Response Director Full-Time

Purpose of  Position:

On 14 March 2019, Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall near Mozambique Beira City, leaving devastating loss of life and large-scale destruction of assets and infrastructure in its wake across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. In the following days, entire villages were submerged as flood waters rose across the central region of south eastern Africa. An estimated 1.85 million people have been affected by the cyclone and the subsequent floods.

World Vision has established an Emergency Management Structure based in Beira (Sofala Province) for a multi-country response in order to effectively coordinate efforts across the 3 affected countries, at multiple levels of the organization and through the UN Cluster system.

Overall World Vision aims to reach 405,000 affected people through the provision of support in the following sectors: WASH, Child Protection, Health and Nutrition, Food and NFIs, Livelihoods, Protection and Education.

The Response Director (RD) – Southern Africa Floods and Cyclone Emergency Response (SAFCER) has primary responsibility for directing the response from strategy, for all three counties, to implementation, inclusive of performance and oversight of all aspects of the response. She/he should develop and maintain an efficient, cohesive team, whilst ensuring effective coordination and relationships with the other agencies, officials, beneficiaries, donors and all areas of the Partnership. Ensures a timely, efficient, appropriate und effective response to meet humanitarian needs.

Key responsibilities:

Develop and monitor implementation of response strategy that addresses WV strategic goals to meet humanitarian needs

• Lead response strategy development with National Directors (NDs), Regional Leader (RL), PET and other senior stakeholders in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
• Ensure primary and secondary information on needs inform strategy formulation.
• Ensure context analysis informs strategy development.
• Consult with ND to ensure National Office (NO) strategy and plans (including Child Wellbeing targets) are taken into account in response strategy formulation (in three affected countries).
• Ensure strategy aligns with anticipated capacity.
• Monitor appropriateness of strategy and implementation of strategy and transition plans.

Ensure Response is staffed to meet response needs

• Determine response org structure with NDs and P&C (HR) in all three countries.
• Conduct high-level workforce planning with P&C and mobilise surge functions as required.
• Oversee the recruitment of the RD’s direct reports.
• Ensure defined accountabilities under the EMS are clear for each function including TOR objectives and quality criteria.
• Ensure P&C works with EMS functions to identify workforce requirements.
• Ensure P&C plans for capacity building with EMS functions.
• Ensure P&C develops performance planning and review processes that include quality criteria.
• Ensure P&C establishes a staff care function and mechanisms that support staff well-being.
• Consult ND to plan Response team transition / integration.
• Ensure adequate internal communications mechanisms are in place to ensure policies, information and decisions are shared with staff as appropriate.

Establish and maintain effective working relationships with humanitarian actors, government representatives, World Vision stakeholders, the media and general public

• Represent the response in Partnership Executive Team and Partnership Coordination Committee (where activated).
• Identify and highlight areas of conflict to Response Senior Management Team (SMT), ND, RL and Partnership Executive Committee (where activated).
• Create and maintain collaborative relations and where appropriate partnerships with government, other NGOs, UN agencies, civil society, churches, bi-lateral missions and donors.
• Participate in consortium meetings and Response related national coordination meetings.
• Ensure WV is represented at relevant technical and coordination mechanisms in-country.
• Serve as an organizational spokesperson for media interviews, advocacy initiatives and other public events.

Develop and plan Response to achieve Response strategy goal and objectives

• Provide oversight to funding allocation (i.e. PNS, grants, etc) to ensure alignment with strategy and humanitarian needs.
• Ensure Response programme development meets WV and international standards.
• Ensure that adequate funding to address humanitarian needs is acquired.
• Ensure Advocacy staff are empowered to integrate advocacy across sectors and to develop child-focused advocacy positions which are aligned with strategy and organisational priorities.
• Facilitate the signing of MOUs and contracts, with donors, Support Offices (SOs) and other relevant stakeholders.
• Ensure appropriate waivers are in place to facilitate timely response implementation.

