Job Title: Operations Manager, Dadaab, Kenya
Closing Date: Thursday, 08 March 2012
Dadaab
COUNTRY: Kenya. CITY: Dadaab Starting date: ASAP Closing date for application: ASAP Length of the assignment: 3 months renewable Advertisement reference: SURNAME/Firstname/OM/Kenya
Handicap International is an independent and impartial international Humanitarian organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. Working alongside vulnerable groups including persons with disabilities (PwDs), our action and testimony are focused on responding to their essential needs, improving their living conditions and promoting respect for their dignity and their fundamental rights.
Handicap International is present in Dadaab refugee camps since 2007 through it Development Department. In the frame of its holistic approach to the most vulnerable called Disability and Vulnerability Focal Point (DVFP), the Handicap International Emergency Response Department launched in August 2011 an immediate humanitarian response to the massive influx of refugees in order to cover the needs of the Dadaab camps most vulnerable population including people with disabilities. The strategy of these DVFPs is to identify most vulnerable persons in their community and enhance their access to basic and specific essential services through different mechanisms (direct services or through referrals and support to access other INGOs' services).
After a long suspension period due to security reasons, the project is now in the resuming phase. Its activities and most of all their modalities of interventions are being adapted to the new security situation and overall context.
MISSION CONTEXT
Somalia, the neighboring country of Kenya, has been designed the most failed state of the world in 2011 . Due to civil conflict and drought, United Nations decided in 1992 to start an operation in Mogadishu ("Restore Hope"). In the same time, several tens of thousands people fled Somalia to Kenya. As a result of these influxes, the creation of refugee camps in the North Eastern part of Kenya has been decided and especially in Dadaab. Most of these refugees are still in Dadaab today. Dadaab is located in the east of Kenya, at about 90km from the Somalia border. The camps complex is composed by three "historic" refugee camps: Dagahaley, Ifo and Hagadera, located in a circle of 17km around Dadaab. Despite official closure of the Kenya / Somalia border by the Kenyan Government in January 2007, Dadaab refugee camps complex has received over 200,000 Somalia refugees over the past four years. Since October 2010 however, the numbers of refugees increased to over 10,000 a month, mainly because of the conflict in Somalia and since May 2011 because of the long and severe drought in the horn of Africa. The United Nations have declared on 20th of July a situation of famine in 2 regions of Somalia and on 3rd of August 2011 it was extended to 5 regions of Somalia. The number of refugees received between January and mid July 2011 is more than 60,000. The current population in the camps is around 400,000 refugees, while the three camps (Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo) have a total holding capacity of 90,000 persons (30,000 each). There are about thousands of new refugees who have no where to settle and are spontaneously settling on the outskirts of the camps. The rate of registered refugees arriving in the camps should continue rising. As of the end of July 2011, an average of 1,330 persons was arriving daily in Dadaab . It is anticipated that an estimated additional 80,000 new refugees will arrive in the next months, should the rains continue to fail and aid delivery in Somalia remains restricted. The sharp increase in arrivals combined with the prevailing drought situation in the Horn of Africa is impacting more on the newly settled refugees. Indeed, during the previous months, newly arrived refugees were not taken in charge immediately at their arrival in the different camps in Dadaab, because the Kenyan Government and UNHCR did not have the capacity to register this large number of refugees daily. Therefore, refugees could not receive any basic services as food and water at their arrival in Dadaab camps, creating situations of extreme vulnerability and sometimes to deaths. Despite the presence of humanitarian stakeholders in Dadaab, the huge influx of new refugees has made it extremely difficult to deliver sufficient and efficient humanitarian assistance, especially in the spontaneous settlements (vast areas around the different camps with no existing services at all). However, in response to the critical needs of newly settled refugees, the Kenyan Prime Minister made a public statement requesting UNHCR to open the new sites in the area and provide assistance in terms of health care, shelter, education and food. As a result UNHCR and implementing partners (IPs) decided to open two new camps (Ifo Extension and Kambioos) with an additional capacity of 180,000 refugees. The resettlement in these new camps has started on July 25 and is still under process. Regarding these facts, Handicap International has identified critical needs for the most vulnerable (especially for persons with disabilities, older and persons with serious medical conditions), such as: - access to food and safe water, - access to sanitation facilities, - access to health services, - access to adapted shelters, - access to a secure environment and protection, - access to other specific services according to their needs.
Handicap International, in the frame of its holistic approach to the most vulnerable called Disability and Vulnerability Focal Point (DVFP), proposes an immediate humanitarian response in order to cover the needs of the Dadaab camps vulnerable population. The strategy of these DVFPs is to identify most vulnerable persons (and particularly PWDs) in their community and enhance their access to basic and specific services. Because of the increased vulnerability of the new arrived refugees, Handicap International will focus its activities in the two new camps (Ifo extension and Kambioos) and in the outskirts of the three existing camps. This project, like all projects currently being implemented by the ERD, will focus particularly on extremely vulnerable individuals and their households, as these individuals often risk being excluded from assistance efforts, and given their original vulnerabilities, face additional barriers and challenges to cope and survive. The criteria of vulnerability could be enlarged according to the lack of coverage by the other actors and our financial and operational capacities. Also, HI aims to provide mainstreaming support to IPs at all levels in the emergency response. This mechanism for mainstreaming has been used successfully by HI in others emergency interventions (Haiti, Pakistan, etc).
