Technical Head of Program - Yemen

Humanity & Inclusion is an independent and impartial aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. The organisation works alongside people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, taking action and bearing witness in order to respond to their essential needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights.

Since its creation in 1982, HI has run development programmes in more than 60 countries and responded to numerous emergencies. Today, we have a budget of approximately 255 million euros, with 4794 employees worldwide.

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JOB CONTEXT:
Yemen has been for long the poorest country in the Arab world. After the Arab Spring, the humanitarian crisis has intensified as a major humanitarian crisis of the moment since 2012 with almost half of the population being food insecure. This has created increasing unrest among the population and discontentment with the government.

During the summer of 2014, the Shia minority group called Houthis has taken control of several important cities, among them the capital Sana’a. Meanwhile, the Southern separatist movement increased their call for independent south while Al Qaida and linked groups (mainly based in the South-Eastern parts of the country) are fighting Houthis and other groups including the internationally recognized government.

In January 2015, the Houthis overthrew the President Hadi’ government. Since the end of March of the same year, an international coalition of countries led by Saudi Arabia allied with the President temporarily exiled in Saudi Arabia launched a military campaign against the advances of the Houthis in the country. At the end of 2017, the alliance between the GPC of the former president Saleh and the Houthis broke out in Sana’a and Saleh was killed. In January 2018 the alliance in the south as well broke out: the Southern Transitional Council, in favor of an independent state in the south took over Aden from the hands of Hadis’ supporters, Hadi being still in exile in Saudi-Arabia.

As a result of such violence and instability, it is more than 20 million of Yemenis out of 27 million in need of any kind of aid. Malnutrition, cholera, diphtheria hit most of the families and a failed health system, with no salaries paid for several years, cannot cope.

YOUR MISSION:
Under the responsibility of the Programme Director, the Technical Head of Programme contributes to the implementation of Humanité & Inclusion's mandate and 10-year strategy within his/her programme. He/she is the driving force behind the programmatic development of social missions within his/her technical scope, and ensures that the quality and impact of the projects implemented in the programme are optimised, in line with the priorities defined in the Technical Strategies.

The Technical Head of Program is responsible for a team of specialists (Technical Field Specialist, Business Developer, MEAL...). In this context, his/her missions are as follows:

Mission 1: Management

• Embodies HI's values on a daily basis, and is a role model.
• Understands the strategy, makes it explicit, translates it into operational objectives for the team, leads the necessary changes.
• Organises the operational management of his or her team, structures the work around identified processes, steers performance, and facilitates problem solving.
• Contributes to the development of its employees, creating the conditions to enable their commitment, their professionalism and their attachment to HI.

Mission 2: Strategy and management

• Proposes the development of the programmatic framework of the programme's StratOp, based on an analysis of the sectoral context and following the StraTechs and Development Plans of the Emergency, Atlas and Impact-Innovation- Information divisions, in conjunction with the operational teams.
• Ensures the deployment of cross-cutting approaches within programming, promotes cross-sectoral synergies and intervention themes.
• Proposes the design and evolution of the programme's technical support, based on the skills of the technical specialists and technical profiles assigned to the projects.
• Contributes, at least once a year, to the annual monitoring of the StratOp and to the planning of the following year's programmes (i.e. support missions and evaluations).
• Ensures the MEAL part of the Operational Strategy, pilots the related action plan and the strategy monitoring tool.

Mission 3: Development of the social mission and programmatic vision

Defines the programme's funding strategy for new themes or innovations in existing sectors, ensures the development of opportunities for each theme within its scope, proposes the geographical development of HI sectors, and ensures the conformity of the technical proposal with nexus issues.

Mission 4: Quality standards and expertise with the MEAL and technical profiles of the Programme

• Controls and monitors the technical quality and relevance of HI activities within its scope:
• Ensures that project managers receive appropriate technical and methodological guidance and support from MEAL team members and specialists based at headquarters or at programme level.
• Ensures quality control of projects and the programme and raises alerts and recommendations.
• Follows up the implementation of recommendations from support missions, evaluation or audit, as appropriate.
• Ensures a local sectoral watch and collects good practices.
• In connection with the MEAL missions:
• Ensures the improvement of the quality of project management processes, as defined by the Planning Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) policy
• Leads the improvement of HI's response, including the implementation of impact and effect measurement tools.
• Establishes mechanisms for accountability to beneficiaries.
• Ensures the appropriation of programmes and HI’s frameworks and learning methodologies globally.
• Supports the monitoring of projects.
• Ensures that specialists develop a local professional channel/talent pool and contributes to the animation of the professional channel of the technical divisions and the MEALs.
• Ensures the development of research and innovation projects in the region, when appropriate.
• Ensures deployment and compliance with global frameworks, institutional policies and standards.

Mission 5: Ensure external representation and promotion of HI's expertise in its field

• Represents HI's expertise in all relevant networks (including clusters).
• Supports the specialists and the PD in the representation towards partners, institutional donors and authorities.
• Contributes to advocacy (including evidence-based) on specific issues, in line with the StratOp and federal advocacy priorities.
• Contributes locally to communication messages, in line with the StratOp and federal communication priorities.

Mission 6: Emergency preparedness and response

Leads the emergency preparedness actions in his/her department and, in case of emergency, reorganizes the priorities of his/her team according to the humanitarian imperative, in order to ensure a rapid and effective response from HI.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POSITION:

The position is based in Sana’a / Aden Yemen. The expatriate is expected to travel between HI bases (Aden, Mokha, Hodaideh, Lahj and Hajjah). In the six locations, shared guesthouses well equipped with a safe room, most of the work is done at the office but there are some possibilities to go out for work purposes. Outside movements are possible for some extra-professional activities in Sanaa and Aden. All movements are done by car. HI has set up a curfew. The situation is relatively calm in Sana’a and Hajjah nowadays. However, the security is volatile in southern areas.

The mission has put in place adequate security rules and processes to allow teams to work in a safe environment. Despite the country’s situation, the risk for expatriates remains limited and no critical incident happened over the past period.

Local medical capacity remains a concern for the person with fragile health, ongoing treatment and that needs close medical follow up.

Dress code: Men will be required to wear long pants and at least a short-sleeved shirt. Women are required to wear the abaya and hijab (headscarf) outside of the compound. For female staff in the office, appropriate attire includes long pants and long sleeve shirts.

With a master’s degree in one of HI's technical sectors of intervention and/or international cooperation and/or humanitarian development, you have a minimum of 5 years’ experience in humanitarian development with experience in project management (multi or complex) and experience(s) in one of HI's technical sectors of intervention.

At HI, the conditions offered are up to your commitment and adapted to the context of your mission. https://hi.org/en/join-the-team

• 2 years International contract starting ASAP;
• The international contract provides social cover adapted to your situation:
• Unemployment insurance benefits for EU nationals;
• Pension scheme;
• Medical coverage with 50% of employee contribution;
• Repatriation insurance paid by HI;
• Salary from 2869€ gross/month upon experience;
• Perdiem: 590€ net/month - paid in the field
• Hardship: 500 € net/month paid with your salary;
• R&R: 5 days every 8 weeks + possible transport/package support;
• Position: Unaccompanied
• Payment for travel costs (air ticket & visa) and transport of your personal effects;
• Housing: Collective taken in charge by HI;