Emergency Program Manager

Position: Emergency Program Manager

Period: 12 months with starting date in May

Mission Unit: Programs Unit

Line Manager: Head of Programs (HOP)

Location: Kabul, with travel to other areas in Northern and Central Provinces of Afghanistan

About the Mission

People in Need’s Afghanistan country programme (CP) started in November 2001, providing emergency food distribution in mountainous areas of the central highlands. PIN Afghanistan’s three strategic objectives for the current planning period are (1) Agency driven, transformative, humanitarian assistance; (2) Making markets work for crisis affected and marginalised communities; and, (3) Harnessing decent, productive and inclusive livelihoods. Under the current evolving context the Country Programme (CP) is focusing efforts under Strategic Objective 1 and in particular supporting people to have (1) enough to eat, (2) a safe and secure living space that supports their health and well-being, (3) the basic items needed to stay safe and warm, and (4) access to education when the normal structures are no longer available to them

I. Purpose of this Engagement

With guidance and supervision from the Head of Programmes, the Emergency program manager will be responsible for overall coordination and management of PIN emergency response in Afghanistan. In close coordination with HOP, s/he will lead (1) coordination and quality assurance of humanitarian programme portfolio; (2) support proposal development of humanitarian projects (3) support positioning, networking and building of partnership in the humanitarian field; and (4) maintain internal standards and processes together with principles for accountability to affected persons (AAP), protection mainstreaming and inclusion for people with disabilities (PWD) in humanitarian projects. The position reports to the Head of Programmes, working closely with MEAL Manager and Deputy Head of Programs and directly supervises Project Managers and Officers responsible for humanitarian projects.

II. Scope of Support

• Proper planning of projects/activities and their high-quality and timely delivery in line with PIN policies, internal guidelines, SOPs and project documentation;
• Project objectives are achieved and any challenges or obstacles are identified and reported to senior management in timely manner;
• Individual humanitarian projects have their project tools in place and are synchronized with the overall programme goals and regularly updated. Data management structure is in place and functional. Ensure that PIN Global Policies and guidelines are followed and adjusted to the context; proper tools are revised or developed and used to (1) measure the performance of the program from different aspects (MEAL, implementation quality, reporting, archiving and procurement) and to (2) guide the program as per correct processes how the activities should be conducted (SOPs);
• Regularly update Country Director and Senior Management on program implementation progress, vis-à-vis budget and indicators, suggesting necessary adjustments and addressing evolving issues;
• Oversee project recruitment planning, participates in recruitment of key project positions (project managers, officers, team leaders) and observes and suggests capacity building needs and activities within the program/project team;
• Close coordination with the CD and HQ Security Advisor and the in-country Access Department on any potential programming, new locations, access needs and potential risks etc.
• Promote MEAL and knowledge management by leading program/project reviews and reflections with staff and documentation of good practices and lessons learned for assessments, to adjust strategies and implementation plans, to inform future programming initiatives and approaches, and to contribute to organizational learning.
• Under the supervision of HOP and coordinated with the CD, proactive representation and ensuring perpetual engagement with strategic clusters (FSAC, ES/NFI, CVWG) including consistent attendance, synthesizing information, analysing key cluster priorities, identifying strategic entry points for PIN to add value and circulation of key information amongst relevant PIN staff;
• Design emergency response and humanitarian assistance projects (budget, log frame) and support the Head of Programmes, Desk and Grants Advisors with the proposal development in line with the strategic objectives of funding agency/cluster/HRP;
• support Head of Programmes, Desk and Grants Advisors in development of concept notes, proposals and capacity statements, briefs and assessment reports for humanitarian projects.
• In coordination with MEAL team design assessments that align to identified needs and current programming (Key Informant Interviews, Emergency Needs Assessments, (Emergency) Market Assessments, impact assessments, needs overviews, etc.).
• Strengthen PIN AFG approaches to AAP, Protection Mainstreaming, inclusion of PWD, and inclusion of those that are socially marginalised or marginalised from receiving humanitarian assistance, at all stages of the project cycle.
• Participate on humanitarian kick-off and monthly review meetings to provide advisory on assurance of PIN and Core Humanitarian Standards, including AAP, Protection Mainstreaming, PWD, and make recommendations for QA mechanisms to be established.
• Communicate with HQ/ Desk/ technical focal points on issues related to programme quality and, cross-cutting topics and program records to ensure compliance with donor’s requirements and proposal goals, to sustain organisational memory and keep organised records for audit purposes;

III. Person Specification

• at least 3 years’ experience in the emergency and humanitarian assistance sector including project development and delivery
• Demonstrated applied understanding of protection mainstreaming, AAP, gender and social inclusion
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including proven ability to write persuasively
• Excellent knowledge of written English required;
• understanding and ability to interact with the UNOCHA Cluster system
• Team player and willingness to contribute to the strengthening the country programme
• Sound professional judgement
• Deep understanding of and proven adherence to Core Humanitarian Standards and ensuring their integration into all aspect of project design, start up, implementation, close and post-implementation monitoring
• Proven understanding of duty of care and safety and security considerations in fragile and conflict affected contexts.

IV. PIN Offers

• Starting salary defined by PIN salary scale (approx. 3700 EUR commensurate with experience; before taxation – taxation , including per diem)
• Accommodation in PIN guesthouse
• Reimbursement of international flights as per PIN internal rules (4 times a year)
• Reimbursement of costs of visas, PCR tests and vaccinations; assistance with visa application procedure
• Free medical helpdesk and psychological consultation available on-line
• Travel medical insurance
• 25 days of paid leave for the assignment (depending on the actual length of the contract)
• up to additional 12 days of R&R is provided for 12 months
• laptop and Afghan post-paid 3G SIM card
• Robust and thorough online induction training (2 weeks)
• Online HEAT training (unless the candidate participated in one recently)