MAIN RESPONSABILITIES OF THE EXPATRIATE
Under the responsibility of the Head of Mission and in close collaboration with the HQ Technical Advisor, the Operations Manager is responsible for ensuring implementation of operational emergency activities within a comprehensive response to the basic and specific needs of vulnerable persons in Dadaab's refugee camps.
The Operations Manager coordinates the different components of the operational emergency response (DVFP, ATU, Chest Physio) and is therefore responsible for the project internal and external coordination (link with other stakeholders in the camp regarding project's operational issues). He/she is responsible for the DVFP project and its different components, coordinating and supervising - with the assistance of 2 Area Coordinators - the different field teams in the different refugee camps and ensuring the quality of the different activities. At this stage of resumption of activities, and as the Operations Manager will work in close collaboration with other stakeholders, he will also be in charge of the first stage of the ATU (Accessibility Technical Unit) and inclusion component of the project aiming at promoting accessibility and inclusion in the humanitarian response through proposing technical guidance to other stakeholders. This component could be reinforce by an extra position (expatriate or national) if stakeholders respond positively to the proposition of beneficiating from technical support provided by HI on accessibility and inclusion of the most vulnerable and especially on PwDs.
PHASE 1: December
With the current Operations Manager, the new Operations Manager will resume the different components of the project, participating in the definition and implementation of the whole strategy of the project's resumption  Participate in the adjustments of our project strategy and the tailoring of our emergency response  Consolidate existing partnerships with agencies and INGOs - to ensure their knowledge about our activities and their support in the resuming of our project as well - to update our mapping of services and develop operational partnerships with different stakeholders in order to facilitate our beneficiaries' access to the services provided by other INGOs or Agencies - to promote accessibility and inclusion of all in the emergency response (lobbying, technical advices, etc…) - to ensure the development of new activities in partnership with other stakeholders such as physiotherapy for malnourished children  Participate in the re-implementation of our activities through mobile and fixed DVFP teams  Participate in the remaining recruitments  Participates in the training of the newly recruited staff and any other new training needed for the current teams  Participate in the improvement of data collection and analysis  Implement the activities according to the plan
PHASE 2:
PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTATION: 1/ Plan, supervise and monitor overall activities' implementations
* Plan the whole project's activities and ensure planning are shared, understood and put in place by the different field teams
* Conduct field visits if security situation allows it and put in place remote monitoring mechanisms to ensure the quality of the intervention and good understanding and implementation of DVFP approach - Design and provide monitoring tools to the field responsible (Area Coordinators, Team Leaders). Compile, analyze and provide feed-back to the 2 Area Coordinator's (and/or 8 Team Leaders' if Area Coordinators are not yet in place) on their weekly planning and reports as a way to monitor activities and to build capacities
o Organize regular team meetings with the different field teams and with the different specialists of our teams (including the Rehab Technical Advisor expatriate) to contribute monitor achievements and give guidance to the different members
o Follow up project's indicators (qualitative and quantitative) with strong emphasis on our activities' quality and implement necessary actions for improvements
o Ensure good quality follow up of the different activities in each area (6 areas planned but presently limited to 3 for security reasons) and of the beneficiaries' situation by developing follow up tools to be used at different levels (area coordinators, team leaders, other team members, …) and doing field visits if possible
o Ensure the quality of the different activities (physical rehabilitation, psychosocial support, distributions, referrals, information, sensitization, promotion of accessibility amongst partners, etc…) by evaluating their impact on beneficiaries' situation (monitoring, analysis of impacts, etc…) and take necessary actions (training of staff if needed, improvement of coordination mechanisms, adaptation of the content of activities, etc…)
o Ensure the quality of data collection on beneficiaries, on their needs and the services received
2/ Analyze the situation to review and adjust the implementation strategy of the different activities (identification mechanisms, psychosocial support, physical rehabilitation activities, distributions of items, accessibility technical unit activities, etc…)
* Adjust our implementation strategy by analyzing: - the populations' needs (basic and specific needs) - the response given by other stakeholders and the existing gaps in essential services - the impact of our activities - the field teams feed backs - the security situation's evolution and the context's evolution (using HoM analysis) - the cultural aspects
* Report on the outcomes of the different analysis to the teams and different partners and use analysis and reports as a mean of advocacy for the right of the most vulnerable including people with disabilities
* Guide and support the different field teams through the Area Coordinators to implement adjustments needed
3/ Participate in the elaboration of the project's strategy under the supervision/coordination of the Head of Mission taking into account the evolution of the target populations' needs, the evolution of the context, and HI's strategy in the country
4/ DIRECT PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION:
4.1. DVFP
* Coordinate the stakeholder's mapping updates done by all team members at their level and ensure correct use for appropriate referrals of beneficiaries - Train the different team members on collecting useful and necessary information on services - Verify and compile information - Regularly improve the mapping tool - Regularly train and share the mapping and information on operational referral mechanisms to the different team members
