Needed DEPUTY COUNTRY DIRECTOR SUPPORT

Desired start date: Février 2020
Duration of the mission: 1 year, renewable.
Location: Northeast Syria, based in Amman (Jordania)

ABOUT THE MISSION

Syria mission is dedicated to work on 2 main challenging areas: Northeast (NES) and Northwest (NWS) Syria to provide lifesaving activities to the population affected by the conflict. Main current activities are related to emergency wash (water distribution and rehabilitation) and distribution of essential NFI (winterization, hygiene, shelter, new arrival kits, etc..) and cash. The mission has been expanded in 2018-2019 through a major consortium with 4 partners led by SI. The consortium will support equitable and safe access to essential basic services including WASH, Shelter and Health, for the most vulnerable populations affected by conflict and displacement in Northeast Syria.

Since the recent developments in NES, its response is operating semi remote management from Erbil with intermittent field visits.

Number of persons under direct management: 1 Supply Coordinator NES, 1 Logistics Coordinator, 1 HR Coordinator and 1 Finance Coordinator

ABOUT THE JOB

General objectives

• The Deputy Country Director Support leads the support services of the mission.
• She/he manages and coordinates the following support functions: Supply, Finance, Human Resources and Logistics Coordinators’.
• As DCD Support, s/he ensures the respect by all of the Solidarités International HR, Finance and Logistics processes, donors processes and the national laws of the countries where Solidarités International operates. S/he participate to the strategic definition of the mission.

The main challenges:

• Recent evacuation of NES had a big impact on the structure and organization of the work in that area. DCD-S needs to ensure a continuity of the Syria support strategy implementation after its review early 2020. Taking into account a potential scale down in NES and probability of scale up in NWS.
• A different NES set-up in senior management is on-going, the changes are important and needs to be consolidated gradually with the support of the coordination
• The context remains very volatile and adjustments are needed in continuum

Priorities for the first 2/3 months

• Consolidate the semi-remote intervention and newly revised set-up in NES in terms of support processes and procedures to ensure a smooth implementation.
• Anticipate and prepare a potential full remote NES intervention with each Support Coordinator.
• MTA (Hawalas) close follow up with Finance Coo
• HR structure review (national & international staff) with the HR Coo and Country Director, support its implementation.
• Ensure the continuity of the Supply Unit NES with the Supply Coo
• Support Logistics to build a procurement strategy for NWS

YOUR PROFILE

Education:

• Post-graduate degree in business administration, Finance or Accounting, Logistics or HR or similar field

Experience:

• At least 5 years’ experience in logistics, procurement, Finance and HR
• Solid experience in team management (including expatriates in support functions) and strategic orientation
• Experience in conflict/post-conflict contexts, preferably with experience in supporting emergency response
• Knowledge of security protocols and ability to work appropriately in an insecure environment
• Knowledge of major donor requirements and compliance issues
• Stakeholder management
• Experience in data analysis
• Desirable: previous experience in partner capacity building
• Desirable: Previous experience with SI
• Desirable: Knowledge and experience working with OFDA projects
• Desirable: Previous work experience in response to the Syrian Crisis
• Desirable: Previous work experience in response in the Middle East

Soft skills:

• Demonstrable attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members
• Outstanding communication skills, including excellent diplomacy skills with the ability to influence and negotiate
• Problem solving skills
• Analytical skills and proven organization and methodical skills
• Strong commitment to humanitarian work and principles
• Ability to work under pressure, with peaks of heavy workload
• Adaptability to changing work environment and possible volatile security situation
• Capacity to provide leadership and be a unifying force
• Knowledge of Solidarités rules, tools and procedures
• Strong stress management skills

Languages:

• English: fluent with excellent writing capacities
• Arabic: fluent will be a very strong asset
• French: fluent will be an asset

SI WILL OFFER YOU

A salaried post including 10% annual leave allowance paid monthly) and a monthly Per Diem of 785 USD (in Amman).

Vacation: during the assignment, a system of alternation between work and time-off is implemented at the rate of one break every three months. For a one-year assignment, the expatriate will have a 7-day break during the 3rd and the 9th month (with 750 USD allocated by Solidarités). He or she will also be entitled to go back to his or her home country for a 14-day period after six months spent on the mission (Solidarités will cover travel costs).

Social and medical cover: Expatriates benefit from an insurance package which reimburses all healthcare expenses (including medical and surgical expenses, dental care and ophthalmological expenses, repatriation) and a welfare system including war risks. Essential vaccination and antimalarial treatment costs are refunded.

LIVING CONDITIONS:

Living conditions in Amman are very good and staff has access to a wide range of restaurants, cafes and bars. Most of occidental products (food, clothing…) are easily accessible in Amman. The country also proposes several destinations for weekends.

Security inside Northeast Syria is volatile and justifies specific arrangements for accommodation and movement in the areas of intervention. Adherence to strict security procedures is necessary, while the security levels can vary according to the different geographical locations and the changes of context.

In Erbil (Iraq) where there will be occasional travel to access NES, security levels are good, restrictions are mainly related to obtaining visas for international staff, which can take some weeks.