Deputy Country Director – Syria Response / Turkiye Area Manager*

The position is to be filled as of March 1, 2024, with an initial contract duration of one year. There are good prospects for an extension. Employment location will be Gaziantep, Turkiye, with frequent travel to project locations in the region.

Welthungerhilfe (WHH) has been engaged in the Syria Response within Turkiye and northwest Syria since 2013 working in the fields of development cooperation and humanitarian aid. Our strategic goals in our Turkiye country programme are to support localized assistance to vulnerable groups, ensure access to appropriate protection (especially MHPSS) services provided by the government and GRO through strategic partnerships, ensure adequate resourcing whilst promoting social stability and inclusiveness of services, and work with communities and markets for durable solutions to build resilience, with a particular focus on achieving a positive net environmental impact of agricultural activities.

As Deputy Country Director for the Syria Response and Area Manager for the Turkiye country programme, you will be a key member of the Syria Response Strategic Management Group and support/represent the Country Director when needed. The Strategic Management Group includes the Area Managers of Syria and Lebanon, which are part of the broader Syria Response programme. Your main objective will be to oversee the implementation of projects in Turkiye while working closely with the relevant Heads of Department in the Gaziantep Country Office to ensure that support services are appropriately structured and resourced for the planned activities.

Your responsibilities

• In collaboration with the Country Director and Head of Program Development and Quality, maintain close working relationships with local donor representatives (for ongoing projects), local authorities, NGOs, and local counterparts, being able to represent all aspects of ongoing implementation of WHH’s country programme in Turkiye
• Line manage Heads of Project in Turkiye ensuring inter-departmental coordination at project level for focused implementation
• Enable an effective team through result-oriented management systems, providing leadership, on-job capacity building and designing staff development strategies
• Coordinate closely with the Programme Development and Quality Unit including the Head of Programme Development and Quality, Sector Coordinators/Technical Experts and Grants & Communications Unit ensuring regular information flows, timely and accurate donor reporting, timely engagemernt with donors regarding modifications/extensions, and an orderly conclusion of projects
• Strengthen efforts to document the impact of WHH activities in compliance with sector strategies and provide inputs to proposal development processes
• Participate in programme development taking into account the local context and circumstances in the national strategy and the Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan (3RP)
• Provide leadership in coordination with support functions to ensure their timely/efficient delivery in line with project procurement and staffing plans, including planning for office scale-up/scale-down based on funding and contextual changes
• Ensure high quality implementation including optimal use of financial resources, accurate forecasting and regular project follow up
• Oversee the management of local partnerships at field level, support the development of tailored capacity building plans and ensure follow-up with partners on the quality of implementation
• Encourage a safe and secure environment for staff, beneficiaries, and assets by ensuring SOPs are being followed in line with the WHH policy, promoting the importance of regular staff training, providing information on security incidents and analysis, and making recommendations for improvements to the Access Manager and Country Director
• Act as member of the Crisis Management Team
• Ensure overall provision of and adherence to WHH policies, procedures, guidelines, donor regulations, systems and SOP’s of Turkiye project implementation

Your profile

• A university or college degree in project management or comparable level of qualification
• At least 5 years of senior management experience in NGO project management of large project teams
• Previous experience working in Turkiye or within the Middle East is an advantage
• Experience in early recovery programming using a systems approach is an advantage
• Experience in security/crisis management
• ECHO, BMZ PA, BPRM, EU donor experience would be a strong asset
• Coordination and organisational skills – even under a high workload
• Intercultural sensitivity and excellent conflict resolution skills
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills
• High level of mental and physical resilience and readiness to travel to areas with volatile local conditions
• Readiness to receive necessary vaccinations for working in Welthungerhilfe’s project countries
• Excellent spoken and written English language skills; German, Turkish and/or Arabic skills are an advantage

Our offer

We offer you the opportunity to work in a responsible and interesting field as part of an extremely dedicated team. Welthungerhilfe attaches great importance to the personal and professional development of its employees and the balance of their work and private life. Remuneration is based on our gender-independent salary scale. In addition, Welthungerhilfe offers numerous other benefits, which are listed under “Our benefits”.