* Ensure operational efficiency of the referral system through an efficient coordination with all essential stakeholders in all the camps - Develop operational partnerships with other stakeholders (health, protection, wash, etc…) in order to facilitate the referrals of our beneficiaries to their services - Participate in the different inter-agency coordination meeting (especially protection) in order to participate actively in a coordinated response to the current emergency and to promote a good knowledge of our services and approach amongst partners - Coordinate the participation of the Area Coordinators (and/or Team Leaders) in the different inter-agency camp levels coordination meeting
* Ensure quality of the specific services provided by the project by soliciting specialists upon needs: - Closely collaborate, promote and facilitate the intervention of the Rehabilitation Specialist (also PM Physiotherapy and Malnutrition) in order for him/her to contribute to improve the quality of the rehabilitation related activities (rehab advice and care, distribution of mobility aids…) - Solicit specialists (psychosocial specialist, protection specialist, inclusion specialist, ATU specialist) if needed in order to improve the quality of the project's components, to contribute evaluating the potential improvements and developments of the project or to directly implement some specific activities to our teams and/or partners (trainings, workshops, etc…) - Ensure quality of the overall protection strategy by implementing a protection monitoring as well as evaluating the project's impact on protection of beneficiaries (overall intervention as well as through the presence and activities of the psychosocial workers in charge of protection in each camp).
* Psychosocial / Protection: - At this stage of the project, the Operations Manager is directly responsible for the monitoring of Protection and Psychosocial component of the project which is totally integrated in the DVFP approach and implemented by all team members under the supervision of 3 national psychosocial workers. Indeed, at this stage, this specific component of the project aims at enhancing the positive impact of all other components in terms of protection of beneficiaries (access to essential services, better identification of potential protection issues and psychosocial issues, more appropriate referrals in terms of Protection and MHPSS, more appropriate approach and handling of beneficiaries, etc…). - This transversal essential component will also allow us to monitor the Protection and Mental Health issues amongst our beneficiaries and to adjust to the situation accordingly. - The Operations Manager is totally responsible for this component, supervising and monitoring the quality of the work implemented by the psychosocial workers and other team members and is in charge of evaluating the opportunities to develop further this component, potentially with specialist expatriate if required.
4.2. Direct Management of ATU (Accessibility Technical Unit) and Inclusion component
At this stage of resuming of the emergency activities and re-evaluating the potentialities and needs to develop this component, the Operations Manager will be in charge of promoting HI's expertise amongst other stakeholders in order to enhance better accessibility and inclusion for all. He/she will need to determine the scale of this component and therefore the requirements for specialists to be responsible of this component or not according to the updated evaluation of the needs and possibilities (mainly linked with the evolution of the security context) to develop ATU and inclusion through direct technical guidance to other stakeholders. To start with, the Operations Manager will be in charge to:
* Promote inclusion and accessibility for all amongst other stakeholders' response: - Participate in the different inter-agency coordination meetings, ensure lobbying for a better accessibility and inclusion for all and propose technical support - Recruit specialists and use HI technical resources to ensure concrete technical support to other stakeholders in terms of physical accessibility (design guidelines, implement concrete trainings, …), accessibility of information (adapt message of a campaign to be accessible, etc…) and inclusion (trainings or guidelines on how to include better persons with disabilities in case management for protection related issues for example, etc…). - Coordinate the provision (by a national or expatriate specialist) of technical support to other stakeholders - Contribute in analysing stakeholder's needs
4.3. Transversal:
* Ensure operational coordination between the different components and projects: - Depending on the evolution of the different projects and components, the operational org chart can change (development of ATU with a new responsible or not, development of the psychosocial component or not, etc…) and therefore the responsabilities of the Operations Manager can also change. - Regarding Chest Respiratory Physiotherapy, the only role of the Operations Manager will be to ensure a coherent emergency response between the different projects and components and to facilitate the link with partners if the new Project Manager Physiotherapy and malnutrition requires support on this. The Project Manager Physiotherapy will completely be responsible for the Physiotherapy and malnutrition project (management, technical quality, link with health partners, etc…).
* Ensure that the operational emergency response is always respectful to HI's mandate, values and internal rules; to local cultural and legal rules and that all team members are committed to respect the different HI's policies (Child Protection policy, PSEA)
* Ensure that refugees population and host communities are regularly involved in and informed about our activities
TEAM MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION: 1/ Ensure the daily management of the team
* Elaborate and update job description and job profiles for all team members, participate in recruitments
* Ensure updates and adaptations of the org chart of your team
* Brief new team members (on HI, the project, their responsibilities and tasks, HI policies, the internal functioning, etc…)
* Evaluate regularly the team members and ensure managers of your team do so appropriately
2/ Ensure capacity building of your team for their own improvement as for the ones of the different activities' quality:
* Analyze strengths and weaknesses of the different team members and build their capacities on the different components of the project through trainings, workshops, etc..
