Humanitarian Program Manager

I. Job Summary:

CARE is a leading global humanitarian and development organization. Since its establishment in 2005, CARE International in Pakistan (CIP) has been responding to major disasters and undertaking development projects. CIP works through local partners and range of stakeholder for development as well as emergency response, which makes partnership a key component of CARE’s work in Pakistan.

Under the guidance of Director Programs, the Humanitarian Programme Manager is responsible to provide technical guidance and oversight to CARE’s emergency response and humanitarian assistance programs. S/he will actively engage and lead the resource mobilization of humanitarian projects, lead the development of innovative concepts/proposals for CARE emergency programs and also provide support to business development efforts of the development programs at CIP. The individual will be responsible for assessing humanitarian needs; developing emergency preparedness and response plans; following CARE emergency protocols; coordinating CARE’s efforts with stakeholders such as donors, provincial and district government, PDMA, DDMA, and clusters in order to build and strengthen partnerships and ensure effective implementation of projects under the humanitarian portfolio. S/he will also establish CARE Emergency Response Team (ERT) and collaborate with support team/s for implementation of various humanitarian programs. The position will build capacity of CARE project staff, ERT and partner staff on Humanitarian Principles, Sphere Standards, PSAE/SGV and ensure effective implementation in the field as well.

II. RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:

Job Responsibility #1: Emergency Project Management and Implementation

% of Time: 45%

• Engage with local partners for emergency response following the process agreed under the Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP).
• Provide guidance to partners at all stages of the humanitarian program cycle (assessments, implementation, monitoring and evaluation).
• Provide technical guidance and oversight in ensuring management of sub-unit resources, budgets, process and projects being implemented by CIP under its humanitarian portfolio.
• Provide technical quality assurance for all humanitarian program interventions and represent CARE in clusters and other forums at national and provincial levels.
• Manage emergency project budgets and ensure donor compliances.
• Coordinate and collaborate with relevant technical and support departments for development and implementation of effective humanitarian program.
• Ensure planning of safe delivery and distribution of goods/ services to beneficiaries, including advising on and adhering to standard operating procedures (SOPs), safety and security measures, and training partner staff (if applicable).
• Ensure maximized utilization of assigned human resources and keep Director Programs informed about potential needs for both existing and anticipated emergency response.
• Work with Partners to advocate/strengthen/develop national level policies, procedures, and Pakistan’s governance framework, relevant to CIP; with particular focus on ensuring the delivery of an effective, efficient, timely humanitarian response to natural and man-made disasters.
• Liaise with the program support function as appropriate to identify and plan the support needed for implementation of humanitarian projects across Pakistan.
• Promote the development, adaptation, testing, and mainstreaming of best practices in needs assessment, project design, implementation and closure.
• Develop and deliver capacity building initiatives in identified areas, including training and mentoring of project staff, partner organizations and targeting communities based on gaps in specific areas of knowledge and practice.
• Ensure effective and efficient program monitoring and reporting processes are in place and implemented in full collaboration with the M&E team.
• Ensure the rights of women, men and those most vulnerable in an emergency situation are upheld; and that international commitments and agreed principles, standards and codes are understood, promoted and complied with.
• Ensure gender is fully integrated throughout the project cycle with women being enabled to influence decision-making around overall emergency response programs.
• Engage with Project Managers and CO Communications team in documenting lessons learnt and use results for program quality improvement in CIP programs and program partners.
• Support the humanitarian project efforts in ensuring production of high quality, analytical reports, and collection, analysis and dissemination of relevant information and data relevant to the emergency intervention and response.
• Coordinate CIP efforts in ensuring that relevant information/ reports of all projects under the humanitarian portfolio are submitted to relevant stakeholders in a timely manner.
• Liaise with the CIP Security Team to ensure compliance with Security Guidelines and their effective application in the local context.
• Evaluate, monitor and review to ensure strict compliance of programme activities with CARE humanitarian accountability framework, and global policies and procedures and with relevant donor regulations and agreements, SPHERE guidelines and the Code of Conduct.

Job Responsibility #2: Emergency Preparedness and Planning

% of Time: 20%

• Assess on-going humanitarian situation and gaps in Pakistan, prepare Emergency Alert and Situation reports as per CARE protocols.
• Establish and build capacity of Country Office ERT (CARE Emergency Toolkit) and convene regular meetings.
• Update the emergency preparedness plan (EPP) and contingency plan annually.
• Identify partners, sign MoUs and build capacity for effective and timely emergency response.
• Work closely with program and finance team to systematically develop the capacity of strategic local partners.
• Regularly attend key stakeholders’ meetings and be part of the technical working groups and relevant platforms to ensure CIP’s representation and feedback related to preparedness plans and strategies.
• Establish strong relationships with donors, clusters, local authorities, partner organizations, CSOs and local communities as appropriate.
• Make recommendations to align partnership procedures to meet emergency protocols.