Implement Response programme in accordance with commitments to meet international and WV standards

• Ensure that accessible beneficiary feedback mechanisms are established and functioning.
• Ensure staff establish community accountability methods across all of the response program.
• Monitor and identify risks to programme quality and coordinate resources to address them.
• Ensure that all programmes are implemented, monitored and evaluated according to set plans and that agreements with donors, SOs and other stakeholders are adhered to.
• Ensure management meetings address quality risks & relevant monitoring data & community feedback.

Initiate resourcing mechanisms and ensure financial and material (in-kind) resources are managed according to WV standards, donor and SO agreements

• Initiate response funding mechanisms with support of ND, RL & RHEAD.
• Ensure that funding is managed and accounted for in compliance with donors and Support Offices agreements and WV standards.
• Ensure that programme and projects audits are planned and conducted as per WV audit regulations and donor government requirements.
• Ensure that audit reports are responded to and recommendations implemented.

Oversee Security function, planning and implementation to ensure response staff and organisational safety and security

• Ensure staffing of Security function.
• Provide oversight to implementation of security protocols as per CSR.
• Facilitate inter-agency coordination for information sharing and intelligence sharing.

Ensure response internal and external reporting requirements are met

• Liaise with Programmes and Info Management to ensure internal and external reporting requirements are planned for and reports are prepared.
• Review and submit partnership programme reports.
• Prepare and submit monthly management reports.
• Ensure internal response coordination & information sharing mechanisms are functioning.

Ensure that response meets WV minimum quality standards and supports program improvement, reflection, learning and innovation

• Ensure previous response learnings from Global learning facilitator are reviewed in program design.
• Encourage the incorporation of best practice and innovation in program design.
• Ensure all functions have quality planning sessions to meet quality objectives of their TOR.
• Ensure achievement level of all function quality objectives is monitored monthly and reported.
• Ensure risks that prevent the achievement of quality objectives are reported and rapidly addressed.
• Ensure mechanisms are established to identify, document, & share lessons learned with Partnership.

Ensure that response staff have appropriate housing, offices and information/communication systems

• Ensure that staff have access to appropriate office space/equipment, ICT systems/equipment and other facilities which enable them to carry out their responsibilities;
• Ensure that all response vehicles and other equipment are well managed and maintained.
• Where necessary, ensure that relevant staff have access to appropriate housing.

Knowledge, skills abilities:

• A minimum of 5-7 years in leadership role in the humanitarian assistance and development sector, with a significant portion of this in INGOs.
• 5 years’ experience in humanitarian assistance work.
• Demonstrated understanding of key humanitarian principles, standards and best practices.
• University degree in Humanitarian Studies or relevant field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Intensive experience in leading a multi-cultural team of professionals.
• Experience working in a cross-cultural environment.
• Experience working in war zones / fragile contexts.
• Experience in engaging with governmental institutions and multilateral agencies.
• Experience in managing humanitarian operations that facilitate innovation and calculated risk taking.
• Experience in serving as an organizational spokesperson to media and other external audiences.
• Effective in written and verbal communication in English and in French.

Preferred Skills, Knowledge and Experience:

• Experience in program management and implementation of multi-sectoral emergency response projects.
• Understanding of the international humanitarian system, particularly the systems, structures and key actors.
• Understanding of the key accountabilities that must be maintained in a response (beneficiaries, donors, peers).
• Ability to lead strategic planning processes.
• Strong communication skills (oral and written) with ability to express ideas and concepts clearly and persuasively with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to express ideas and concepts clearly and persuasively with senior internal and external stakeholders as well as staff.
• Ability to work in coordination with other humanitarian organizations.
• Ability to analyse and make decisions in challenging situations in the absence of specific guidance and/or full information.
• Ability to communicate and model to staff positive behaviours which help them remain resilient and effective in dynamic and high pressure environments.

Work Environment/Travel:

• Work hours are often in excess of 12 hours per day during difficult periods of the response.
• Responses are often mounted in insecure or natural disaster-prone contexts, which may disrupt normal work patterns and generate staff safety issues.
• Work and housing environments may at times be well below normal standards in terms of facilities, equipment, food availability and hygiene.