* Regularly train and support the teams (especially in identifying the most vulnerable refugees as well as their basic and specific needs, ensuring an appropriate response, etc..)
* Train, support and coordinate the DVFP teams in responding appropriately in a holistic manner to the beneficiaries' needs directly (orientation, accompaniment, rehabilitation, psychosocial support, sensitization, distribution of NFI, specific items, assistive devices, etc…) or indirectly (through referrals to other agencies, develop of partnerships, accompaniment of beneficiaries to the different services, follow up and evaluation of the service or good's quality provided, etc…)
* Ensure specialists of the team are building capacities of the different team members in their field of expertise (physical rehabilitation, psychosocial support, protection, etc…)
3/ Ensure good internal and external coordination
* Ensure coordination through clear coordination mechanisms - Between our different teams and between the different components of the project (related to basic and specific services) - Between our teams and other HI teams - Between our project and other INGOs' projects through the different thematic coordination meetings at different levels
* Ensure the respect of the communication channels for a more efficient coordination The project being based on an holistic approach and on a multidisciplinary response, each team member should be briefed and trained on the organization of the project's team and especially on the managements lines, the technical functional lines, and the responsibilities in the links / coordination with other partners
4/ Act as team player and try to resolve any internal problems in the team
* Ensure conflict resolution (personal and professional) within your team and inform the head of mission and the administrator
5/ Ensure teams' knowledge and understanding of internal rules and regulations including Handicap International's policies and be vigilant on their compliance to them
* Implement regular training, briefing, sensitization sessions for all staff on HI's policies
* Ensure reporting mechanisms are put in place, well known by all and efficient
* Ensure confidentiality of all individual issues
6/ Propose whenever you think it is needed to the Head of Mission relevant adaptations of the organizational chart and job description
REPORTING 1/ Support your team to produce regular reports, study cases on DVFP activities 2/ Participate in the intermediate and final donor report 3/ Report to partners on activities
4/ Ensure a regular reporting on your activities to the Head of Mission and to the HQ Technical advisors on project's achievements, challenges faced and quality of activities upon their solicitation
5/ Manage and improve monitoring and documentation system for DVFP in close link with the HoM and the technical advisor in HQ
6/ Report any incident to the line manager
7/ Provide the HoM with end of mission report and handover documentation at the end of the project
8/ Ensure regular capitalization of approaches and tools (remote control monitoring tools, DVFP approach, etc…) in close link with the HQ Technical Referent and according to his requirements and guidance
ADMINISTRATION AND LOGISTIC
1/ Ensure coordination between your teams and the support teams (HR, finance, logistics…) for the needs of the activities or of your teams
2/ Validate all project's activities expenses (as the budget holder for activities' lines)
3/ Ensure regular budget follow up of activities' budget lines in collaboration with the administrator and thanks to his tools, conduct budget updates and prevision
4/ With the support of the logistic team, prepare purchase requests, validate material needed, check the quality of samples when needed, and follow purchase process
5/ Ensure procedures are followed for distributions of items and that donations certificate are properly filled and filed.
PROFILE REQUIRED Experience
* At least 3 years as a Project Manager in emergency context ideally with an experience on DVFP Project, or other projects related to Protection, provision of basic and/or specific services, and/or to Psychosocial related projects
* Strong experience of management (intercultural and multidisciplinary teams)
* Experience of semi-remote control management and in difficult security context
* At least 4 years of experience in INGOs or other organizations working with vulnerable populations, displaced population and/or refugees or people with disabilities
* Experience in implementing trainings
Education
* Project Management studies (handling of project cycle, monitoring and evaluation, coordination with the different support team members, etc…)
* University degree Social/Psychosocial or related field would be an asset
* Knowledge and/or experiences related to Protection issues, Vulnerabilities, Handicap and Emergency, Psychosocial support, Physical Rehabilitation, etc…
Languages
* English (required)
* French and/or Somali would be an asset
Skills and Personal qualities
* Good organizational skills / capacity to prioritize
* Strong and proven management skills
* Adaptation, including to a changing context
* Analytical and problem solving skills
* Good communication and listening skills
* Capacity of negotiating, resolving conflicts, conciliating
* Training skills
* Ability to take initiative
* Dynamism, high level of motivation
* Interest for field work as well as for interagency meetings
* Capacity to work under pressure
* Capacity to keep professional distance with the beneficiaries
* Good capacity to interact with many different stakeholders (teams members, host communities, refugees, etc…)
* Capacity to work in an multidisciplinary and multicultural team
EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS:
Salary: upon experience Status : Salaried or volunteer
How to apply:
To apply, please send your CV and a cover letter to: Jeanne Vogt HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL Direction de l'Action d'Urgence Réf : SURMANE/Firstname/HOM/Kenya. E-mail : officerh3@handicap-international.org
Deadline: 8th March 2012
Closing Date: Thursday, 08 March 2012
Dadaab
COUNTRY: Kenya. CITY: Dadaab Starting date: ASAP Closing date for application: ASAP Length of the assignment: 3 months renewable Advertisement reference: SURNAME/Firstname/OM/Kenya
Handicap International is an independent and impartial international Humanitarian organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. Working alongside vulnerable groups including persons with disabilities (PwDs), our action and testimony are focused on responding to their essential needs, improving their living conditions and promoting respect for their dignity and their fundamental rights.
