Country: Sint Maarten (The Netherlands)
Closing date: 17 Dec 2018
We help to strengthen resilience of vulnerable people exposed to hazards and crisis situations and we respond to disasters and conflicts to save lives and alleviate suffering. In the Netherlands with more than thirty thousand volunteers and internationally through technical assistance, supplies and money. Together we act before, during and after disasters to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people.
We do this without regards to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinion. Our seven principles guide our humanitarian work: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.
The International Assistance department is responsible for all Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) international support for victims of disasters and conflicts and for vulnerable people exposed to hazards.
The International Assistance department has opened a vacancy for a Project ManagerLivelihood on St. Maarten.
Duty station: St. Maarten
Time period: 1 year, with a possibility to extend
Starting Date: 1st February 2019
Status: Accompanied posting
Purpose of the position
The Project Manager Livelihood is responsible for assisting the vulnerable parts of the population of St. Maarten with enhancing their economic resilience. The overall aim of the recovery effort is to reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience of the people in St. Maarten to prepare for future disasters.
Background
The Red Cross branch on the island of St. Maarten is part of the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) and has an established role in the St. Maarten emergency support framework. In order to facilitate the roll-out of longer term and large-scale projects, the St. Maarten branch will also need to be strengthened and the number of volunteers expanded.
Following the devastating impacts of category 5 hurricane IRMA on the 6th of September 2017, NLRC started to organize relief efforts, focusing on food and water distribution, as well as other distribution of non-food items. A team of approx. 70 people (volunteers and paid staff) has coordinated Red Cross efforts in the areas of WASH, Restoring Family Links, health, shelter, food, mapping of the most vulnerable area’s and conducting assessments. Based on the assessment results discussions with the Government of St. Maarten are still ongoing.
According to the NLRC strategy the recovery program will focus on increasing the resilience of beneficiaries and focus on building back better to avoid or reduce future disaster impacts. This approach takes into account the adaptation to climate change and climate variability. Increased resilience focuses on the building blocks of increased capacity of people to anticipate, adapt, respond and transform.
Position in the organization
The Project Manager Livelihood will report hierarchically to the Head of Mission on St. Maarten and will work closely with the Portfolio Officer and Programme Manager in Headquarters, The Hague, on project design.
Summary statement and responsibilities
- Further develop the project, based on the strategy objectives, evaluate, develop and improve on every possible component of the project when required, refine the SOP as the program unfolds and continue to improve the operational plan if and when needed;
- Liaise with NLRC HQ staff on project progress and get approval on project agreements, contracts, regulations, communication, financial regulations and technical support;
- Responsible for overall project management, in close collaboration with/supporting team members in M&E, HR, Finance and Logistics;
- Ensure that objectives and work plan timetables are met;
- Provide regular operational reports on activities, progress and achievements in the designated areas of responsibility;
- Develop and continuously improve assessments for the identification, verification and registration of beneficiaries;
- Refine and monitor the present PoA for community engagement and establishment of approach to two-way communications and complaints and response mechanisms;
- Develop and follow up a Monitoring & Evaluation plan in close collaboration with the IM/ M&E Officer concerning beneficiary registration and project monitoring;
- Identify and engage with local key players (local NGOs/private/governmental organizations) and other RC/RC Movement partners relevant to the project;
- Responsible for ensuring the link between project and local branch in relevant areas;
- Promote humanitarian principles and key cross-cutting issues such as gender equality, environmental awareness and disaster risk reduction.
Requirements/Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in international development, or relevant field, required, Masters’ degree desirable;
- A minimum of 5 years' experience as a Project/ Program Manager in a humanitarian/ recovery context;
- Field experience in humanitarian or development sector is required;
- Strong communication skills in English is a must, spoken Spanish, French or Creole are desirable;
- Experience working for the Red Cross/Red Crescent is an advantage;
- Experience working in the Caribbean is a plus.
Key competencies
- Team player, with strong interpersonal skills;
- Self-motivated, pro-active and sound judgment;
- Ability to think out of the box, taking a broader and inclusive approach to the entire programme of the mission;
- Ability to prioritize in a demanding and ever-changing environment;
- Ability to work with deadlines and handle multiple tasks simultaneously, while maintaining attention to details;
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, English mandatory, Spanish and/ or French preferred;
- Computer literate (MS Office, spreadsheets, Outlook);
- (International) driving license.
We offer
- A full-time appointment (based on 40-hour work week) until the end of January 2020;
- An international working environment with a variety of ethnical backgrounds;
- Well balanced employment conditions with space for initiative and development.
How to apply:
Please send your resume in English and letter of motivation with reference to Rob Vugs by latest 16th December, 2018 using our online application system:
https://werkenbij.rodekruis.nl/nl/Vacancy/Postulate/118916
For more information about the position, you can contact jjansweijer@redcross.nl . Due to the short timeframe of the vacancy, selection process will be ongoing throughout this period, and a candidate may be selected before the end-date of the vacancy.
An initial assessment of candidates short-listed is part of the selection procedure.
For more information of the work of the Netherlands Red Cross please go to www.rodekruis.nl. and www.rodekruis.tv. NLRC on Facebook: Facebook.com/rodekruis and Twitter: Twitter.com/rodekruis
Acquisition for this vacancy will not be appreciated