Kenya or Uganda: Global Resilience Advisor

Aug 7, 2022 | Danish Refugee Council
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Founded in 1956, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is Denmark’s largest, and a leading international NGO - one of the few with a specific expertise in forced displacement. In 40 countries 7,500 employees protect, advocate and build sustainable futures for refugees and other displacement affected people and communities. DRC works during displacement at all stages: In the acute crisis, in exile, when settling and integrating in a new place, or upon return. DRC provides protection and life-saving humanitarian assistance. DRC supports displaced persons in becoming self-reliant and included into hosting societies. DRC works with civil society and responsible authorities to promote protection of rights and peaceful coexistence.

Climate change increasingly interacts with the drivers of displacement, including conflict, and disproportionally affects developing countries hosting the majority of the world's refugees and displaced persons. Therefore, through its Strategy 2025, DRC commits to respond to the global climate crisis and environmental degradation by increasing the adaptive capacities of people affected by conflict and displacement and by ensuring that our own conduct is nature-positive. The Programme Division develops programmatic concepts and strategies relevant to DRC’s international operations and delivers support to operations within these areas. The Programme Division hosts various global specialist lead functions including for DRC’s five core sectors: Protection, Shelter & Settlements, Humanitarian Disarmament & Peacebuilding, Camp Coordination & Camp management, and Economic Recovery. The Division is furthermore overall responsible for continuously developing and implementing DRC’s programme handbook and the DRC Response Framework, which articulates how DRC seeks to save lives, promote durable solutions and address root causes of displacement, - capturing DRC’s engagement with persons of concern from the beginning to the end of their displacement. The Programme Platform unit which hosts the Global Resilience advisor role is responsible for strengthening strategic program development, and systematically developing and effectively rolling out the DRC response framework.

About the job

The Global Resilience Advisor will lead DRC’s 2025 global strategic programming initiative to build resilience to conflict and climate change of people affected by displacement. The Global Resilience Advisor reports to the Head of the Programme Platform Unit with technical reference to the Global lead on Addressing Root causes of conflict & displacement (HQ). The Global Resilience Advisor works in close collaboration with DRCs Global Sector & Platform Leads, the Global Environmental Advisor and establishes strong working relationships with regional & country heads of program. The Global Resilience Advisor is a key member of DRC’s ‘go green’ community of practice and will form part of a team of global green advisors.

The overall responsibility of the Global Resilience Advisor is to manage DRC’s Conflict & Climate resilience strategic programming initiative (SPI), namely by driving development of multisector, community-driven resilience programming and disaster risk reduction, and building DRC staff capacity in this domain. In so doing, the Global Resilience Advisor will seek to build on DRC’s existing work across its core sectors and will coordinate closely with global and regional sector leads. The Global Resilience Advisor sets standards for climate & conflict resilience programming in accordance with global good practice, provides programme quality control & monitoring, leads on global/cross-regional programme design and business development and engages in strategic alliance building with global resilience (development) partners and policy forums. This is a full-time global role.

Strategy and Policy

  • Develop and maintain global partnerships for evidence-building and learning on conflict & climate resilience
  • Support external communication for donor & partner influencing and shared learning based on DRC’s regenerative resilience programming
  • Work closely with the Global and Regional MEAL and communications teams to ensure research, learning and data from resilience programming are captured, documented and institutionalized and shared (incl through multi-media approaches)
  • Strengthen DRC’s relationships with academic institutions focused on research and learning on regenerative resilience and circular practices
  • Ensure that DRC’s competitive slot as a global leader in Regenerative Resilience in Displacement is secured and further strengthened
  • Represent DRC in policy and donor fora, contributing to global debate on ecological responses to conflict, natural disasters and global migration

Technical advice and support

  • Provide technical support for Regional Office and Country managers in the design, quality control and monitoring of community-led systems-based resilience programming and disaster risk reduction.
  • Contribute to raising funds for (cross)region regenerative and circular resilience programming applying systems-based and nature-positive solutions.
  • Deliver relevant policy, standards, resources, guidance and tools to country and regional operations.
  • Contribute to DRC’s learning and evidence-building on resilience & community-led disaster risk reduction programming, including by collecting and sharing good practice.
  • Support documentation and replication of good practices across countries/regions.

Resources, training and learning

  • Build DRC sector staff capacity on programming for community resilience to (interlinked) conflict and climate risks. This will include development and roll-out of a global resilience manual, training package and establishing a Global Resilience Learning Hub.
  • Oversee technical capacity building of field teams through in-person, site-based trainings and demonstrations.
  • Ensure institutional knowledge management on resilience, including maintaining and updating Intranet site and Collaborative Space / SharePoint.
  • Collect and disseminate internal learning on circular practices and regenerative resilience programming and work with the Go Green global advisor in Asia on strategies for organizational change in support of nature-positive programming.

About you

To be successful in this role we expect you to have minimum 6 years’ experience in progressively more senior recovery and development programming roles, including minimum 3 years designing and managing complex multisector resilience initiatives in conflict-affected locations.

All employees should master DRC's core competencies: Communicating, Taking the lead, Collaborating, Striving for excellence and Demonstrating integrity.

Moreover, we also expect the following:

Required

  • Excellent and up-to-date knowledge of systems-based approaches and resilience  concepts, policy debates and practical (technical) methods.
  • Demonstrated excellence in implementing circular, regenerative and restorative practices using participatory methods with vulnerable and displaced communities.
  • Demonstrated experience in applying innovative approaches to climate change adaptation in conflict-affected contexts.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of conflict analysis, conflict sensitivity and/or conflict resolution techniques .
  • Experience working in complex institutional environments and a strong ability to establish close collaborative working relationships across dispersed geographical locations.
  • Demonstrated experience in training design and facilitation, on circular practices, regenerative resilience and/or climate change adaptation.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills, including writing and  facilitation.
  • Demonstrated ability to work independently as part of a small team, and to form close working relationships with a diverse range of multi-cultural colleagues.
  • Highly motivated and hard-working, with strong attention to detail.
  • Strong computer skills (MS Word, Excel, Outlook and Power Point).
  • Able and willing to travel for up to 45 days per year.

Desirable

  • Experience designing and implementing community disaster risk reduction programming.
  • Experience in applying conflict analysis and conflict sensitivity techniques to programming
  • Demonstrated understanding of peacebuilding and/or community safety programming.
  • Experience conducting technical trainings in regenerative practices and circular economy.
  • Experience using Climate vulnerability assessments in programme design and implementation.
  • Experience with forecast-based and/or climate early warning programming.

We offer

  • Contract length: Two years with possibility of extension, subject to donor funding
  • Workplace: DRC Regional Office East Africa and Great Lakes based in Nairobi, Kenya or DRC Country Office Kampala, Uganda  
  • Start date: November 1, 2022
  • Employment band: Non-management F
  • Salary and conditions for the position will be on DRC terms.

Application process

All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV in English. Apply online on our page Current Vacancies at www.drc.ngo.

Closing date for applications: August 15, 2022. We expect to conduct interviews during the week of August 29 to September 2.

Further information

For questions regarding the vacancy please contact maria.pade.lange@drc.ngo, Global Lead on addressing root causes of conflict & displacement.

For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website drc.ngo.