Duty Station: Addis Ababa
Deadline: 18 July 2023
Job Description
Organizational Context
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 192-member National Societies. The overall aim of the IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by National Societies with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.” The IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises.
The IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of the IFRC is guided by the following fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.
The IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Headquarters are organized into three main Divisions: (i) National Society Development and Operations Coordination; (ii) Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization; and (iii) Management Policy, Strategy and Corporate Services.
The IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The IFRC also has country cluster delegation and country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.
Climate, Environment and Community Resilience is a critical area of the IFRC in the region ensuring focus across the risk reduction and resilience strengthening continuum, especially through striving for quality, scale and leadership in climate adaptation, including in urban context, ensuring focus also on the longer-term DRR and resilience programming and the humanitarian-development nexus. The Climate, Environment and Community Resilience programme area works collaboratively with other functional areas in ARO as well as with Geneva, CCD counterparts to ensure a collaborative approach to towards the global Strategic Priority Areas and Pan Africa Initiatives including on 1) Zero Hunger –Community Resilience and Food Security Livelihood programming and 2) Nature Based Solutions, Tree Planting and Care. The Climate, Environment and Community Resilience Strategic Lead, ensures technical expertise and coordination for climate adaptation, climate smart community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR), food security livelihood, nature-based solutions (NBS), tree planning and care, and urban risk management; with linkages to technical expertise within the wider HDCC department in Anticipatory Action, disaster preparedness and response, migration and displacement, health and care.
Job Purpose
Under supervision of the Head of Health, Disaster, Climate and Crisis (HoHDCC), the Climate, Environment and Community Resilience Strategic Lead, is responsible to lead the formulation of the regional strategy of climate, environment and community resilience including for Food Security and Livelihood (FSL) and coordinate its implementation across all IFRC Secretariat operations in the Africa region. They will oversee the design and execution of all related deliverables and coordinate delivery in this important area of work in relation to policy dialogue and capacity building activities.
The role supports the IFRC network in Africa to ensure high quality, coherent and well-coordinated scale-up of Climate Action, Environment and Community Resilience programming. The Climate, Environment and Community Resilience, Strategic Lead provides strategic leadership and direction on climate adaptation, climate smart community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR), food security livelihood, nature-based solutions (NBS), tree planting and care, and urban risk management.
As Regional Strategic Lead; the role will build NS/IFRC/PNSs technical networks for peer-to-peer support, and provide clear framework for outcome setting and progress monitoring. The position is actively involved in multi-country resource mobilisation and proposal development and coordination of quality assurance and accountability for multi-country programme implementation.
The Climate, Environment and Community Resilience Strategic Lead, oversees regional policy advocacy and application in these areas; ensures coordination and technical support for implementation of related regional roadmaps, frameworks and projects/programmes and supervises the adaptation and use of related guidance, standards and tools for use of the IFRC network in the Africa Region. The Climate, Environment and Community Resilience, Strategic Lead, has regional responsibility to influence and advise senior leadership in the organization as well as other strategic level discussions with external stakeholders on related areas of work, while positioning IFRC and National Societies in the region as key actors in climate, environment and community resilience. The Climate, Environment and Community Resilience, Strategic Lead provides overall coordination support and contributes to the achievement of IFRC’s commitments towards climate and environmental sustainability.
Job Duties and Responsibilities
Technical leadership
- Guided by Strategy 2030, lead the finalisation of the regional Climate Adaptation and Community Resilience strategy(ies) including on Food Security and Livelihood and coordinate its implementation across all IFRC Secretariat programmes and operations in the Africa region.
- Provide technical leadership on issues related to Climate, Environment and Resilience programming, and ensure coherence and clearly articulated integration between relevant policies, strategies, frameworks and tools.
- Provide strategic support to IFRC delegations and African National Societies, technical and thematic leaders of climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, food security livelihood, nature-based solutions (NBS), tree planting, urban resilience and for delivery against climate-resilience programming in line with Pan-African initiatives on zero hunger and tree planting and preparedness and readiness.
- Provide strategic support, with technical colleagues, to global initiatives relevant to the portfolio in the Africa Region, for example IFRC global commitments under Climate and Environment Charter, Early Warnings for All (EW4ALL), Sendai frameworks Global Climate Resilience Programme and Platform etc.
- Ensure mapping of capabilities and capacity enhancement needs of NS in the domains of climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, food security livelihood, nature-based solutions (NBS), tree planting and care, urban risk management, climate-induced displacement and close internal collaboration with the global team, the country and cluster delegations and relevant teams in jointly assessing trends and developing guidance and programmes to support National Societies.
- Oversee the integration of climate risk management and environmental sustainability considerations across all programmes, operations and advocacy, and support capacity building of respective human resources in Africa Region, in collaboration with relevant technical and thematic teams.
- Promote and engage in systematic monitoring and evaluation of climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, food security livelihood, nature-based solutions (NBS), tree planting and care, and urban risk management programmes and the identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned for organizational sharing and learning.
- Support climate-related innovative financing.
- Actively participate in and support IFRC’s knowledge and peer-to-peer networks, promote the engagement and utilization of Red Cross Red Crescent reference centres and contribute to “shared leadership” initiatives for better utilization and optimization of technical capacities and resources.
