EcRec Advisor (Consortia EcRec & Resilience Advisor)

Who are we?

The Danish Refugee Council assists refugees and internally displaced persons across the globe: we provide emergency aid, fight for their rights, and strengthen their opportunity for a brighter future. We work in conflict-affected areas, along the displacement routes, and in the countries where refugees settle. In cooperation with local communities, we strive for responsible and sustainable solutions. We work toward successful integration and – whenever possible – for the fulfillment of the wish to return home.

The Danish Refugee Council was founded in Denmark in 1956, and has since grown to become an international humanitarian organization with more than 7,000 staff and 8,000 volunteers. Our vision is a dignified life for all displaced.

All of our efforts are based on our value compass: humanity, respect, independence and neutrality, participation, and honesty and transparency.

DRC Syria

DRC has been actively operating in Syria since 2008 mainly supporting refugees. In June 2012, DRC was authorized by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to expand its humanitarian efforts and provide assistance to IDPs and the vulnerable resident population countrywide. Since then, DRC activities have been focused on NFI distributions, Shelter, WASH, Protection, Education, Livelihoods and Mine Risk Education in six Governorates (Damascus, Rural Damascus, Dara’a, Aleppo, Hama, and Homs). While Protection/community service activities are provided to beneficiaries throughout our Community Centers.

About the job:

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has been operating in Syria since 2008. DRC’s operational capacity expanded at the onset of the Syria crisis focusing on the most vulnerable and at-risk conflict-affected populations. DRC focuses on increasing safe access to lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance for conflict-affected populations as well as improved physical and psychosocial well-being through access to basic needs and protection services. This is achieved through the implementation of emergency response programs, such as the provision of core relief items, multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA), shelter assistance, WASH, protection, and livelihoods. DRC has adopted its programming towards addressing more sustainable and long-term solutions by implementing an integrated multi-sectorial response and a holistic package of relevant services related to protection, MPCA, Shelter &WASH, and humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding (HDP) with more focus on implementing early recovery programming, i.e., skills development activities followed by vocational training and/or microgrants and/or internship placements. In addition, DRC’s program is designed based on a complementary approach to build on the existing capacities and synergies within DRC’s thematic sectors, coordination with other actors in the area, and engaging with communities towards restoring essential services. Applying the complementarity approach is aimed at improving household self-reliance and fostering inclusive community resilience and social cohesion.

DRC is currently setting up a consortium together with the International Medical Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council and Oxfam with an overall objective to strengthen the resilience of individuals, households, and communities in Syria to shocks and stresses through five resilience pathways, namely a) Food Security and Climate b) Household Income and Financial Services c) Functioning Markets d) Basic Services e) Enabling Community Environment.

The Economic Recovery & Resilience Advisor is technical lead to Syria Community Consortium (SCC) resilience program in Syria and contributes toward developing the technical, strategic, and operational set-up of the resilience framework. The Resilience Advisor works closely with consortium management unit, steering committee, technical leads of the partner’s organization.

The Economic Recovery & Resilience Advisor is expected to support the Syria Resilience Consortium (50%) and provide technical support to DRC Economic Recovery team (50%).

Responsibilities:

Technical Oversight

1.1 Danish Refugee Council

• Develop program strategy and priorities based on thorough understanding of needs and context.
• Lead development, harmonization, and roll out of SOPs, tools, and guidelines.
• Provide regular technical support and guidance to Area Managers /Team Leaders and other relevant staff in both a structured manner and on a case-by-case basis.
• Assure compliance with DRC standards and procedures and alignment with DRC strategic plan at country and global levels, through regular coordination with colleagues at Area Office and Country Office level.
• Coordinate with sector colleagues at RO and HQ levels as appropriate for relevant technical support.
• Update the Result Plan Economic Recovery indicators on a regular basis.
• Complete regular field visits to ensure technical oversight, capacity building and support, identify needs, and ensure quality programming.
• Set SOPs to ensure that programming is integrated with other DRC sectors by working with other sector coordinators and relevant staff in the field.

