Area Programme Manager at Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Location: Maiduguri, Borno with suport to Yobe and Adamawa states
Supervised by: Area Manager- Borno and Yobe
Reporting to: Area Manager- Borno and Yobe
Area of Operation: Borno and Yobe (Nigeria)
Start Date: ASAP
Type of Contract: Expatriate

Background
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.

Purpose:

• DRC is looking for a driven, pro-active and innovative Area Programme Manager (APM) who can take on responsibility for a broad range of interesting emergency and stabilization/recovery programmes.
• This role will be crucial in the delivery of DRC’s integrated emergency response packages, engaging actively with and managing cross-sectorial activities with the DRC Protection, Livelihood, WASH/Shelter, Food Security and M&E teams.
• The duty station will be Maiduguri (Borno State) with suppoprt to Yobe and Adamawa states.  The APM will supervise and coordinate a range of activities across rapid emergency response to first- and second-line emergency response, through towards stabilization and recovery.

Duties and Responsibilities
Program Management:

• Ensure effective community engagement and safety analysis for responses according to needs identified in protection, Food security, WASH/Shelter, Protection and M&E, while linking with other sectors within DRC (AVR/MRE and NTS);
• Ensure appropriate selection of beneficiaries or areas to be targeted following technical methodologies defined by relevant Coordinators and with the agreement/support of local communities.
• Ensure appropriate implementation of the activities in the four (4) sectors under his/her responsibility:
  • Food Security: general food distribution and blanket supplementary feeding program.
  • WASH/Shelter: water points and sanitation facilities construction and operational maintenance, hygiene Kits’ distribution and hygiene promotion.
  • Livelihood: SME development, Cash Transfer, Community based agriculture production and poultry farming.
  • Protection: identification/referral/follow-up of cases with specific vulnerabilities, trainings on protection mainstreaming, community-based protection initiative.
  • Ensure appropriate M&E support is provided to the programme
• Work closely with all the supports teams in Maiduguri and Yobe base level (Logistics, Procurement, HR and Finance) to ensure that the required means are available on time to implement activities following established work plan.
• Be the focal point for interacting with other programs/activities implemented in Borno and Yobe State level
• Liaise with the Protection Coordinator, WASH/Shelter- Coordinator, Livelihoods Coordinator, Food Security Coordinator and M&E Coordinator to get required technical inputs to match good quality standards for the respective activities under his/her responsibility.

General Management:

• Line manage national staff, conducting performance reviews, setting objectives and ensuring expected performance criteria are met
• Adapt the team structure according to needs, resources and capacities if required, with support of technical coordinators as required
• Develop job descriptions and recruit qualified staff (national) for the relevant position under Programme sector
• Ensure high-quality project implementation in accordance with donor and DRC regulations as well as in line with agreed log frames/indicators, budgets, procurement plans, and work plans
• Review BFUs regarding activities/projects under his/her responsibility and check the good budget allocation of the related costs. Update Budget tracking tools and update the area Managers on burn-rate with clear work plans to the end of the Project

Coordination:

• Ensure monthly program review with Area Managers and Coordinator in terms of Budget (BFU/TDL), activity plan review, lesson learnt including planning forecast for the next period
• Attend coordination meetings in Maiduguri and Yobe as necessary or specified by the Area Manager and Coordinators.
• Pro-actively coordinate with other NGOs working in areas of intervention in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa States
• Support field staff to develop contacts and coordinate closely with stakeholders including local authorities, security actors, community representatives and CBOs where relevant to establish supportive networks and channels of communication

Safety, Access and Logistics:

• Work closely with the Safety Unit to share local contacts, to ensure appropriate security plans for field missions are in place, and to discuss support needs for new areas of intervention
• Develop contact networks in area of operation for coordination on alerts, assessments and responses.
• Contribute to Access and Safety SOP

Required Qualifications

• Master's degree in social sciences or in any of the technical sectors to be covered by this position (internal development, Food Security, WASH, Shelter & NFIs and Protection).
• Minimum 5 years of working experience in Managing program in humanitarian context and experience in complex emergencies and high-security environments
• Experience of access management in a high-security context, demonstrated ability to liaise with a variety of stakeholders in a professional and adaptive manner, including security actors and local authorities.
• Working experiences with at least 3 of the 4 sectors to be covered by the position (Food Security, WASH/Shelter, Livelihood and Protection).
• Solid experience in staff management in a cross-cultural environment required
• Strong experience in conducting large scale distributions in remote locations with limited humanitarian presence
• Proven ability to build external relationships with diplomacy, tact and professionalism in a complex and demanding environment.
• Proficiency in common computer packages and financial software i.e. Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc.
• Must show ability to work in an isolated and challenging environment.
• Strong reporting, report-writing and assessment skills.

However, applicants must be aware that DRC cannot employ, under an expatriate contract, a citizen of the country in which she/ he is going to be stationed (in such case, the Republic of Nigeria).

Required Skills & Qualities:

• Previous working experience as Program Manager for multiple sector
• Fluent written and spoken English
• Understanding of Nigerian context and local dynamics is desirable
• A team player and self-starter able to inspire and influence action
• Ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner
• Proven ability to work effectively under minimum supervision
• Demonstrated behavior of professional and personal ethics
• Ability to write high-quality programme report:
  • Willingness to undertake regular field visits and interact with different stakeholders
  • Basic computer skills and experience in use of applications such as Microsoft Office
  • Ability to coordinate different stakeholders in a complex work environment

Core Competencies of DRC:

• Striving for excellence
• Collaboration
• Taking the lead
• Communication
• Demonstrating Integrity

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

Salary and Benefits
Manager F, level 2