliance with the established results, activities, indicators, schedule, budget and commitments.
- Lead and supervise the territorial response team (community managers, cash transfer agent and administrative and logistics assistant), ensuring an adequate distribution of responsibilities, performance monitoring and internal coordination.
- Coordinate the activation and proper functioning of the two access routes to the communities: the land route, with an operational base in Quibdó (Istmina, Certegui, Condoto, Tadó), and the maritime route, managed from Buenaventura (San Juan coast).
- Ensure the identification, registration and verification of the 430 prioritized affected families (290 in Chocó and 140 in Valle del Cauca) for the delivery of multipurpose monetary transfers and conditional transfers for minor housing repairs.
- Supervise the execution of multipurpose and conditional cash transfers, ensuring compliance with CESVI’s CVA (Cash and Voucher Assistance) protocols.
- Represent CESVI before local authorities, the Mayors of Quibdó and Buenaventura, the Colombian Civil Defense, the ICBF, community councils, ethnic-territorial authorities, the Local Coordination Team (ELC), the UNGRD and other humanitarian actors present in the territory.
- Ensure the mainstreaming of gender, protection, interculturality, do no harm, accountability to the affected population and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PEAS) approaches throughout the intervention.
- Coordinate with the administrative-financial team the budgetary monitoring of the response, promptly identifying risks of over-execution, under-execution, ineligible expenses or operational adjustment needs.
- Oversee the logistical management necessary for team deployment, transfer delivery, and access to communities via both routes, including land and river/sea transport.
- Review and validate means of verification, progress reports, beneficiary lists, minutes, delivery records and other evidence required by CESVI, and the donors.
- Prepare and/or consolidate the technical, narrative and financial reports required by the management of CESVI, ensuring quality, consistency, traceability and compliance with deadlines.
- Identify, analyze and manage operational, community, climate, security, protection, financial or reputational risks that may affect the implementation of the response.
- Coordinate the implementation of community feedback mechanisms, accountability, complaint reception and secure channeling of alerts, in accordance with CESVI protocols.
- Promote compliance with CESVI’s institutional policies regarding security, protection, safeguarding, PEAS, anti-corruption, data protection, transparency, procurement, administration, and ethical conduct.
- Facilitate internal spaces for monitoring, technical coordination, progress analysis, bottleneck resolution, and learning with the project team.
- Coordinate the technical, administrative and financial closure of Phase 1 of the response, ensuring the consolidation of products, means of verification, final reports, lessons learned and recommendations for future CESVI emergency interventions.
- Perform other activities related to the nature of the position as assigned by the Country Directorate, in accordance with the needs of the project and the institutional guidelines of CESVI.
Essential requirements
- Professional in Social Sciences, Administration, Engineering, Public Health or related areas.
- Minimum 3 years of experience in coordination or management of humanitarian, emergency or development projects.
- Experience in team leadership, cash transfers, budget monitoring, reporting, and donor coordination.
- Project management, CVA, planning, budgeting, reporting and inter-institutional coordination.
- Leadership, decision-making under pressure, communication, and intercultural sensitivity.
- Fluent Spanish.
Desirable requirements
- Additional training or postgraduate studies in humanitarian action, project management, disaster risk management, humanitarian aid or international cooperation.
- Experience in responding to earthquakes or other natural disasters.
- Experience with the United Nations or other international NGOs.
- Work experience in Chocó, Valle del Cauca or armed conflict contexts.
- Knowledge of Sphere standards, PEAS and humanitarian principles.
- Advanced Excel and intermediate English.
How to apply
Applicants must submit:
Cover letter and updated resume sent to colombia@cesvioverseas.org with the subject line: “Emergency Response Coordinator – Chocó/Valle del Cauca Earthquake” Attn: Mike Boomer . Applications will be accepted until September 7, 2026 at 11:59 pm
Due to the emergency situation, CESVI reserves the right to fill the position before the deadline if a suitable candidate is identified.
For more information about CESVI, please visit our website http://www.cesvi.org
Secure hiring process and PEAS requirements
For the purposes of these terms of reference and the selection process, the following definitions contained in the CESVI PSEA Policy (version 2, May 2024) apply:
Sexual exploitation: Any abuse or attempted abuse of a situation of vulnerability, an unequal power relationship, or a relationship of trust for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, obtaining economic, social, or political benefits from the sexual exploitation of another person.
Sexual abuse: Any actual physical intrusion or threat of physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under conditions of inequality or coercion.
- CESVI maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, abuse of children and adolescents and any other conduct contrary to its safeguarding policies.
- Candidates who advance to the final stage must sign a specific self-declaration regarding PEAS and safeguards, in which they report on sanctions, investigations or disciplinary, administrative or criminal proceedings related to EAS, as well as on the possible termination or abandonment of jobs while there was a pending investigation.
- Selection will be subject to successful verification of identity, background, and employment references. References will include specific questions regarding professional conduct, safeguarding, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse, cooperation in investigations, and eligibility for new employment.
- The candidate must expressly authorize CESVI to contact previous employers and receive relevant information for safeguarding risk management, in accordance with applicable data protection regulations.
- CESVI may exclude an application or withdraw an offer when risk factors incompatible with its protection policies are identified, when the person refuses to cooperate with the verifications, or when they have provided false, incomplete, or misleading information.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1. Code of Conduct
All individuals associated with CESVI must adhere to the Code of Conduct and the institution’s protection policies. In particular, they must refrain from committing acts of sexual exploitation or abuse; immediately report any suspicion, report, or allegation of sexual exploitation; fully cooperate with authorized investigations, audits, or verifications; maintain confidentiality; and refrain from retaliating against those who report in good faith or participate in an investigation.
2. Equal opportunities
CESVI promotes equal employment opportunities and values ​​applications from all qualified individuals, without distinction of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or veteran status.
3. Payment
The proposed payment schedule is monthly (month closed), within the closing of the project and/or termination of the contract the payments will be made under the certification and approval of the direct supervisor.
4. Property rights
CESVI will have all property rights, copyrights and trademarks, with respect to material that has a direct relationship with the services provided to the organization as an employee, or that is made as a consequence thereof.
5. Termination of the contract
Either party may terminate this contract before its expiry date by giving written notice to the other party.
The notice period will be (according to the contract) days, in case of termination due to misconduct or in case of termination due to poor performance of the worker, CESVI will have the right to terminate the contract without prior notice.
6. Condition of linkage subject to donor approval
The appointment to this position is contingent upon the donor’s final approval of the funds and formal confirmation of the project’s commencement. Consequently, the selection process may proceed through its various stages; however, the actual hiring will only be formalized once the corresponding financial and contractual approvals have been obtained.