NGO Forum Secretariat Director

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Position Title: South Sudan NGO Forum Secretariat Director

Position Type: Expatriate Staff

Location: Juba, South Sudan with frequent field visits

Work Station: Secretariat Office, Juba, South Sudan

Reporting to: Joint Steering Committee chairs

South Sudan NGO Forum:

The South Sudan NGO Forum (SSNGOF) is an independent networking and membership body of National and International NGOs operating in South Sudan. The SSNGOF is not registered with the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission as a legal entity and the hosting agency of the SSNGOF is tendered every 4 years. Tearfund is the current Host Agency of the SSNGOF. The Host Agency issues and holds contract for all national and international staff on behalf of the South Sudan NGO Forum. The SSNGOF Secretariat shares the same building with Tearfund in Juba. The Secretariat Director of the SSNGOF is on Tearfund contract but he/she reports to the two Chairs of the Steering Committees.

The SSNGOF is governed by the Statutes of Operation; and its relationship with the Host Agency is governed by the Memorandum of Understanding that is signed between the SSNGOF and the Host Agency. There are two Steering Committees (SC) of the SSNGOF; one for national organisations and one for international organisations. Each committee has 10 members, with the INGO SC having 9 elected members plus the Country Director of the Host Agency (Tearfund). The function of the Host Agency is to work with the SSNGOF Secretariat to implement the SSNGOF activities and support the SSNGOF in implementing the decisions of the Joint Steering Committee and the Annual General meetings.

JOB OVERVIEW

The South Sudan NGO Secretariat coordinates the efforts of the SSNGOF Joint Steering Committee as voted representatives of the South Sudan NGO Forum, which currently includes over 100 international and over 245 national member organizations. The South Sudan NGO Secretariat exists for the purpose of supporting and facilitating the operation of NGO’s in South Sudan in their work to respond to humanitarian need, through: coordination, information sharing, advocacy, policy/position paper production,

Government/donor/UN engagement and engagement on other vital issues regarding humanitarian relief, recovery and development.

The NGO Secretariat Director is a senior management position, reporting to the Joint Steering Committee, elected from the NGO community who are members. The coordination entails ensuring effective information exchange, representing and advocating on common positions and agreed interests of the NGO Forum members and wider NGO community. The NGO Secretariat Director is also responsible for building and sustaining productive relationships between NGOs, Government, UN, Donors and diplomatic missions in country. The NGO Secretariat Director is also responsible for the general management of the NGO Forum Secretariat and its staff and effective and regular communication on Secretariat performance to the NGO Steering Committees. This position will line manage the senior members of the Secretariat staff.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

The South Sudan NGO Secretariat Director supports the work of the NGO Forum through the following key tasks:

Networking and Capacity Development

Support the Joint Steering Committee to develop strategic annual priorities and engage closely with them to ensure Secretariat functions is in line with this.
Act as focal point for information/experience sharing with and among NGOs on relevant issues and work with key Secretariat staff to manage membership process, mailing lists and communication products.
Maintain a thorough understanding and develop messaging on operational constraints and policy related issues affecting NGOs in country as well as broader political developments.
Provide a conduit for the UN, Government of South Sudan, donor representatives and other stakeholders to communicate and coordinate with NGOs.
Participate in important government, UN and other policy and planning processes such as the UNDAF Technical Working Groups, UN Work Plan, Humanitarian Contingency Planning, Consolidated Appeals Process workshops and Government of South Sudan Sector Working Groups, representing the interests of NGO’s.
Conduct policy and information analysis with senior team members, to enable drafting common NGO position/policy papers on key issues.
Along with the NGO Steering Committees Chair and membership, represent the NGO community at high-level fora including UN forums, multi-donor meetings and other representative bodies as required.
Ensure that National NGO’s have an equal voice and are engaged in the planning process with donors, government and international agencies. Enabling National NGO’s to take their rightful place in the Humanitarian Sector in South Sudan.
Facilitate collaboration between the INGO and NNGO Steering Committees.
Provide an accessible first point of contact for general inquiries regarding the work of NGOs in South Sudan

Coordination and Communication

Schedule South Sudan NGO Forum different meetings and NGO Forum Steering Committees meetings, draft agendas in consultation with the chairs of the Steering Committees, invite external speakers and follow up on relevant action points.
Ensure Steering Committees and Secretariat representation in important the Working Groups in the Humanitarian sector to enable NGO’s to have a strong voice in decision making.
Along with the NGO Steering Committee Chair and members, represent the NGO Forum at key meetings with donors, UN and Government of South Sudan and ensure the dissemination of written feedback.
Encourage active and open dialogue between the South Sudan NGO Secretariat, NGO Steering Committees and South Sudan NGO Forum membership.
Ensure that research findings, documentation and sharing of lessons learned/best practices on strategic or operational issues are shared with members, National and International.
Identify gaps in research and analysis that, if addressed, would be useful by large numbers of the membership and hire and manage consultants as needed to assist with and complement the task of filling the gaps.
Together with other Secretariat staff, liaise with the Health Forum, Sector Working Groups and Clusters, and other Sectors and Clusters ensuring key messages are shared and activities and advocacy messages are coordinated and consistent.
Maintain database information of SSNGOF Membership and NGO Sector.
Act as focal point for information/experience sharing with and among NGOs on relevant issues.
Work with key Secretariat staff to manage membership processes, mailing lists and communication products.

