CARE experience has shown that capacity is often stretched beyond its limits by humanitarian disasters, and that additional senior staff resources specializing in emergency response are needed to provide operational and strategic support from the onset to ensure a more effective response and to reduce financial and operational risks. In support of its Humanitarian Strategy, CARE International has standing team of emergency response specialists. Members of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) are expected to be deployed to the field/traveling approximately 65% of their time, on average.
Because of the nature of the work, demands are fast-paced and unpredictable. This position requires an individual who is very flexible, provides expertise and leadership at a senior level and who works well within a team. Experience in integrating gender equality considerations into humanitarian interventions is required.
The Emergency Program Specialist (Team Leader) will be a key member of the RRT within the CARE Emergency Group (CEG). The position will provide support, assistance and advice to CARE International country offices, national members and CEG in assessment and team leader aspects of emergency response and preparedness. S/he will be available to respond at short notice to emergencies and Country Office requirements. Requests for emergency deployment take precedence over other assignments. The Emergency Response Team Leader is intended to spend the majority of her/his time in the field ‘roving’ between emergency locations. Non-deployment time may be spent at home with responsibility for tasks according to a prescribed work plan, or routine follow up such as report writing, document review, response follow-up, training/coaching/mentoring and preparedness planning.
Responsibilities
The primary responsibility includes leading and coordinating assessment teams, managing the start-up and ramp-up of emergency operations and responses -- and as time allows, contingency and emergency preparedness planning and development -- along with the refinement of required systems and procedures. A key underlying principle of the approach to this work is gender equality and women’s empowerment, as outlined in CARE's Humanitarian Strategy document.
For more effective coverage for CARE globally, the Team Leader will also be available for deployments in alternative/more specific roles such as:
- Proposal writer
- Quality and Accountability or Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator
- Partnership Advisor.
This position will respond to the fluid and changing requirements of Country Offices and involve frequent travel at short notice. Each deployment is expected to be associated with a detailed Terms of Reference developed by the country office concerned, but generally speaking assignments as Team Leader will require a combination of the following areas of responsibility:
- Assessments: Lead and manage emergency assessment teams, rationalizing inputs and decisions for the team, leading the representation and coordination with other actors and determining final assessment recommendations for CARE responses. Specifically, ensure that all assessments identify the specific needs of men, women, boys and girls; that priority is given to equitable access to emergency assistance for women and girls; and that the teams themselves are gender balanced.
- Strategy: Provide detailed strategic analysis of the humanitarian context, including basic gender, protection and/or environmental impact analyses with clear and relevant recommendations for program design, funding targets and implementation period. Clearly explain impact on communities, and determine program requirements across sectors and within a gender equality framework. Make recommendations on programming feasibility and resources implications with specific reference to funding requirements and strategic recommendations that will further women’s empowerment. Participate in program development and management, including external coordination with INGO, UN and national authorities. If required, conduct and lead donor negotiations with key institutional partners. Support partnerships and promote commitments pertaining to localization of aid.
- Operations: Manage emergency response start-up and ramp-up in cooperation with CARE staff and partners (as per the operating context) based on assessment findings and strategy recommendations, focusing on operational requirements for both program and program support. Collaborate with sector specialists to ensure effective programming that meets international standards. Support enforcement of guidelines for safety and security of staff and assets, including in insecure environments. Ensure a proper phase-out and plan for transition to full operations to be led by other, long-term Country Office staff.
- Preparedness: Support emergency preparedness activities through the development, refinement and application of CI standards/protocols/guidelines for assessments and emergency start-up operations. Assist in contingency planning and emergency preparedness planning by reviewing Country Office preparedness levels and supporting the institutionalization of contingency planning processes. Coordinate with sector specialists to build capacity within CARE to respond efficiently to emergencies including identification of training possibilities.
- Gender Equality: Ensure that gender equality is integrated into all aspects of emergency response and preparedness activities and operations. Help build country office and staff capacity in considering and integrating gender equality throughout their emergency response strategy and approaches all the way along the continuum from needs assessment to after-action review.
- Team building: Ensure that country office staff are fully integrated into the emergency response, that the programme developed is building on CO experience and that there is ownership of the programme by the senior leadership of the country office. All efforts must be made to ensure that an emergency response is integrated to the fullest extent possible into the existing country office structure.
Is this right for you? Here's what we're looking for:
- Bachelor’s degree in International Development or Humanitarian Action or in a related field, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
- Extensive senior management experience in complex and natural disasters; both slow and rapid onset
- Ability and willingness to undertake frequent travel; ability to deploy at short notice for up to 12 weeks
- Experience and capacity to work in harsh conditions and insecure environments, including complex emergency environments
- Experience and commitment to promoting gender equality within humanitarian work
- High level of demonstrable leadership and strategic management skills - including management and leadership of multi-sector teams in an emergency setting
- High political acumen and excellent team building and interpersonal skills
- A very good understanding of the humanitarian system, principles and key relief sectors
- Capacity to work closely with communities affected by disaster and complex emergencies, including familiarity with participatory assessment methods, with a focus on gender equality and ability to identify specific needs of men, women, boys and girls.
- Excellent research, assessment, report writing, proposal development, and emergency strategy development skills.
- Well-developed written and oral communications skills with high level experience in representation, negotiation, training, coaching and mentoring
- Experience in working with local partners and developing partnership based operations in emergencies
- Language skills essential (excellent written and spoken English is essential, a second key language (French or Spanish) is highly desirable)
Other Conditions
- Expected percentage of time traveling: 65% of the time
- Special conditions: home based
Closing Date: 15 November 2017
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