HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR
Contract Type: TBD
Location: Dakar, Senegal
Job Grade: National Position, Level C2
Reporting to: Head of Programs
Job Ref No: 12518
WHO WE ARE
Oxfam is a global organization working to right the wrongs of poverty, hunger, and injustice. We work with people in more than 90 countries to create lasting solutions. Oxfam saves lives, develops long-term solutions to poverty, and campaigns for social change.
OXFAM has been active in Senegal for more than two decades. In recent years, our focus has been on supporting sustainable livelihoods, promoting good governance and ensuring sustainable human development in the face of crisis and human/natural disasters.
JOB PURPOSE
Oxfam and partner humanitarian staff participate and use results of our humanitarian program in Senegal to influence relevant actors at all levels, to enable effective and quality humanitarian responses lead and implemented by local actors.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
Under the leadership of the HOPI, the Humanitarian Coordinator is in charge of the humanitarian portfolio, for Senegal. His/her main responsibilities, with the support of the humanitarian team, include: to provide coordination, administration, management, programming, monitoring and learning oversight to the humanitarian programming efforts in Senegal, promoting quality response and integration with long-term development programming, primarily focusing on WASH and EFSL thematic areas in both preparedness and response work, to provide support to the teams on MEL in their programming and implementation, capacity building, resources identification and utilization, and networking.
Thought leadership and strategic management
• Provide thought leadership on thematic area, staying up to date with the latest thinking, undertake/commission organised research and analysis and spend time in reflective consideration to develop a comprehensive understanding of the humanitarian theme in Senegal, how it contributes to poverty and Inequality in the country, and ways of addressing these
Emergency Preparedness
• Assess and support emergency preparedness activities of the partners in the country.
• Plan and manage the emergency capacity building of the partners to be prepared to respond to emergencies within 48 hours, adhering to humanitarian principles, standards and codes of conduct.
• Support the partners to seek alternative funds to leverage programming, institutional growth and responses.
• Coordinate the emergency preparedness efforts with OI in line with the Enhanced Contingency Plans
• Ensure that there is a register of experts in the program that can be called on to provide technical and programming support to the response.
• Contribute to developing Oxfam internal capacities and contribute expertise at the regional and global levels through linkages with the Regional Humanitarian Unit (RHU) and GHT team
Humanitarian Response Programming
• Collect, analyze, and put together the information on the humanitarian situation and provide accurate updates to the Humanitarian Response Department.
• Lead, coordinate and manage the humanitarian response through partners, leading the planning, fund raising, programming, monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting.
• Engage and manage the Oxfam in Senegal Partnerships providing support to ensure transparency, accountability and enhanced capacity to respond nationally.
• Work with local and central governments, local partners and communities to set up minimum capacities for quality responses to cat 3 emergencies
• Support in advocating and communicating the humanitarian responses locally, regionally and internationally, contributing to the multilevel influencing work (taking our initiatives from local to national, regional and global).
Monitoring Evaluation and Learning
• Support the country on the implementation of MEL in the humanitarian programs and projects and aligned with Oxfam MEL policies and framework
• Conduct, at a minimum, one monitoring review and a country learning session after every response, which will help draw lessons learnt for improved practice and advocacy
Communication, representation & relationship building
• Help establish communications systems to share practices and ensure that information on Oxfam’s work is communicated on a regular basis
• Establish and maintain an information database of partners, projects, and resources
• Help establish, maintain, and improve active and influencing working relationships with: government authorities, partner agencies including humanitarian and development donors, local and international NGOs as well as governmental and intergovernmental organizations in the region
• Ensure establishment and maintenance of strong working relationships with local communities, community based organizations and other local authorities as appropriate
• Work closely with other thematic areas to harmonize humanitarian interventions.
Team Management – Mentorship, and Development – Humanitarian
• Manage the Humanitarian team, provide leadership and technical support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
• Ensure that all staff understand and are able to perform their role in an humanitarian response
• Develop and train the country Emergency Response Team in coordination with Oxfam Regional/Global Humanitarian teams
• Incorporate staff development strategies and Performance Management Systems into team building process.
• Establish result based system and follow up
TECHNICAL SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE
Essential
• Bachelor’s degree in Humanitarian studies, International Development, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Community Studies, International Relations, or a combined professional qualification and sound experience
• At least 7 to 10 years of practical/field work experience in humanitarian response and preparedness
• Policy and advocacy experience
• Familiarity with SPHERE standards and the Code of Conduct of Red Cross
• Knowledge in sustainable participatory community development work
• Experience in implementing trainings or facilitating group learning processes
• Proven skills in program management, administration and organization
• Excellent leadership and people management skills
• Good communication skills, including skills in website and electronic communications
• Excellent writing and communicating skills in English and good knowledge of French
• Ability to work on own initiative with minimal supervision
• Diplomacy and flexibility
• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively in support of building a team-based work culture, to perform all duties appropriately in a multi-cultural environment, treating all persons with dignity and respect, and be familiar with and committed to Oxfam mission and goals.
Desirable
• Knowledge of the field of international development and human rights
• Knowledge and background of monitoring and evaluation, program design, participatory community development models, logical framework, and utilizing M&E in humanitarian response work
• Ability to communicate in French, English. Portuguese will be an asset
• Be available to travel internationally if and when required
Equality and diversity
We are committed both to promoting equality and diversity within the organization and to Equal Opportunities in employment. We believe in equality of opportunity regardless of race or racial group, religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender re-assignment and gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy, maternity and paternity. This also includes any incidents of perceptive or associative discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are made entirely on merit.