Handicap International is present in Dadaab refugee camps since 2007 through it Development Department. In the frame of its holistic approach to the most vulnerable called Disability and Vulnerability Focal Point (DVFP), the Handicap International Emergency Response Department launched in August 2011 an immediate humanitarian response to the massive influx of refugees in order to cover the needs of the Dadaab camps most vulnerable population including people with disabilities. The strategy of these DVFPs is to identify most vulnerable persons in their community and enhance their access to basic and specific essential services through different mechanisms (direct services or through referrals and support to access other INGOs' services).
After a long suspension period due to security reasons, the project is now in the resuming phase. Its activities and most of all their modalities of interventions are being adapted to the new security situation and overall context.
MISSION CONTEXT
Somalia, the neighboring country of Kenya, has been designed the most failed state of the world in 2011 . Due to civil conflict and drought, United Nations decided in 1992 to start an operation in Mogadishu ("Restore Hope"). In the same time, several tens of thousands people fled Somalia to Kenya. As a result of these influxes, the creation of refugee camps in the North Eastern part of Kenya has been decided and especially in Dadaab. Most of these refugees are still in Dadaab today. Dadaab is located in the east of Kenya, at about 90km from the Somalia border. The camps complex is composed by three "historic" refugee camps: Dagahaley, Ifo and Hagadera, located in a circle of 17km around Dadaab. Despite official closure of the Kenya / Somalia border by the Kenyan Government in January 2007, Dadaab refugee camps complex has received over 200,000 Somalia refugees over the past four years. Since October 2010 however, the numbers of refugees increased to over 10,000 a month, mainly because of the conflict in Somalia and since May 2011 because of the long and severe drought in the horn of Africa. The United Nations have declared on 20th of July a situation of famine in 2 regions of Somalia and on 3rd of August 2011 it was extended to 5 regions of Somalia. The number of refugees received between January and mid July 2011 is more than 60,000. The current population in the camps is around 400,000 refugees, while the three camps (Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo) have a total holding capacity of 90,000 persons (30,000 each). There are about thousands of new refugees who have no where to settle and are spontaneously settling on the outskirts of the camps. The rate of registered refugees arriving in the camps should continue rising. As of the end of July 2011, an average of 1,330 persons was arriving daily in Dadaab . It is anticipated that an estimated additional 80,000 new refugees will arrive in the next months, should the rains continue to fail and aid delivery in Somalia remains restricted. The sharp increase in arrivals combined with the prevailing drought situation in the Horn of Africa is impacting more on the newly settled refugees. Indeed, during the previous months, newly arrived refugees were not taken in charge immediately at their arrival in the different camps in Dadaab, because the Kenyan Government and UNHCR did not have the capacity to register this large number of refugees daily. Therefore, refugees could not receive any basic services as food and water at their arrival in Dadaab camps, creating situations of extreme vulnerability and sometimes to deaths. Despite the presence of humanitarian stakeholders in Dadaab, the huge influx of new refugees has made it extremely difficult to deliver sufficient and efficient humanitarian assistance, especially in the spontaneous settlements (vast areas around the different camps with no existing services at all). However, in response to the critical needs of newly settled refugees, the Kenyan Prime Minister made a public statement requesting UNHCR to open the new sites in the area and provide assistance in terms of health care, shelter, education and food. As a result UNHCR and implementing partners (IPs) decided to open two new camps (Ifo Extension and Kambioos) with an additional capacity of 180,000 refugees. The resettlement in these new camps has started on July 25 and is still under process. Regarding these facts, Handicap International has identified critical needs for the most vulnerable (especially for persons with disabilities, older and persons with serious medical conditions), such as: - access to food and safe water, - access to sanitation facilities, - access to health services, - access to adapted shelters, - access to a secure environment and protection, - access to other specific services according to their needs.
Handicap International, in the frame of its holistic approach to the most vulnerable called Disability and Vulnerability Focal Point (DVFP), proposes an immediate humanitarian response in order to cover the needs of the Dadaab camps vulnerable population. The strategy of these DVFPs is to identify most vulnerable persons (and particularly PWDs) in their community and enhance their access to basic and specific services. Because of the increased vulnerability of the new arrived refugees, Handicap International will focus its activities in the two new camps (Ifo extension and Kambioos) and in the outskirts of the three existing camps. This project, like all projects currently being implemented by the ERD, will focus particularly on extremely vulnerable individuals and their households, as these individuals often risk being excluded from assistance efforts, and given their original vulnerabilities, face additional barriers and challenges to cope and survive. The criteria of vulnerability could be enlarged according to the lack of coverage by the other actors and our financial and operational capacities. Also, HI aims to provide mainstreaming support to IPs at all levels in the emergency response. This mechanism for mainstreaming has been used successfully by HI in others emergency interventions (Haiti, Pakistan, etc).
