Head of Support Iraq

NRC In Iraq

Since the Government of Iraq declared that combat operations against the Islamic State Group (IS) had ended in 2017, Iraq has been recovering from the significant damage and destruction caused by the armed conflict. Of the more than six million Iraqis who fled their homes since 2014, 4.78 million Iraqis have returned to their area of origin and 1.28 million remain internally displaced. Many Iraqis have returned to areas that lack basic infrastructure, services and livelihood opportunities, or where explosive devices have not been cleared. Other challenges returnees and secondarily displaced people face include the lack of security, community acceptance, housing, property and civil documentation issues as well as critical educational and health service gaps. Throughout this, Iraq continues to host over a quarter of a million Syrian refugees.

The UN estimates that more than 4.1 million Iraqis will have needed assistance in 2020, 1.77 million of them in acute need. With military operations against IS group having ended, the Iraqi government faces new challenges to ensure an inclusive reconstruction and reconciliation that will sustain peace.

Since 2010, NRC Iraq has been assisting internally displaced Iraqis, Syrian refugees, returnees, and host communities in Ninewa, Dohuk, Erbil, Kirkuk, Basra, Salahdeen and Anbar Governorates. We focus on assisting the newly displaced, those experiencing protracted displacement in camps, people moving to new areas of Iraq and resettling, and people returning to and living in hard-to-reach places by improving their chance of obtaining a durable solution. NRC runs integrated programmes across Iraq to respond to people in need through our shelter and settlements, education, camp management, legal assistance, livelihoods, cash activities, and partnerships.

Despite the end of the armed conflict with ISIS in end 2017, large numbers of Iraqi’s impacted by the conflict are trying to rebuild their lives. Many still face danger or are stuck in a protracted displacement situation. A large proportion of the displaced have returned to their area of origin. NRC Iraq works with all the populations in need including IDPs in and out of camps, returnees and host communities. In addition, NRC supports Syrian refugees in Iraq as well as populations impacted by climate-change induced displacement.

All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships.

Duties and responsibilities

The purpose of the Head of Support position is to ensure that all support functions are providing high quality and efficient support programme implementation.

Generic responsibilities:

• Line management for support managers such as Finance, HR & Admin and Logistics (incl. ICT)
• Member of the Country Management Group (CMG)
• Compliance with and adherence to NRC policies, guidance and handbooks and donor/auditor requirements
• Facilitate the support functions strategic input to the development of the Country Strategy and Plan of Action
• Provide input on operational support in proposal development, and to coordinate and align operational support with programme plans
• Responsible for ensuring quality support to project implementation.
• Facilitate the Master Support Budget, country level budgets and Budget Programme Overview development, including assess and monitor costs and resource allocation needs
• Responsible for the strategic development of country structures, technical systems, human resource capacity and allocation
• Responsible for development of new country specific technical SOPs, guidelines and tools
• Responsible for organisational learning related to programme support
• Responsible for technical capacity building of support staff

Specific responsibilities:

• Ensure that NRC Iraq operates within all relevant national laws, and complies with all regulations
• Support and lead organizational development and change management processes
• Ensure high quality and efficient donor budgets are prepared to ensure NRC remains competitive in a changing donor environment
• Support the roll out of organisational initiatives
• Represent NRC with donors, other NGOs and national and local authorities as appropriate
• Deputise for the CD when requested

Critical interfaces:

By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are:

• Budgets: Area Managers, Head of Programme, Regional and Global Finance
• Strategy: CC Specialists
• Policies and SOPs: HO in Oslo and region
• Programmatic operations support: Area Managers

Scale and scope of position:

Staff: Direct management of Finance Manager, Logistics Manager, HR and Admin

Manager, ICT Coordinator, Compliance Coordinator. Technical line management of Support staff

Stakeholders: Staff, Beneficiaries, Donors, UN bodies, International and National partners

Budgets: Total budget directly managed by position approx. $4m. Overall responsibility for approx. $10m

Information: Financial, HR, Logistics, ICT management systems

Legal or compliance: Act as focal point for organisation’s lawyers

Competencies

Competencies are important in order for the employee and the organisation to deliver desired results. They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following two categories:

Required Professional Competencies:

• Minimum five years’ experience from a senior management position in a humanitarian/ recovery context
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts
• Allocation of resources and costs expertise
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal

Required Behavioural Competencies:

These are personal qualities that influence how successful people are in their job. NRC’s Competency Framework states 12 behavioural competencies and the following are essential for this position:

• Working with people
• Managing performance and development
• Empowering and building trust

· Managing resources to optimize results

We Can Offer

• Contract period: 24 months
• Grade: 11
• Salary/benefits: According to NRC’s salary scale and terms and conditions
• Duty station: Erbil, Iraq