SYRIA – DEPUTY COUNTRY DIRECTOR PROGRAMS (H/F) At Solidarités International

Desired start date: 05/09/2021**
Duration of the mission:** 12 months
Location: Amman, Jordan

ABOUT THE MISSION

__Solidarites International (SI) has been working in Syria since 2012. The mission counts about 250 national staff, more than 45 expatriates, and has a 27 million EUR budget forecasted for 2021.

There are 3 mains implementing offices in Syria (2 in North East + 1 sub office, 1 in North West + 1 sub-office) with the coordination office in Amman and a liaison office in Erbil.

Syria mission is dedicated to work on 2 main challenging areas: Northeast (NES) and Northwest (NWS) Syria to provide lifesaving activities to the population affected by the conflict.

Main current activities are related to emergency wash (water distribution and rehabilitation), distribution of essential NFI (winterization, hygiene, shelter, new arrival kits, etc.), Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance, public infrastructure rehabilitation (schools, water stations, irrigation canals, health facilities, etc.), private housing unit rehabilitation. The mission is also developing a new sector of intervention in NES, livelihood’s activities will be launch in the second half of 2021 (support to farmers, small businesses, etc.).

The mission has been expanded in 2018-2019 through a major consortium with 4 partners led by SI. The consortium will support equitable and safe access to essential basic services including WASH, Shelter and Health, for the most vulnerable populations affected by conflict and displacement in Northeast Syria. Syria mission is also leading several other consortia with WASH, health and education partners in NWS and NES.

ABOUT THE JOB

General objective:

The Deputy Country Director Programs supports the Country Director in setting up and monitoring operations. He/she is responsible for supervising and coordinating Solidarités programs in the country of assignment.

In close collaboration with the Country Director (CD) and the DCD Support, the DCDP’s prime objectives are to provide leadership and management of the strategic programming and implementation (including MEAL) according to SI global and mission strategies and frameworks. The DCDP is in charge of overseeing the strengthening of SI’s programme positioning and profile externally (coordination bodies, local stakeholders, donors), with a strong attention to ensure cross-cutting issues are mainstreamed.

The DCDP ensures the internal coherence between programme activities and harmonisation between operational hubs, as well as he/she is responsible for ensuring that programmes are driven by needs, based on evidence, adaptable to contextual changes and conflict sensitive, monitored closely and resourced appropriately.

Based in Amman with regular visits in project locations, the DCD is part of SI Syria Senior Management Team, and has direct line-management of the Technical Coordinators (WaSH in Emergency, WASH rehabilitation and MEAL coordinators) and Grants and Partnership coordinator as well as he/she is in technical support of the position of WaSH Working Group Coordinator for NES (hosted by SI).

The main challenges:

Complex operational environment, combining remote management / partnership / hard-to-reach areas
Uncertain contextual perspectives requiring creative and flexible programming approaches
Large-scale mission (financial budget, HR volume), with numerous interlocutors at coordination and field level, including Consortium Coordination
Launch of Livelihood activities (new sector)

Priorities for the 2/3 first months:

Continue to support the development of activities’ portfolio with objectives of timeliness, integration and internal / external compliance in mind, in alignment with the Country Strategy for 2021;
To monitor the development of the mission based on the findings of the humanitarian needs assessments to secure continuity of operations and access to the areas of intervention;
Support the stabilisation of mission’s operational setup (coordination matrixes, planning and reporting / accountability processes/tools);
Support strategic decision-making for future mission development

Management:

Position under hierarchical supervision of Country Director

Number of persons under direct management: 5 (WASH in Emergency Coordinator; WASH Rehabilitation Coordinator; MEAL Coordinator; NES WASH Working Group Coordinator; Grants and Partnership Coordinator)

Number of persons under functional management: 3

Budget:

The mission has secured several funding from CDC, ECHO, BHA, ICSP, SCHF. Etc. that ensure a good financial visibility for the mission until 2021 and part of 2022.

New funding opportunities will be looked for according to the needs identified

YOUR PROFILE

Education:

Post-graduate degree in humanitarian and/or development studies, social sciences, political sciences or similar 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 in leading program development across multiple bases, multi-sector with multiple donors, preferably with knowledge of using contextual understanding and evidence to strateg_ically guide the mission’s development with regards to programs;
Experience of managing large teams 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, CDCS, EuropeAid; others desirable in view of donors’ portfolio diversification (GAC, DFID…)
Previous experience in Middle East highly desirable
Previous experience with SI is an asset.

Skills:

Extensive knowledge about project cycle management and monitoring tools;
Extensive knowledge of humanitarian programming, in emergency and development context
An ability to reflect on and learn from own performance and the performance of the program; and to act upon that learning;
An ability to analyze information quickly and accurately;
Good problem solving skills in day to day and crisis situations;
A flexible approach to managing and prioritizing a high workload and multiple tasks with tight deadlines;
Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office, Excel;
Extensive report writing skills in English;
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.
Highly diplomatic with excellent political awareness and understanding
Demonstrate personal and professional integrity in all interactions
Highly sensitive to a Humanitarian needs-based programming approach
Strong oral and written communication skills
Be prepared to travel to implementation sites and regional, global meetings as required

Language:

Fluent English (written, spoken and read)
Knowledge of Arabic is an asset
Knowledge of French is an asset

SI WILL OFFER YOU

A salaried post:
Starting from 2860 euros gross per month (2600 euros gross per month + 10% annual leave allowance paid monthly i.e.) and valorization according to experience (+100€/year of humanitarian experience on an equivalent position and +50€/year of humanitarian experience on a non-equivalent position)

The perdiem rate for Jordan is 785 USD a month.

This position is open to f_amily and housing pack in Amman.

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

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

To these break periods, it is necessary to add the granting of one additional rest day per month worked, i.e. 12 days in addition for a one-year contract**.**

Social and medical cover:
Expatriates benefit from an insurance package which reimburses 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:

Living conditions in Amman are very good and staffs have access to a wide range of restaurants, cafes and bars. Most of occidental products (food, clothing…) are easily accessible in Amman. The country also proposes several destinations for weekends.

Accommodation will be in SI guesthouses which are spacious and very comfortable. The position is open for family posting; in which case the job holder will be offered specific conditions according to SI HR family package.

SECURITY

In Amman, security risks are extremely low and restrictions are very limited.

In Erbil (Iraq) which is the hub/entry door to access to NES, security levels are good, restrictions are mainly related to obtaining visas for international staff, which can take some weeks.

Security inside NES is volatile and justifies specific arrangements for accommodation and movement in the areas of intervention. Adherence to strict security procedures is necessary.

Security in NWS is also challenging with very few accesses to the ground. Adherence to strict security procedures is necessary.