MAIN RESPONSABILITIES OF THE EXPATRIATE
Under the responsibility of the Head of Mission and in close collaboration with the HQ Technical Advisor, the Operations Manager is responsible for ensuring implementation of operational emergency activities within a comprehensive response to the basic and specific needs of vulnerable persons in Dadaab's refugee camps.
The Operations Manager coordinates the different components of the operational emergency response (DVFP, ATU, Chest Physio) and is therefore responsible for the project internal and external coordination (link with other stakeholders in the camp regarding project's operational issues). He/she is responsible for the DVFP project and its different components, coordinating and supervising - with the assistance of 2 Area Coordinators - the different field teams in the different refugee camps and ensuring the quality of the different activities. At this stage of resumption of activities, and as the Operations Manager will work in close collaboration with other stakeholders, he will also be in charge of the first stage of the ATU (Accessibility Technical Unit) and inclusion component of the project aiming at promoting accessibility and inclusion in the humanitarian response through proposing technical guidance to other stakeholders. This component could be reinforce by an extra position (expatriate or national) if stakeholders respond positively to the proposition of beneficiating from technical support provided by HI on accessibility and inclusion of the most vulnerable and especially on PwDs.
PHASE 1: December
With the current Operations Manager, the new Operations Manager will resume the different components of the project, participating in the definition and implementation of the whole strategy of the project's resumption  Participate in the adjustments of our project strategy and the tailoring of our emergency response  Consolidate existing partnerships with agencies and INGOs - to ensure their knowledge about our activities and their support in the resuming of our project as well - to update our mapping of services and develop operational partnerships with different stakeholders in order to facilitate our beneficiaries' access to the services provided by other INGOs or Agencies - to promote accessibility and inclusion of all in the emergency response (lobbying, technical advices, etc…) - to ensure the development of new activities in partnership with other stakeholders such as physiotherapy for malnourished children  Participate in the re-implementation of our activities through mobile and fixed DVFP teams  Participate in the remaining recruitments  Participates in the training of the newly recruited staff and any other new training needed for the current teams  Participate in the improvement of data collection and analysis  Implement the activities according to the plan
PHASE 2:
PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTATION: 1/ Plan, supervise and monitor overall activities' implementations
* Plan the whole project's activities and ensure planning are shared, understood and put in place by the different field teams
* Conduct field visits if security situation allows it and put in place remote monitoring mechanisms to ensure the quality of the intervention and good understanding and implementation of DVFP approach - Design and provide monitoring tools to the field responsible (Area Coordinators, Team Leaders). Compile, analyze and provide feed-back to the 2 Area Coordinator's (and/or 8 Team Leaders' if Area Coordinators are not yet in place) on their weekly planning and reports as a way to monitor activities and to build capacities
o Organize regular team meetings with the different field teams and with the different specialists of our teams (including the Rehab Technical Advisor expatriate) to contribute monitor achievements and give guidance to the different members
o Follow up project's indicators (qualitative and quantitative) with strong emphasis on our activities' quality and implement necessary actions for improvements
o Ensure good quality follow up of the different activities in each area (6 areas planned but presently limited to 3 for security reasons) and of the beneficiaries' situation by developing follow up tools to be used at different levels (area coordinators, team leaders, other team members, …) and doing field visits if possible
o Ensure the quality of the different activities (physical rehabilitation, psychosocial support, distributions, referrals, information, sensitization, promotion of accessibility amongst partners, etc…) by evaluating their impact on beneficiaries' situation (monitoring, analysis of impacts, etc…) and take necessary actions (training of staff if needed, improvement of coordination mechanisms, adaptation of the content of activities, etc…)
o Ensure the quality of data collection on beneficiaries, on their needs and the services received
2/ Analyze the situation to review and adjust the implementation strategy of the different activities (identification mechanisms, psychosocial support, physical rehabilitation activities, distributions of items, accessibility technical unit activities, etc…)
* Adjust our implementation strategy by analyzing: - the populations' needs (basic and specific needs) - the response given by other stakeholders and the existing gaps in essential services - the impact of our activities - the field teams feed backs - the security situation's evolution and the context's evolution (using HoM analysis) - the cultural aspects
* Report on the outcomes of the different analysis to the teams and different partners and use analysis and reports as a mean of advocacy for the right of the most vulnerable including people with disabilities
* Guide and support the different field teams through the Area Coordinators to implement adjustments needed
3/ Participate in the elaboration of the project's strategy under the supervision/coordination of the Head of Mission taking into account the evolution of the target populations' needs, the evolution of the context, and HI's strategy in the country
4/ DIRECT PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION:
4.1. DVFP
* Coordinate the stakeholder's mapping updates done by all team members at their level and ensure correct use for appropriate referrals of beneficiaries - Train the different team members on collecting useful and necessary information on services - Verify and compile information - Regularly improve the mapping tool - Regularly train and share the mapping and information on operational referral mechanisms to the different team members
