Country Director – Lebanon At Handicap International – Humanity & Inclusion

Place: Beirut with regular trips in the country, LEBANON
Starting date: 21st October 2024
Duration of contract: 12 months
Closing date for applications:

Due to the urgency of this recruitment, we encourage interested candidates to submit their applications as soon as possible. We will be reviewing applications on an ongoing basis.

Humanity & Inclusion is an independent and impartial aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. The organisation works alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, taking action and bearing witness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.

Since its creation in 1982, HI has run development programmes in more than 60 countries and responded to numerous emergencies. Today, we have a budget of approximately 255 million euros, with 4794 employees worldwide.

At Handicap International-Humanity & Inclusion, we truly believe in the importance of inclusion and diversity within our organisation. This is why we are engaged to a disability policy to encourage the inclusion and integration of people with disabilities.

Please indicate if you require any special accommodation, even at the first interview. For more information about the organisation: www.hi.org

JOB CONTEXT:

The Lebanon mission is part of the Mashriq regional programme, which covers Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine.

However, for a period of 6 month (which can be reevaluated), the mission has been transferred to HI’s Emergency Division based in HQ.

HI implements a diverse portfolio of projects in the following sectors: mine action, inclusive education, physical rehabilitation, disability inclusion, inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights, with a mix of emergency and development approaches. In addition, needs assessment are currently ongoing for other sectors that HI is not implementing yet in Lebanon (Logistics services and Shelter/NFI)

After almost a year of hostilities across southern Lebanon, the conflict escalated on 23 September 2024, between IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and LH (Lebanese Hizballah). Indeed, the IDF (Israel Defense Force) continued its intensive airstrike campaign, focusing mainly on the Nabatieh and South governorates in southern Lebanon, also Beqaa and Baalbek-Hermel. LH (Lebanese Hizballah) has also increased the tempo and range of its strikes, though these remain largely within Israel’s Haifa and Northern district and predominantly target IDF bases. Key top leaders of the LH have been targeted and killed during the last days, including the Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, September 27th.

OCHA reports on September 30th, 211,319 displaced. But the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that as many as one million people had been displaced by the violence. Lebanese officials estimate, based on the 2006 experience, that approximately one quarter of the total number of directly affected and/or displaced individuals are in shelters. With many displaced in collective shelters still unregistered, the national Disaster Risk Management (DRM) dashboard is now reporting over 115,000 individuals in more than 660 shelters. The Government has opened a new batch of shelters, mainly in the North and Mount Lebanon. Meanwhile, non-governmental sites were also settled including 4 migrant specific shelters (opened and managed by NGOs); 3 embassy shelters; and 5 UNRWA sites which are now accommodating more than 1,400 displaced. Efforts to map displaced people in spontaneous shelters have also been initiated.

The five main districts from which people departed are located in southern Lebanon (Bent Jbeil, Marjaayoun, Tyre, and El Nabatieh), with one district in the east (Baalbek).

HI’s main country office is in Beirut, with a sub-base in Aley (Mount Lebanon) and partners in several locations.

Total budget forecast for 2024 is around 4M EUR; total number of staff around 80. The budget will evolve in the coming month according to ongoing needs assessment and funding strategy.

Main challenges: relatively short grants and regular opening and closure of different projects until now. Uncertainty about the evolution of the conflict in South Lebanon.

YOUR MISSION:

Reporting to the Emergency Manager, the Country Director contributes to the implementation of the mandate and 10-year strategy of Humanity & Inclusion in Lebanon. S/he ensures optimal quality and the impact of the projects implemented in the country by means of a delegation system with appropriate oversight mechanisms. With all the other HI managers, s/he shares responsibility for the sound management and effective functioning of the global organization through paradigm changes. The country manager manages a team of project managers in his/her country.

Responsibility 1 : MANAGEMENT

• Understands the strategy, makes it explicit, translates it into operational objectives for his or her team, leads the necessary changes. Gives meaning to each management action. Encourages inter and intra departmental exchanges of practice.
• Organizes the operational management of his or her team, structures the work around identified processes, steers performance and facilitates the resolution of problems.
• Contributes to the development of his or her staff, creating the conditions for their commitment, professionalism and attachment to HI. Ensures compliance with the code of conduct of institutional policies, the state of mind and the expected individual and collective behavior.
• Steers organization transformation, in particular through managerial and work practice change and continuous improvement of working processes.

