Job Title: Area Representative – Southern Somalia
Duty Station: Nairobi, with frequent
travel to Mogadishu (as security permits)
Reports to: Director of Operations
Line Management
responsibility:
International &
National Staff: Project Managers, finance, HR, logistics and Field Manager(s).
Indirect support to
over 120 local partner staff in Southern Somalia
Budget Holding Responsibility: GBP 9 Million
Grade: 3.1. (international Contract,
accompanied)
Contract Length: 8 months (renewable)
Child Safeguarding
Level: 3
Introduction:
Save the Children (SC)
is an international organization with 27 member organizations across the globe.
It is united by a common mission and brand but, to some extent, has until now
been working independently from country to country and within countries. With
the decision by all Save the Children organizations to create an International
Programmes Unit (IPU) taken in 2010, Save the Children aims to create a
stronger voice for children by unifying the operations in all countries. This
will result in one organisation at the national level in each country and a
unified programme delivery structure for all Save the Children International
Members.
Save the Children UK, Denmark and Finland unified in Somalia in January 2010 under the name Save the Children in Somalia which will move to the IPU model by the end of 2012. After one year of unification and as a result of an active fundraising strategy the programme budget was over GBP 10m covering thematic areas of protection, child survival (which includes health, nutrition and livelihoods), education, and Child Rights Governance.
Save the Children works in the three “zones” of Somalia: Somaliland, Puntland and Central South Somalia (CSS). Due to constraints on security, and the need to liaise with UN agencies, other NGOs and donors, the country office is based in Nairobi.
Directors and senior
managers are expected to travel extensively to monitor and support programme
work in all parts of Somalia that are accessible and where security threats are
being effectively mitigated Save the Children has been engaged in Somalia for
over 20 years.
The programme has
substantially grown since and intends to continue long-term. During the drought
crisis of
2011, the programme in Somalia expanded exponentially and we presently work across 5 regions of Somalia with offices in Hiran, Abudwaq and a shared office with our partner in Mogadishu.
2011, the programme in Somalia expanded exponentially and we presently work across 5 regions of Somalia with offices in Hiran, Abudwaq and a shared office with our partner in Mogadishu.
The post holder will
be based in Nairobi, with frequent travel to Mogadishu as security allows, but
at present there is no access for international staff into Bay & Bakool.
Therefore, a strong understanding of remote support to Save the Children staff
and partners is a vital component of this position.
This is a new position
within the organisation; due to the large growth of operations in Somalia over
the past 8 months a decision was taken to split Somalia into southern and
central regions, with an Area Representative for each.
A Transition Manager
will be in place for a period of six months to support the change in the
structure, working closely with the Area Representatives and their teams,
Operations Director and Humanitarian Director.
Job Purpose
The Area
Representative has overall responsibility for development, management and
delivery of good quality programmes in Southern Somalia (currently Mogadishu
and Bay & Bakool). S/he will work through local partners to ensure all
aspects of programming are coordinated resulting in efficiency, high team moral
and cost effectiveness.
As the senior
representative of Save the Children in Southern Somalia, s/he will ensure
programmes implement key humanitarian principles and that we work in close
collaboration with other key stakeholders to promote and advocate for
children’s rights.
The Security
environment in Southern Somalia is fragile and requires the post-holder to
liaise closely with staff and partners to advise senior management on robust
security management guidelines and plans for Southern Somalia.
Programmes in these
areas are new, and started in the last quarter of 2011/first quarter of 2012
and while this expansion was a result of the drought crisis, it is envisaged
that Save the Children will plan and work towards a long term presence
responding the needs of children.
Key Accountabilities
It is important to
note that at present, a large component of these accountabilities will need to
be done remotely.
1. Partnership
management and Development
- Establish
a quality partnership management environment through mutual respect and
trust, robust partnership assessments, capacity building, project
monitoring, sharing and networking by drawing support from technical
resources from within the country programme.
- Development
of a partnership strategy, taking into account the approach used in
particular in Mogadishu and build on this through the development of an
inclusive and participatory strategy with partners and all stakeholders.
- Ensure
that partners understand and implement Save the Children’s policies and
procedures including child safeguarding, procurement, fraud and whistle
blowing.
2. Program Development, Implementation and Delivery
- Lead on
development and implementation of participatory and consultative Area
Programme Operations Plan in line with the Country Annual Plan.
- Work
with local partners do design & implement a robust project monitoring
system that allows for timely evidence gathering, management action and
inter-organisational learnings in quality programme management.
- Work
with partners to ensure that effective mechanisms are in place to listen
to, act upon and address children’s and communities’
concerns/recommendations through active participation by children and
communities in project design, monitoring and evaluations.
- Ensure
a proactive and strategic fundraising plan is pursued and implemented in
close collaboration with Partners and the Programme Quality and the
Emergency Response teams.
- Ensure
SC and partner staff capacity in quality project management is improved
and strengthened through training, coaching and mentoring.
3. People Management and Development
- Work
closely with the HR and Admin Director, ensure that all HR policies and
guidelines for national staff are in place, are understood by all staff
and are adhered to. Support all managers in recruitment, induction,
placement, promotion, training/development and separation/termination
- Work
with partner to strengthen HR policies and guidelines and support
recruitment for national positions.
