DEPUTY HEAD OF OPERATIONAL CELL 5 (BASED IN NAIROBI)

GENERAL CONTEXT

Médecins Sans Frontières is an international independent medical-humanitarian organization, which offers assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and irrespective of race, sex, religion, creed or political affiliation.

MSF is a civil society initiative that brings together individuals committed to the assistance of other human beings in crisis. As such MSF is by choice an association. Each individual working with MSF does it out of conviction and is ready to uphold the values and principles of MSF.

The MSF movement is built around six operational directorates. MSF OCBA is one of those directorates. The operations are implemented by field teams and the mission coordination teams, together with the organisational units based in Barcelona and decentralised in Nairobi, Dakar and Amman. The field operations are guided and supported by five Operational Cells, the Emergency Unit and other departments supporting operations.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE AND JOB ENVIROMENT

MSF OCBA works in operating environments characterised by violence and conflict and has a very strong emergency mind-set. The operational Cell 5’s portfolio has a strong focus on, but is not limited to, Eastern Africa and the Greater Horn of Africa, and the missions managed by the cell currently include: Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia.

The DRECO role provides continuous and consistent support to the Head of the Operational Cell (RECO), to ensure the implementation of the portfolio’s plans in high quality standards and secure and safe environment. The DRECO will support the development of strategic planning that takes full account of the MSF OCBA strategic orientations and priorities. The DRECO will support the RECO and the missions to deal with key operational challenges.

The DRECO provides the supervision of the portfolio’s logistics and finance activities and ensures those activities are in coherence with portfolio’s strategic planning. S/he provides the support to the Operations Manager and missions in the different approaches of the emergency preparedness and implementing the emergency interventions.

The DRECO will build effective working relationships with different MSF OCBA technical referents and advisors. S/he will also support the Operations Manager in the engagement and the coordination with different MSF regional offices and entities. As part of the portfolio team, the DRECO will play a key facilitative role within the portfolio in organizing the portfolio’s information management and organizing the key planning moments. As part of the operations Department, the DRECO will participate in the different department’s meetings and will take active role in contributing to the MSF OCBA’s strategic orientation and strategies.

The DRECO is a full member of the operational Cell 5 based in Nairobi. S/he works closely with the Cell 5 members and Heads of Missions and Emergency Response Teams (ERT) in the missions. The DRECO reports hierarchically and functionally to the RECO.

MAIN RESPONSABILITIES

1. Applied security management

• Ensure the portfolio, projects and emergency interventions are aligned with MSF OCBA security policies, rules and guidelines.
• Lead all security -related processes delegated by the RECO.
• Sparring & contrasting with RECO on security strategies and their impact on the operation and on the practical security measures.
• Ensure the implementation of the security measures in the missions in appropriate time.
• Collaborate with the TELOCO (the cell’s Logistic Advisor) to ensure the logistics procedures and processes are in coherence with the Security Guidelines of the mission.
• Work closely with OCBA security advisors in planning and implementing the different security measures and keeping the security documents and records up to date.
• Act as the cell Focal Point for security training and simulations organization with the cell members and missions.

2. Support of emergency preparedness and response

• Collaborate with and give technical support to the teams in the field in all phases of emergencies (surveillance, preparation, design of project proposal, planning and budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, reporting, follow up and re- orientation, exiting and closure).
• Define and support the mission emergency response strategies and ensure its alignment with OCBA strategic orientations.
• Ensure key management tools are maintained and updated including security protocols and documents, regular sitreps and reports and budget follow up.

3. Supervise and support some departmental functions in the portfolio (preferably, logistics and financial functions)

• Provide the support to certain Cell’s Advisors in the following.
• During the planning seasons and throughout the planning cycle and interventions.
• Ensure that these certain departments’ activities are aligned with the cell operational ambitions and plans and with OCBA Operational orientations.
• In the follow up of the regular programs and emergency interventions, in addition to make sure the proposed projects components are coherent with the project’s objectives.
• Direct involvement in selecting the Advisors of the cell in case of new recruitments, conduct their evaluations and performance follow-up.

4. Operations management and support

• Contribute to the definition of MSF OCBA operational vision, strategies, and orientations.
• Contribute to analysing context and defining the strategy of missions within the portfolio.
• Participate in providing the operational input to define the strategies for the rest of the portfolio departments.
• Review and ensure quality of key documents, with adherence to agreed strategies, plans and processes, implementation of agreed decisions.
• Ensure monitoring and analysis of the missions’ reports (Annual and quarterly reports, Sitreps, etc) and other management information, organise discussions and feedback process in the portfolio and with the missions.
• Monitor implementation of management decisions and actions agreed within the portfolio, between the portfolio and missions and with other MSF entities and offices.
• Flag serious issues and that affect programme implementation and engage in proactive identification of practical solutions.
• Support the identification of appropriate technical support for programme implementation and work with relevant technical referents to ensure follow up on programmatic quality issues.
• Support the organisation of the portfolio annual planning and regular reviews and ensure the follow up of the major operation decisions.

5. Coordination and information management

• Coordinate the internal cell activities, manage, facilitate in organising the portfolio planning meetings and events.
• Ensure key operations monitoring information is collated and disseminated to the appropriate team members– contributing to the analysis and presentation.
• Ensure coordination of follow up to key operation/implementation issues, facilitating the timely delivery and follow up of required resources, information.
• Act as the portfolio focal person for projects and activities capitalization and evaluations.
• Carry out technical briefings and debriefings, involving technical referents when needed, and identify individual training needs.
• Work closely with other MSF OCBA departments and units (evaluations, fundraising, PCA, etc.) and take responsibility of some transversal dossiers as required.
• Replace the RECO when required.
• Assumed additional responsibilities as delegated by the RECO.

SELECTION CRITERIA

• Previous experience in humanitarian settings, with minimum of 3 years of operations management with MSF (field coordinator or higher) in contexts of conflicts and humanitarian emergencies.
• Demonstrable experience in resource (HR, Finance, Logistics) mobilization and management, including budget monitoring and reporting.
• Proven experience in security management, including developing/reviewing security guidelines.
• Strong analytical and advisory skills, with basic understanding of medical data and epidemiological analysis.
• Ability to translate complex contexts and summarize the core elements into analysis with clear conclusions and recommendations.
• Experience of implementing continuous improvement or knowledge management initiatives in a large organization is strongly recommended.
• Fluency in English is essential and a second working language (preferably Spanish, French, or Portuguese) is strongly recommended.
• Advanced knowledge of Windows setting as a user (mainly Word and Excel), and new IT.
• Ability to travel, often at short notice, and occasionally to remote and insecure locations.

CONDITIONS

• Based in Nairobi at the Médecins Sans Frontières OCBA decentralized office with travel to the fields 40% of the time (on short notice).
• Full-time position.
• Minimum commitment with the position of 3 years.
• Annual Gross Salary: level HQ-5 – KES 6,217,417 (divided in 12 monthly payments).
• Global benefit package: school fee benefit/support for dependents and other allowances ranging between KES 75,000-140,000/month based on individual & administrative status.
• Other benefits include: 25 days of annual leave, Employer Pension contribution, Relocation support for non-Kenyan residents etc. based on MSF EA terms/conditions.
• Starting Date: ASAP.