Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, is currently looking for an experienced, highly- qualified and enthusiastic professional to lead the technical coordination and strategy of DRC’s activities in Nigeria and oversee a committed team consisting of a WASH & Shelter Manager, Protection Manager, Livelihoods Manager, Food Security & Livelihoods Manager, and Programme Development and Quality Manager.
Danish Refugee Council (DRC), and its Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding technical unit – the Danish Demining Group (DDG), has had an operational presence in Nigeria since 2015. DRC Nigeria is the largest DRC country mission in the West Africa region and one of the largest DRC country missions globally. Currently, DRC delivers life-saving assistance and protection to vulnerable, conflict-affected populations including internally displaced persons, returnees and host communities in the areas of armed violence reduction, humanitarian mine action, livelihoods, nutrition and food security, protection, shelter and non-food items (NFI) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in 30+ Local Government Areas (LGAs) across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in northeast Nigeria.
About the job
The Head of Programme (HoP) is responsible for strategic leadership, technical guidance, and management of the Programme team for DRC in Nigeria. The Head of Programme is responsible for the overall programmatic strategy across the entire country operation and is responsible for providing technical input to the implementing actors within the different sectors. The Head of Programme is responsible for developing policies, processes and standards within respective areas and plays a lead role in fundraising activities and external representation.
The main responsibilities and tasks of the Head of Programme are:
People Management
• Lead and manage the programme staff (including people planning, performance, well-being and development).
Project management and development
• Enabling and overseeing effective, efficient and timely implementation of all projects according to agreed contracts, budgets, policies and in accordance with specific donor requirements and in close collaboration with the Area Managers.
• Provide regular internal and external reports, and other relevant information on programme activities, policy matters and external relations
• Deliver inputs to programme strategy and identify opportunities for new projects
• Lead assessments for emergency or longer term programming in existing or new project locations
• Lead the planning and development of concept papers, budgets and project proposals with support from country team
• Ensure effective coordination and visibility of the implementation of the projects with all humanitarian and development actors
• Implement and oversee the DRC administrative guidelines and policies, safety and security procedures, logistics support and other tasks associated with efficient day-to-day running
• Serve as focal point for the development on country and sector strategies – in close collaboration with the technical leads and the Country Director.
External relations
• Increase the visibility and credibility of DRC’s program in the area and maintain close relations with all relevant stakeholders including donors
• Ensure correct and timely narrative and financial reporting to donor.
Additional responsibilities
• Support the Country Director and the Senior Management Team in ensuring strategic programming coherent with DRC’s operational platforms, coordinating DRC’s programme development, strengthening DRC’s programme quality, standards and learning, and enforcing DRC’s accountability and M&E frameworks.
• Represent DRC on behalf of the Country/Regional Director upon agreement with authorities, UN agencies, humanitarian agencies and other partner
• Function as Country Director during his/her absence if necessary
• Other duties as agreed with the Country Director
As Manager the post-holder is responsible for the following:
- Accountable for achieving DRC’s strategic goals and objectives within the area of responsibility
- Accountable for making significant decisions on what the unit does: its purpose, functions and role, and for making commitments and decisions that require the expenditure of significant unit resources.
- Accountable for people management of direct reports, generally at least 3 employees. This includes hiring & firing, objective setting, probation, performance appraisal, development of staff, managing performance, including poor performance, etc.
- Accountable for making sound decisions based on DRC policies, MOPs, standards, and the advice of technical experts in DRC
In addition to the above, the Head of Programme may be asked to carry out other duties requested by the Country Director – but always in the scope of this job description.
About You
To be successful on this role we expect you to posses the following:
Required
- Master’s degree in political science, international development, economics or other relevant field.
- In lieu of the above, a Bachelor’s degree and several years of relevant experience.
- Full professional proficiency in English
- Proficiency in Hausa or other Nigerian languages is considered an asset but not a requirement.
- At least 7 years’ experience in relevant field.
- At least 4 years’ experience with people management
- Experience in managing program operations, including at country senior management level
- Proven leadership skills and a competence in people management
- Experience with proposal development, budget development, program implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
- Experience with effectively coordinating with national partners, local/government authorities, NGO partners, UN agencies and other relevant stakeholders.
General regulations
- The employee shall follow DRC instructions on safety, confidentiality and ethical guidelines, including the Code of Conduct and the Humanitarian Accountability Framework
- Employee should not engage in any other paid activity during the DRC contract period without prior authorization
- Employee should not engage in any activity that could harm DRC or the implementation of any project during the DRC contract period
- Employee should not give interviews to the media or publish project-related photos or other material without prior authorization
- Employee shall return all borrowed equipment for the project to DRC after the end of the contract period or upon request
In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:
Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.
Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.
Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.
Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.
Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.
We offer
Contract length: 12 months
Band: E
Designation of Duty Station: Maiduguri l Unacccompanied Duty Station
Start date: 6 January 2022
Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Expatriates or for National staff, accordingly.
How to apply
Are you interested? Then apply for this position on line via the https://drc.ngo/about-us/careers/vacancies/. All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in English.
DRC provides equal opportunity in employment and prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.
DRC encourages all applicants to apply and does not practice any discrimination in any recruitment process.
However, all applicants shall take into consideration that DRC cannot offer an international work contract to a citizen of the country of assignment (in this specific case, Nigeria)
Applications close on the 21st of November 2021 at midnight (GMT-time). Applications submitted after this date will not be considered.
Due to the urgency of the position, DRC has the right to recruit a candidate who matches the required profile before the above deadline.
