Desired start date:02/05/2020
Duration of the mission: 12 months
Location: Dhaka, with frequent field visits to bases (Cox, Teknaf)
ABOUT THE MISSION
Solidarités International (SI) opened its mission in Bangladesh at the end of 2007, following cyclone SIDR.
SI’s intervention and strategy in Bangladesh is to address primary needs of crisis-affected people in terms of food security, livelihood, disaster risk reduction (DRR), water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) and shelter, by making use of an integrated DRR approach and by taking into account the effects of climate change, whilst working in parallel on mid / long-term resilience strategies.
SI operates through 3 core stages of intervention :
- Rapid response mechanisms (RRM) in the aftermath of a disaster or emergency,
- Early recovery/transitional periods
In line with the 2019/2020 country strategy, SI is focusing on 4 key strategic objectives:
- Responding to the most urgent needs of conflict and disaster affected populations;
- Strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities to recurrent shocks;
- Strengthening communities’ capacities to access resources;
- Reducing marginalisation through inclusive programming.
In order to reach those objectives, SI Bangladesh focuses on the WaSH and FSL sectors, with the following crosscutting theme: integrated protection and resilience.
3 offices:
- Head office and support services in Dhaka
- Programs coordination office in Cox
- Base in Teknaf
The team:
- 250 Bangladeshi staff members
- 17 international staff members
ABOUT THE JOB
The Country Director (CD) is SI’s official representative in Bangladesh AND is the mission’s focal point for both strategic and operational orientations and dilemmas.
SI is thus looking for a leader, with an excellent understanding of how donor-based NGOs work, who is capable of handling representation responsibilities, and who will roll her∙his sleeves up, advising the teams and participating actively when needed.
More specifically:
- S∙he is in charge of the smooth running of the mission.
- S∙he proposes mission strategy, taking into account the geopolitical and humanitarian context, and ensures its implementation once it has been validated in collaboration with HQ
- S∙he monitors projects, ensuring that they are progressing in accordance with SI charter and complying with internal and contractual procedures
- S∙he mobilizes the material and financial resources necessary for the programs to run effectively and supervises the administration of these resources.
- S∙he coordinates the teams and ensures their security on the mission.
- S∙he is the direct liaison for SI’s HQ, and works in partnership with HQ.
RESPONSABILITIES
Coordination and strategic orientation:
- Monitor and analyze the humanitarian, political, cultural, social and economic context
- Propose, develop and put in place an operational strategy consistent with the association’s policies and population’s needs
Relevance and operational quality / operations monitoring
Guarantee the coordination, development, monitoring and evaluation of programs implemented on the mission
Ensure that programs are implemented in accordance with annual operational strategy, SI’s technical requirements and financial donor criteria
Resource management
- Propose and organize the Human, financial and logistic layout of the mission
- Ensure the financial resources and means necessary for the completion of projects are mobilized
- Build and maintain team dynamics that enable SI’s objectives to be carried out effectively in the country
- Ensure that SI’s HR policies and procedures are applied (recruitment, performance reviews, etc.)
- Ensure work-life balance for SI staff and maintain suitable working and living environments
Security
- Be responsible for the security of all teams and property on the mission, under the supervision of the HQ Desk Officer
- Monitor and analyze the security situation and ensure that teams clearly understand it
Ensure that everyone complies with security rules and procedures on the mission
Deal immediately with any security incidents that may occur on the mission and alert HQ without delay
Relationships with financial donors / fund-raising
- Monitor and analyze financial donor strategies
- Actively assist in fund-raising and ensure the mission’s financial stability
- Strengthen relationships between SI’s and financial donor representatives
Internal and external communication, representation
- Ensure that deadlines are adhered to and that documents produced by the mission are of good quality
- Ensure that key operational information is circulated correctly, on the mission and between the mission and HQ
- Act as SI’s official representative in the country for aid workers, local political and administrative authorities, the civil society, the humanitarian stakeholders and the media
CURRENT MAIN CHALLENGES FOR THE CD IN BANGLADESH
- Support the stabilization of the teams: after a quite rough turnover period, the teams are complete, but still need consolidation (processes, team building).
- Keep on working on the improvement of communication and coordination practices between the 3 offices (Dhaka, Cox, Teknaf).
- Continue prioritizing the nationalization of relevant positions (capacity building).
- Roll out the Country Strategy and prepare the next update
- Enhancing external communications strategy and activities.
This position requires frequent visits to Cox and Teknaf.
YOUR PROFILE
Qualification :
- Post graduate level in development / humanitarian studies (desirable but can be balanced by experience)
Experience :
- Substantial experience in a similar or senior management position in an overseas INGO environment, ideally in both emergency and longer-term contexts
- Experience of strategic planning
- Experience of managing large teams in multiple locations with various problematic
- Experience of managing security
- Experience of budget management and donor compliance
- Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues and partners from different functions and cultures
Technical skill and competence:
- Strong organizational improvement skills, with specific focus on resources optimization and mission stabilization.
- Excellent representational skills, to represent SI to a broad range of people and organizations including donors and government officials.
- An ability to reflect on and learn from own performance and the performance of the program; and to act upon that learning
- Ability to consider, understand and make use of the historical background of SI presence in Bangladesh
- A good understanding of security management
- A good understanding of humanitarian issues including refugees, protection, advocacy, DRR and climate change issues
- Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office
Personal quality:
- An ability to analyze information quickly and accurately
- Good problem solving skills in daily activities AND in crisis situations
- A flexible approach to management and prioritizing a high workload and multiple tasks with tight deadlines
- Ability to take decisions and work in autonomy
- An understanding of and commitment to SI’s mission and values
Language: Strong communication skills with excellent written and spoken Englishabsolutely mandatory – as there are a lot of representation activities planned on a weekly basis.
Bonus:
- Previous experience in South Asia
- Previous experience with SI
SI WILL OFFER YOU
A salaried post
Salary: minimum of EUR 3300 gross salary / month (EUR 3000 base salary + 10% annual leave). Housing or Family packages are available, under certain conditions.
Per Diem: USD 450 / month.
Social and medical cover
The insurance package includes all healthcare expenses, including medical and surgical expenses, dental care and ophthalmological expenses; civil liability, contingency & repatriation and a welfare system including war risks.
Essential vaccination and antimalarial treatment costs are refunded.
Break policy
– 1 break of 7 working days every 3 months + USD 850 allowance for each break.
– In addition to these regular breaks, SI adds 1 additional day off / per worked month.
Note: breaks and additional days off are offered by SI: they are not deducted from the paid leaves, that are paid every months with your salary (see above).
SECURITY CONTEXT AND LIVING CONDITIONS:
The security context in Dhaka is low risk. There is a significant green zone, in which international staff can move around by foot during the day. SI cars are available all day every day and there are wide varieties of restaurants, for the evening and weekends.
The offices and guesthouses in Dhaka, Cox and Teknaf are comfortable, well-located in terms of security and social life, adapted to SI team’s needs, and assuring to international staff good standards in terms of privacy and comfort.
The working environment is positive, and both national and international staff are working well together.
The context allows international staff to have social life and activities, especially in Cox’s Bazar, one of the most touristic cities of the country, which also hosts the majority of humanitarian actors.
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How to apply:
Does this job matches your profile and your ambitions? Let’s chat! Please send us your CV AND cover letter (yes, we do read those) in English via this link: https://emea3.recruitmentplatform.com/syndicated/private/syd_apply.cfm?id=PULFK026203F3VBQB6G8N8NX4&nPostingTargetID=50290.
Note: the vacancy may close before the date advertised, depending on the applications received. Don’t wait!