Humanitarian Programme Manager -
Emergencies

Description of the unit / department:

Trócaire is one of Ireland’s leading agencies working for global justice and promoting human development around the world. Trocaire’s mandate in Pakistan is to empower and support local NGOs and communities with a particular focus on KPK and Sindh. Together with its local partners, Trocaire implements a humanitarian programme which over the years has responded to various humanitarian emergencies with relief, recovery and rehabilitation interventions. The Pakistan Country Team is currently expanding and this specific position will be part of a dynamic programme team working with local partners across humanitarian, gender and livelihoods programmes.

 Please note that the working language of Trócaire is English.

Background to the Role:

Trócaire believes strongly in building the capacity of local civil society. As a partnership agency, Trócaire generally does not directly implement programmes, but works with local civil society actors, enabling them to offer quality service to the community. Given the disaster vulnerable context and the size of the humanitarian programme in Pakistan, Trócaire is creating a new position as part of a small dynamic team reporting to the Country Programme Manager. 

Trócaire is looking for a Humanitarian Programme Manager with strong background in humanitarian emergency response who will support Trócaire and its partners in enhancing their capacities in responding to emergencies through the development and roll out of a preparedness capacity building strategy. The Humanitarian Programme Manager will be also expected to lead on managing any relief/recovery responses which may arise in the near future.

Reporting to:

Country Programme Manager

Managing: (Individuals/Team)

N/A

Contract Type:

Fixed Term

Contract Duration:

2 years (with 6 months probation)

Grade and Scale:

Grade 5

Location of Position

Based in Islamabad, with frequent travel nationally and occasional travel in the region and to Head Office in Ireland or elsewhere for global meetings.

Scope of the Role:

This is a complex and challenging post, demanding a person with excellent programming, strongpartnership background and solid capacity building skills, strong background in humanitarian response (natural or manmade disasters) and is committed to humanitarian accountability agenda.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

The following gives an indication of the main duties and responsibilities of the position. These may change over time.

Emergency Preparedness Programming:

-          Lead on developing Trócaire’s humanitarian country strategy, contingency planning and emergency preparedness capacity building plan, as well as support all partners to develop theirs where appropriate;

-          Drive the implementation of the Trócaire preparedness plan;

-          Provide regular monitoring of that strategy, and facilitate reviews when required;

-          Ensure an appropriate focus on gender mainstreaming and protection in humanitarian work.

Relief and Recovery:

-          Develop and manage an appropriate needs-based humanitarian response where appropriate;

-          Accompany partners to design and implement needs-based, targeted responses to natural or man-made crises;

-          Accompany partners to ensure gender, HIV, conflict-sensitivity and protection is mainstreamed in any given response;

-          Provide surge capacity, if necessary, to support any major response in other parts of the region;

-          Provide regular situation updates and communications on any current emergencies.

Partnership:

-          Support partners to develop their emergency response capacities;

-          Through regular field visits and partner workshops, provide technical and financial support, and accompany partners in all aspects of project cycle management;

-          Support partners to implement projects that focus on accountability to communities as well as to donors, informed by the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership.

M&E and Technical Standards:

-          Monitor and evaluate humanitarian response work in line with Trócaire’s M&E guidelines;

-          Support the implementation of, and adherence to, programmatic and organisation-wide systems and procedures for ensuring good practice to meet sectoral standards on accountability and programme quality, including:  the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief the, Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, the Good Enough Guide to Impact and Accountability in Emergencies and the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS);

-          In collaboration with the Country Director and the Country Programme Manager, lead on the roll out and adherence to HAP as Trócaire drives towards full accreditation.

Representation:

-          Build and maintain professional relations with relevant organisations including Caritas agencies, the UN Cluster System, Government Departments, and other humanitarian organisations, as appropriate;

-          Accompany visitors to project sites and carry out promotional or media work as delegated by the Country Director.

Humanitarian Policy/Advocacy and Communications:

-          Engage and/or lead on relevant humanitarian policy issues to strengthen humanitarian programming;

-          Capture and communicate experience, good practice and impacts of Trócaire’s humanitarian work as appropriate;

-          Support the organisational fundraising and PR functions by identifying and providing stories of change, other briefing materials, photographs and video footage to show donors the tangible results of our work;

-          Keep an ongoing watch and brief on humanitarian emergencies in Pakistan.

Finance and Grant Management:

-          Plan, manage and track the humanitarian programme budget in line with Trócaire’s systems and procedures;

-          Seek and develop co-funding opportunities, in co-operation with the Humanitarian Funding Officer in Head Office;

-          Support partners to implement and adhere to quality procurement procedures;

-          Manage institutional funding grants, reporting and donor relationships where appropriate.

Learning:

-          Contribute to organisational learning through systematic documentation, monitoring,evaluation and sharing of information with other staff working in the region and the global Humanitarian team

-          Manage information effectively through the use of Trocaire’s management information system.

Other Tasks:

-          Play an active role as a member of the Pakistan country team;

-          Any other tasks which may, in the opinion of the Country Director and the Country Programme Manager, be appropriate for this level of responsibility.

Person Specification – Essential (E)

(E) Qualification:

-          Third level qualification in humanitarian action, development or related area;

-          Fluency in written and spoken English and Urdu.

(E) Experience:

-          At least five years experience of working in an international NGO, in addition to a national NGO or public agency.

-          At least five years working on humanitarian projects or programmes (emergency preparedness, crisis/emergency relief management, recovery, rehabilitation);

-          At least three years experience of working in partnerships with local organisations and providing capacity building support;

-          Experience of working with and/or a demonstrated understanding of humanitarian standards, e.g. Humanitarian charter, Sphere, HAP, LEGS, Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations in Disaster Relief & IHL instruments;

-          Demonstrated knowledge of integrating protection and gender mainstreaming into programme design;

-          Strong understanding of humanitarian issues in Pakistan and public and nongovernmental sector;

-          Experience of working in insecure environments.

(E) Skills:

-          Strong understanding and experience of programme cycle management, and participatory methodology in programme design and management;

-          Strong writing skills in English and other local languages;

-          Strong budget development and financial reporting skills;

-          Familiarity with M&E systems (especially RBM approaches);

-          Good understanding of institutional funding opportunities within the humanitarian sector and experience in donor relations;

-          Strong ability to analyze and provide opinion and recommendations;

-          Strong ability to communicate clearly, including facilitation and presentation skills;

-          Good IT skills (word, excel, PPT);

-          Demonstrated ability to work in a team as well as independently.

(E) Qualities

-          Shows drive, initiative and promotes innovation;

-          Willingly takes ownership and is openly accountable;

-          Manages time and resources efficiently;

-          Builds positive rapport with partners and colleagues;

-          A sensitive, patient and respectful approach to working with partners;

-          Shows flexibility and adapts easily to change;

-          Shows strong ability to manage stress;

-          A commitment to justice, equality and progress.

(E) Other:

-          Willingness to travel at short notice when required.

Person Specification – Desirable (D)

(D) Qualification:

-          A relevant post-graduate qualification in international humanitarian law, development or related area;

-          Knowledge of Trócaire and its partnership approach;

-          Trained trainer in Sphere, Good Enough Guide, LEGS or other quality standards.

(D) Experience:

-           Proven experience in working with and understanding the UN cluster coordination system;

-          Proven experience in working with and understanding public coordination systems in Pakistan regarding humanitarian and development aid;

-          Specific experience of working with ECHO /DIPECHO.

(D) Skills:

-          Speaks Sindhi and/or Pashto.