Deputy Director of the Secretariat of the INGO Forum (Eastern DRC)

Cordaid works to end poverty and exclusion. We do this in the world’s most fragile and conflict-affected areas. We engage communities to rebuild trust and resilience and increase people’s self-reliance. Where poverty, conflict and exclusion divide societies, we connect people and communities. Cordaid is one of the leading Civil Society Organizations in the Netherlands, working in fragile contexts on Health, Resilience, Private Sector Development, Humanitarian Aid and Security & Justice. Cordaid has over 700 staff, working at Global Office in the Netherlands and in offices across the most fragile countries in the world. Within Cordaid we work on the basis of trust, accountability, cooperation and solution orientation. Cordaid recently merged with ICCO and thereby expanded its operations to more countries, themes and added over 300 additional staff.

For the Cordaid Country office in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cordaid is looking for a Deputy Director for the Secretariat of the INGO Forum

Introduction

The DRC INGO Forum gathers 117 INGO members implementing emergency and development aid projects for the benefit of the Congolese population. The Forum is supported by a Secretariat which gathers a team of seven people, providing expert support and advice to its members. More specifically, the role of the Forum is to:

– Provide support to INGOs members and advocacy for solving common issues.

– Improve the communication between INGOs and other stakeholders (government, UNOCHA, UN, etc.).

– Strengthen the voices of INGOs in the humanitarian architecture and the development community in DRC.

– Act as a focal point for INGOs and external stakeholders.

– Ensure a national cohesion of INGOs (linking Kinshasa and the other Provinces).

Cordaid is currently the host of the INGO forum. To support the activities of the Forum, we are looking for a Deputy Director of the Secretariat with strong leadership and capacity in advocacy as well as a profound knowledge of the technical aspects of the job and excellent writing skills in French and English. The position will be based in Eastern DRC, preferably Goma.

Position and responsibility

The position holder will report to the Director of the Secretariat of the INGO Forum and will have to work in close relationship with the other members of the Secretariat Team.

She/he will also have close working relationships with the INGO heads of mission and/or Area Coordinators, INGOs administrative and financial coordinators, advocacy officers of member INGOs, as well as with the UN agencies including OCHA, donors, and politico-administrative authorities in the North Kivu and South Kivu Provinces (Goma and Bukavu) and potentially other provinces such as Ituri or Tanganyika.

General objectives of the posting

– The position holder ensures, under the authority of the director of the Forum’s secretariat and with the support of the heads of mission members of the Executive Committee based in the Eastern DRC, the implementation and development of the Forum’s activities in the eastern provinces of the country (primarily from Goma and Bukavu). These activities range from support / advice for the resolution of administrative obstacles hindering the action of the members of the Forum to the sharing of information and representation of the voice of INGOs in coordination Fora such as the PDS, COPHs and CPCH, and to conducting strategic collective advocacy based on expressed needs of members of the INGO Forum based in Goma or Bukavu.

– The position holder works in close collaboration with other Team members of the INGO Forum Secretariat in order to ensure an effective link between operational and strategic discussions in Eastern Provinces and those taking place in Kinshasa.

– The position holder acts as the entry point for key stakeholders in Eastern DRC (donors, agencies of the United Nations system, political and administrative authorities) to reach INGOs.

– The position holder provides internal reporting on the activities carried out to inform the director of the secretariat and other team members of the progress of coordination activities in Eastern Provinces.

Specific objectives

I. Participation in the management of the secretariat

• Ensure good working relations with the INGO hosting the secretariat.
• Provide support to the Director of the Secretariat in donor relations and grant management.
• Membership management:

– Support the Director in the management of memberships and sensitize non-members to join the Forum.

– Induction of new members or new staff of member organizations.

• Leadership

– Develop effective collaboration with members of the executive committee present in Eastern DRC.

– Support the identification and liaison with INGO focal points in coordination mechanisms where the secretariat is absent.

