Background/Context

Since 2015, NRC Nigeria has been working to help displacement affected communities meet their basic needs, improve their livelihoods, access essential services, and enhance their resilience to future shocks through our six core competencies: water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Shelter, Education, Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA), Livelihoods and Food Security (LFS), Camp Management, and Protection. NRC provides immediate assistance during the onset of emergencies through the rapid response mechanism (RRM). In 2021, NRC reached over 269,000 people with assistance.

The crisis in Nigeria is marked by brutal violence against civilians causing acute humanitarian needs and displacement. In the north-east, the 13-year conflict has shattered lives, infrastructure, basic services, and social fabric.

Two million people are internally displaced across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. Approximately half of these are living within local communities, putting increasing pressure on scarce resources. Access to food is limited, particularly in Borno state where most families are already facing crisis levels of food insecurity. Civilians, including aid workers, continue to be the target of deadly attacks by non-state armed groups and transport corridors are persistently insecure.

In the north-west and north-central regions, violence and displacement are rooted in disputes over land and resources, which has been worsened by climate change. Criminality is on the rise.

Livelihood opportunities are scarce, and children face an uncertain future, unable to access quality education. Many families have either lost identity papers while fleeing or never obtained them, hindering their ability to access essential services

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and beliefs shall guide our actions and relationships.

What we are looking for 

The Shelter Specialist will provide technical oversight and strategic direction to Country and Area offices to further the development of the Shelter Core Competency (CC). The Specialist will provide quality assurance for all projects, develop a collaborative country strategy, capacity-build staff through mentoring and training to increase the technical capacity of the staff, and develop a donor strategy to grow the program further.

What you will do 

•  Responsible for technical innovative development and quality of CC in the country, holistic programming (with other CCs) and ensuring harmonisation and consistency across CC projects in line with NRC Programme Policy
• Lead the process on proposals, budgets, modifications, project reviews and reporting and ensure high technical quality
• Take the lead on quality project deliverables to ensure high technical outputs in line with NRC Response Policy, Safe and Inclusive Programming, Environmental Minimum Standards, and Cash and Markets guidelines.
• Provide strategic leadership on the development and implementation of programming that recognizes the challenges faced by conflict-affected populations
• Support programmatic MEL and indicator tracking in conjunction with project teams and M&E department
• Ensure workplans and spending plans in line with donor budgets are developed and maintained by supporting Project Coordinators, Managers and Area Managers
• Develop and lead on conducting needs assessments (approved by the HoP, and in collaboration with Area Program teams, Protection team and M&E team), baseline, mid-and end-evaluations  Represent NRC with relevant donors, government ministries, and in relevant humanitarian coordination meetings in country
• Actively promote and operationalize synergies between Shelter and other NRC CCs and Thematic Areas to move toward integrated programming
• Provide support and input to the recruitment processes for all Shelter staff
• Accountable for organisational learning from programme implementation, sharing of best practices and capacity building

Please download the detailed Job Description _Shelter Specialist Nigeria Maiduguri to learn more about the position.

What you will bring 

1. Professional competencies

• Minimum 4 years of Shelter experience within a humanitarian/recovery context
• Educational background in Engineering or Architecture Experience working in complex and volatile contexts
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal

Context/specific skills, knowledge and experience:

• Knowledge of the Lake Chad Basin region and north-eastern Nigeria context specifically
• Experience with start-up or expansion of new programmes
• Experience in team capacity building
• Advanced computer skills, especially in Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook 
• Experience with youth/adolescent programming, particularly vocational training is desired.
• Experience with alternative Shelter in a humanitarian context an asset
• Understanding of SPHERE and INEE Minimum Standards is required.

2. Behavioural competencies 

• Handling insecure environments
• Strategic thinking
• Empowering and building trust
• Influencing
• Initiate action and change
• Analysing

Publication Closing -12th February 2024

What we offer 

• Duty station: Nigeria, Maiduguri
• Contract: national contract, 12 months (extension possible)
• Travel: up to 40%
• Salary/benefits: grade 9 on NRC’s National salary scale
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity and highly encourage potential female applicants to apply!
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC https://www.nrc.no/career/what-we-offer/

Important information about the application process

When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.

We receive many applicants for each vacant position; therefore, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Kindly send any questions in relation to the application process to: [email protected]. Applications sent via email will not be accepted. Please check your application status on your NRC application profile

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. We work in crises across more than 31 countries, providing emergencies and long-term assistance to millions of people every year. We stand up for people forced to flee, advocating their rights. NORCAP, our global provider of expertise, helps improve international and local ability to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from crises. NRC also runs the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre in Geneva, a global leader in reporting on and advocating for people displaced within their own country.

Employment with NRC may lead to employment in or deployment to Regions, Countries, Areas or Offices that may be host to considerable health, safety and security risks. NRC takes this very seriously and we have procedures in place to reduce known risks, but will never be able to take away all risks.