Deputy Director of Operations – Africa and Latam (Geneva, Switzerland)

Mission

Geneva Call is a neutral and impartial non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting respect for international humanitarian norms in armed conflict and other situations of violence. Geneva Call’s mission is to ensure that armed groups and de facto authorities respect International Humanitarian Law and basic humanitarian principles in the areas where they fight, or they control.

Geneva Call consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, and opinions. Geneva Call is an inclusive working environment for all its staff. Applications are particularly encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on the grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Role

Under the overall supervision of the Director of Operations, the Deputy Director of Operations (DDO) manages and coordinates Geneva Call’s field operations in Africa and Latin America. The function is responsible for the management and implementation of field operations and effective coordination with programs, policy, research and Legal and other units at the headquarters. The position coordinates Geneva Call’s participation in humanitarian responses in Africa and Latam and provides the direction to country missions to fulfil Geneva Call’s mandate to enable the protection of the vulnerable communities we serve.

The DDO supports the Director of Operations in ensuring strategic engagement, positioning and visionary leadership overseeing Geneva Call’s operations in the field and develop strategic engagements with key stakeholders. The DDO is overseeing the management of country missions, providing guidance to the country directors on strategic priorities, ensuring budgetary compliance and smooth implementation of programmatic activities, while ensuring coherence and full compliance with internal policies and procedures.

The Deputy Director of Operations ensures technical support from Program, and Policy and Legal units is channelized effectively to the field operations, in responding to Geneva Call’s mandate as well as in thematic areas such as child protection, prohibiting sexual violence, protection of health care, famine prevention and others.

Core Functions / Responsibilities

Strategy and Management

• Manage Geneva Call’s field operations in Africa and Latam and provides strategic direction and ensures effective coordination in the implementation of Geneva Call’s Strategy as approved by the Board.
• Provide substantive and strategic advice to the to all country directors and missions on engagement with all relevant stakeholders including AGDAs, multilateral partners, civil society and donor representatives in line with humanitarian principles.
• Provide guidance to country missions on operational policy and advocacy and facilitates Geneva Calls participation in regional and country-level inter-agency humanitarian coordination forums, mechanisms, and processes, including following up on international humanitarian discussions.
• Contribute to the formulation of policy and its implementation on matters related to IHL, protection mainstreaming, conflict sensitivity, accountability to affected populations and prevention of sexual abuse and exploitation in Geneva Call’s operations.
• On the direction of Director of Operations, take lead in conducting feasibility assessment for establishing new country missions in coordination with relevant units in the headquarters.

Operational Coordination

• Coordinate with and support Global Head of Program and Development in effective implementation of programmatic cycle managements tools in the field operations and developing programs in alignment with Geneva Call’s approved strategy.
• Coordinate with and Support Policy, Research and Legal unit to provide technical support on IHL and specific thematic to the focal points in the country missions and ensure standardization of GC thematic policies and practices in the field operations.
• Facilitate MEAL unit to conduct independent monitoring and evaluation of programs and ensure success factors and measurements are in place and follows-up closely on progress and implementation rate.
• In coordination with the Global Engagement Unit, implement communication strategy across all field operations while ensuring conflict sensitivity and respect of humanitarian principles
• Implement Geneva Call’s field safety and security policy in coordination with the head of safety and security unit and participate in the crisis management team at a global level.
• Responsible as a budget holder for Africa and Latam as well as specific regional projects and ensures budget is spent according to stipulated internal compliance policies and procedures. Ensuring all Support services such as finance, HR, logistics, IT and donor relations enable to provide technical supports to the relevant functions in the field operations.

Fundraising and Donor Briefings

• Responsible for overall fundraising for Africa and Latam in coordination with donor relations and making it sure all country mission under the supervision is funded.
• Provide regular updates and briefings to donors on operational dynamics and projects.
• Manage and provide strategic guidance to Grants and Reporting Coordinator.