- Develop
creative and effective methods of management in a remote context ensuring
that staff and partners receive the support they require, including
capacity building and training
- Enhance
SC staff and partner staff performance through mutually agreed performance
management plans, clarity of individual and collective roles and
responsibilities; ensure a robust process of performance monitoring,
learning & development initiatives and timely management actions.
- Represent
SC staff concerns that cannot be dealt with locally, in a timely manner to
the Director of Operations and Human Resources.
- Promote
an inspiring and motivating working environment through teamwork,
delegation and the team building initiatives.
- Promote
and ensure a culture that respects and promotes collaboration and
partnership, diversity, inclusion and staff recognition.
4. Financial, Budget and Grant Management
- Efficiently
and successfully manage project grant cycle by working with local partners
to put in place robust mechanisms to start, implement and close grants in
line with donor as well as Save the Children’s policies.
- Work
with local partners to ensure that programme budgets are managed through
rigorous budget and finance monitoring.
- Strengthen
partners’ general application and observance of financial procedures and
guidelines set out in SC financial manual and donors’ requirements.
- Ensure
that budgets are spent and charged to their respective budget heads and
grants by diligently reviewing the financial (at present SUN) reports at
least every month and bringing to the timely attention of the Director of
Operations and the Finance Director any major budget concerns and
suggestions/recommendations
- Ensure
that adequate support to and monitoring of the partner finance teams is
provided by the SC finance and grants team at Nairobi level & head
office
- Ensure
that all grants implemented by partners are managed as per Save the
Children’s and donors’ requirements including the quality and timely
submission of reports
5. Operations Management
- Ensure
that standardised systems, in line with the Country Programme policies,
procedures and guidelines in the areas of logistics, finance and HR are in
place, well understood and adhered to by all partners & SC staff.
- Ensure
that minimum logistics/financial/administrative standards and country
policies are implemented by all partners.
- Work
with partners to develop and project management tools and ensure they are
put in place and used by relevant managers (operational plan, procurement
plan, output trackers, etc…)
- Ensure
that all staff (partners & SC) have operational and capacity
development support within their operating environment
- Ensure
the strict adherence of the Southern Somalia team and partners to the
basic humanitarian principles at all times: neutrality, impartiality and
independence while delivering programmes for children
6. Representation and Advocacy
- Represent
Save the Children at Southern Somalia level, network with INGOs/NGOs and
other stakeholders and government.
- Continuously
and proactively engage in strategic analysis of evidence and document and
implement learning for quality improvement in programme strategies for
children.
- Identify,
establish and maintain close working relationship with key stakeholders in
furtherance of children’s rights
- Ensure
appropriate representation in all relevant meetings: clusters, working
groups,
7. Security and Context Monitoring
- In
close collaboration with the Security Manager, and partners proactively
monitor the political and security situation at both national and local
level and ensure that a clear and updated security management plan is in
place for all areas of operations in Southern Somalia.
- As far
as possible ensure that all staff and partners are involved in the
establishment of guidelines, protocols in developing security plans that
should be formally reviewed on a weekly basis.
- In
close collaboration with the Security Manager and partners manage any
significant security incident in Southern Somalia. If this involves a
“critical incident” the Security Manager and the Operations Director must
be informed immediately.
- Adapt
to security constraints and ensure that staff and partners are adequately
aware of security risks and management issues in order to deliver projects
for children.
Person Specification
- Degree
in the field of social sciences, management or related field or a minimum
of 5 years progressive senior management experience in humanitarian work
- Previous
experience of working in partnership with and managing local NGOs to
deliver quality programmes.
- At
least 10 years experience in the development and management of programmes
in conflict affected countries. Experience of Somalia desirable.
- Experience
in the leadership/direction, development, implementation, monitoring and
reporting of multi donor, multi-site field programmes, including direct
and remote management and supervisory experience.
- Proven
strategic planner and team leader with sound technical knowledge,
conceptual and analytical ability, good judgment, and adaptive, flexible
capacity.
- Proven
ability to develop and lead a high performing team both directly and
remotely.
- Excellent
people manager, mentor and coach
- Excellent
written communications skills in English including proposal/report-writing
- Strong
problem solving and organisational skills in day to day and crisis
situations
- Experience
of a flexible approach to managing and prioritising a high workload and
multiple tasks in a fast paced environment with tight deadlines
- Outstanding
interpersonal and inter-organizational skills
- A
commitment to working through systems of children/community participation.
- Commitment
to and understanding of Save the Children’s vision, mission, values and
principles.
Child Safeguarding Policy:
Any employee, consultant,
contractor or the supplier undertaking an activity on behalfof SC UK must sign
the Child Safeguarding - Declaration of Acceptance Form] and comply with the SC
UK’s Child Safeguarding Policy which is a statement of SC UK’s commitment to
preventing abuse and protecting children with whom it comes into contact.
This extends not only
to children with whom SC and its partners work directly, but also includes
children whom staff are responsible for. SC UK believes that the situation of
children must be improved through the promotion of their rights supported and
demonstrated by all members of staff. Save the Children's Code of Conduct sets
out the standards which all staff members must adhere to.
Applications should be
forwarded to: vacancies@scsom.org.
Application Closing Date: Will be Sunday 24th June 2012. However,
the closing date may be earlier than this date due to the urgency in filling
the position.