– Provide strategic and technical guidance to the Director of the secretariat.

– Ability to collect, synthesize and represent the perspective of the Forum members in strategic Fora (PDS, COPH, CPCH; etc…).

II. Coordination and information sharing

• Meetings in Goma and Bukavu

– Develop a relevant agenda, facilitate regular meetings of the heads of mission (co-facilitated with members of the executive committee), produce reports and follow up on action points.

– Support the Focal Points of the working groups on administrative obstacles in developing meeting agendas and facilitate meetings, produce reports and action plans.

– Coordinate the actions of the Forum within and between INGO members in Goma and Bukavu and ensure the sharing of information between members within the platforms and between these members; identify / collect the main issues (administrative obstacles, advocacy, humanitarian priorities) and share them with members as well as with other Secretariat Team members.

• Information sharing

– Share, within and between members based in Goma or Bukavu, information received from key stakeholders, as well as minutes of Forum’s meetings and working groups.

– Provide, in conjunction with the legal expert of the secretariat, information / advice for the resolution of administrative obstacles, including the provision of relevant contacts to do so.

– Ensure the updating of the contact lists of members, observers and external actors of the Forum.

– Serve as a focal point in connection with the director of the secretariat for United Nations Agencies, the government, donors and other actors in order to coordinate and communicate with INGOs, and for INGOs in order to collectively allow them to communicate with these actors.

III. Representation

• Ensure the representation of INGOs within the provincial coordination forums (Pôle de Soutien -PDS-; provincial inter-clusters; OCHA; etc…). Ensure consultation and feedback to members.
• Represent by delegation of responsibility the perspective of INGOs in high-level meetings with donors, government, United Nations. Ensure consultation and feedback to members.
• Represent the Forum secretariat towards provincial / local authorities and administrations.
• Actively participate in reflection and consultation meetings with the authorities (provincial humanitarian consultation framework -CPCH-) on the perspectives / issues of INGOs, in particular on access and administrative constraints.
• Participate in evaluation and planning processes such as the humanitarian programming cycle.

IV. Advocacy and policy

• Design, with the legal expert, implement and monitor advocacy actions relating to administrative obstacles in the Eastern Provinces of DRC.
• Active participation in Forum’s working groups set up in Eastern provinces, in particular, in conjunction with the advocacy expert, in the advocacy working group: identification of advocacy opportunities development of an action plan (Question, objectives / expected results, research / capitalization, planning, production of advocacy products, monitoring and evaluation, reporting).

V. Network, partnership and trainings

• Maintain and develop the Forum network in Eastern DRC, in particular with political and administrative authorities, the United Nations, NGOs / civil society, donors, diplomatic missions, etc.
• Provide information and briefings on the functions/role and structure of the INGO Forum.
• Provide support in the organisation of trainings as organised by the Forum’s secretariat.



Qualifications:

Essential:

• Proven experience in inter-agency coordination
• Knowledge of the architecture and functioning of the humanitarian system
• Good writing skills and ability to synthesize
• Management skills, leadership and experience in project management
• Experience in representation, negotiation and coordination
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Excellent level of French, and a good level of understanding of English
• Good command of basic software (Word, Excel, Outlook, Power Point etc.).

Desirable:

• Experience in the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Experience as an INGO Head of Mission or senior leadership role
• Experience in resolving administrative obstacles and knowledge of the legal framework for the intervention of INGOs
• Work experiences in several sectors of intervention in emergency and recovery contexts including protection, nutrition, health, conflict transformation



Specifics of station

Duty station is Goma, DRC. This is an unaccompanied posting.

Contract information

The contract period is for one year starting as of 1 January 2023, with the intention to extend for a longer period. We offer a competitive, fair and comprehensive salary and benefits package that is justifiable to our donors. A Cordaid contract which includes R&R, a comprehensive insurance cover, social security and pension contribution, a holiday allowance, 13th month, hardship allowance and cost of living allowance (if applicable).