Deputy Country Coordinator for OPT based in Amman, Jordan

We are currently looking for a IMPACT Deputy Country Coordinator to oversee Programmes for the IMPACT oPt mission. The position is based in Amman with frequent travel to oPt, including Gaza.

Supervisor: Country Representative

Title:Deputy Country Coordinator – Programmes

Location: Amman, Jordan with travel to oPt

Contract duration: 1 year

Start date: 1st January 2024

Deadline to apply: 15th November 2024

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

REACH was born in 2010 as a joint initiative of two International NGOs (IMPACT Initiatives and ACTED) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT). REACH’s purpose is to promote and facilitate the development of information products that enhance the humanitarian community’s decision making and planning capacity for emergency, reconstruction and development contexts, supporting and working within the framework of the humanitarian reform process. REACH facilitates information management for aid actors through three complementary services: (a) need and situation assessments facilitated by REACH teams; (b) situation analysis using satellite imagery; (c) provision of related database and (web)-mapping facilities and expertise.

IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian NGO, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation manages several initiatives, including the REACH Initiative. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in data collection, management and analysis, GIS and remote-sensing. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO whose headquarter is based in Paris and is present in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, which allows particularly IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support on its fields of intervention.

ACTED is a French humanitarian NGO, founded in 1993, which supports vulnerable populations, affected by humanitarian crises worldwide. ACTED provides continued support to vulnerable communities by ensuring the sustainability of post-crisis interventions and engaging long-term challenges facing our target populations, in order to break the poverty cycle, foster development and reduce vulnerability to disasters. Their interventions seek to cover the multiple aspects of humanitarian and development crises through a multidisciplinary approach which is both global and local, and adapted to each context. Their 3,300 staff is committed in to responding to emergencies worldwide, to supporting recovery and rehabilitation, towards sustainable development.

Country profile

Following the attacks on 7 October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent aerial and ground operations in the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) has deteriorated markedly. The 2.2 million residents of the Gaza Strip are facing severe humanitarian challenges, with urgent needs that must be addressed to avert further loss of life. Additionally, the hostilities in Gaza have heightened tensions in the West Bank, impacting freedom of movement, livelihoods, and the broader humanitarian context.

Against this backdrop, IMPACT Initiatives is planning a range of research activities to support an evidence and needs-based humanitarian response. In previous years, IMPACT Initiatives has facilitated inter-agency Multi-Sector Needs Assessments (MSNA) as well as sector-specific research in the oPt.

The REACH Deputy Country Coordinator supports the Country Representative in overseeing programmes internally, as well as external representation of REACH.

POSITION PROFILE

REACH is currently recruiting for a Deputy Country Coordinator to, under the supervision of the REACH oPt Country Representative, oversee the programme management of REACH oPt. The role will involve oversight of all REACH oPt Research Cycles, line management of all Research Managers and Specialists, liaison with and reporting to donors, Human Resource management (recruitment and staff welfare), external engagement (external representation, partnership development, and maintenance), strategy development, through contextual understanding both of the crisis and the coordination structure, as well as striving for team cohesion. This person will be a key member of the REACH oPt Senior Management Team (SMT). The position will also at times serve as the Acting Country Coordinator in the absence of the CR. The position will be based in Amman with regular travel to REACH oPt bases.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Programmes Oversight and Quality Control

• Provide high-level line-management to Research Managers (hereafter RMs), including effective delegation of day-to-day tasks to RMs, and ensuring all team members are fully aware of their job description, duties and responsibilities;
• In coordination with the Country Representative, oversee that all Research Cycles and associated datasets are conducted in a timely manner, to IMPACT quality standards, and disseminated to relevant stakeholders, in line with the REACH oPt strategy and information needs of humanitarian actors;
• Monitor the progress and delays of all Research Cycles across each units and ensure that delays or identified challenges for specific assessments are reported in writing and orally in a timely manner.
• Ensuring that RMs are provided the programme management training, support, and resources required to effectively and independently manage their Research Cycles. This includes:
  • Regular follow-up and check-ins to project plan and identify any challenges or bottlenecks;
  • Supporting in building and maintaining external relationships as relevant;
  • Empowering RMs to take personal responsibility for RCs, and proactively identifying areas where they lack the capacity to work independently. Resolve these issues by developing training plans, and supporting RMs in capacity building junior staff;
  • Supporting project focal points as line-managers in developing strong and healthy teams, and maintaining staff welfare.
• Review information products, to ensure that products are of high quality and effectively inform target audiences.
• Together with the Country Representative, ensure that all team members and hubs are kept up-to-date on key activities, plans, and achievements
• Together with the rest of the SMT, ensuring a good work environment and taking active steps to ensure staff welfare and ensure that all teams are working towards common goals. This will include building strong professional relationship, having good visibility of issues in teams through regular check-ins, as well as maintaining a professional, respectful, and supportive tone in the office.

Training and staff capacity development

• Support technical and assessment focal points in developing the capacity of staff, for example by proactively organising trainings and development sessions;
• Autonomously identify talent, capacity gaps, and staff who would benefit from specific trainings, particularly amongst national staff, including the Operations Team.

