Position Title: Disaster Management Senior Officer (Disaster and crises preparedness, climate action, and emergency operations response)

Duty Station: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Organizational context

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 191 member National Societies (NS). The overall aim of the IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.”  The IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises. 

In late 2021, a new Country Cluster Delegation was established in Sarajevo to facilitate the IFRC’s collaborations and coordination and provides direct support to National Societies in the cluster and donors and humanitarian partners located/working in the country cluster.  IFRC’s Country Cluster Delegation (CCD) to Central & South-Eastern Europe (CSEE) covers the seven Red Cross National Societies of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.

Job purpose

The purpose of the Disaster Management (DM) Senior Officer position is to ensure effective anticipation and preparedness capacities for appropriate and timely responses to disasters/emergencies/crises within the CSEE country cluster. 

The IFRC is working closely with National Societies (NSs) to further develop and enhance these capacities within the NSs and across the disaster management cycle. The position will support and strengthen the Federation’s work in disaster and crisis management across all phases of the disaster management cycle, focusing on timely and high-quality disaster preparedness activities and capacities with the NSs, and deliver IFRC’s response to crises and emergencies in line with the mandate, ensuring effectiveness and integrity of actions with increased agility in countries within the country cluster.

Job duties and responsibilities

Disaster and crises preparedness, climate action, and emergency operations response

• Monitor events, indicators, and potential triggers of disasters and crises with potential humanitarian impact within the country cluster, including through global monitoring tools and in cooperation with other IFRC offices and relevant institutions and alerting the NSs.
• Ensure accurate and timely IFRC GO field reports are issued to inform RCRC Movement. 
• Lead the direct support to NSs in the immediate aftermath of disasters with initial assessment and development of an Operational Strategy in emergency response, including in-person support where needed, taking on the role of an Operations Manager in such response situation.
• Manage daily IFRC resources and deliver technical support to NSs in emergency response, including contracting and coordination of Movement support to planning and the NS’s response delivery.
• Lead IFRC’s support to and coordination of emergency response operations, and provide technical input where needed, in close collaboration with the Federation’s other technical staff. Ensure that all response activities are developed in coordination with other sectorial teams.
• Lead IFRC’s support for disaster preparedness activities based on hazard risk profiles and national society capacity, i.e. early warning systems, conflict preparedness (in conjunction with ICRC), eVCA, and aligned with IFRC’s Preparedness for Effective Response (PER) process.
• Lead the support for NSs in scaling up their disaster risk reduction initiatives at the national, branch and local levels and their coordination of initiatives with non-Red Cross organizations, including the preparedness for Cash and Voucher Assistance interventions. 
• Lead IFRC’s support for National Societies in their National Disaster Response Mechanisms, including response and contingency planning based on national disaster risk analysis, Standard Operating Procedures for response and the development of National Response Team (NRT) harmonizing them with other IFRC Disaster Management tools. 
• Provide the technical guidance, support and delivery of PER assessments and implementation of related action plans. 
• Act as the Climate Action focal point for the IFRC CCD CSEE, ensuring connection between different IFRC offices, National Societies in CSEE, and external shareholders. 
• Expand and strengthen NSs’ response capacity by organizing and facilitating surge trainings for staff and volunteers from the NSs, preparing them for deployment according to needs, and harmonizing it with other IFRC DM tools.

Project management:

• Implement a standardized project management methodology across all DM projects
• Review DM budgets proposed by the NSs, in cooperation with other relevant staff members. 
• Monitor actual expenditure of project budgets, where acting as the Project Manager and the alignment with pledge and project requirements. 
• Review financial reports from ongoing DM projects with the finance department, conduct corrective and anticipatory actions to mitigate risks and act in line with the IFRC procedures.
• Participate in and, when assigned, lead negotiations with the NSs about activity implementation and any new Project Agreements including the contracting process.
• Administer DM project activities in appropriate IFRC systems.
• Conduct regular monitoring of the implementation of project activities according to needs and assignments, including field monitoring.