1.2 Consortium

• Provide overall technical support to SCC’s resilience programmes in accordance with approved technical framework and proposals and ensuring alignment with SCC’s resilience strategy. This includes engaging through technical inputs in program planning, monitoring, budgeting, reporting, technical support, and team development.
• Advise and support SCC’s member organizations to meet resilience guidance and support technical teams to meet targets set out by the Resilience program Theory of Change by providing programme support to in-country teams, partners, and consortium’s members.
• Provides strategic and technical support as required to engage with relevant humanitarian/development actors, donors, government, and other actors as relevant.
• Provide technical inputs to support fundraising for delivery of priority resilience work and ensure feedback on best practices and challenges is captured and actioned.
• Develop, roll-out, and update operational toolkits, program guidelines, and training materials together with SCC partner’ staff.
• Support in creating systems to build collaborative working environments by sequencing, integration, and layering of multi-sectoral program activities encompassing resilience agenda to ensure that various program team members (e.g. WASH, Food Security, Education, etc.) working toward achieving the overall resilience objectives and do not conduct their activities in siloes.
• Support in the capacity building initiatives of teams to deepen understanding of their roles and assist with building solid understanding of resilience development.
• Assist consortium members with resources, information, and tools to improve program performance & reach objectives with set quality standards.
• Foster a culture of innovation, adaptive management, encouraging innovative approaches and systems.

Technical Line Management

2.1 Danish Refugee Council

• Development of harmonized job descriptions in all area offices
• Participate in the recruitment of technical staff in the same field.
• Identify technical gaps and support capacity building for technical line reports.
• Contribute to setting performance objectives and performance appraisals of technical staff in the same field.
• When necessary, and with approval of his/her line manager, provide stop-gap support in absence of AMs/TLs, in close coordination with senior colleagues.

Economic Recovery & Resilience Strategy, Programme Development, Coordination, and Oversight

3.1 Danish Refugee Council

• Lead design of Economic Recovery proposals in coordination with Area Manager, HoP, and PDQM.
• Provide oversight and coordination of sectoral projects, in coordination with Area Managers, TLs, and other relevant field staff.
• Lead on developing assessments, including inter-sectoral assessments to inform evidence-based planning and implementation.
• Lead on the development of relevant and appropriate beneficiary selection criteria and beneficiary identification process and oversee compliance to agreed standards and guidelines.

3.2 Consortium

• Lead the development/refinement of SCC’s resilience strategy and resilience programming technical framework for Syria in collaboration with technical leads of the partner’s organization.
• Support in SCC’s internal strategy development, institutionalisation, and operationalisation of the resilience approach.
• Lead the roll-out of SCC’s resilience framework by providing technical support to partner organizations.
• Support in development of concept notes, proposals, research studies, and policy papers to strategically position and further develop consortium resilience programming in Syria by working with partners and like-minded actors.
• Support the development of resilience program ‘’theory of change’’ with well comprehension of needs, priorities of areas, target population, and stakeholders, and alignment to contextual dynamics is well-addressed.
• Work with consortium’s steering committee, Head of Programmes and Country Directors, as applicable, across the consortium to identify opportunities for raising funds for resilience programming that aligns with the SCC’s priorities and technically lead on funding opportunities with consortium’s management to ensure the submission of high quality and technically sound proposals.
• Ensure resilience programming principles are well-embedded in program activities’ design and implementation approaches are conforming to those principles.

Quality Assurance

4.1 Danish Refugee Council

• Oversight of overall program implementation progress and quality; identification, resolution and/or escalation of issues.
• Work with MEAL to develop harmonized tools and databases to monitor and track efficiency and quality of programming and improve information management within the sector focal points.
• Work closely with MEAL in design, implementation, and evaluation of sector-level programming
• Coordinate with MEAL to ensure accountability mechanisms are established across Economic Recovery programmes.