Grants development, management, and oversight

• Under the supervision of the Country Representative and with support from Research Managers and project focal points, contribute to identifying funding opportunities, drafting proposals, and conducting initial discussions with donors/partners
• In coordination with the Country Representative, maintain REACH oPt’s strong relationships with its existing donors through regular meetings to brief on project progress, key developments in the oPt context and coordination structure, findings from assessments, concerns with regards to information gaps, as well as development of new grants as needed.
• Together with the Country Representative, develop REACH oPt’s project development strategy, including exploring partnerships with new donors, mapping potential donors, and conducting prospect research.
• Support the Country Representative and project development department in tracking donor requirements and deadlines, via delegation and follow-up of tasks to focal points, review, and in some cases drafting of reports;
• Lead on building systems to externalise institutional knowledge, to ensure lessons-learned are not lost with staff turnover.

Human Resource Management (recruitment and staff welfare)

• Together with the Country Representative, identify needs for staff recruitment, including capacity or skills gaps within the units.
• Drafting of ToRs together with the SMT, liaison with HR at IMPACT Headquarters, conducting interviews, or supporting Research Managers to conduct strong interviews.
• Together with the Country Representative, ensure that appraisals, contract renewals, and recruitments are done in timely manner to minimise gaps on the team.
• Together with the Country Representative, maintain team morale, a strong team spirit, and monitor staff welfare, as well as help ensure team cohesion between bases, and within and across units.

External engagement (donor engagement, external representation, advocacy, partnership development and maintenance)

• Under the supervision of the Country Representative, ensure that REACH OPt maintains its strong relationships and position as a key information actor in the response through regular engagement with representatives within the humanitarian coordination structure, UN agencies, key NGO forums, and other IM actors.
• Together with the Country Representative and Research Managers, support with the internal and external coordination of the co-chairing of the Needs Analysis Working Group (NAWG), including internal preparation, synthesising key streams of information and findings, coordinating with OCHA, preparing for bi-weekly meetings, chairing the forum when required, and presenting the outcomes to the Inter-cluster Coordination Group (ICCG).
• Together with the Country Representative and project focal points when relevant, identify, develop and maintain partnerships with relevant actors, such as other IM actors, clusters/working groups, NGOs, and representatives of relevant NGO forums.
• Support the Country Representative in REACH oPt advocacy work; largely revolving around raising awareness of key findings with regards to the humanitarian situation in oPt and situating these within wider conversations in the response, in order to ensure that key findings are heard and used to inform response strategies and implementation, and that the response is based on reliable information.
• Represent REACH and present findings at relevant key platforms/meetings.

Support in the development and implementation of the REACH OPt Strategy

• Closely follow the social, economic, and political situation in oPt as well as humanitarian coordination developments and key issues in the humanitarian response.
• Together with the rest of the SMT, support the Country Representative through regularly review of REACH information products for relevance, user-friendliness, effectiveness, timeliness and to ensure that they sufficiently inform the target audience.
• Together with the rest of the SMT, support the Country Representative in strategy development and implementation through conversations with external actors, context monitoring, and conversations with project focal points.
• Together with the Country Representative, ensure that project focal points are trained and able to situate their projects within the wider context and support them in thinking strategically about their project.

REQUIREMENTS

• Excellent academic qualifications, including a Master’s degree in relevant discipline required;
• At least 4 years of relevant working experience in humanitarian, development or related settings, including at least 2 years in a programme management role;
• Excellent team management, coordination, organisational and planning skills required, including ability to manage large workloads, oversee multiple teams and effectively meet deadlines, through an excellent ability to multi-task and prioritise;
• Experience with external engagement (donors, partners and other key stakeholders) required;
• Familiarity with the humanitarian coordination system required;
• Understanding of processes involved in conducting assessments required;
• Excellent communication and drafting skills required for effective reporting;
• Excellent analytical skills required;
• Experience managing multiple budgets an asset;
• Ability to work independently and manage people remotely required;
• Demonstrable ability to work under pressure and meet competing deadlines required;
• Solution-oriented, flexible, and open-minded, including ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment required;
• Good understanding of the oPt context – past experience in the region is desirable;
• Fluency in English required;
• Ability to operate Microsoft Word and Excel required;
• A sense of curiosity, the drive to improve the humanitarian sector, and ability to see the big picture

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• For this position, salary between 3’540 CHF and 3’600 CHF monthly (before income tax), etc as well as a monthly living allowance of 500 USD
  NB – IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education of staff. A location-dependent security and/or isolation adjustment is then applied as a recognition that some staff are required to work in difficult places where living and working conditions are much more difficult than elsewhere.
• Accommodation and food provided in a guesthouse. Depending on the country situation, a contribution to a housing allowance of up to 75% of country-specific benchmark can be considered instead. NB – IMPACT is hosted by ACTED in this country
• Enrolment in Swiss private pension fund (Swisslife – approx. 9.975% of staff gross salary), health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance
• Flight tickets every 6 months & visa fees covered (in-country travel costs and professional expenses are fully covered)
• Contribution to the luggage transportation: between 20 and 100 kgs, depending on the length of the contract (+ luggage and personal property insurance)
• Annual leave of 36 days per year. Public holidays of the country of assignment. Family/compassionate leave when applicable.
• Predeparture induction – 3 days at IMPACT Initiatives’s HQ in Geneva + one week pre-departure training in ACTED HQ in Paris, including a 4-days in situ security training;
• IMPACT prioritizes the psychological safety of its staff and the health insurance provided covers, among others, up to 1000 € per year of psychosocial counselling fees