Project Officer – Azaz, North West Syria (National)

Mission

Geneva Call is an international humanitarian organization striving to enhance the protection of civilians in conflict contexts. Geneva Call engages in a dialogue with armed groups and de facto authorities (AGDA) for them to be aware and better comply with international humanitarian norms and principles. Geneva Call is headquartered in Geneva and works in 16 conflict contexts in South-East and Central Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
Geneva Call has been working in Northwest Syria since 2014 to improve the protection of civilians through engagement with non-state armed groups and de facto authorities to improve their understanding and compliance with humanitarian norms. In addition, Geneva Call works to improve awareness of humanitarian norms among Syrian civil society actors and build their capacity to advocate for these norms.

Role

The Project Officer will, with guidance and support from the Project Coordinator for Northwest Syria, work on a variety of different projects, engaging with armed groups and de facto authorities to promote awareness and compliance of international humanitarian law. This Officer will be expected to conduct, alongside other existing officers, trainings for AGDAs, civil society organisations and community members on a wide range of thematic topics related to humanitarian norms. This officer will help Geneva Call plan and coordinate project implementation while also providing regular information and contextual analysis to inform the design of Geneva Call’s activities.

Core responsibilities

Engagement

• Cultivate new relations, and maintain and consolidate existing relations, of trust with key actors in your area of operation including: armed groups, de facto authorities, local and international organisations; religious and tribal leaders, civil society actors and any other important stakeholders. Hold regular meetings with above actors to discuss humanitarian needs, protection risks, access issues and other relevant topics related to humanitarian norms.
• Organise and hold meetings with AGDAs and other stakeholders, in coordination with the Project Coordinator, to advocate for protection of civilians and respect for humanitarian norms.

Training

• Organize and Conduct IHL and humanitarian norms trainings and awareness sessions to different beneficiaries such as AGDAs, CSOs and other entities in different locations in NW Syria.
• Assist in the development, revision and updating of training materials to ensure their quality and relevance to the respective audience of the training.
• Ensure all information and materials related to training/awareness sessions conducted are filed and safely kept.

Security

• Monitor the security situation in North West Syria; track, analysis and document key security incidents and trends and share with the Security Focal Point.
• Ensure that Geneva Call’s security policies are followed at all times.

Planning, coordination and reporting

• Assist in project planning and implementation and help in the setting up and coordination of meetings and training sessions in the framework of the project, and ensure that work is conducted according to the plan, budget and timeline.
• Collect and analyse information – through regular field missions, social media, local contacts and other sources – on a daily basis relating to the context, conflict situation, humanitarian needs, AGDA behaviour and its potential impact on Geneva Call’s work in project area(s) and relay this to the Project Coordinator.

Monitoring and Communications

• Assist, with support from MEAL specialists, in the undertaking of core monitoring activities including administering pre and post training tests, conduct focus group discussions and conduct interviews with AGDAs, community representatives and other key stakeholders.
• Provide material (photos, videos, stories from the field) about the project and timely reports to showcase project outcomes and achievements,
• Support the design, preparation and implementation of communications strategy including the production of external communication materials, activities, campaigns, events and other initiatives.

Main qualifications

Education

• Completed Degree of Higher Education in relevant fields such as Political or Social Science, International Humanitarian Law or Human Rights, or equivalent University Degree.

Work experience

• A prior experience working with an international NGO is preferable;
• Good knowledge of context and access to armed groups in Northwest Syria;
• Demonstrable previous experience conducting trainings.

Languages

• Arabic and a good command of English is required.

Personal qualities

• Strong interpersonal skills including ability to work with geographically remote individuals;
• Understanding and respect for organizational principles and confidentiality;
• Strong interest in humanitarian norms;
• Ability to work independently as well as in a team;
• Accuracy and reliability, ability to reach results and meet deadlines under pressure.

Performance management

The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the GC Performance Management p. The following documents will be used for performance reviews:

• The Job Description
• The individual Work- and Professional Development Plan
• The Competency Framework

Conflict of interest

Any candidate affiliated to, or openly supporting, one or more interest groups opposed to the Foundation’s principles and values, or whose previous position could engender safety issues for co-workers at Appel de Genève / Geneva Call, will be excluded from this selection process. The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the Geneva Call Performance Management guidelines.

Conditions

• Position: Project Officer
• Workplace: Azaz, North West Syria
• Activity Rate: 100%
• Type of Contract: Fixed-term, Operational Consultant Contract (National position)
• Preferred start date: 1st September 2024

Application

No later than 30 August 2024.

All applications will be kept confidential. Please note only shortlisted candidate will be contacted for further process. Geneva Call is the equal opportunity employer.

Important Note: Our HR team will meticulously evaluate your profile in line with the requirements of the post you have applied for. Since, we receive a good number of applications for all the positions Geneva Call advertises, it is not possible to communicate the results of our decisions with every candidate individually. Therefore, only the short-listed candidates will be contacted by the HR team to invite them for written test – and the steps afterwards if they qualify i.e., interview and other assessments as deemed appropriate.