MYANMAR – DEPUTY COUNTRY DIRECTOR FOR PROGRAMS (H/F) – YANGON At Solidarités International

Desired start date: ASAP Duration of the mission: 12 months Location: In remote or in Bangkok

ABOUT THE MISSION

SI has been in Myanmar since 2008. For the first three years SI worked in the Delta in response to the devastating Cyclone Nargis. In January 2012 SI expanded to Kachin State to respond to an emergency situation created by the displacement of Kachin population affected by the arm conflict. Today SI operates in South Kachin mainly in IDP camps and villages and implements both WASH and FSL programs.

SI currently has a coordination base in Yangon, with field bases in the Rakhine and Kachin States. Each office is operational with a Field Coordinator. In 2021, 17 international staff and 318 national staff are working within SI to implement 7 contracts (on-going) in WASH, FSL, Emergency programs (WASH and Multipurpose Cash) funded by FCDO, ECHO, CIAA, OCHA, CDC and UNICEF.

In 2021, the mission had an approximatively financial volume of EUR 5.2 million.

To learn more about the Myanmar mission, please click here.

ABOUT THE JOB

General objective

In close collaboration with the Country Director (CD), the Deputy CD for Programs (DCDP) ’s objectives are to provide leadership and management of the strategic programming, overseeing the strengthening of SI’s programs development, quality and accountability. The DCDP ensures the internal coherence between program activities and is responsible for ensuring that programs are driven by needs, based on evidence, adaptable to contextual changes and conflict sensitive, monitored closely and resourced appropriately.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the CD to develop a country and program strategy.
• Support fundraising efforts and donor and partners relationship management and representation.
• Oversee Programme Development by providing cohesive leadership to SI programming, ensuring support to Program Coordination team and timely communication on program issues to the CD and HQ
• Provide guidance for the Quality Management of the programs by ensuring quality criteria and indicators are monitored and lead to decision making
• Ensure that procedures, guides and tools are updated and implemented in accordance with HQ recommendations.
• Support on lessons learning and using the findings to guide future strategic direction
• Being proactive in proposing new activities based on the context evolution.

The DCDP has currently the following direct reports under his/her management: WASH Coordinator, FSL Coordinator, Emergency Coordinator, and National Deputy Program Coordinator and a national MEAL Coordinator.

Priorities for the first months:

1. Support the program department : organization, priorities, capacity building, follow-up of activities
2. Funding strategy and proposal writing
3. Potential new partnerships with local actors (NGO/CSO)

YOUR PROFILE

Education:

Master’s degree is in related field.

Experience:

• Substantial experience in a senior management position in an overseas NGO environment, ideally in both emergency and developmental contexts;
• Previous experience in strategy development
• Experience of program implementation in different fields: WASH, food security – livelihood and DRR with a strong community mobilization and localization focus.
• Experience in leading program development across multiple bases with multiple donors, preferably with knowledge of using contextual understanding and evidence to strategically guide the mission’s development with regards to programs;
• Experience of managing large teams and local partners in multiple locations with various challenges;
• Experience of budget management;
• Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures;
• Experience in Donor relations (ECHO, OFDA, UN, DFID, EuropeAid);

Previous experience in South Asia + previous experience with SI are assets.

Technical skills and knowledge:

• Extensive knowledge about PCM and monitoring tools (good understanding of MEAL systems expected);
• Ability to reflect on and learn from own performance and the performance of the program; and to act upon that learning;
• Strong analytical and reporting skills
• Good problem-solving skills (daily and in crisis situations);
• A flexible approach to managing and prioritizing a high workload and multiple tasks with tight deadlines;
• A good understanding of DRR and climate change issues;
• Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office, including Excel;
• Capacity to deal with many different issues, programs, sectors, to self- update and learn very quickly from a highly and constantly evolving environment;
• Strong representation / public relation skills.

Transferable skills:

• Decision-making skills and ability to work in autonomy is essential;
• Diplomacy, smooth leadership skills;
• Prioritization and self-organization; rigor.
• Ability to multitask and delegate;
• Ability to work in multi-cultural environment; more generally, excellent interpersonal & communication skills;
• Ability to work under pressure;

Languages:

• Bilingual in English

French and Burmese are assets.

SI WILL OFFER YOU

A salaried position According to experience, starting from EUR 2 860 gross per month (EUR 2 600 gross per month + 10% annual leave allowance paid monthly) i.e. + a monthly Per Diem of USD 700 per month.

SI covers accommodation costs and travel expenses between the expatriate’s country of origin and the place of assignment.

Breaks

During the assignment, a system of alternation between work and time off is implemented at the rate of 7 working days every 3 months. For a one-year assignment, the expatriate will have a 7 working days break at 3, 6 and 9 months (with USD 850 allocated by SI).

In addition to these, SI adds 1 additional rest day per month of work, i.e. 12 additional days off for a one-year contract.

Insurance package Expatriates benefit from an insurance package which covers all healthcare expenses (including medical and surgical expenses, dental care and ophthalmological expenses, repatriation) and a welfare system, including war risks. Essential vaccination and antimalarial treatment costs are refunded.

Living conditions

The climate is hot and wet tropical. It can be cold on the bases during December – February period.

Please note that the current political situation and security context is volatile, but SI monitors it daily and adapts its procedures in order to ensure the security of all staff.

COVID19

Please note that the COVID 19 pandemic can impact the movements (flights and visa issuance). At the time of writing, it can take 3 to 4 months to get in country.

Safety and security rules are regularly reviewed and adapted to the situation, to minimize the exposure to the COVID 19, in constant monitoring and adaptation to the context evolution. This include social distancing, teleworking and strict hygienic rules, such as regular handwashing etc.

Please note that SI strongly recommends its staff to get the vaccination against COVID 19, using WHO-approved vaccines. If possible, the vaccination should be done before departure, in order to reduce the future logistical constraints once on the field (administration of the 2nd dose within a certain time frame).