Logistics Manager, Emergency Preparedness and Response

About NetHope

NetHope enables humanitarian organizations to better serve individuals and communities in the developing world through smarter use of technology. Working at the intersection of the international NGO sector, private business and technology innovation, NetHope is a Membership organization currently serving over 60 leading humanitarian, development, and conservation organizations around the world. NetHope empowers our Member organizations to collaborate, innovate, and leverage the full potential of information and communications technology to support their work in 190 countries. NetHope and our Members partner with over 50 of the world’s leading technology firms to create innovative solutions to existing and emerging challenges, and to reimagine how technology can improve our world.

The Opportunity

This is an exciting time at NetHope as the organization develops programs and services in collaboration with members and partners. Working with the team of staff and expert consultants, the Logistics Manager will support NetHope as the organization takes its Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Program to the next level. Over the next two years, NetHope seeks to: 1) empower the next generation of first responders for climate-amplified emergencies and humanitarian crises; and 2) accelerate its provision of emergency telecommunications and power in crisis-affected areas. This program has a solid history of excellent response in the connectivity realm and is expected to increase its effectiveness as well as incorporate the emerging requirements of people in emergencies which includes digital protection, information as aid, and misinformation mitigations, amongst others.

Logistics Manager, Emergency Preparedness & Response

NetHope is seeking an experienced, organized, and enthusiastic professional logistician to manage its considerable stock of high-value information and communications technology (ICT) equipment, dispersed in up to 6 regional and 3 national locations around the world, to ensure our immediate readiness to provide an appropriate and capable response to any emergency which requires its response. The Logistics Manager will contribute significantly to the development, right-sizing and configuration of this stock to reduce ‘Time-To-Connectivity’ in the response, whilst ensuring value-for-money and accountability in procurement, and efficient management of the stocks at all times.

The Logistics Manager will perform the logistic function within the NetHope Emergency Preparedness & Response Team, at the center of a globally dispersed network of staff, contractors, volunteers and alumni of the Disaster Response Training program. These related sets of individuals comprise the human component of NetHope’s overall emergency preparedness and response capacity. The Logistics Manager is responsible for ensuring that the physical resources of equipment for solar power generation, networking, point-to-point radio, and satellite communication are properly configured, updated and ‘kitted’ for response. Since NetHope works as a virtual team, the Logistics Manager must be adept at working independently, whether at their home base or deployed on an EPR mission for training or a crisis.

The Logistics Manager is a critical role in NetHope’s emergency response team. This position is subject to deployment for around the clock emergency response operations, which requires irregular work hours and includes duties other than those specified in the official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations could extend beyond a few weeks on some occasions, with little advance notice, and may include travel to countries with sensitive political environments. It could require temporary relocation to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.

Specific responsibilities include:

Emergency Response

• Manage the logistic support to any emergency response effort mounted by NetHope, whether or not this involves the deployment of a team.
• Organize the procurement, delivery, shipment, importation and customs clearance, transportation, storage, and dispatch of equipment to the point of use, as required by the situation.
• Prepare all necessary documentation required for shipment, importation and customs clearance.
• Troubleshoot logistic challenges and anticipate problems, to ensure the quality and efficiency of NetHope’s response, with the goal of reducing overall ‘Time-To-Connectivity’.
• When required, deploy personally with the field team for the assessment of connectivity needs or to participate in NetHope’s actual response to a crisis.
• Provide logistic advice and support to any NetHope Member or technology partner working on the response, at field level, to facilitate communication and coordination amongst stakeholders.
• Organize the handover, disposal or recovery, as appropriate, of deployed or locally-purchased ICT equipment, post-emergency.
• Perform any logistical or team administrative support task assigned by the field team leader, such as local purchase of needed items and acting as a base camp or vehicle manager, if required.

Emergency Preparedness

• Act as a subject-matter expert, provide technical advice on logistic issues to the EPR program.
• Support market assessment and analysis of ICT equipment and connectivity service suppliers in different regions and countries, building useful contacts and relationships in advance of crises.
• Evaluate the functionality of existing logistic systems and apply proper supply chain management and a purchasing program for ICT equipment, demand management and forecasting, inventory control and replenishment, transportation, importation, warehousing and distribution.
• Look for local procurement and transportation options where appropriate, always ensuring attainment of the specified quality of the ICT equipment as well as value-for-money.
• Enhance NetHope’s capability to conduct logistic operations in priority disaster-prone countries.
• Develop efficient and effective logistical policies, standards and procedures, where needed.
• Maintain up-to-date records of all logistic processes, including software and other necessary licenses, through NetHope’s dedicated Asset Management Information System, for which the Logistics Manager will bear primary operator responsibility.
• Ensure the compliance of procurement and logistics management with donor requirements, including through the preparation and submission of reports on stocks and other logistic issues.
• Plan and carry-out a regular program of visits to equipment stock locations to ensure proper storage, configuration, updating and kitting of the equipment, in readiness for response.
• Obtain and manage the insurance of equipment in transportation and storage, as necessary.

