Country Manager in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Do you want to lead the humanitarian and recovery work of the Danish Red Cross in one of our oldest and most important interventions in the Middle East? Are you a positive, solution-oriented team player who understands the value of working with and through partnerships? The Danish Red Cross is looking for an ambitious and experienced humanitarian professional to lead our operations in the Palestinian Territories.

In Palestine, a protracted protection crisis continues, directly linked to the ongoing occupation, with consequences for both civilians and civilian infrastructure, while guaranteeing Palestinian rights. Tensions between Palestinian and Israeli groups and individuals persist and the complex humanitarian situation of Palestinian communities has deteriorated significantly over the past two years due to the deterioration of the global economy, rising socio -economic, especially for young people, from an unstable political situation in the fragmented Palestinian territories, the regular violent clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and more recently the impact of the Covid health pandemic and the adverse effects of the Ukrainian war. Responding to protracted crises and areas of fragility is a key priority of the Danish Red Cross Strategy 2022-25, while mobilizing community resources and coping mechanisms to cope with the combined impact of crises and political, humanitarian and protection disasters, as well as because their ability to access essential services is at the heart of the priorities of the DRC’s country strategy for Palestine.

As National Director of the Danish Red Cross, you will be overall responsible for overseeing and developing our portfolio and our partnership with the Palestine Red Crescent Society in line with the existing national strategy. To this end, you will also work in close coordination with the Movement and external partners to identify effective and broader modalities of support to achieve the best impact. With the support of the DRC MENA Regional Office, Global Delegates and Advisors at DRC HQ, you are expected to help mobilize strong resources for the DRC and PRCS partnership in the future. Your team will initially consist of another international delegate and a resident project officer.

The partnership between the Palestine Red Crescent Society and the Danish Red Cross dates back to 2002 and includes significant shared development and collaboration on psychosocial programming and non-formal education initiatives (with a focus on child protection in war time). In addition, the partnership includes support for emergency medical services as well as disaster risk reduction and preparedness activities. Beyond this, the partnership focuses on building community resilience, with a particular focus on women and youth. More recently, the Danish Red Cross has supported cash feasibility studies as well as early disaster risk reduction. The Danish Red Cross also remains an essential partner for emergency interventions.

As part of its engagement in Palestine, the Danish Red Cross takes a three-linked approach to ensure that people affected by conflict, disasters and complex crises live safe and dignified lives in inclusive communities. The current portfolio targets vulnerable Palestinian communities, youth, local actors and institutions. The Danish Red Cross also supports Palestinian Red Crescent Society branches in Syria (PRCS-S) and Lebanon (PRCS-L), where areas of support include health care, psychosocial support and activities. youth/livelihoods. Funding for the Danish Red Cross comes from donors and partners such as DANIDA, ECHO and private donors. The total budget is around DKK 18 million.

An essential part of our support is in capacity development, and we consider beneficiary accountability, transparent partnerships, integrated systems and organized volunteer structures as the main conditions for building sustainable operational capacity and being a strong actor. of civil society in the country. To this end, the Danish Red Cross provides dedicated support to the technical capacities of the local partner; promotes momentum and alignment with broader Red Cross Red Crescent initiatives and pays close attention to strengthening beneficiary accountability, localization as well as National Society development and humanitarian diplomacy .

Responsibilities

The Country Director is responsible for ensuring that our country program and partnership in Palestine is implemented within the framework of the Danish Red Cross international strategy and the Palestine national strategy, in accordance with the operational procedures standard (SOP) and donor intentions and formal regulations. .

The Country Director reports to the Head of Region (HoR) for the Middle East and North Africa and works closely with the regional team in Beirut, global delegates and headquarters staff in Copenhagen. He/she will be responsible for the following key areas:

• Set the strategic direction for Danish Red Cross engagement in Palestine, while ensuring positive resource mobilization efforts.
• Oversee the overall budget, as well as the overall development and management of the portfolio in close coordination with the DRC program delegate, including the resolution of issues relevant to the DRC program in Palestine.
• Ensure implementation of organizational priorities and capacity development in close coordination with PRCS and other Movement partners. (National Society Development)
• Lead and manage the DRC Country Team, based in Ramallah, consisting of a Program Delegate, a Program Manager and a Finance Delegate supporting remotely, while ensuring strict oversight of DRC Global NSD as well as the psychosocial delegate(s) with regard to his/her support to the PRCS.
• Represent the Danish Red Cross and maintain a strong partnership with PRCS; ICRC, IFRC and PNS in country while ensuring conducive dialogue with stakeholders such as ECHO, EU Delegation, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), INGOs and private sector.
• Lead the communication and visibility efforts of the DRC for the implementation of the country strategy and its broader contribution to the international strategy of the DRC.
• Develop a fundraising strategy in line with the key priorities identified and increased visibility of the efforts of the DRC and the CRCR Movement in Palestine

This position requires strong leadership, strategic management, strong communication and representation skills, as well as a proven positive track record in resource mobilization and a good sectoral understanding of the intervention areas DRC works with in-country . The ideal candidate has a strong track record of constructively supporting the development of the local partner’s National Society through positive dialogue and exploring the priorities of the partner and the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement . The position prioritizes strategic development and the formulation of new partnership opportunities, as well as overall strong country program oversight, monitoring and evaluation.

Live

You have a minimum of 10 years of solid experience in the management of development and/or humanitarian projects, with at least 5 years of relevant field experience in the implementation of emergency and recovery programs, and a proven ability to live and work under stressful conditions. You have demonstrated excellent diplomatic and team management skills. Experience with various donors such as ECHO, EU and national foreign ministries, particularly their grant application, proposal writing and reporting procedures is also essential.

You have relevant training and we expect you to have good analytical skills, good cultural understanding and the ability to work in a stimulating multicultural environment. Project cycle, financial management skills and experience are essential, as well as excellent ability to speak and write in English.

Above all, it is necessary to be a strategic leader and to have a political sense, a conviction in oneself and in the Danish Red Cross, an excellent power of persuasion and negotiation to gain the confidence of the partners. Proven successful experience in implementing and building capacity building of local partners, ideally National Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies and local branches, and in the Middle East are strong assets for this position. job.

Conditions of employment

The start date is no later than August 1, 2022 and the duration of the contract is 24 months with the possibility of extension. The salary, including all allowances and pension payment, will be between 46,200 and 49,600 DKK per month, depending on qualifications and experience. An individual apartment is provided free of charge.

More information

If you have any questions about the position, please write to MENA Region Manager Charlotte Kjoerup at [email protected] Or read more about the job in the job description.

The deadline for applications is June 20, 2 p.m. Interviews and tests should take place immediately afterwards.