Field Coordinator

Position: Field Coordinator

Level: AAH 10

Reports to: Country Director

Duration: 12 Months

Location: Fangak County/Jonglei

Last update: June 2023

Action Against Hunger leads the global movement to end hunger. We innovate solutions, advocate for change, and reach 24 million people every year with proven hunger prevention and treatment programs. As a nonprofit that works across 50 countries, our 8,300 dedicated staff members partner with communities to address the root causes of hunger, including climate change, conflict, inequity, and emergencies. We strive to create a world free from hunger, for everyone, for good.

Action Against Hunger USA is part of the Action Against Hunger International network. As an independent NGO, Action Against Hunger USA currently manages operations in 8 countries: Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia and Haiti. Action Against Hunger-USA has over $100 million in programs, and approximately 1,800 permanent staff based in New York City, Washington D.C, Nairobi, and country offices. Additional growth is anticipated.

1. Summary of position

The Field Coordinator is responsible for coordinating, consolidating, and ensuring smooth implementation of programs and operations’ activities and adherence to logistic, human resource, administration and security procedures. At the Filed Office level, the Field Coordinator represents Action Against Hunger to relevant stakeholders. Typically, the Field Coordinator reports to the Country Director.

Purpose:

1. The Field Coordinator is responsible for coordinating, consolidating, and ensuring smooth implementation of program and operations’ activities and adherence to logistic, human resource, administration and security procedures. This position will also provide support to the pilot of Seeds of Hope Initiative by contributing to implementation of Food Security & Livelihood activities and strengthen the capacity of staff and local communities to design and implement activities to prevent climate change-induced hungerin Fangak County.

Engagement:

1. At the Filed Office level, the Field Coordinator represents ACF to relevant stakeholders. The Field Coordinator will also liaise with local authorities and other organizations working within the region and actively participate in the state level clusters, ICCG, and other sub-national humanitarian networks and structures

Delivery:

1. Establishes program/service performance metrics which support sustained delivery in line with Beneficiaries needs and broader Departmental or corporate coordination; creates new process, approaches which accelerate delivery of programs/services
2. Establishes quality standards that ensure substantive deliverables are consistent and uphold the organization reputation; turns new concepts/approaches into functional reality through creation of metrics and standards that enable program/service delivery
3. Essential job functions

Objective 1: Coordinate Action Against Hunger Country Strategy implementation at field level:

• Field Coordinator are responsible for overseeing the implementation of ACF’s country strategy in their areas. As such they are accountable to:
• Participate in the development and update of the country strategy by providing information from the field;
• Ensure implementation of the country strategy at field level in collaboration with the Programme Managers and Technical Coordinators.

Objective 2: Oversee the overall implementation of programs at field level:

• Work with Programme Managers to ensure that work plans are in place and are realistic;
• Work with Programme Managers to forecast spending for activity costs;
• Review spending and implementation on a monthly basis with Programme Managers and present updated spending plans and output trackers to the coordination team during the Programme Review Meetings;
• With Programme Managers, identify any significant delays and disruptions to programmes and inform the PD and CD;
• Work with Programme Managers to ensure that technical feedback received from Technical Coordinators is integrated into programme implementation;
• Based on the Scheme of Delegation, review and confirm purchase requests that are over Programme Managers authorization limit to ensure that they are in line with spending plans.

Objective 3: Coordinating proposal development and reporting at field level:

• Field Coordinator is responsible for coordinating and reviewing proposals and reports at a field level before they are sent to the Program Director:
• Field Coordinator should review programme reports prepared by Programme Manager and ensure that they have been technically reviewed by Technical Coordinators before sending them to the Program Director;
• Field Coordinator will work with Programme Managers to budget the activity costs and targets for new proposals and ensure that they have been technically reviewed by Technical Coordinators before sending them to the Program Director.

Objective 4: Oversee the operation of the support functions at a field level:

• Field Coordinator are responsible for overall management of Logistics, Finance and Human Resources within their field office:
• Monitor compliance with financial, logistics and HR procedures;

Review the logistics, financial and HR reports on a monthly basis to ensure they are correct and any issues are addressed.

Objective 5: Manage the support costs of field bases:

• Ensuring that support costs are managed in an efficient way and, in collaboration with the Head of Finance, ensuring that the appropriate costs are budgeted into grants at the proposal stage;
• In collaboration with the Head of Finance, planning cost coverage for all support costs, structural costs and staff, at a field cover and ensuring that the costs can be covered by the available budgets;
• Reviewing spend on support costs on a monthly basis to ensure that forecasting is accurate;
• In coordination with Logistics, develop annual work plans for the bases to ensure that bases are well maintained and meet essential standards in terms of infrastructure and security;
• In coordination with Logistics, develop an asset procurement plan for the bases to ensure that the appropriate communication and IT assets are available and functioning.

