Deputy Regional Director Middle East – HQ

INTERSOS is an independent humanitarian organization that assists the victims of natural disasters, armed conflicts and exclusion. Its activities are based on the principles of solidarity, justice, human dignity, equality of rights and opportunities, respect for diversity and coexistence, paying special attention to the most vulnerable people.

Terms of reference

Job Title: Deputy Regional Director Middle East

Code: 00-6279

Duty station: Rome

Starting date: 01/05/2023

Contract duration: 12 months of which 4 months of probation

Reporting to: Regional Director Middle East

Supervision of: Programmes Coordinators

Dependents: According to the country of assignment

General context of the project

INTERSOS is a humanitarian organisation founded in 1992, working on the frontlines of crisis situations. In its countries of operation, INTERSOS intervenes to assist the most vulnerable populations affected by conflicts, extreme poverty, natural and manmade disasters in challenging and hard-to-reach areas, where the humanitarian needs continue to be the greatest and where the humanitarian presence is often weak. In such contexts, INTERSOS focuses on providing forcibly displaced populations and host communities with life-saving humanitarian assistance, in the areas of Protection,Health & Nutrition, as well as WASH and Shelter.

INTERSOS operations are guided by its Charter of Values and by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. Every intervention is characterized by the centrality of the human being, the principle from which INTERSOS values descend. Specifically,INTERSOS is borderless, impartial, independent, sensitive to local cultures, attentive to local capacity,professional in solidarity, and transparent. INTERSOS also adheres to the Code of Conduct for theInternational Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief.

INTERSOS Programmes Department consists of four Regional Offices based in Amman, Dakar, Nairobi and Rome. The Programmes Department also includes the Protection and Medical Units, which provide technical support to INTERSOS operations. As of December 2022,INTERSOS is operational in 23 countries.

We recognize diversity as a core value for the Organization, in line with its fundamental principles.INTERSOS is therefore committed to creating an inclusive workplace environment that promotes diversity, equality and inclusion. INTERSOS encourages applications from qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds, regardless of age, gender identity, race, ethnic background, sexual orientation,disability, ethnicity or nationality.

Active in the Middle East since the early 2000s, INTERSOS is present in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Yemen, supporting the most vulnerable categories of populations in challenging and hard-to-reach contexts, where the humanitarian needs continue to be greatest and where there is a weak humanitarian presence, with lifesaving and life sustaining assistance including protection, health, nutrition, education and WASH activities.

Teams count over a thousand national collaborators, fifty expatriate employees and supported more than a million persons in 2021.

Using data from the field to draw the attention of the humanitarian community to the vulnerabilities,

INTERSOS is an active member of the Syria INGO Forum, Yemen advocacy working group, ICVA. Its main donors are the UNHCR, the European Union, the Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs (BHA), the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, and other institutional donors as well as private foundations.

General purpose of the position

With regular visits to the missions, support the Regional Director on the strategic programming, management and implementation of activities and achievement of objectives related to the geographic area of competence. The Deputy Regional Director is the direct manager of the Regional Grant and Reporting Officer and the functional manager of the Programmes Coordinators in the geographic area of competence.​

Main responsibilities and tasks

• Contribute, with the Regional Director to the design of the strategies and the identification of the geographical areas and sectors of intervention to be privileged
• Support the Programme Coordinators and key staffs in defining, programming and planning activities and organizational aspects in line with the identified strategy
• Support the Programmes Coordinators in the management of relations with donors, stakeholders, authorities and representatives of beneficiaries
• Is responsible to guarantee in coordination with the Programmes Coordinators the supervision, analysis and evaluation of the key variables of the design of projects (constraints and rules of the donors, consistency and technical-methodological congruity, quality of resources, effectiveness of results efficiency). In case of need and under supervision of the Regional Director produce requested programmatic documentation (e.g.: proposal, annexes) with the support of the Regional Grants and Reporting Officer
• Coordinate, supervise and assess, through the review of PAT and/or other tools, the level of progress achieved by each project, in cooperation with the Regional Finance Coordinator. Advise missions in project implementation and monitor the status of the program regularly reporting to the Regional Director
• Collaborate with Heads of Mission and Programmes Coordinators for ensuring systematic updating of needs analyses and critical context factors
• Guarantee, in collaboration with the Programme Coordinators, the Regional Finance Coordinator and under the supervision of the Regional Director, the respect of INTERSOS Organization Management and Control Model and the application of INTERSOS and donors administrative procedures, rules and policies for the efficient and transparent management of projects, offices and countries of its competence
• Make sure the Regional Grant and Reporting Officer follows up with the Programme Coordinators or the Grant and Reporting Officer / Manager of the missions to guarantee the timely submission of mission documentation and reports to donors and HQ. Support and control the work of the Regional Grant and Reporting Officer on the content of narrative reports, in collaboration with Technical Units

Collaborate with Human Resources department for the management of Human Resources:

• collaborate to the analysis of HR needs
• if needed, and under the supervision of the Regional Director, participate to the recruitment process of key programme positions
• motivate and support managers and teams encouraging cohesion and humanitarian commitment
• promote orientation and training sessions for the operators of the region. Engage in direct capacity building when/as needed
• promote growth, development and empowerment of National staff

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• Supervise the Regional Grants and Reporting Officer, in line with the definition of the roles and responsibilities at regional level, relying on clear action planning
• Provide support to the Regional Grants and Reporting Officer and evaluate her/his performance as per official IRP process and when necessary
• In coordination with the Programme Coordinators and the Head of Missions, follow up staff requests preparation and submission, to recruit new staff in the geographic area of competence in line with budget availability
• Ensure the Regional Grant and Reporting Officer regularly updates INTERSOS database (IMP) content for the sections of HQ competence on the basis of the information provided by the Missions and verify accuracy of data
• Collaborate with Communication and Fundraising department to promote contents, visibility and awareness of the Organization’s work, goals, and financial needs

Required profile and experience

Education

Advanced university degree in Social Sciences, International Relations, NGO management, or equivalent work experience​

Professional Experience

At least 5 years of field working experience in managing humanitarian programmes with increasing responsibilities​

Professional Requirements

• Budget management skills
• Strong and proven project design skills
• Experience with donor compliance and reporting
• Robust technical competences in protection and education in emergency
• Strong representation and negotiation skills
• Demonstrated leadership and interpersonal skills
• Previous experience in people management
• ICT literacy compulsory
• Strong experience with monitoring tools and system

Languages

• Proficiency in English and French is required
• Italian is a plus

Personal Requirements

• Strong team spirit, comfortable in a multicultural environment
• Excellent analytical skills, observation and analysis capacity
• Strategic thinking
• Attention to detail and structured way of approaching tasks (very organized)
• Ability to plan ahead and output oriented (proactive)
• Able to ensure quick quality delivery in stressful environment (stress-resilient)
• Ability to adhere to deadlines and respect line management
• Very strong interpersonal skills: strong communication and diplomatic skills
• Practical and problem-solver
• Ability to deal with heavy work pressure