* Ensure operational efficiency of the referral system through an efficient coordination with all essential stakeholders in all the camps - Develop operational partnerships with other stakeholders (health, protection, wash, etc…) in order to facilitate the referrals of our beneficiaries to their services - Participate in the different inter-agency coordination meeting (especially protection) in order to participate actively in a coordinated response to the current emergency and to promote a good knowledge of our services and approach amongst partners - Coordinate the participation of the Area Coordinators (and/or Team Leaders) in the different inter-agency camp levels coordination meeting
* Ensure quality of the specific services provided by the project by soliciting specialists upon needs: - Closely collaborate, promote and facilitate the intervention of the Rehabilitation Specialist (also PM Physiotherapy and Malnutrition) in order for him/her to contribute to improve the quality of the rehabilitation related activities (rehab advice and care, distribution of mobility aids…) - Solicit specialists (psychosocial specialist, protection specialist, inclusion specialist, ATU specialist) if needed in order to improve the quality of the project's components, to contribute evaluating the potential improvements and developments of the project or to directly implement some specific activities to our teams and/or partners (trainings, workshops, etc…) - Ensure quality of the overall protection strategy by implementing a protection monitoring as well as evaluating the project's impact on protection of beneficiaries (overall intervention as well as through the presence and activities of the psychosocial workers in charge of protection in each camp).
* Psychosocial / Protection: - At this stage of the project, the Operations Manager is directly responsible for the monitoring of Protection and Psychosocial component of the project which is totally integrated in the DVFP approach and implemented by all team members under the supervision of 3 national psychosocial workers. Indeed, at this stage, this specific component of the project aims at enhancing the positive impact of all other components in terms of protection of beneficiaries (access to essential services, better identification of potential protection issues and psychosocial issues, more appropriate referrals in terms of Protection and MHPSS, more appropriate approach and handling of beneficiaries, etc…). - This transversal essential component will also allow us to monitor the Protection and Mental Health issues amongst our beneficiaries and to adjust to the situation accordingly. - The Operations Manager is totally responsible for this component, supervising and monitoring the quality of the work implemented by the psychosocial workers and other team members and is in charge of evaluating the opportunities to develop further this component, potentially with specialist expatriate if required.
4.2. Direct Management of ATU (Accessibility Technical Unit) and Inclusion component
At this stage of resuming of the emergency activities and re-evaluating the potentialities and needs to develop this component, the Operations Manager will be in charge of promoting HI's expertise amongst other stakeholders in order to enhance better accessibility and inclusion for all. He/she will need to determine the scale of this component and therefore the requirements for specialists to be responsible of this component or not according to the updated evaluation of the needs and possibilities (mainly linked with the evolution of the security context) to develop ATU and inclusion through direct technical guidance to other stakeholders. To start with, the Operations Manager will be in charge to:
* Promote inclusion and accessibility for all amongst other stakeholders' response: - Participate in the different inter-agency coordination meetings, ensure lobbying for a better accessibility and inclusion for all and propose technical support - Recruit specialists and use HI technical resources to ensure concrete technical support to other stakeholders in terms of physical accessibility (design guidelines, implement concrete trainings, …), accessibility of information (adapt message of a campaign to be accessible, etc…) and inclusion (trainings or guidelines on how to include better persons with disabilities in case management for protection related issues for example, etc…). - Coordinate the provision (by a national or expatriate specialist) of technical support to other stakeholders - Contribute in analysing stakeholder's needs
4.3. Transversal:
* Ensure operational coordination between the different components and projects: - Depending on the evolution of the different projects and components, the operational org chart can change (development of ATU with a new responsible or not, development of the psychosocial component or not, etc…) and therefore the responsabilities of the Operations Manager can also change. - Regarding Chest Respiratory Physiotherapy, the only role of the Operations Manager will be to ensure a coherent emergency response between the different projects and components and to facilitate the link with partners if the new Project Manager Physiotherapy and malnutrition requires support on this. The Project Manager Physiotherapy will completely be responsible for the Physiotherapy and malnutrition project (management, technical quality, link with health partners, etc…).
* Ensure that the operational emergency response is always respectful to HI's mandate, values and internal rules; to local cultural and legal rules and that all team members are committed to respect the different HI's policies (Child Protection policy, PSEA)
* Ensure that refugees population and host communities are regularly involved in and informed about our activities
TEAM MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION: 1/ Ensure the daily management of the team
* Elaborate and update job description and job profiles for all team members, participate in recruitments
* Ensure updates and adaptations of the org chart of your team
* Brief new team members (on HI, the project, their responsibilities and tasks, HI policies, the internal functioning, etc…)
* Evaluate regularly the team members and ensure managers of your team do so appropriately
2/ Ensure capacity building of your team for their own improvement as for the ones of the different activities' quality:
* Analyze strengths and weaknesses of the different team members and build their capacities on the different components of the project through trainings, workshops, etc..