Secretariat Management

Strategic day-to-day management of NGO Secretariat staff, office and budget, reporting on each of these to the Chairs of the Steering Committees.Provide leadership and direction, promote professional working relationships, and encourage staff.
Lead regular internal coordination meetings and ensure staff support.
Manage all the Secretariat staff.
Ensures all Secretariat staff members have dedicated job descriptions, which are approved by the Joint Steering Committee.
Conduct regular performance appraisals identifying capacity building needs and develop further career plan/objectives; follow-up, and maintain updated job descriptions.
Identify and resolve staff conflicts and concerns in a timely manner.
Recruit Secretariat staff and consultants in compliance with Host Agency and South Sudan NGO Forum recruitment procedures and policies, including development of job descriptions, shortlisting and interviewing, contract extensions, and terminations using the Host Agency Policies and procedures and NGO Forum internal policies and procedures.
Maintain full employee records, including, annual and sick leave for all staff.
Lead regular internal coordination meetings and ensure staff support.
Provide services to the NGO Forum membership as described in the Statutes of Operation, Governance Framework, Donor proposals and the South Sudan NGO Forum strategy and policy guidance document.
Develop all proposals, secure funds and manage the fundraising strategy for the South Sudan NGO Forum.
Designing and writing all donor proposals, and donor reports, both financial and narrative with support from the host agency.

Safety and Security

Ensure the Forum can act as a focal point for important security information that is relevant to the operation of NGO’s working in locations all around South Sudan.
Evaluate and disseminate information related to Safety and Security of NGO’s operating in the country.
Coordinate between NGO’s and other agencies in emergency situation, facilitating communication and response planning between all parties.

External Engagement

Maintain productive relationships with key government ministries/institutions, civil society, foreign and local NGO community, UN Missions, Diplomatic Corps, other donors for the purpose of advocating for NGO’s operating in South Sudan.
Liaise with NGO coordination platforms in neighbouring countries in the region.
Ensure open and collaborative relationship management with the principal donors.
Coordinate engagement with key stakeholders on local, national, regional, and international levels in order to promote role of NGO members in humanitarian and development processes.

Host Agency Relations

Work to ensure a smooth working relationship between secretariat and the Host Agency, updating the Steering Committees Chairpersons on issues affecting the Host Agency and its team.
Operationalize the MOU with the Host Agency and ensure the secretariat collaborates closely for smooth operation in relation to Host Agency policies and SOP’s.
Lead on fundraising for the South Sudan NGO Forum and Secretariat, developing funding strategies, engaging donors, and developing proposals.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

JOB TITLE: South Sudan NGO Forum Secretariat Director

QUALIFICATIONS:

Postgraduate qualifications in international relations, political science, development or other relevant fields is essentail.

EXPERIENCE

Minimum seven years of progressive international experience working with UN, NGOs and/or Donor agencies preferably with experience in post-conflict contexts
Previous work experience in South Sudan preferred.
Experience of fragile and conflict affected states is required preferably in the Region
Significant experience in the development of advocacy, policy and key messaging documents.
Strong understanding of the UN system, integrated missions, the Humanitarian Reform and principles of the Transformative Agenda.
Previous experience of working with INGO in Similar role,

SKILLS/ABILITIES

Demonstrated leadership and management skills.
Documented skills in developing proposals, budgets and reports.
Significant understanding of complex emergencies and crisis contexts.
Proven communication, public speaking, interpersonal and negotiation skills.
Fluency in written and spoken English is required.
Ability to work and create efficiently and effectively working and professional relationship with all stakeholders including government institutions
Report writing skills,
Interpersonal relations

PERSONAL QUALITIES

Committed to Mission, Values and Beliefs of the Forum
Understanding the local context, culture and practices

NOTE:
All roles require a DBS/Police check
Tearfund is a member of the SCHR Misconduct Disclosure Scheme
Personal identification information will be submitted against a Watchlist database to check against criminal convictions as a counter-terror measure

How to Apply:

If you are the candidate we are looking for, please submit your CV and cover letter only in English as well as Tearfund application form- which is attached with the Job Advert, Located in ECSS Compound, Hai Jerusalem detailing your experience for the post and include your daytime telephone contact. Applications online can be submitted to southsudan-recruitment@tearfund.org the subject matter of your email should be the title of the job you are applying for.

Closing date for receiving applications is 15th February 2024 at 5:00pm CAT.

NB:

Due to the urgency of the position, applications submitted will be shortlisted on a rolling basis, should there be suitable candidates, and the position may be filled before the deadline for applications. Only short-listed candidates will be notified.