Humanitarian Response Lead

Humanitarian Response Lead

Project Overview and Role:

The Humanitarian and Stabilisation Operations Team (HSOT) provide the FCDO with operational capability, and specialist expertise supporting the UK government to rapidly respond to crises anywhere in the world. HSOT is a team of over 70 core staff based in London and have 900+ experts on their humanitarian and stabilisation rosters that can rapidly deploy if needed. Operational partner, Palladium, manage HSOT which is embedded in FCDO.

The role forms a part of the Humanitarian Emergency Response Team (HERT) of advisors within HSOT and will be responsible for developing and maintaining HSOT’s core response systems and processes. This will include updating of HSOT’s current response tools and internal training materials, as well as leading on the development and delivery of HSOT staff and roster consultant response capacity building and exercising.

The post will involve taking on the coordination and lead role during a response, establishing and managing a response team drawn from across the organisation as required. The post holder will work in consultation with HSOT’s senior leadership and key client counterparts to shape and agree tailored response offer to FCDO.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

HSOT readiness:

• Lead on the refresh of critical systems, processes and response toolkit including working with HRG counterparts for effective alignment, including developing and maintaining associated training packages and an approach for regular review and updating of these and other core response assets.
• Shape, consult, refine, finalise and exercise a response activation and deactivation mechanism for the team.
  Agree service level agreements with delivery and enabling teams and guide teams on achieving their readiness requirements.
• Design and conduct annual exercise cycle to ready HSOT, alongside HRG and others as appropriate, for response delivery and to build humanitarian preparedness.
• Identify and promote opportunities for HSOT staff with response roles to engage in sector training and learning events.
• Contribute to the identification of and engagement with humanitarian experts on the HEROS roster.

Training and Exercising:

• Collaborate with client counterparts and HSOT colleagues to promote inclusion of humanitarian response in FCDO exercises and generate suitable content as asked.
• Design/co-design and deliver/co-deliver exercises for FCDO teams focused on enhancing humanitarian preparedness and response, ensuring that HSOT deliver agreed training to meet learning needs.
• Convene and guide relevant HSOT staff to deliver humanitarian response element of broader training and exercises for FCDO teams and partners.
• Generate evidence of added value of humanitarian contribution to FCDO exercising.

Response:

• Manage the first phase of HSOT response and support all operational aspects throughout the response.
• Establish and maintain relationships with key client interlocutors, providing strategic advice to FCDO teams and ensure HSOT alignment as a response evolves.
• Provide leadership to, and day-to-day management of, HSOT whole of response coordination.
  In consultation with all relevant capability teams, develop and update overall strategy for HSOT contribution to the response.
• Draw in HSOT expertise and existing resources, ensuring HSOT expertise is ready, positioned, and availed to support FCDO response lead to ensure an effective, efficient, coordinated, principled response.
• Matrix manage the response team, including briefing and debriefing, given team members are often seconded into client structures and work within the capability teams to deliver.
• Champion staff welfare, learning and quality assurance so they are central to HSOT delivery of response.
• Anticipate and manage operational risk of response.
• As required, deploy to lead field response.

Required Qualifications:

• Knowledge and experience gained working extensively on developing countries and/or in fragile and conflict affected environments, including field-based experience in rapid onset disaster/complex emergency settings.
• Leadership experience in humanitarian response leadership roles, ideally in both head office and field environments
• Strategic experience of working across cross functional teams, managing response teams, undertaking representational responsibilities and working within the humanitarian architecture.
• Strong experience building relationships by working within or alongside donor organisation or other civil servant entity and demonstrated success working politically to deliver humanitarian priorities.
• Maintains composure under pressure, helps others do the same, taking confident and appropriate action.
• Demonstrable knowledge of training design and humanitarian theory and architecture,
• Good, intentional communicator – listening and conveying, intentional about shaping messages that land appropriately, understanding the language of our interlocutors.
• Proven ability to deliver results under pressure, often in resource constrained and politically sensitive contexts
• Candidates must have the right to work in the UK and UK footprint for the last 2 years to meet compliance requirement criteria.
  The closing date for this advert is the 24th April 2023.

Company Overview:

About Palladium – Palladium is a global leader in the design, development and delivery of Positive Impact – the intentional creation of enduring social and economic value. We work with governments, businesses, and investors to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. With a team of more than 3,000 employees operating in 90 plus countries and a global network of over 35,000 experts, we help improve economies, societies and, most importantly, people’s lives.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion – Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics. These include: (but are not limited to) socio-economic background, age, race, gender identity and expression, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, veteran, marital or Indigenous status.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made due to a disability or you are a neurodivergent individual or for any other circumstance, please email our team at [email protected] and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding – We define Safeguarding as “the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm”. We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding-focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.