Field Coordinator / Wash Cluster Focal Point -Upper Nile State, Malakal

MISSION

Solidarités International is an international humanitarian organization which provides aid and assistance to victims of war or natural disaster. For over 30 years the association has focused on meeting three vital needs - water, food and shelter - by carrying out emergency programmes followed by longer-term reconstruction projects. Whilst fully respecting the assisted populations’ customs and culture, Solidarités International’s programmes are implemented through the joint expertise of around 180 expatriates and 1500 local managerial staff and employees. Solidarités International is currently present in Africa (Central African Republic, South Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast), in Asia (Afghanistan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan), in the Middle East (Syria and Lebanon) and in Haiti.

The conflict between Northern and Southern Sudan is known as the longest war in Africa, brought on by a long history of colonial policies of British and Egyptian influence, marginalization by powerful northern regimes and cultural and traditional clashes.

Six and half years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in Nairobi in January 2005, South Sudan became the youngest country in the World on July 9th 2011. A new highlight for a country familiar with extreme figures : among others, a challenging environment with only 60 km of asphalt road in a country bigger than France, a complex social environment with more than 60 ethnic groups and dialects and a high level of illiteracy. On a humanitarian point of view, the country can be characterized by the acute needs of its population in having access to basic services, due to the lack of infrastructure, and lack of qualified persons to run these structures (hospital, schools, etc.). These needs have been compounded by massive influxes of returnees from North to South Sudan, numbering an estimated 400,000 since October 2010. This is the reason why South Sudan is considered as one of the most challenging humanitarian country in the world.

Solidarités International (SI) currently implements 2 kinds of programs:

• Rural and semi-urban WaSH activities in three states in the North East part of the country: Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity, targeting counties prone to receiving IDPs and/or returnees and prone to natural disaster (namely flooding). SI is also deeply involved in the coordination of the WaSH actors in Unity and Upper Nile States by being the State Focal Point for the WaSH cluster. Upper Nile and North Jonglei programs are operated out of Malakal, the Upper Nile State capital, while Unity State programs are administrated from an office in Bentiu, the Unity State capital.
• Emergency WaSH interventions in the camps welcoming Sudanese refugees in Upper Nile and Unity States (Yusuf Batil & Yida). These projects started respectively in June and July 2012, following the rapid assessments made by the WaSH Emergency, Preparedness and Response (EP&R) team that is in place since September 2011. A new intervention is on-going in Unity State to set-up a new refugee camp, Adjong.

The Wash Cluster State Focal Point (SFP) / Field Coordinator based in Malakal has to fill 2 roles:

• Ensure appropriate coordination among the WASH Cluster

In line with the Humanitarian Reform, NGOs, international organizations and UN agencies operating in the WASH sector comes together under the leadership of UNICEF and Medair to identify gaps, plan and prioritize response, and to implement and monitor activities in a spirit of partnership. The overall purpose is to alleviate human suffering and protect the lives, livelihoods and dignity of populations in need.

• Coordinate Solidarités International’s intervention

Solidarités International has maintained a field office in Malakal since 2007, which is currently implementing part of the activities of an OFDA funded project until June 2013. The rest of the project is located in Unity State, managed from Bentiu field office by another SI team.

The main objectives of the SFP / Field Coordinator are:

• To facilitate the coordination of all WASH agencies, in collaboration with State line ministry and UNICEF, for coordination meetings, stock management, working group, information dissemination, experience sharing, assessment planning and emergency preparedness and response implementation and state-wide activity mapping.
• To ensure appropriate sector strategy, preparedness and contingency planning for emergencies.
• To ensure effective collaboration of the WASH sector with humanitarian forums and other clusters (with OCHA support).
• To propose a regional strategy according to the geopolitical and humanitarian context, and ensures its implementation once validated.
• To check and ensures that projects are carried out in accordance with the Solidarités International charter, respecting all internal and contractual procedures
• To mobilize the material and financial resources necessary for programs to run smoothly, and supervises resource management.
• To coordinate the teams in place and is responsible for their security
• To be the Head of Mission's direct contact and representative.

MAIN TASKS

List of main tasks as WASH Cluster Focal point:

WASH Cluster facilitation for needs assessments

• Lead or take part in joint needs assessments, in partnership with WaSH Cluster members and/or with inter-sector team to collect and share information concerning humanitarian situation
• Organize independent assessments on specific WASH issues.
• Ensure humanitarian context follow-up in Upper Nile State. Analyze the humanitarian situation taking into account protection issues in a Do No Harm perspective and share findings to WaSH Cluster members.
• Recommend interventions that can be developed by the different Emergency and Response team of South Sudan to respond to the identified needs and in case of interest from SI team, participate in the dimensioning of the potential needs response.
• Identify priority of the WaSH Cluster at the regional level and emergency areas; advocate to donors to fund them and priority.

