Desired start date: 15/02/2020

Duration of the mission: 12 months

Location: Yangon

ABOUT THE MISSION …

SI has been in Myanmar since 2008. For the first three years SI worked in the Delta in response to the devastating Cyclone Nargis. In 2011, SI expanded to three new regions (Dry Zone, Rakhine, and Chin State) focusing on Livelihoods, Food Security, Shelter, and WASH. In January 2012 SI expanded to Kachin State to respond to an emergency situation created by the displacement of Kachin population affected by the arm conflict.

SI currently has a coordination base in Yangon, with field bases in the Rakhine and Kachin States. In 2018, 17 international staff and 265 national staff are working within SI to implement 16 contracts (on-going or finished) in WASH, FSL, Emergency programs (NFI, Shelter, WASH, Food) funded by OFDA, DFID/HARP, ECHO, CIAA, Mairie de Paris (MDP), Centre de Crise (CDC), OCHA and UNICEF.

SI has 2 regional operational bases in Myanmar (with 2 Field Coordinators):

• In Rakhine State – Sittwe regional base with three areas of intervention in Pauktaw, Rathedaung and Sittwe Townships. Sittwe regional base is composed of 280 national staffs and 9 expatriates.
• In Kachin State – Bhamo regional base with 2 sub-bases in Lwegel and Myitkyina. Bhamo regional base is composed of 36 national staffs and 3 expatriates.

ABOUT THE JOB

In close collaboration with the Country Director (CD), the DCD’s prime objectives are to provide leadership and management of the strategic programming, overseeing the strengthening of SI’s program development, quality and accountability. The DCD ensures the internal coherence between program activities and is responsible for ensuring that programs are driven by needs, based on evidence, adaptable to contextual changes and conflict sensitive, monitored closely and resourced appropriately.

The DCD is part of SI Senior Management Team, the head of office of the program coordination office in Yangon, and has direct line-management of the WaSH Coordinator, MEAL Manager and Reporting & Communication Officer.

Main tasks:

• Strategic Direction
• Donor, Grant, Relationship management and representation
• Program Development & Quality Management
• Institutional knowledge building
• Personnel management

ORG CHART POSITION (reporting and functional relationships)

Line manager: CD

Line report(s) on base: WASH Coordinator, RCO, MEAL Manager

Functional manager: HQ Program Manager

Functional report(s): Field Coordinators, Deputy Field Coordinator

Priorities for the 2/3 first months

• S/he will structure the coordination program department (roles and responsibilities) and internal processes
• S/he will ensure the revision of ECHO and OFDA proposals on time as per donors’ comments
• S/he will organize kick-off meeting of ECHO project at coordination level and ensure kick-off meeting are organized at base level (coordination support and participation might be necessary)
• S/he will need to quickly understand Myanmar’s context complexity, with special focus on Rakhine and Kachin States. There is a high level of external representation both in Yangon and at base level, the DCD is expected to support CD in that task (as well as FCos while on the field).

YOUR PROFILE

Education: Master’s degree is in related field.

Experience:

• Substantial experience in a senior management position in an overseas NGO environment, ideally in both emergency and developmental contexts;
• Previous experience in strategy development
• Experience of program implementation in different fields: WASH, food security – livelihood and, DRR with a strong community mobilization focus.
• Experience in leading program development across multiple bases with multiple donors, preferably with knowledge of using contextual understanding and evidence to strategically guide the mission’s development with regards to programs;
• Experience of managing large teams in multiple locations with various challenges;
• Experience of budget management;
• Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures;
• Experience in Donor relations (ECHO, OFDA, UN, DFID, EuropeAid);
• Previous experience in South Asia (recommended);
• Previous experience with SI.

Technical skill and competence:

• Extensive knowledge about project cycle management and monitoring tools (good understanding of MEAL systems expected);
• An ability to reflect on and learn from own performance and the performance of the program; and to act upon that learning;
• An ability to analyze information quickly and accurately;
• Good problem solving skills in day to day and crisis situations;
• A flexible approach to managing and prioritizing a high workload and multiple tasks with tight deadlines;
• A good understanding of DRR and climate change issues;
• Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office, Excel;
• Extensive report writing skills in English;
• Capacity to deal with many different issues, programs, sectors, to self- update and learn very quickly from a highly and constantly evolving environment;
• Strong representation / public relation skills.

Personal quality:

• Ability to take decisions and work in autonomy is essential;
• The candidate must display diplomatic and smooth leadership skills;
• An understanding of and commitment to SI’s mission and values.

Languages: Fluent in English {the mission is an English speaking /writing mission}. Knowledge of Burmese would be an added asset.

SI WILL OFFER YOU

A salaried post: according to experience from 2860 euros gross per month (2600 base salary + 10% annual leave).

Per Diem: 700 USD / month.

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.

Vacation: During the assignment, a system of alternation between work and time off is implemented at the rate of one break every three months. Our policy was just modified: from now on, Solidarités offers you 7 working days ever three months, with a 850 USD allowance for each break. In addition to these regular break, SI adds a day off per worked month. These days off as well as the breaks are not deducted from the paid leaves that are paid every months with your salary as they are offered by the organization.

For further information about Solidarités International, please consult our website: http://www.solidarites.org/en/

Living conditions

This post is based in Yangon where the security and safety are not a concern. It is a fair family location with international schools (English and French), international standard supermarkets, good clinics (albeit not fully comprehensive health services yet), and parks and some leisure activities (sailing, swimming, tennis, football, etc…). Driving is quite chaotic due to the sudden influx of traffic and car purchases. Accommodation in Guest House (private room and bathroom, equipped with basic but comfortable furniture) or Housing Pack provided by SI.