4.2 Consortium

• Work closely with MEAL and partner’s technical teams to develop monitoring system to capture, utilize, and track resilience outcomes and document lessons learned.
• Support MEAL team in developing technical tools to use for monitoring and evaluation of the resilience program.
• Work with consortium unit and consortium members technical leads to initiate and lead the delivery of research and learning priorities in resilience including measuring outcomes and resilience at all sectoral level.
• Identify opportunities that can support in producing evidence-based products, demonstrate results and deliver convincing messages on what works best for resilience development within Syria.
• Support in setting up support systems and structures that actively promote learning and exchange on resilience approaches for consortium members and partner organizations.
• Contribute to the development of quality learning products, program briefs and learning papers demonstrating and sharing evidence and indicators of success for building resilience, both at individual sector level and as an integrated approach across multiple sectors.

External Representation and Coordination

5.1 Danish Refugee Council

• Lead participation at Clusters and sectors, including direct participation at the national level and coordination of representation at the sub-national level. Also participate in working groups/strategic advisory groups, to represent DRC and its mandate.
• Act as the main sector-level point of contact with donors; support donor visits to the field.
• Provide technical input and support strategic direction of the sector-level response within the humanitarian community.
• Report issues and challenges to the donor in a timely manner, in coordination with the HOP.
• Consult with regional and relevant donors on technical aspects of programme development and implementation as relevant.

5.2 Consortium

• Facilitate in the process of development of strategic alliance and expanding networking across like-minded actors to promote the resilience agenda.
• Represent SCC in external forums and coordination platforms, including but not limited to humanitarian coordination system, NGOs/INGOs, UN resilience programming, in coordination with Resilience Manager and country leadership.
• Represent SCC externally at country, and regional levels and ensure external stakeholders are aware of SCC resilience approach and program.
• Ensure that there is regular internal communication of progress and challenges of resilience across the consortium through webinars and resilience collaboration networks.
• Support and provide technical facilitation in the implementation of planned resilience related advocacy activities together with country and regional staff.

Other

6.1 Danish Refugee Council

• Raise any issues of non-compliance and assure compliance with DRC standards and procedures.
• Coordinate with Comms/Advocacy for success story content, communication tools, etc.
• Provide regular updates to HoP.
• Any other duties as agreed with HoP.
• Map donor priorities within given sector and identify new fund opportunities in close coordination with the HoP.
• Provide technical review of all proposals and reports and other relevant sector-specific donor communications.
• Lead on program review meetings where he/she is the focal point and contribute to other program review meetings as necessary.
• Oversight the overall sector budget, including budget development, in coordination with PMs / TLs and Area Managers, monitoring for timely sector-level spend, and initiate corrective action, including internal and donor budget realignments.

Experience:

• Minimum five years of relevant technical experience working in economic recovery, cash, livelihoods, and resilience programs in fragilize, and conflict affect contexts.
• A thorough understanding of systems-based approaches, resilience thinking, adaptive management, research, and innovation. A good understanding of food security, livelihoods, market systems development, and climate resilient programs is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to design and facilitate processes to use research and monitoring systems to improve program learning and adaptive management.
• Strong coordination, networking, and facilitation skills.
• Proven verbal and written communication, interpersonal, representation, negotiation, promotion, and diplomacy skills; ability to analyse and communicate complex subjects/topics effectively to multi-stakeholder groups.
• Good understanding and ability to knowledge management, transfer skills to audiences through training, mentoring, and other formal and non-formal approaches.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to quickly develop good insight and understanding of the conflict and the economic environment of the program.
• Sound understanding of humanitarian architecture.
• Cultural sensitivity and adaptability.
• Experience in international humanitarian work, advocacy and policy development, and cluster coordination mechanisms.
• Experience with managing teams and providing technical guidance and training.
• Able to manage high workload and deadlines in an efficient and timely manner.
• Able to manage stress and be flexible.

Education

Master’s degree in development studies, Economic Development, Social Science, Governance, or another relevant field required.

Languages:

• English (fluent)
• Arabic (Fluent) – Advantageous

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:

• Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.
• Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.
• Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.
• Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.
• Demonstrating integrity: You act in line with our vision and values.

We offer:

Contract length: One Year

Level: Non-Management – F

Location: Damascus

Expected Start date: 01st of April-2024