Capacity-Building

• Support the planning, execution, and follow-up of emergency preparedness capacity-building initiatives, whether from the manager’s home base or deployed to the field with the training team.
• Provide relevant training in logistics for the NetHope team, contractors, volunteers and beyond.
• Develop logistic management training materials to support the overall EPR training program.
• Cultivate the collaborative partnerships and positively influence the strategic positioning of NetHope with its Members, technology partners, multilateral agencies, governments and other donors, in connection with ICT logistical issues, such as stockholding, utilization, and replacement.
• Advise and support NetHope Members and technology partners on logistic preparedness issues.
• Support NetHope’s capacity development across the board, particularly the capabilities of staff.

General Responsibilities

• Participate in program design, to ensure that logistic challenges and costs are properly anticipated, understood, mitigated, and accounted for.
• Advise and recommend improvements to NetHope on any logistic issue, including the procurement of non-ICT equipment, if needed.
• Support program development and related resource mobilization efforts, when required.

Qualifications:

Personal Characteristics

• A passion for NetHope’s mission and for working collaboratively and nimbly in a fast-paced dynamic global environment
• Cultural sensitivity across all aspects of work
• Values and encourages diversity of thought, backgrounds, and perspectives
• Solid judgement including handling of sensitive information
• Integrity/ethics beyond reproach
• Excellent at working in a networked & virtual team environment
• Ability to multi-task while maintaining vigilant attention to detail in a fast-paced working environment
• Flexible, able to work under pressure against tight deadlines and with shifting program needs, and the ability to multi-task while maintaining attention to detail in a fast-paced work context.
• Ability to work in sometimes austere environment and remain calm in ambiguous and sometimes stressful situations.

Knowledge and Skills

• Demonstrable skills in planning, personal organization, and time management.
• Strong relationship building, communication, and collaboration skills, to win support.
• Ability to define logistic requirements and select, implement, and operationalize scalable systems.
• NetHope uses a variety of technology to facilitate our work. You can expect to use Salesforce, Asana, Slack, Miro, Zoom and Microsoft Office extensively.
• Experience with Fulcrum and CISCO Meraki equipment preferred.
• Fluency in spoken and written English.
• Knowledge of another language, especially Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian and/or Portuguese will be a plus.

Education and Experience

• A relevant professional qualification, e.g., in supply chain management, ideally to Bachelor level.
• A minimum of five years of experience in supply chain, logistics, warehousing, and/or procurement management with progressive responsibilities, preferably in humanitarian and development organizations, the ICT sector, and/or private sector logistics organizations.
• Understanding of national and international import/export legislation and common customs regulations.
• Knowledge of different logistics, inventory or asset management information systems.
• Experience of developing training curricula for logistical subjects and of facilitating this training.
• Project management experience is highly desirable.
• Experience of deployment to humanitarian emergencies of different kinds is desirable.
• NetHope Member experience is highly valued, other NGO experience a plus.

Reporting and Working Conditions:

• This position is a full-time position that reports to the Director, Emergency Preparedness and Response, within the Field and Impact Programs Team, and works closely with Engagement and Development teams.
• NetHope is a virtual organization, so our team, our Members, and our Partners are located around the world. Due to the global nature of the organization, meetings may thus be required at any time of the day to meet with our stakeholders in varying time zones. To meet these needs, NetHope embraces flexible schedules for team members, and we work with each other to be located globally, but still maintain a reasonable work time balance.
• As a global organization, we welcome qualified applicants with diverse backgrounds from various locations, and who may have non-traditional work patterns.
• NetHope is a networked team-oriented environment with staff working across functional areas to produce high-quality programs, services, and connections with our Members. We value open communication and believe that a staff working as a team produces the best outcomes.
• This position is 100% remote and virtual. International or domestic travel may be required.
• This position is subject to deployment for around the clock emergency response operations, which requires irregular work hours and includes duties other than those specified in the official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations is extensive in nature, with little advance notice, includes travel to countries with sensitive political environments, and requires temporary relocation to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
• This position is funded for two years with the potential for it to be extended based on funding.