Head of Field Mission

American Refugee Committee

POSITION TITLE: Head of Field Mission – South Darfur COUNTRY PROGRAM: North Sudan RESPONSIBLE TO: Country Director STATUS: Full Time SUPERVISORY CAPACITY: Technical/Operations teams

DEPARTMENT/COUNTRY PROGRAM DESCRIPTION/MISSION

The American Refugee Committee (ARC) Darfur program started in 2004 in response to the emergency needs of some 500,000 war-affected IDPs and host populations in the Tulus and Gereida corridors in southern Darfur. The overall aim of the program is to improve the well-being of the target populations by addressing their immediate humanitarian needs and contributing to long-term community stabilization.

In conjunction with the Khartoum support office, the field office in Nyala supports the delivery of primary health care services at 14 rehabilitated community clinics and a large clinic in the Gereida camp in addition to reaching out with mobile clinic services to 6 remote communities in which health facilities have not yet been rehabilitated. Water and sanitation services, including the construction/rehabilitation of boreholes water yards, household and institutional latrines and hygiene promotion messages, are also delivered in over 70 war-affected communities. A small agriculture component assists resettling IDPs and host populations with seeds, tools and extension services to grow their own food.

With an annual budget of between $8-10m, the Darfur program has 12 expatriates and over 300 national staff some of who are seconded from the line Ministries of the Sudan government.

PRIMARY PURPOSE OF POSITION

The Head of Field Mission in South Darfur is the leader of the field team and is responsible for the overall design and implementation of the ARC programs in Darfur. This is a key management position in the country program and a member of the Country Management Team. This includes leading technical teams (sectors) in the development of sector plans/proposals; internally and externally coordinating sector activities; establishing and maintaining public relations with state authorities, UN agencies, other NGOs and implementing partners; coordinating management support, including resource allocations and utilization among sectors and administration and accounting for them; monitoring program implementation and reviewing plans as appropriate, managing all program staff, including performance management and staff development; coordinating the production of sector and program reports (ARC and donors) and reviewing/summarizing them for the Country Director; and ensuring program staff and assets are safe all the time.

MAJOR AREAS OF ACCOUNTABILITY PRIMARY DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES

Program Management 60% • Supervises and coordinates all field staff activities to ensure activities are in line with ARC’s program objectives in Darfur.
• Provide oversight of partner NGOs implementing health, water and sanitation, agriculture and other programs. • Provides technical assistance to and builds reporting capacity of senior field staff for report writing, data collection, presentations, and analysis. • Prepares the monthly activity reports for submission to the Country Director.
• In conjunction with the Security & Staff Safety Officer, ensures that Security Standard Operating Procedures are current and in line with ARC and UN guidelines.
• Communicates with Khartoum Office on a daily basis to apprise the Country Director of the current situation, on both program and security issues.
• As directed, represents ARC at official meetings, serves as the ARC liaison in the field on program issues, and serves as the ARC liaison with UN agencies on any program issues as directed by the Country Director.

• Prepare field program reports in a timely manner for donors quarterly, final, as per proposal. • Monitors and evaluates all field activities. • Promote overall program coherence in the ARC Darfur, Sudan country program by ensuring that all projects have well-defined performance indicators and output monitoring mechanisms. • Provide technical advice and program support, as necessary. • Draft grant proposals as directed by Country Director. • Support Technical Coordinators in the development of program structure, identification of human resource needs and preparation of individual job descriptions. • Facilitate monthly management meetings to review progress on plans, spending on budget and other management issues. • Feed all field management issues into Country Management Team meetings.

Program Development 20% • Advises Country Director on current and potential needs of refugee and IDP populations in Darfur in appropriate sectors (i.e., Health, WatSan and Shelter).
• Participates as a member of a needs assessment team for any potential new programs as directed by the Country Director.

Personnel Management 20% • Directly supervises program staff in the field and assists in mid-cycle and annual Performance Appraisals.

EDUCATION, TECHNICAL SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

• 3-5 years experience with an INGO in a management position in complex emergency or post-conflict settings. • University degree in the Social Sciences, International Policy or Administration or related field; Master’s degree preferable. • Experience in managing a multi-sector program; proposal/grant writing, management, monitoring and evaluation; conducting needs assessments. • Experience in managing and working with a multicultural staff; strong participatory leadership and interpersonal skills; ability to motivate and counsel staff working in a complex emergency environment. • USAID/OFDA/UNHCR background preferred. • Experience and/or knowledge of Sudan (history, politics, culture, etc.) and sensitive to issues involved in working in northern Sudan preferable. • Strong verbal and written communication experience. • Strong computer literacy; strong skills in Microsoft Office. • Must be fluent in English, knowledge of Arabic a plus.

KEY BEHAVIORS & ABILITIES

• Highly motivated self-starter who takes direction well, but also works independently. • Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment with tight deadlines, effectively managing multiple priorities. • An exemplary team leader/player. • Extremely flexible with the ability to cope with stressful situations. • Willingness to work and live in remote and security difficult situation. • Cultural sensitivity essential.

Application Notes:

If you have a non-US or Canadian address and you do not have a State and/or Zip Code in your address, please fill in N/A (Not Applicable) for the State/Province, and 00000 for the Zip Code.
How to apply:

Visit our Careers page at http://www.arcrelief.org.