Objective 6: Manage the team at field level:

As the most senior member of staff for their field office Field Coordinator should:

• Globally manages training needs at field level;
• Facilitate and promote the smooth flow of information between field offices and head office;
• Ensure that appropriate technical support is provided to the field office by Technical Coordinators and Logistics, HR and Finance;

Encourage compliance with the ACF Charter and the fight against fraud, corruption and abuse of power and alert the Country Director in the event of fraud, corruption or abuse of power.

Objective 7: Manage security at field level:

• Follow the evolution of security in the area through networking, data collection and analysis of information;
• In collaboration with the Security Manager and the Country Director make decisions at field level for the movement of teams based on security information;
• Update the Security Manager and Country Director in case of significant changes of the security context;
• Report critical incidents to the Security Manager and/or Country Director immediately and ensure that incident reports are provided within 24 hours;
• Support the Security Manager and Country Director in revising the Security Plan for the field on a 3 monthly basis, ensuring that it is relevant and up to date;
• Support the Security Manager and Country Director in revising the Evacuation and Hibernation Plan for the field on a 3 monthly basis, ensuring that it is relevant and up to date;
• Ensure that all staff in the field base are aware of the Security and Evacuation and Hibernation Plans and those assets are in place to ensure they can be implemented.

Objective 8: Represent ACF at a field level:

• Liaise with UN, NGOs and local authorities at a state level to ensure the coordination of activities; Ensure that ACF is appropriately represented at sectorial meetings with the region; Coordinate strategic partnerships at a field level.

Objective 9: Support provide leadership on Proposal development, Documentation and Reporting activities:

• Support the programs team with development of concept notes and new proposals to obtain sustained funding and produce technical and necessary parts of proposals in accordance with donor guidelines and deadlines and high quality technical and donor reporting across all program activities;
• Support conduct capacity analysis and provide continuous technical and organizational support and capacity building to PMs, Project Assistants and Community Volunteers;
• Support develop strategic positioning of our sectorial departments in close consultation with the Program Director, Heads of Department and other technical departments;
• Assist to draw from the strategic plan, FSL & Resilience Strategic document, other mission documents and broader analysis to identify new geographical areas of interest and or confirm existing areas

Physical Demands

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sometimes sit for long periods and to concentrate on work, including typing, and turn out heavy volumes of work accurately, within short time frames under stressful situations. Interruptions. Must be able to proofread own work accurately so that only minor corrections are needed on an infrequent basis.

To travel to the field, the employee must attest to a level of physical fitness capable of enduring physically difficult, highly stressful situations, which may include the necessity to walk long distances, to eat a limited diet and/or to reside in potentially uncomfortable housing or tents. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Working Conditions, Travel and Environment

• The duties of the job require regular job attendance at least five days per week. Must be available to work outside normal office hours or on the weekends as required.
• Must be able to travel as required in any part of the Country where the team will be deployed.
• All Action Against Hunger-USA employees are required to engage with and follow the performance management program in place

Gender Equality Commitments:

• Fostering environment that supports values of women and men’s equal access to information.
• Provides an environment where women and men must be promoted based on the performance objectives.
• Respect for beneficiaries, women, men, children (boys & girls) regardless of gender, sex, disability, religion, etc.
• Value and respect for all cultures.
• Promote and uphold the PSEA policy and procedures

Required Qualifications and Professional Experience

• Bachelor and a Master’s Degree in Social /Development/Humanitarian studies or any other related field
• 5 years INGO experience preferably, with previous experience as a Field Coordinator or Heads of base
• Previous experience in security management.

Required Skills, Competencies & Attributes

• Min 5 years’ INGO experience in a management role, preferably as a Field Coordinator or Head of Base
• Experience working in hardship locations/terrains
• Good budgeting and grant management skills
• Good anticipation, planning skills, especially in changing work contexts.
• Experience communicating in different cultural work environments
• Good communicator: verbal and written
• Highly organized, detail oriented and able to work under pressure.
• Previous security management experience
• Previous experience in logistics procedures
• Candidates must have a strong understanding & experience of Humanitarian Principles
• Previous experience with Action Against Hunger is an added advantage
• Experience in running nutrition programmes in an emergency context
• Experience working in insecurity environments