- Actively engage and collaborate with external regional stakeholders on issues related to Climate, Environment and Resilience Programming.
Management:
- Responsible and accountable for the overall day-to day management, administration and coordination of Africa Climate, Environment and Community Resilience programmatic functional area activities.
- Accountable to the HoHDCC on achievement of results of the teams’ Operational Plan as a proactive manager and dynamic member of the HDCC management team.
- Ensure effective cross-team collaboration across regional and delegation’s climate focal points and related technical leads (disaster management and anticipation, health and wash, livelihoods, National Society development…)
- Select, mentor and manage team members under the programmatic functional area, including ensuring that they have well-defined results-based priority plans and capacity to provide technical support to response operations at any time.
Job Duties and Responsibilities (continued)
- Promote a culture of continuous learning, individual and team accountability in the programmatic functional area by setting individual and team objectives, monitoring team performance and conducting timely performance reviews.
- Ensure that the team prepares accurate and timely monthly operational highlights, quarterly updates on operations and annual updates on operations as well as deliver inputs for standard reports.
- Ensure that the programmatic team works closely with the health, emergency operations and crosscutting thematic approaches functional areas of HDCC and coordinates other units within Africa RO, CDs, CCDs and Geneva as well as with ICRC, Partner National Societies, relevant IFRC Reference centres and key external stakeholders throughout the programming cycle.
- Develop annual plans for the programmatic functional area in coordination with the HoHDCC to mobilize, manage and monitor the use of available financial resources and facilities by the team to ensure that delivery of agreed activities is in line with approved ceilings and finance procedures.
- Oversee regionally implemented climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, food security livelihood, nature-based solutions (NBS), tree planning and care, and urban risk management projects/programmes, and the timely and quality delivery of all project outputs.
- Identify risks and challenges to the ongoing projects/programmes, raise with regional and country-level counterparts, and provide advice as relevant to the HoHDCC and Africa Senior Management Team on mitigation strategies.
- Support the HoHDCC in ensuring strategic coherence and alignment as well as programmatic and operational coordination between HDCC and other technical units.
Coordination and networking:
- Lead the design and execution of regional policy dialogue engagements to promote climate adaptation and community resilience activities
- Oversee coordination and partnerships related to climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, food security livelihood, nature-based solutions (NBS), tree planning and care; migration and displacement, and urban risk management with relevant regional stakeholders with and outside the RCRC Movement.
- Build and nurture solid relationships with key regional partners – including academia and the private sector – and promote climate and resilience thinking and strengthened emphasis on integration of Climate Adaptation, DRR and Community Resilience, food security and livelihood activities in emergency operations.
- Ensures high quality regional preparation and participation of IFRC network in inter-agency and inter-governmental processes.
- In collaboration with Geneva counterparts, pursue opportunities and explore partnerships for research as a base for evidence aimed at supporting advocacy on expanding investment in Climate and Anticipatory Action and longer-term DRR, food security livelihood and Community Resilience strengthening.
Representation:
- At the request of the HoHDCC and ARO Senior Management Team, represent IFRC – in regional inter-agency events on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, food security livelihood, nature-based solutions (NBS), tree planning and care, and urban risk management as a key actor, influencing regional policies, advocacy and agenda.
- Responsible and accountable for ensuring that IFRC is represented in relevant inter-agency initiatives and events focusing on climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, food security livelihood, nature-based solutions (NBS), tree planning and care; migration and displacement, and urban risk management.
Education
- Relevant university education (in Disaster Management/DRR, Economics, Natural Resources Management, Environmental/ Climate Science) or an equivalent of qualifying experience (Required)
- Basic Delegates Training Course (BTC), WORC, IMPACT or equivalent knowledge (Preferred)
- Relevant training and experiences in climate change, forecast-based financing, anticipatory action, urban risk management, disaster risk reduction, disaster risk governance, community resilience programming (Required)
Experience
- 10 years of progressive and relevant leadership/management/adviser experience in the humanitarian sector, climate adaptation or environmental science (Required).
- Experience in drafting and encouraging change management through implementation of policy/strategic guidance, and developing practical tools and resources (Required).
- Experience working in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement (Preferred).
Knowledge, Skills and Languages
- Communication and negotiation skills (Required).
- Outstanding networking and representation skills (Required).
- Proven good judgment and ability to work with complete integrity and confidentiality (Required).
- Results oriented and demand-driven individual (Required).
- Demonstrated leadership and management skills (Required).
- Ability to lead within a matrix management structure (Required).
- Ability to lead multi-cultural, multilingual, and multidisciplinary teams (Required).
- Management and supervisory experience in a multicultural environment (Required).
- Experience in managing teams and budgets (Required).
- Experience in coordinating with the authorities and other humanitarian/development actors (Required).
- Experience in narrative and financial reporting and proposal writing (Required).
- Experience in the Africa region (Required).
- Fluently spoken and written English (Required)
- Good command of written and spoken French (Required)
- Familiarity with other IFRC official language (Spanish or Arabic) (Preferred)
Competencies, Values and Comments
- Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability
- Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust.
Comments
This a Regional National position being out-posted to any of our 15 Country Cluster Delegations with a preference for Niger, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe or Malawi. Candidates who are nationals of these countries and meet the qualifications and required experience are encouraged to apply.