Introduction

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 fulfilment 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. Based in Copenhagen (Denmark) and present in forty countries, the Danish Refugee Council is a non-profit-making, politically independent, non-governmental and non-denominational relief organization.

Our vision is a dignified life for all displaced. All our efforts are based on our value compass: humanity, respect, independence and neutrality, participation, and honesty and transparency.

1. Background

DRC has been operating in West and North Africa since 1998 and in Latin America since 2011. The DRC West-North Africa & Latin America (WANALA) Regional Office is based in Dakar, Senegal, and covers several countries. Led by the Regional Executive Director, the DRC WANALAC oversees, supports, and provides strategic directions for DRC’s Country Offices within the above-mentioned regions. The region includes Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Libya, Mali, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Tunisia, Venezuela.

The Regional Program Team has a range of technical capacities, including 2 protection regional coordinators, one who covers West Africa and one who covers Latin America and North African countries.

The position advertised is for the protection coordinatorr, leading DRC’s protection expertise in the North Africa and Latin America -NALA).

2. Purpose

Within the WANALA region (West and North Africa and Latin America) and under the direct supervision of the Regional Head of Programmes, the Regional Protection Coordinator (RPC) for Latin America and North Africa (LANA) is responsible for supporting DRC’s Country Operations in quality protection programming at country level and at regional level (Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Multi Country operations in Latin America, and Algeria, Tunisia and Libya for North Africa – ALT). This includes providing technical support, advice, and quality checks on protection aspects of country and regional strategies as well as on programming initiatives and concrete projects, and to support DRC’s Protection Cluster Co-leads (Venezuela, Colombia) in the coordination and quality of the Protection analysis and response. The LANA RPC will also contribute to raising DRC’s profile and engagement when it comes to relevant policy and advocacy initiatives.

DRC responds in LANA to mixed migration flows, forced displacements triggered by violence and conflict. The RPC is part of a regional technical team which includes Economic Recovery, Humanitarian Disarmament & Peacebuilding (HDP), Business development, MEAL and emergency coordinators with whom s/he works in close coordination to support quality programmes.

Sector responsibilities:

Protection as a core sector for DRC includes seven programmatic components: Child Protection, Mental Health and Psycho-Social Support (MHPSS), Gender-Based Violence, Legal Aid, Protection Information Management, Community-Based Protection and Support to Protection Cluster Coordination.

As the technical supervisor for country protection staff, the RPC will be responsible for developing and implementing DRC’s Protection Strategy in the LANA region as well as supporting the technical capacity, expertise and quality assurance in countries.

The RPC assumes the functions of the regional programme role as defined in the programme workstream.

The RPC for LANA coordinates regularly with the regional protection manager for West Africa, to jointly ensure the sectoral expertise and capacity for the WANALA region.

Geographic scope: North Africa and Latin America

This role provides technical support and guidance to ensure compliance with DRC policies and procedures and alignment with DRC’s technical guidelines.

The role contributes to the improvement of operations and strategies, which are translated into action plans and day-to-day tasks.

The RPC provides a technical support to 8 country or multi country operations coordinators:

• In North Africa, one protection coordinator covers one legal entity of 3 countries (ALT). S/he is supported by protection specialists.
• In Latin America, there are 3 protection coordinators (Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico), 2 cluster/ working group co-coordinators and 2 protection managers and specialists in the multi country operations

Main responsibilities

• Provide technical guidance and support to the regional office and to country programs to ensure the highest level of quality in protection analysis, strategies and responses, in adherence with global standards and principles, and ensuring the harmonisation of protection approaches across the different countries in the region;
• Lead the development of strategic protection documents, guidelines, advocacy papers, SOPs, capacity-building tools at the regional level, and support countries in the development of protection analyses and strategies;
• Liaise with strategic partner organization, UNHCR / OCHA and other protection actors.
• Formalize and develop programme related operational tools (SOP) and training modules.

Programme Management

• Ensure that Protection programmes in CO respect the sector’s standard policies, objectives and indicators
• Conduct regular field visits to identify and address programme quality concerns and gain a solid first-hand understanding of protection risks and trends at the level of the different countries.
• Follow up on relevance, outcomes and impact of DRC protection related activities to provide lessons learnt and to identify best practices.

Program development and strategy

• Reinforce viable and relevant Protection Information Management system(s) for gathering, processing, analyzing and sharing protection-relevant data, if necessary also involving research-related components;
• Oversee knowledge sharing across teams and ensure that monitoring and evaluation results are understood and used to improve programs.
• Support protection analysis at the regional and country level
• Contribute to the elaboration of regional strategic documents, and revise the CO strategies and protection strategies

Accountability and reporting

• Ensure quality and compliance for projects, proposals and reports.
• Ensure that quality assurance systems are applied in NALA region, with particular reference to upholding Core Humanitarian Standards and Age Gender and Diversity throughout the protection programme

Coordination:

• Ensure the coordination with relevant protection actors in the areas of intervention in LA.
• Representation of DRC and active participation in protection sectors/working groups in LA.
• Contribute to DRC advocacy and policy influencing in the region, externally as well as internally, and representing the organization in relevant fora;

As technical supervisor the post-holder is responsible for the following:

• Accountable for achieving DRC’s strategic goals and objectives within the area of responsibility.
• Accountable for making significant decisions on what the unit does: its purpose, functions, and role, and for making commitments and decisions that require the expenditure of significant unit resources.
• Accountable for people management of direct reports. This includes hiring & firing, objective setting, probation, performance appraisal, development of staff, managing performance, including poor performance, etc.
• Accountable for making sound decisions based on DRC policies, standards, and the advice of technical experts in DRC.

3. Required Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of practical experience in at least three of the components of DRC’s protection sector, including advocacy;
• Experience working in Protection at regional or global level, in Latin America or North Africa an added advantage;
• Strong understanding of protection principles and likely protection risks for the context as well as conflict sensitivity;
• Strong experience of engagement with CSO, national partners, local/government authorities, and INGOs;
• Experience in protection analysis and protection strategy development;
• Documented skills in project planning and design, drafting, calculation and technical writing;
• Excellent skill in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint;
• Experience in Project Cycle Management.

Desirable:

• Previous experience in a conflict or forced displacement context

4. Required Skills & Qualities

• Full professional proficiency in Spanish and English
• Professional proficiency in Arabic is an added advantage
• 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: Upholding and promoting the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to DRC’s values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment

• Ability to work in a multinational and multicultural environment
• Proven analytical and critical thinking skills
• Team-oriented & good sense of humor

5. General Regulations

The employee shall follow :

• DRC regulations on safety, health, COVID-19 norms and hygiene
• The Code of Conduct and all ethical guidelines, including the Code of Conduct and the Humanitarian Accountability Framework
• Rules for the use of the DRC guesthouse, which is a working accommodation

In addition :

• Employee should not engage in any other paid activity during the DRC contract period without prior authorization
• Employee should not engage in any activity that could harm DRC or the implementation of any project during the DRC contract period
• Employee should not give interviews to the media or publish project-related photos or other material without prior authorization
• Employee shall return all borrowed equipment for the project to DRC after the end of the contract period or upon request

6. Application Process

Are you interested? Then apply for this position online: www.drc.dk/about-drc/vacancies/current-vacancies. All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in English.

DRC encourages all applicants to apply and does not practice any discrimination in any recruitment process. DRC provides equal opportunity in employment and prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

DRC encourages applicants from countries where it operates to apply.

Closing date for applications: April 23th, 2024. Applications submitted after this date will not be considered.

Due to the urgency of the position, DRC has the right to recruit a candidate who matches the required profile before the above deadline.