Representation

• Take Lead in coordinating engagements and dialogue with various stakeholders and ensure all engagements are strategically prioritized and in alignment with Geneva Call’s Global Strategy.
• Maintain and strengthen Geneva Call’s role as a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian actor, positioning the organization and its operations within the geographical areas to gain maximum access to AGDAs, influential stakeholders and affected populations.
• Engage frequently with high level stakeholders such as State authorities, political and religious leaders, international organisations to secure appropriate support for Geneva Call operations.
• Represent Geneva Call in Regional and Global Forums and Performs such other duties as may be assigned.

Management

• Direct Line management of Country Directors in Africa and Latam.
• Direct Line management of Grants and Reporting Coordinators in the headquarters.
• Indirect Line Management of Regional Head of Program and Development.

Required Qualifiactions and Experience

Education

• Master’s degree in political or social sciences, Humanitarian Affairs, International Relations, International Humanitarian Law, or a related field from an accredited academic institution. 14 years of highly relevant professional experience.

Experience

• Overall, 15 years of highly relevant professional experience. Minimum 10-11 years of experience in the field, especially in Africa and 3 years of experience in a headquarters setting.
• Highly Relevant professional experience in humanitarian settings and/or crisis and post-crisis settings is required.
• Progressively responsible experience in liaising with governmental and diplomatic authorities and international institutions.
• Demonstrable experience of engaging with Armed Groups and De Facto Authorities required.
• Demonstrated experience in managing multiple missions and developing operational strategy for regions.
• Proven ability to navigate the complexities and sensitivities associated with Geneva Call’s operations.
• Proven track record of successful leadership and management in complex, multicultural environments, with the ability to engage effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, including national governments, regional organizations, civil society, religious leaders and others.
• Knowledge of the substantive field of work in general and of specific areas being supervised.
• Practiced ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues and to review and edit the work of others.
• Conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
• Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
• Takes ownership of all responsibilities and honors commitments. Delivers outputs within prescribed time, cost and quality standards.
• Operates in compliance with organizational regulations and rules.
• Supports the team, provides oversight and takes responsibility for assignments.
• Serves as a role model that other people want to follow. Empowers others to translate vision into results. Is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives.
• Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support.
• Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions
• Advanced understanding of the complex needs of humanitarian operations.
• Proven experience in management and resource mobilization.
• Experience in leading senior managers.

Skills

• Sound knowledge of financial and business administration and of the principles and practices of management.
• Outstanding inter-personal communication skills and working in team and across departments to ensure an inclusive, respectful and safe working environment.
• Sound knowledge of project cycle as well as of monitoring and evaluation.
• Leadership skills. Building trustful relationships.
• Attention to detail.
• Analytical thinking.
• Structured, strong planning and organization skills.
• Strategic thinking combined with strong execution skills.

Languages

• Fluency in English and French oral and written, is required. Spanish is a very strong asset.
• Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.

Geneva Call’s values

All GC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organization’s core values: humanity, neutrality, impartiality, accountability, dedication and respect. These attitudes and beliefs shall guide our actions and relationships.

Performance management

The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the GC Performance Management p. The following documents will be used for performance reviews:

• The Job Description
• The individual Work- and Professional Development Plan
• The Competency Framework

Conflict of interest

Any candidate affiliated to, or openly supporting, one or more interest groups opposed to the Foundation’s principles and values, or whose previous position could engender safety issues for co-workers at Appel de Genève / Geneva Call, will be excluded from this selection process.

Conditions

• Position: Deputy Director of Operations – Africa and Latam
• Type of Contract: Open-ended, Swiss contract
• Activity rate: 100%, full-time position
• Work place: Geneva, Switzerland
• Preferred start date: April 1, 2025

Application

No later than 14 January, 2025.

Important Note: Our HR team will meticulously evaluate your profile in line with the requirements of the post you have applied for. Since, we receive a good number of applications for all the positions Geneva Call advertises, it is not possible to communicate the results of our decisions with every candidate individually. Therefore, only the short-listed candidates will be contacted by the HR team to invite them for written test – and the steps afterwards if they qualify i.e., interview and other assessments as deemed appropriate.