Yemen: Country Director

Aug 7, 2017 | Solidarités International
View Original

Solidarités International is committed to working to implement a clear mandate by helping men, women and children who are hit by war, epidemics and natural disasters, delivering effective and appropriately targeted humanitarian aid directly to those in need, without discriminating against nationality, race, gender or religion, taking on key, demanding responsibilities, at HQ and on the ground, working with highly driven international teams, in often difficult circumstances and exposed to specific safety conditions and less than comfortable environments, andeEnsuring that SI is an NGO with a personal touch, where your voice is heard and your efforts contribute to our impact on the health and lives of those who have lost everything.

ABOUT THE MISSION

Posted on: 03/08/2017
Desired starting date: August 
Duration of the mission: 6 months (renewable)

Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East. Its many challenges include weak governance, political tensions that drove the country to war, high population growth, deteriorating economic prospects, and extremely high poverty.  Yemen is off track on many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 

With the Yemen crisis now in its second year, the humanitarian situation across the country continues to deteriorate. The country has been affected by the war opposing President’, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi backed up by the Coalition including Saudi Arabia, and the Zaydi Shia Houthi backed up by the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Since March 2015, violence in Yemen has claimed thousands of lives and resulted in more than 17 million people – over 60% of the total population – requiring emergency food assistance. War, economic recession, depreciation of the national currency, soaring food and fuel prices, disrupted markets, and loss of employment opportunities have rushed the country into an extreme vulnerability to food insecurity.

Following the alerts raised by international actors active in Yemen, SI has been monitoring and assessing the situation in the country for several months. Following two field exploratory missions enhancing the dire needs in WASH, FSL and Shelter, SI has decided to open an office and launch operations in both North and South of the country.

Currently in process of registration in Yemen, SI is looking for a dynamic and intuitive Head of Mission to cover for the country – both North and South.

Organization of the mission and responsibilities of the position:

Following the recent exploration mission of the Emergency Desk, the Yemen mission is opening a new exciting position of Head of Mission for Yemen to be based in Aden with potentially regular travels.

ABOUT THE JOB

The Head of Mission is the official representative of Solidarités International in Yemen. She/he will be in charge of monitoring the global country’s situation in light of the internal and regional dynamics evolution. S/he will ensure excellent understanding of the political, social and humanitarian situation. S/he will have to develop an extensive network and strong relationships with key national authorities and humanitarian actors, including donors, UN agencies and INGOs representatives.

With the support from the HQ, the Head of Mission will be in charge of approaching potential donors, identifying funding opportunities in line with SI’s mandate and SI’s strategy in Yemen, lead project proposals, follow-up with negociations and support the emergency program development. S/he will ensure dissemination and compliance of SI and donors’s contractual procedures among the teams.

The Head of Mission will lead and develop the country’s mission strategy and will ensure its implementation after validation from the HQ. S/he will be travelling between Aden and Sanaa regularly to conduct bilateral meetings with donors and partners and to attend coordination plateform meetings. S/he will be requested to travel outside of the country to attend strategic meetings if necessary, in Amman or Djibouti. S/he will revise/lead all proposals and concept notes and will launch the first programs activities with his/her team.

The Head of Mission will manage and coordinate a team of one field coordinator and senior national staff  - program and support teams. S/he will be responsible of the security of the mission team.

The Head of Mission will work with the Field Coordinator to implement the strategic orientations of the mission and prioritize the emergency program activities. S/he will ensure the mobilization of necessary resources (financial, logistic, HR…) to implement the office and will boost the growth of the mission’ set-up.

The Head of Mission will closely follow-up the registration requests with the relevant authorities in both sides of the country.

The Head of Mission will be the direct laison point for SI’s Head Quarters.

An outstanding ability to manage heavy workload and constant operational stress is required for this highly challenging position.

YOUR PROFILE

SI is looking for an emergency-focused, proactive and intuitive collaborator able to lead life-saving operations in highly insecure environments.

Education: At least a Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent) in International Relations, International Development, Humanitarian Studies, Diplomacy, Business Management, or any other related sectors.

 

Experience:

  • Between 6 to 8 years of professional experience.
  • At least 5 years in humanitarian environments at high-level management positions, including Country Director.
  • Strong experience in conflict, insecure and access-hindered environments, with experience in supporting emergency response programming, access negociation and security management.
  • Extensive experience in program development and fundraising, including in working with major institutional donors, including: ECHO, DFID, OFDA, UN Agencies, SIDA, etc
  • Successful experience in managing multi-sector programmes especially WASH, Food Security&Livelihoods and cash-based interventions
  • Demonstrated successful experience in negotiation and external representation.
  • Previous experience in working in Yemen is a strong asset

Skills:

  • Ability to collect, manage and filter extensive amounts of information in real time. Ability to synthesize and disseminate information.
  • Ability to develop quick and intuitive analysis and transform them into clear, documented and rational recommendations
  • Capacity to provide justified and well documented strategies
  • Excellent diplomatic and interpersonal communication skills. Capacity in managing a multi-technical and multi-ethnic team. Ability to delegate.
  • Excellent communication and networking skills. Capacity to develop strong and fruitful relationships with key national and international stakeholders.
  • Ability and willingness to evolve in very fast paced environments and insecure environments
  • Ability and willingness to travel regularly if necessary; inside and outside of the country, if necessary.
  • Good sense of humor and ability to think “outside of the box”
  • Stress management skills: ability to work under pressure, able to prioritize and handle a diverse and heavy workload.                                    

Language:

Fluent in written and spoken English. Fluent in Arabic is a strong asset.

Computer skills:

Good knowledge in MS Office package: MS Word, MS Excel, MS Power point, Microsoft Outlook.

APPLICATION PROCESS

If you think this description fits you and you are willing to take this challenge, please send us your CV and Cover letter in English. Applications with CV only will not be considered.

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

WE OFFER

SI’s conditions for this position include:

A salaried fixed term contract, with a gross salary, which, according to your experience, starts from 2800 euros gross per month, plus 10% annual leave allowance paid monthly.

A Per Diem of 750 USD.

Shared guesthouse covered by SI

Social and medical coverage: Expatriates benefit from an insurance package which reimburses all healthcare expenses (including medical and surgical expenses, dental care and ophthalmological expenses, repatriation) and a welfare system including war risks. Essential vaccination and antimalarial treatment costs are refunded.

Vacation: During the assignment, a system of alternation between work and time off is implemented at the rate of one break every three months. For a one-year assignment, the expatriate will have a 7-day break during the 3rd and the 9th month (with 500 euros allocated by Solidarités). She/he will also be entitled to go back to his or her home country for a 14-day period after six months spent on the mission (Solidarités will cover travel costs).