WASH Cluster Coordination

• Maintain state level cluster contact list and ensure knowledge of who is doing what and where (3W matrix) and the Water Management Information System (WMIS) within the sector in the given state in coordination with UNICEF
• Brief new cluster members on the sector specific issues and cluster priorities; provide initial contact lists; facilitate contacts with key partners.
• Organize state level cluster meetings (co-chaired by state line ministry and/or Unicef): Definition of meeting agenda, facilitating of the meeting and sharing meeting minutes at the central and state level.
• Support cluster leads and co-leads at Juba level with planning issues including humanitarian work plan, risk analysis, preparedness/contingency planning at State level.
• Advice on the repartition of the WASH cluster emergency Core pipeline supplies in coordination with UNICEF and help cluster members to use it in case of emergency
• Coordinate actors’ interventions on the ground or from Malakal in case of an acute emergency.

WASH Cluster Capacity Building

• Define priorities and organize workshops and trainings to strengthen capacities of WASH actors
• Support WASH partners in participating in the Common Appeal Process for the Wash part of their interventions. Provide regional inputs to define the priorities of the Common Appeal process.
• Set up program tools for WASH actors in South Sudan in order to help them improve their practices and their preparedness to emergency situation
• Act as the state level focal point for inquiries on the cluster’s response plans and operations within the state

WASH Cluster reporting

• Ensure the core pipeline releases are reported back to the cluster by the partners
• Report on WASH Cluster achievements in Upper Nile State to the donors and Cluster Lead on a monthly basis and when relevant with regard to the context to the Head of Mission
• Write quarterly and final reports and submit to coordination.

List of main tasks as Field Coordinator:

Coordination and strategic orientation

• Monitor and analyse the humanitarian, political, cultural, social and economic context.
• Propose and develop an operational strategy in line with the association's policies and the population's needs.
• Propose new operational directions according to how the context develops

Relevance and operational quality / operation monitoring

• Ensure the coordination, development, monitoring and evaluation of the programmes implemented
• Ensure that the programmes are relevant and consistent.
• Ensure that the programmes are implemented in accordance with the annual operational strategy, Solidarités International's technical requirements and financial donor's criteria.

Resource management

• Propose the human, financial and logistical scale and its organisation in his/her area of intervention
• Ensure that financial resources and other means necessary for accomplishing projects are mobilized.
• Guarantee the appropriate use of resources

Human resource management

• Build and maintain a team dynamic which enables the objectives of Solidarités International to be carried out
• Promote the ethics and values of Solidarités International
• Monitor the implementation of Solidarités International's human resources policy and procedures (recruitment, EAP, etc.)
• Monitor the personal and professional stability of Solidarités International employees and ensure that an adequate living and working environment is maintained

PROFILE

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant field such as international development, public policy, program evaluation

Experience

• Minimum 1 and 2 years with INGO specialized in humanitarian assistance.
• Previous experience in team management (including expatriates) and strategic orientation;
• Experience in security management in unstable environments;
• Experience in conflict/post-conflict contexts, preferably with experience in supporting emergency response;
• Knowledge of humanitarian and development issues as well as Humanitarian actors, particularly the cluster system within the UN humanitarian reform
• Basic technical knowledge and familiarity with general WASH-related issues; Ability to compensate for lack of such skills in a technical environment;
• Previous experience in South Sudan is major advantage;
• Previous experience with SI preferable.

Technical skills and knowledge:

• Capacity to provide leadership and be a unifying force;
• Diplomacy and coordination skills to highlight the value of coordinated activities;
• Interest in and ability to quickly understand complicated political contexts;
• Strong management and training/capacity-building skills;
• Strong initiative with solid interpersonal, diplomacy and organizational skills.
• Stress management skills: ability to work under pressure, with peaks of heavy work loads;
• Adaptability to changing work environment and possible volatile security situation;

Other desirable qualities:

• Commitment to the fundamental principles of Solidarités International charter and ethos
• Ability to live in remote areas and insecure environments within related restrictions.
  • Calm and with good negotiations skills (security context management, relationships with locals, administrative and military authorities, humanitarian community), ability to network and build beneficial professional relationships with partner organisations

Language

• Fluent English, written and spoken
• Knowledge in Arabic is an asset

Computer skills

• Good command of Pack Office
• Knowledge in GPS / Google earth

STATUS

Salaried post: According to experience from 1700 euros gross per month, , plus 10% annual leave allowance paid monthly, and a monthly Per Diem of 600 USD. Solidarités International will cover accommodation and travel expenses from the expatriate’s home country to the site of the assignment.

• 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. For a one-year assignment, the expatriate will have a 7-day break during the 3rd and the 9th month (with 500 euros 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).

DURATION: 6 months beginning 18/03/2013

Contact Marie Beatrix Carrale

How to apply:

CV and Cover letter

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