Education / academic background:
Master’s degree in a field related to International Relations or Development studies
Specific skills and experience:
Technical skills
- 3-5 years of practical experience of planning, management, and implementation of procedures in the context of INGO humanitarian operations.
- Experience in post-conflict contexts
- Strategic thinking and willingness to develop SI intervention in new areas
- Proven influencing and negotiating skills with internal and external audiences (Access Working Group, donors) including in complex and stressful circumstances (local authorities, community representatives, Armed Groups Leaders…).
- Proven management experience.
- Arabic language skills would be considered an asset
Soft skills and spirit:
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, together with the capacity to remain calm under pressure and not lose sight of strategic priorities. Must be organised and efficient.
- A sound understanding of the importance of gender.
- Sensitivity to cultural differences and the ability to work in a wide variety of cultural contexts.
- Willingness to travel at short notice, and often in difficult circumstances.
- Committed to SI principles.
Language:
- Fluency in English
- Levant Arabic will be an addition.
Desired start date: 15 July 2024
Duration of the mission: 12 months – with possibility to extend.
Location: Syria – HSK
SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL (SI) is an international humanitarian aid association which, since more than 40 years, has been providing assistance to populations affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters by meeting their basic needs for food, water and shelter. Particularly committed to the fight against diseases linked to unsafe water, the leading cause of death in the world, SI’s interventions provide expertise in the field of access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, but also in the essential area of food security and livelihoods. Present in some twenty countries, the SI teams – 2500 people in total, made up of expatriates, national staff, permanent staff at HQ, and a few volunteers – intervene with professionalism and commitment while respecting cultural norms.
About the mission
SI has been working in Syria since 2012, and is today operating in North East Syria (NES) and North West Syria (NWS)
The NES programs provide an integrated assistance in the WASH, NFI, Shelter, FSL sectors to displaced populations and host communities affected by the conflict.
The NWS programs provide WASH and NFI/Winterization support to affected populations.
In NES and NWS, the lifesaving activities are:
- Wash – emergency package in IDPs settlements,
- Distribution of NFIs and cash for vulnerable populations,
And in NES, SI is implementing more sustainable activities:
Individuals’ houses rehabilitations
General objective:
- Propose, develop and adapt operational strategy within his/her intervention zone
- Responsible for security of teams and property within his/her intervention zone
- Internal/external communication and coordination within his/her intervention zone
- Resource management (ensure human, financial, and logistical resources are mobilized to accomplish projects in his/her intervention zone)
Priorities for the 2/3 first months:
- Ensure continuity of the quality of the activities and the opening of new projects
- Initiate and support the assessments that will inform the program development for 2025.
- Accompany the recruitment and onboarding of Syrian managers.
- Participate to efforts at mission level to expand to hard-to-reach areas, including possibly Deir Ez-Zor.
Responsibilities and main activities:
- Coordination and strategic orientation
- Relevance and operational quality / operation monitoring
- Resource management
- Human resource management
- Security
- Financial backer relations / search for funding
- Internal and external communication
- Representation
A salaried position:
According to experience, starting from EUR 2860 gross per month (2600 base salary + 10% annual leave allowance paid monthly) and a monthly Per Diem of USD 700.
SI also covers accommodation costs and travel expenses between the expatriate’s country of origin and the place of assignment.
Breaks: During the assignment, a system of alternation between work and time off is implemented at the rate of 7 working days every three months (with a USD 850 break allowance, allocated by Sl). To these breaks periods, SI grants one (1) additional rest day per month worked.
Insurance package: Expatriates benefit from an insurance package which refunds all healthcare expenses (including medical and surgical expenses, dental care and ophthalmological expenses, repatriation) and a welfare system including war risks. Essential vaccination and antimalarial treatment costs are refunded.
LIVING CONDITIONS:
The candidate will be based in Hasakeh. She/He will live in the SI guesthouse(s). In Hasakeh, living conditions are simple but highly improved with a few opportunities and places to socialize.
However, when going on the field bases, living conditions are more basic, with fewer opportunities for socialization, as well as some individual movements’ restrictions. Security levels vary according to the different geographical locations and changes of context.