Job Responsibility # 3: Resource Mobilization and External Representation

% of Time: 30%

• Initiate, maintain, and strengthen relationships with donors to develop concept notes, proposals and budgets to enable expansion and scale-up of the humanitarian portfolio of CIP.
• Lead and develop integrated and sector specific proposals and budgets for CARE ERF, UN Flash Appeal, Institutional and Corporate Funding for timely initiation of emergency response and early recovery interventions.
• Ensure that issues of protection, gender, livelihoods, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and environmental impact, operations, maintenance and sustainability are factored into the program design taking full account of local conditions, resources, customs and cultural norms.
• Represent CARE’s humanitarian response to local authorities, donors and members of the humanitarian community.
• Be responsible for ongoing coordination and representation of CIP to relevant organizations, particularly government officials, UN, INGOs, communities, and donors as appropriate.
• Actively engage with all relevant technical, operational and strategic program unit team members to identify and respond to funding opportunities for humanitarian work, both in current operational areas and new geographic areas.
• Build evidence of best practices in humanitarian response and resilience programming and ensure the field teams incorporate the practices into the program whilst also enabling them to present at local and global forums.
• Participate in relevant meetings at the national and policy levels in assigned areas of work to advance CIP’s humanitarian agenda.
• Support business development efforts in building new partnerships, finding donor opportunities, and developing proposals, linked with the development portfolio of CIP.

Job Responsibility # 4: Other Tasks and Responsibilities

% of Time: 5%

• Any other tasks or responsibilities based on organizational and programming need as assigned by the Line Manager.

III. QUALIFICATIONS (KNOW HOW):

A) Education/Training

Required:

• Master’s degree in Social Sciences, development studies, MBA or other relevant fields.

B) Core Competencies and Qualification

• 10 years of experience in managing humanitarian programmes at the level of Head of emergency, Program Manager or similar level, and an understanding of relevant issues, especially in a conflict setting.
• Proven Programme and project management skills including planning, monitoring, evaluation, budgeting, proposal development and report preparation.
• Minimum 5 to 7 years of experience proven experience of managing project in one of the following sector; WASH, FSL, Climate change, DRR, Health;
• Experience of using accountability practices and standards through the project life cycle. Strong skills and experience in capacity-building of staff and partners, including coaching and on-the-job training.
• Proven experience of managing large budgets funded by ECHO, USAID, SDC, EU, DFID or others;
• Proven experience of managing team and local partners;
• Commitment to humanitarian principles and action and understanding and experience of humanitarian standards and accountability initiatives, including Sphere, People in Aid, NGO/Red Cross Code of Conduct, CHS etc.
• Sensitivity to cultural differences and the ability to work with disadvantaged populations in a wide variety of cultural contexts.
• Ability to analyse and communicate complex information at a simpler level to a wide audience;
• Ability to produce high quality report, good written and spoken English is required.
• Skills and experience in project/programme implementation, monitoring, review and evaluation preferably from a child rights approach in accordance with international humanitarian rights standards.
• Proven experience in capacity building, facilitation of multi-stakeholder processes, organizational learning.
• Solid understanding of the humanitarian architecture, organizations and needs.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to work effectively in different settings and across cultures.
• Willing to travel on a short notice, as required by the organization.

C) Technical Skills

• Knowledge in protection, humanitarian governance, gender inclusive programming and mainstreaming.
• Capacity to develop, implement and analyze assessments.
• Capacity to manage partnership relationships.
• Representational, political awareness and advocacy skills.
• Develop and implement work plans in emergency context with rapidly changing situations.
• Monitoring and evaluation skills.
• Working in a challenging atmosphere, with critical analysis skills.

Working Conditions and Level of Travel Required:

The position is based in Islamabad, with 50% travel to different parts of Pakistan. 

IV. Contacts/Key Relationships:

• Internal: CD, Director Programs, ERT, Director Finance, Head of Operations, Communication Specialist, M&E staff, HR Specialist, CO procurement Manager, Corporate Relations Advisor, Staff Safety and Security Manager, Regional Emergency Coordinator.
• External: NDMA, PDMA, DDMA, I/NGOs, UN agencies, and other principle stakeholders including the military where present (please read civil-military guidelines for CIP).

CARE International in Pakistan is an equal opportunity employer; only individuals who are shortlisted will be contacted for an interview. CARE has a zero-tolerance approach toward sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, and child abuse.

Note: Individuals can apply using Brightspyre or send their resumes directly to [email protected] clearly mentioning the position title in the subject line of the email, before the stated deadline.