Global Communities works at the intersection of humanitarian assistance, sustainable development and financial inclusion to save lives, advance equity and secure strong futures. We support communities at the forefront of their own development in more than 35 countries, partnering with local leaders, governments, civil society and the private sector to achieve a shared vision of a more just, prosperous and equitable global community.
Global Communities is seeking a Senior Manager, Humanitarian Reponse to join the Humanitarian Assistance team at the headquarters in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland or in San Diego, California. The Sr. Manager, Humanitarian Response will lead Global Communities’ efforts to effectively prepare for and respond to humanitarian crises worldwide. The Sr. Manager will do so through leading the development, roll out, and adoption of humanitarian preparedness and response protocols and processes at Global Communities. This is an evolving, dynamic position that will play a lead role in establishing Global communities’ emergency response processes and overseeing Global Communities’ response efforts. Initially, the Sr. Manager will focus on establishing Emergency Response Protocols systems, and processes within the organization. Longer-term, this role will partner with HQ-based Program Support Teams (PSTs) to roll out regional and country-based training, preparedness planning, and support to country offices to ensure that preparedness and response protocols are understood and adopted by global teams. The goal for the role is to ensure that all GC field offices or programs are equipped with the tools and processes needed to launch humanitarian responses once disaster response declarations are made, to support effective layering of humanitarian and development programming around the globe. The Sr. Manager will work with cross-functional stakeholders to continually evaluate, refine, and update emergency response processes to ensure programmatic and operational excellence in emergency response.
NOTE:
As an organization working to advance public health, Global Communities has an obligation to model best practices and to do all we can to protect each other, our partners and the communities where we work. To ensure the continuity and effectiveness of our business operations, Global Communities is adopting a policy to safeguard the health of our visitors, employees, families, and the larger global community from COVID-19. Effective January 3, 2022, all U.S.-based Global Communities employees are required to provide proof of having received full dosage of COVID-19 vaccine that is FDA approved, approved for emergency use authorization, or have an approved medical or religious exemption on file with Global Communities, as a condition of employment.
Responsibilities
Responsibility Area: Emergency Response and Organizational Preparedness
Global Communities is in the process of crafting organization-wide emergency response protocols and procedures to streamline decision making, define process, build tools and build the capacity and understanding of relevant stakeholders to effectively prepare for and implement high quality humanitarian responses. This role will:
- Be responsible for leading a cross-functional working group to develop emergency response protocols and procedures, using collaboration and stakeholder engagement effectively to ensure whole-of-organization buy-in and support for the initiative. Responsibilities within this task may include but are not limited to:
- Writing and managing the overall task workplan and ensure completion of sections and tasks within the allocated timeline.
- Drafting, writing and/or reviewing sections of the protocols and procedures.
- Facilitating discussion and dialogue among stakeholders when areas of debate are present and putting forward final recommendations for action based on stakeholder consultation.
- Coordinating and coaching peers assigned to various sections or tasks within the larger workplan.
- Conduct periodic reviews and edits of response protocols and procedures, adapting them as needed based on lessons learned and stakeholder feedback, then provide subsequent rollout and information dissemination on the changes.
- Serve as Subject Matter Expert and Advisor to the response protocols and procedures, being the primary point of contact to receive and respond to inquiries and provide guidance on the protocols and procedures to field offices or HQ peers.
Once the emergency response protocols and procedures are drafted, refined, and finalized, they will need to be operationalized and adopted across the organization. This role will:
- Be responsible for overseeing the roll-out of the protocols and procedures to key stakeholders, especially field offices and field staff, ensuring organization-wide adoption and uptake. Responsibilities within this work may include but are not limited to:
- Design and write up a practical dissemination plan to roll out and distribute the protocols and procedures across the organization.
- Coordinate field trainings to explain the protocols and procedures to field staff.
- Create information products to explain the protocols and procedures in simple language.
- Continually assess and strengthen the organization to be prepared and equipped for future humanitarian responses. Ways to do this may include, but are not limited to,
- Develop assessment tools to measure overall readiness and minimum standards for readiness*.*
- Building capacity for HA at HQ and in the field. The role can further refine the best ways to do this after a broader capacity and knowledge assessment is completed and a tailored capacity building program is built. Examples of capacity building might include:
- Training PSTs on basic standards/ minimum standards.
- Supporting new hires on humanitarian basics and introduce them to industry standards.
- Custom country-specific trainings and engagements on a variety of HA topics or themes, in conjunction with PST and BD teams.
- Support connection to external capacity building partners or memberships or donor-funded initiatives which GC could participate in and lead dissemination to the organization about these resources.
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- Conduct simulations to ensure readiness and familiarity with HA protocols and procedures.
- Support Learning and information sharing between humanitarian responses.
- Support Operations staff in conducting Real Time Reviews and After-Action Reviews of humanitarian responses to continually strengthen response programming and processes.
Responsibility Area: Business Development Support
- Support HA-related Business Development, as needed, through subject matter expertise, program design reviews and feedback, donor engagement, coaching to field offices, etc.
- Integrate BD basics into Organizational Readiness efforts.
- Where needed or when requested, fill urgent BD staffing gaps for a limited period of time.
Responsibility Area: Supervision
- Guide staff to prioritize, coordinate, and distribute work based on available resources and changing demands.
- Hires, trains, guides, mentors and advises staff within (estimate 2 staff to join the team in Year 2); leads training and onboarding process for new staff as required.
- Ensures adherence to Standards of Conduct, the Employee Handbook, and other corporate and applicable policies, procedures, and schedules, including staff performance management.
POSITION SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Travel (up to 25% annually) to difficult and challenging environments.
- Promote a culture of excellence, inclusion, learning, support, diversity and innovation
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Significant experience in humanitarian response operations, across a variety of contexts and disaster types, to include field postings or extended TDYs to response operations.
- Understanding of the global international development and humanitarian assistance context. Broad understanding of principled humanitarian action, emergency relief, and resilience objectives and sectors such as shelter and settlements, WASH, food security and livelihoods, humanitarian protection, or health and nutrition.
- Prior experience or strong understanding of program cycle management and program management fundamentals.
- Expertise with USG humanitarian donors, and UNOCHA, EU or DFID proposal processes. Familiarity with general business development processes.
- Excellent critical thinking skills and sound judgment. Proven willingness to make timely and sound decisions based on accurate judgement.
- Excellent verbal and written communications skills and high level of organization and attention to detail.
- Ability to work independently but leverage non-reporting line allies to contribute to broader workstream objectives and goals. Strong inter-personal skills required to collaborate cross-department.
- Strong ability to multi-task, working on various products and projects simultaneously and in the details, but also able to track the bigger picture/longer term vision and workplan to continually progress the overall goal.
- Ability to relate and communicate effectively internationally.
- Fluency in English, written and oral. Abilities in a second language preferred.
- Advanced ability in the use of Microsoft Suite, especially Excel.
- Ability to work under pressure, handle multiple tasks simultaneously, and meet deadlines.
- Ability to read and interpret documents, sit at a computer and operate a keyboard.
Qualifications
- Undergraduate degree in a related discipline and a minimum of six years of related work experience or specialized knowledge of their work discipline with a minimum of 10 year of related work experience. Master’s degree preferred.
- Past experience working in humanitarian responses with preference for field work.
- Experience with US government donors and/or non-governmental organizations preferred.
- A passion for the mission and values of Global Communities
- Must have U.S. work authorization
Global Communities is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.