* Regularly train and support the teams (especially in identifying the most vulnerable refugees as well as their basic and specific needs, ensuring an appropriate response, etc..)
* Train, support and coordinate the DVFP teams in responding appropriately in a holistic manner to the beneficiaries' needs directly (orientation, accompaniment, rehabilitation, psychosocial support, sensitization, distribution of NFI, specific items, assistive devices, etc…) or indirectly (through referrals to other agencies, develop of partnerships, accompaniment of beneficiaries to the different services, follow up and evaluation of the service or good's quality provided, etc…)
* Ensure specialists of the team are building capacities of the different team members in their field of expertise (physical rehabilitation, psychosocial support, protection, etc…)
3/ Ensure good internal and external coordination
* Ensure coordination through clear coordination mechanisms - Between our different teams and between the different components of the project (related to basic and specific services) - Between our teams and other HI teams - Between our project and other INGOs' projects through the different thematic coordination meetings at different levels
* Ensure the respect of the communication channels for a more efficient coordination The project being based on an holistic approach and on a multidisciplinary response, each team member should be briefed and trained on the organization of the project's team and especially on the managements lines, the technical functional lines, and the responsibilities in the links / coordination with other partners
4/ Act as team player and try to resolve any internal problems in the team
* Ensure conflict resolution (personal and professional) within your team and inform the head of mission and the administrator
5/ Ensure teams' knowledge and understanding of internal rules and regulations including Handicap International's policies and be vigilant on their compliance to them
* Implement regular training, briefing, sensitization sessions for all staff on HI's policies
* Ensure reporting mechanisms are put in place, well known by all and efficient
* Ensure confidentiality of all individual issues
6/ Propose whenever you think it is needed to the Head of Mission relevant adaptations of the organizational chart and job description
REPORTING 1/ Support your team to produce regular reports, study cases on DVFP activities 2/ Participate in the intermediate and final donor report 3/ Report to partners on activities
4/ Ensure a regular reporting on your activities to the Head of Mission and to the HQ Technical advisors on project's achievements, challenges faced and quality of activities upon their solicitation
5/ Manage and improve monitoring and documentation system for DVFP in close link with the HoM and the technical advisor in HQ
6/ Report any incident to the line manager
7/ Provide the HoM with end of mission report and handover documentation at the end of the project
8/ Ensure regular capitalization of approaches and tools (remote control monitoring tools, DVFP approach, etc…) in close link with the HQ Technical Referent and according to his requirements and guidance
ADMINISTRATION AND LOGISTIC
1/ Ensure coordination between your teams and the support teams (HR, finance, logistics…) for the needs of the activities or of your teams
2/ Validate all project's activities expenses (as the budget holder for activities' lines)
3/ Ensure regular budget follow up of activities' budget lines in collaboration with the administrator and thanks to his tools, conduct budget updates and prevision
4/ With the support of the logistic team, prepare purchase requests, validate material needed, check the quality of samples when needed, and follow purchase process
5/ Ensure procedures are followed for distributions of items and that donations certificate are properly filled and filed.
PROFILE REQUIRED Experience
* At least 3 years as a Project Manager in emergency context ideally with an experience on DVFP Project, or other projects related to Protection, provision of basic and/or specific services, and/or to Psychosocial related projects
* Strong experience of management (intercultural and multidisciplinary teams)
* Experience of semi-remote control management and in difficult security context
* At least 4 years of experience in INGOs or other organizations working with vulnerable populations, displaced population and/or refugees or people with disabilities
* Experience in implementing trainings
Education
* Project Management studies (handling of project cycle, monitoring and evaluation, coordination with the different support team members, etc…)
* University degree Social/Psychosocial or related field would be an asset
* Knowledge and/or experiences related to Protection issues, Vulnerabilities, Handicap and Emergency, Psychosocial support, Physical Rehabilitation, etc…
Languages
* English (required)
* French and/or Somali would be an asset
Skills and Personal qualities
* Good organizational skills / capacity to prioritize
* Strong and proven management skills
* Adaptation, including to a changing context
* Analytical and problem solving skills
* Good communication and listening skills
* Capacity of negotiating, resolving conflicts, conciliating
* Training skills
* Ability to take initiative
* Dynamism, high level of motivation
* Interest for field work as well as for interagency meetings
* Capacity to work under pressure
* Capacity to keep professional distance with the beneficiaries
* Good capacity to interact with many different stakeholders (teams members, host communities, refugees, etc…)
* Capacity to work in an multidisciplinary and multicultural team
EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS:
Salary: upon experience Status : Salaried or volunteer
How to apply:
To apply, please send your CV and a cover letter to: Jeanne Vogt HANDICAP INTERNATIONAL Direction de l'Action d'Urgence Réf : SURMANE/Firstname/HOM/Kenya. E-mail : officerh3@handicap-international.org
Deadline: 8th March 2012
