France: France - Emergency Head of Mission – Paris/Clichy

About us

SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL is a French humanitarian organization which provides aid and assistance to victims of war or natural disaster. For over 35 years the association has focused on meeting three vital needs - water, food and shelter - by carrying out emergency programs followed by longer-term reconstruction projects. Whilst fully respecting the assisted populations’ customs and culture, SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL’s programs are implemented through the joint expertise of around 180 expatriates and 2000 local managerial staff and employees. Solidarités International is currently present in Africa, in Asia, in Haiti and in Middle-East.

About the job

SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL (SI) created in 2015 a department dedicated to emergency interventions: the “Emergency Desk”.

The Emergency Desk has the vocation to support SI response capacity in a context of humanitarian acute crisis, through 3 major modalities:

• The immediate response in case of a natural disaster or of a sudden crisis of high intensity (earthquake in Nepal, Ebola epidemic, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines)

• The monitoring and opening missions on long term crises (Nigeria, Refugees crisis in Europe)

• The support to SI current missions to anticipate and react to sudden crises in intervention zone (DRC, Myanmar)

To deal with the consequent need for experimented co-workers, SI Emergency Desk put in place different mobilization mechanisms, including the Emergency Response Team (ERT).

The ERT is a HQ team of experts, deployed on emergency, exploratory and opening missions up to 70% of their working time, and implicated on emergency response improvement projects, up to 30%.

Directly linked to the Emergency Desk Manager, the ERT is the direct field emanation of SI emergency strategy’s intervention. The ERT is nowadays composed of 3 collaborators (Head of Mission, WASH Coordinator, Logistics Coordinator), and is intended to grow within the next two years.

MISSION

· The Emergency Head of Mission is supervising SI ERT. S/He prepares - from HQ - and monitors - on the field – the smooth running of the SI’s response deployment. S/He is in charge of the stabilization or the mission first interventions, proposes the mission’s strategy and ensures its implementation once it has been validated

· The Emergency Head of Mission is a predominant collaborator of the Emergency Desk Manager and contributes to the definition of SI response strategy to the crises, as well as its implementation on the field.

· When s/he is deployed on the field, the Emergency Head of Mission is SI official representative in the country.

· S/He monitors projects, ensuring that they are implemented in accordance with the SI’s charter and complying with internal and contractual procedures.

· With the Emergency Desk Manager, s/he mobilizes the material and financial resources needed for the mission in case of emergency.

· S/He coordinates the teams in place and ensures their security on the mission.

When deployed on the field (70%):

Coordination and strategic orientation

• Organize, monitor/supervise exploration missions and the initial and secondary diagnosis as well as the writing of the reports pertaining to.
• Propose and develop an operational strategy based on populations’ needs and on the humanitarian strategy and policies of the Emergency Desk.
• Ensure a strong positioning of the organization along validated strategic axes towards stakeholders and the humanitarian actors.
• Ensure a sufficient capitalization of the first stage (emergency) of intervention in order to facilitate the mission’s transmission to the longer-term team.

Relevance and operational quality / operations monitoring

• Define an action plan in order to implement the operational strategy
• Ensure the relevance, the quality and the consistency of programs in accordance with Solidarités International and the Emergency Desk technical requirements and standards.
• Guarantee the coordination, development, monitoring and evaluation of the implemented programs.

Human Resources Management

• Propose and organize the human, financial and logistic layout of the mission according to the emergency resources plan of SI.
• Build and maintain the team dynamics enabling Solidarités International objectives to be carried out effectively during a crisis, according to SI ethics and values.

• Ensure the management:

• Of the coordination team as well as staff s/he directly supervises

• During a sudden crisis, of all SI managers (up to 12 line supervisees)

• Ensure that Solidarités International Human Resources’ policies and processes are respected (recruitment, performance reviews, etc.)

• Ensure the work-life balance of Solidarités International staff and maintain suitable working and living conditions, especially during intense stress situations.

Security

• Monitor and analyze the contextual and security situation and make sure the teams clearly understand it
• Realize the initial security diagnosis (risks analysis, acceptance), ensure that documents and procedures relating to security are regularly updated
• Be responsible for the security of all teams and assets during the mission.
• Deal immediately with any security incidents that may occur on the mission and alert HQ without delay

Representation, networking and relationships with financial donors

• Create and document an active monitoring and mapping of the stakeholders (humanitarian and non-humanitarian)
• Develop a network of key actors in order to ensure the access, coordination and sustainability of SI operations
• Act as SI official representative in the country towards the humanitarian community, local political and administrative authorities, the civil society and the media
• Maintain a proactive monitoring of institutional donors’ strategies and ensure a constant relationship with their representatives.
• Actively assist fund-raising initiatives and ensure financial stability of the mission.

Internal communication and reporting

Given the specific setup of emergency interventions, a close coordination between the mission and HQ is essential:

• Ensure that all reporting processes between the mission and the HQ are implemented.
• In relation with the Emergency Desk, ensure the overall respect and completion of operational roadmaps’ tasks.
• Ensure that key operational information is correctly communicated, on the mission and between the mission and HQ.

When mobilized in HQ (30%)

In collaboration with the Emergency Desk Manager and the other departments:

• Contribute to the development of the humanitarian and operational emergency strategy of SI.
• Contribute to the definition of watch, monitoring and deployment geographical priorities.
• Supervise the production and the dissemination of emergency intervention tools (quick assessment pack, etc) by the ERT
• Contribute to the creation, training and mobilization of the emergency external recruiting roster.
• Contribute to the elaboration of a humanitarian access strategy in complex crisis situations.
• Take part to SI testimony strategy towards the great audience.

ORG CHART POSITION (reporting and functional relationship)

Line manager: Emergency Desk Manager

By delegation: under the line manager of the concerned Desk Manager during the field allocation as backup with the current missions.

Direct line manager:

• on the Emergency Response Team

· on all the missions staff whom s/he is in charge of during the deployment on the field and direct management of the coordination team.

Your Profile

Education and experience

· Post graduate level in humanitarian project management and/or Political Science

· Minimum 2 years of experience as Head of Mission

· Previous experience as Field Coordinator desirable

· Experience in mission opening and emergency context highly desirable

Knowledge and technical skills

· Transferable skills in finance, logistic, and program appreciated

· Expertise on humanitarian access management appreciated

· Good knowledge on project management cycle, from the design to the monitoring

· Good and proven writing and spoke English and French are required

Qualities:

· Anticipation, decision taking and initiative capacities

· Diplomacy, self-control and communication skills

· Great work capacity and stress management

· Team work skills

· Capacity to work in complex and volatile environments

We offer you

· Employee under French Law, Permanent Contract. Executive status

· 2800 EUR gross per month

· Insurance (80%), Luncheon Voucher, reimbursement of part of transport public fees (up to 50%)

· Based in Clichy-la-Garenne with frequent field assignments (70% of the working time) on the field

· Considerations related to the decentralization of the HQ working time (30%) outside HQ (i.e: at home) will be negotiable.

Application process

Does this description fit you? Please send your CV and Cover letter in English to Thierry Benlahsen (tbenlahsen@solidarites.org), Emergency Desk Manager. CV only applications will not be considered.

NB : The vacancy may close before the deadline. Thank you for your comprehension