Responsibility 2 : STRATEGY AND STEERING

• Conducts the development of the Program’s Operational Strategy, and its implementation and annual monitoring, taking into account context and external constraints, HI’s mandate and multi-year Strategy, the technical strategies and the development plans of Emergency, Atlas and Impact-Innovation-Information divisions.
• Develops regular contacts with donors at field level and inform regularly the Institutional Funding teams.
• Ensures the best allocation of resources to match Program ambitions, and plan accordingly.
• Ensures the deployment and compliance with HI global frameworks, institutional policies and standards.

Responsibility 3 : OPERATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION

• Is responsible for security management: in link with the Humanitarian Access and Security Manager, develop a culture of safety & security at Program level; ensures that security documents are up-to-date and that all necessary measures are in place; ensure incident management and reporting according to HI frameworks.
• Ensures financial control and monitoring of operations are effective in the Program: consolidation, control and reporting of operational and organizational elements within the Program (dashboards, corrective measures, unrestricted funds consumption, etc.)
• Ensures technical quality standards are applied in the projects of the Program, and monitor the implementation of evaluations and donor audits’ recommendations.
• Facilitate internal audits (operational, financial and organizational), and ensure the implementation of their recommendations.
• With both potential opportunities and risks in mind, ensures continuous monitoring and analysis of current developments in his/her geographical contexts:
• Implement analysis and monitoring of risks related to HI presence and activities; take mitigation actions when relevant.
• Ensures alert on humanitarian needs, and preparation/contingency plans according to StratOp.
• Leads the emergency preparedness actions in his/her perimeter and, in case of emergency, pilots the implementation of the response by reorganizing the priorities of his/her team, according to the framework and the setup decided by the Director of Operations, in order to ensure HI’s quick and efficient response.

Responsibility 4 : LEGAL REPRESENTATION, INFLUENCE AND LEADERSHIP

• The Country Director is the legal representative of the overall HI organization internally and externally, and promotes a high reputation and positive image of HI.
• Develops external influence of HI (forums, operational & strategic alliances, etc.) and the external representation of the organization (events, media) in the Program’s geographical scope
• Takes on the messages of HI global advocacy to all relevant external parties.
• Develops a local specific advocacy activity in accordance with the Operational Strategy (StratOp) of the Program.
• Develops the communication and information activities, in accordance with the StratOp.
• Carries the overall HI mandate (e.g., advocacy, weapons, emergency) and organization (including Federation, Technical Divisions, National Associations, the Institute), internally and externally (be a representative of HI vis-a-vis external parties)

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POSITION:

Security in Lebanon is fragile due to the ongoing conflict that now reached Lebanon.

Foreign citizens and the locations of HI’s offices are not a target of violence at present. Criminality rates are moderate but growing.

The economic conditions are difficult for a large part of the population. There are growing tensions between Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees

A Humanitarian Access and Security Manager is currently deployed in Lebanon in order to assess the context and adapt the security pack.

YOUR PROFILE:

• You have at least 8 years of overall experience
• You have at least 2 years of experience as Country Manager, Operations Manager/Area Manager, TUM/THoP or Deputy Country Manager
• Proven experience in managing emergency response programs in active conflict areas
• Proven experience in project inception/launch in rapid scale up of activities
• Experience in managing mina action programs (including demining activities) is an asset

CONDITIONS:
At HI, the conditions offered are up to your commitment and adapted to the context of your mission. https://hi.org/en/join-the-team

• 12 months International contract starting from 21st October 2024
• The international contract provides social cover adapted to your situation:
  • Unemployment insurance benefits for EU nationals;
  • Pension scheme;
  • Medical coverage with 50% of employee contribution;
  • Repatriation insurance paid by HI;
• Salary from 3232€ gross/month upon experience;
• Perdiem: 762,17€ net/month – paid in USD in the field
• Hardship : 250€ net/mois
• Paid leaves: 25 days per year;
• R&R: according to the level of the mission 5 days every 3 months
• Position:
• Unaccompanied:
  • Payment for travel costs (air ticket & visa) and transport of your personal effects;
  • Mission of more than 12 months: a child allowance of 100€ per month, per child