Coordination

• Ensure and further enable the flow of information between the Regional Office Europe (ROE) operations leadership, CCD CSEE, and the NSs in the country cluster, and participate in coordination forums/meetings, as assigned. 
• Ensure a coordinated approach to programming support among Partner National Societies and maintain regular communications for greater Federation and Movement coordination and cooperation in the country cluster.
• Support the NSs in establishing Federation and Movement coordination and participating in external coordination.
• Coordinate with Federation and Movement partners as well as external stakeholders on activities and actions in line with CCD CSEE objectives.
• Maintain shared coordination and communication tools in collaboration with colleagues.
• Set up DM working group with members from all CSEE NSs. 

Partnership development, advocacy, and resource mobilization 

• Contribute to fundraising efforts, especially in the design and development of new programs and projects and writing program intervention logics into funding proposals and other products.
• Liaise with NSs about their interest in new opportunities and negotiate future steps in development of new projects.
• Support the Head of CC Delegation and Programs Coordinator in preparations for activities in their scope of work.

Capacity Building 

• Support National Societies in identifying and achieving their organizational development needs and goals in line with Federation and Movement commitments and safeguarding the integrity while doing so.
• Promote knowledge and experience sharing between programs and NSs, and within IFRC, by organizing the documentation of best practice/lessons learned/pilot projects findings, for current programs and future use.
• Facilitate technical support from the IFRC to the NSs, with focus on DM activities and projects.
• Assist NSs in building their institutional preparedness, linking local, regional and governmental policies, strategies and procedures.
• Increase knowledge among NSs of IFRC policies, guidelines and other quality standards tools to in the development of their capacity and accountability to beneficiaries.
• Identify training needs and support the organization and facilitation of training sessions (face-to-face or remote) for technical teams in NSs – e.g. in needs assessments, skills development, and adapt existing or develop new methodologies, approaches, and tools enabling adequate responses to disasters and crises.

Policy and planning: 

• Contribute to achieving the objectives of IFRC strategic documents as well as commitments from the IFRC CCD CSEE.
• Ensure all activities and actions are aligned with Federation and Movement coordination documents and established mechanisms. 
• Encourage NSs to undertake annual and longer-term planning processes including the Unified Planning process.
• Ensure greater linkages between various programs, such as disaster risk reduction, disaster law, community health, and migration and displacement, as well as with Community Engagement and Accountability; Protection, Gender and Inclusion; Information Management; and Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA). 
• Ensure that all activities are carried out in a participatory and inclusive manner that reflects community needs and cultural sensitivities including gender balance, age, most vulnerable populations, including migrants and displaced populations, and that activities take into consideration issues around any local risks and hazards. 

Position requirements

• University degree and/or similar formal qualification e.g. in Humanitarian assistance/ development studies, economic or socio-economic development, or Business Administration.
• At least 5 years of work experience with a humanitarian aid or development organization.
• Experience in international operations, including emergency response, in humanitarian and development aid programs.
• Experience in implementing development assistance programs, such as disaster risk reduction at national and/or international level.
• Relevant project management experience: assessing, designing, planning, implementing, monitoring, and reporting, as well as financial management of various programs in emergency, early recovery, and development contexts.
• Demonstrated experience in Risk Management and in developing Contingency Plans.  
• Experience in implementing cash and vouchers assistance programs.
• Desirable experience within the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and working with NSs.

Knowledge and skills

• Proven in-depth knowledge of organizational development, capacity building of partner organizations and program management
• Proven project management and program coordination skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to prepare reports, updates, plans, and emergency appeals.
• Demonstrated and documented strong financial management skills.
• Demonstrated skills in negotiation and building relations, excellent communication skills
• Fluently spoken and written English

General Condition

• Citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Possession of a valid driver’s license “B” category, willingness to travel

If you can contribute to the performance of the above-mentioned tasks and you are an open-minded, flexible, and trustworthy person, we would very much like to hear from you.

Please forward a motivation cover letter as well as your CV.

Deadline: 07 December 2024 (midnight). 

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. 

Lokacija: Sarajevo (Rad iz firme)

Broj izvršilaca: 1

Datum objave: 22.11.2024.

Trajanje oglasa: 15 dana (ističe 07.12.2024.)