Country: South Sudan (Republic of)
Closing date: 30 Aug 2013
Technical Field Manager, MRE
South Sudan
Background
Danish Demining Group (DDG) is the branch of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) that focuses on human security programming. DDG and DRC have been present in South Sudan since 2006 and currently have operations in seven of ten states in the country. While initially DDG’s focus was on traditional Mine Action (MA) activities such as Explosive Ordinance Disposal and Mine Risk Education, DDG has developed an innovative and fast-expanding Armed Violence Reduction (AVR) program.
For an overview of the contamination in South Sudan, please refer to UNMAS South Sudan and http://unmas.org/southsudan/index.php/maps
By working in conjunction with the Danish Refugee Council, a combined vision has evolved in which integrated MA, AVR and general recovery and development services can be offered to communities and donors in support of nation-building efforts. Being a rights-based NGO and recognizing the intense competition for funding, DDG aims to be at the forefront of people-centered humanitarian mine action, constantly looking for opportunities to be innovative, to demonstrate best practice and to ‘add value’.
DDG’s South Sudan program is an exciting place to work, but it requires Technical Field Managers and other international staff who are flexible, in tune with capacity building approaches, interested in cooperation with other sectors (e.g. AVR), and supportive of agency-wide initiatives such as Gender, Age and Diversity and socio-economic Impact Monitoring. The Technical MA role in South Sudan is therefore more than just that of a ‘technical adviser’, but rather that of a ‘project manager’ – hence the job title of Technical Field Manager.
DDG is planning to provide 2 Mine Risk Education (MRE) teams to work in support of route assessment and survey teams and the Technical Field Manager (TFM) would be employed for a specific project period.
Management
The South Sudan program has 4-5 Technical Field Managers (including this post) who all report to the Operations Manager. Team leaders and other field staff will report to designated Technical Field Managers for defined periods and deployments.
Responsibilities of post-holder
The Technical Field Manager has the primary function of training and deploying MRE teams to the agreed operational area as well as managing and proving quality assurance function for them once deployed. S/he will also be responsible for the improvement and development of MRE best practices for DDG’s South Sudan program as a whole.
The general purpose of the TFM is to develop the capacity and technical knowledge of the national staff within DDG to ensure that correct and safe MA practices are followed and sustainable supervision and management capacity is developed within the organization. It is important that, once the systems are installed, the TFM does not take over the tasks and responsibilities of the national staff under his/her supervision, but rather mentors, monitors and ensures that these tasks and responsibilities are carried out correctly, efficiently and effectively. The same is relevant for the capacity building of national authorities and agencies.
Operational Responsibilities
The Technical Field Manager will have direct responsibility and accountability for the operational assets allocated to him/her. These responsibilities cover:
a. Mine Risk Education, i.e. that i. MRE teams under the TFM’s control provide the most effective and efficient service to the target group.
b. Mine Action operations, including i. Daily management and supervision of the operational activity. ii. Planning, deployment and analysis of operational tasks, M&E and QA. iii. Mentoring and training of staff. iv. Ensuring adherence to SOPs and security measures. v. Liaising with local authorities, mine action authorities and other organizations.
c. Monitoring and supervision of the following functions for the specific field deployments: i. Logistics and Finance, such as ensuring serviceability of equipment for assigned tasks and the usage of proper procedures and documentation in field requests. ii. Admin and HR of the designated teams, including discipline and welfare, as well as identifying staff with potential for advancement. iii. Reporting, such as Daily Situation Reports, QA reports, task-specific documentation as required by the SOPs and project reporting requirements.
d. Other tasks as directed by the Operations Manager or DDG’s Head of Program.
Required qualifications
• Substantial, documented professional technical experience in mine action • Comprehensive first aid • Basic radio communication skills • Strong administrative and organizational ability • Excellent management and personnel skills – a calm and diplomatic disposition will be preferred • Ability and flexibility to understand the cultural and political environment and to work well with the local authorities • Ability to work independently and still be a good team player • Ability to live and work in a remote and isolated area • Fluency in spoken and written English • Good computer skills including excel and word • A background in training would be advantageous.
We encourage all qualified candidates to apply, irrespective of age, nationality, race, gender or age.
Conditions
Availability: As soon as possible, dependent on confirmation of donor funds (thus position TBC). Duty station: Field-based, mainly northern states. The country programme’s main office is in Juba. Contract: A minimum of 6 months dependent on project length. Salary and conditions in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Expatriates and Appendix 4/Technical Advisors as posted at www.drc.dk under Vacancies. This position receives R&R after every six weeks, in addition to five weeks of annual leave.
Further information
You are welcome to contact DDG’s desk officer for South Sudan, Maria Kristensen at maria.kristensen@drc.dk For general information about the Danish Refugee Council and Danish Demining Group, please consult www.drc.dk and www.danishdemininggroup.dk
How to apply:
Application and CV
Only motivated applications that address the stipulated duties and meet the required qualifications sent together with a CV will be considered. Please provide names of references, but do not attach any written recommendations until requested to do so.
Please submit your application, consisting of a Cover Letter and CV in English and marked “Technical Field Manager – South Sudan” no later than 30th August 2013. CV-only applications will not be considered. Please note that applications are not to be sent to Ms. Kristensen. We only accept applications sent via our online recruitment system on www.drc.dk under Vacancies/Current vacancies/Technical Field Manager – South Sudan. Please note that applications will be assessed on a rolling basis, thus the position might be filled before the deadline. Applications sent directly to Ms. Kristensen will not be considered.
Problems with on-line application? Please inform us via job@drc.dk, if you have questions to the application process or experience problems with your on-line application.