Head of Field Support & Capacity Development at Danish Refugee Council

The Joint IDP Profiling Service (JIPS), hosted by the Danish Refugee Council Representation Office in Geneva, Switzerland, is currently looking for a highly qualified Head of Field Support & Capacity Development.

About the job

JIPS is an interagency service set up in 2009 and dedicated to bringing governments, displaced persons, host communities and national and international actors together to collaborate towards durable solutions for internal displacement. JIPS is a globally recognized neutral broker that supports collaborative and responsible approaches to data collection and use in internal displacement contexts, with a particular focus on developing national capacities, protracted displacement, durable solutions, and urban displacement.

This is done through technical and collaboration support to field partners, by providing quality guidance and hands-on tools, and by advancing global discourse towards sound global action and standards. JIPS is overseen by an Executive Committee comprised of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and the Office of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs.

JIPS is a dynamic team that prioritises innovation, partnership, and professional development. It functions according to a set of principles that guide both the content and approach to its work being collaborative, human-centred, complementary, ethical, and transparent.

Under the supervision of the JIPS Coordinator and under the overall guidance of JIPS’ Executive Committee, the Head of Field Support & Capacity Development (FS&CD) provides leadership on JIPS’ activities at the regional and country levels. S/he is responsible for designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating field-based activities to ensure their timely delivery, quality, impact and relevance. S/he provides oversight and coordination of field operations to ensure they comply with global guidance and standards.

Under the supervision of the JIPS Coordinator and under the overall guidance of JIPS’ Executive Committee, the Head of Field Support & Capacity Development (FS&CD) provides leadership on JIPS’ activities at the regional and country levels. S/he is responsible for designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating field-based activities to ensure their timely delivery, quality, impact and relevance. S/he provides oversight and coordination of field operations to ensure they comply with global guidance and standards.

Specifically, the Head of FS&CD:

I. Oversees the delivery of JIPS’ country support and capacity development activities to stakeholders worldwide, including through displacement profiling and strategic advice while ensuring that the work of FS&CD is coordinated within JIPS and aligns with JIPS’ long-term strategy.

II. Oversees the design of approaches and methodologies for establishing a shared understanding of displacement situations and achieving durable solutions for displaced populations, as well as overall the implementation of activities at the regional and country levels.

III. Manages JIPS’ FS&CD unit overall, including staff (subject matter experts in Geneva and in designated Regional Hubs and country projects, including the provision of technical support to the implementation of the International Recommendation on IDP Statistics IRIS), budget (project and financial management of field activities to ensure effective resource management and compliance with relevant internal guidance, policies and standards), and monitoring/evaluation.

IV. Undertakes partnership building and collaboration with global, regional and national partners including donors, relevant national and local government agencies, humanitarian and development actors, and academia. Contributes to global policy discussions, research and development of good practice.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

· Internal: JIPS team members, JIPS Executive Committee

· External: profiling partners, relevant key stakeholders at the national and regional levels, partners from global initiatives, as well as external service providers (such as local data collection partners, designers, editors, video producers, etc.)

About you

EDUCATION

· Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in one of the following: Social Sciences, Humanitarian/Development studies, Information Management, or a related field.

· A first-level university degree in combination with sufficient additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

EXPERIENCE

At least 7-10 years of relevant work experience (of which min. 2 years in field operations) demonstrating most or all of the following:

· Experience building, managing, and leading teams, including recruitment, performance management, short- and long-term management

· Experience recruiting, managing, and overseeing the work of staff in regional and country locations

· Experience developing project plans and overseeing their implementation, including project design, resourcing, and monitoring

· Experience with statistical and social research methods and/or information and knowledge management; familiarity with social science methods and the design of primary data collection methodologies a plus

· Experience working on forced migration and specifically internal displacement issues in humanitarian and/or development contexts

· Experience working with national- and/or local-level Government counterparts

· Demonstrated experience in strategic thinking, partnership development and management, innovation, capacity development and coordination.

COMPETENCIES

Essential

· Leadership: Serves as a role model; empowers others to deliver results; establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of stakeholders; drives for change and improvement; willing to take unpopular stands

· Proven project management and coordination experience

· Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work in teams

· Flexibility and creativity in working in difficult/unusual field environments

· Practical experience of the implementation and coordination of data collection and analysis exercises

· Experience working within humanitarian and development coordination structures

· Experience in high-level representation roles

Management of Resources and Performance:

· Proven project management or coordination experience

Teamwork and Collaboration:

· Strong inter-personal skills, including skills in coordination and ability to work in teams

· Effective and resourceful team player, able to liaise and communicate with colleagues at all levels of seniority and from different cultures and areas of expertise

Commitment to Continuous Learning:

· Willing to learn and to coach others into learning

Communication:

· Strong presentation and networking skills

· Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, fluency in oral and written Spanish or French required, knowledge of another official UN language a plus

· and other UN language).

All DRC roles require the post-holder to master DRC’s core competencies:

· Striving for excellence: Focusing on reaching results while ensuring efficient processes.

· Collaborating: Involving relevant parties and encouraging feedback.

· Taking the lead: Taking ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.

· Communicating: Listening and speaking effectively and honestly.

· Demonstrating integrity: Upholding and promoting the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to DRC’s values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment

We offer

Contract length: 6 months with the possibility of extension

Band: G management

Start date: 1st June 2021

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Geneva Representation Terms of Employment.

This position will be placed at Employment Band – M Management of the DRC Geneva salary scale with a monthly gross salary of approximately 9’500 CHF. From this amount the candidate will contribute to social security, income tax and mandatory health insurance. DRC does not pay any additional allowances (schooling, housing etc.). DRC will issue an international contract with conditions in line with the ‘Deployment Agreement between Danish Refugee Council and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (signed on the 4th October 2016).