MYANMAR–Deputy Country Director Programs(M/F)–Yangon

Desired start date: 01/08/23
Duration of the mission: 1 year
Location: Yangon, Myanmar

About us …

SOLIDARITES INTERNATIONAL (SI) is an international humanitarian aid association which, since more than 40 years, has been providing assistance to populations affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters by meeting their basic needs for food, water and shelter. Particularly committed to the fight against diseases linked to unsafe water, the leading cause of death in the world, SI’s interventions provide expertise in the field of access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, but also in the essential area of food security and livelihoods. Present in some twenty countries, the SI teams – 2500 people in total, made up of expatriates, national staff, permanent staff at HQ, and a few volunteers – intervene with professionalism and commitment while respecting cultural norms.

About the mission

SI has been in Myanmar since 2008, first responding to the devastating Nargis Cyclone. In 2011 and 2012, SI expanded to new regions focusing on Livelihoods, Food Security, Shelter, and WASH.

SI is currently mainly operating in Rakhine and in Kachin States with outreach emergency capacities through its local partners in Chin, Sagaing and Magway States. The operations are supported by the Coordination team based in Yangon.

While continuing to support the vulnerable communities suffering from a long-term protracted crisis, SI is also developing a stronger and more responsive Emergency component, either directly or through local partners, to tackle the growing needs spreading across the country.

While continuing to support the vulnerable communities suffering from a long-term protracted crisis, SI is also developing a stronger and more responsive Emergency component, either directly or through local partners, to tackle the growing needs spreading across the country.

In 2023, 14 international staff and more than 300 national staff are working with SI Myanmar to implement projects focusing on Wash, FSL and Emergency response. Projects range from immediate life-saving response (Water Scarcity in Rakhine, Emergency response to new displacements etc.) to the search for more sustainable solutions to protracted crisis (handover to communities and local organizations, capacity-building, community empowerment etc.) Projects are currently funded by FCDO, ECHO, CIAA, CDCS and UN agencies with potential for development in terms of geographical coverage and activities’ scope to address the emerging needs.

SI has 2 regional operational bases:

In Rakhine State – Sittwe regional base with two areas of intervention in Pauktaw, and Sittwe Townships. Sittwe regional base is composed of 239 national staff and 4 expatriates.
In Kachin State – Bhamo regional base with a sub-base in Lwegel. Bhamo regional base is composed of 44 national staff and 1 expatriate.

Each base is directly supported by the Coordination team in Yangon, composed of 21 national staffs and 9 internationals (CD, DCD-Program, WASH Coordinator, FSL Coordination, Emergency Coordinator, Finance Coordinator, Logistics Coordinator, Grant Manager and Reporting and Communication Officer).

In 2022, the mission budget reached 7 million euros and around 8 to 10 million is expected in 2023. The main financial partners of the mission are ECHO, FCDO, CIAA, CDCS, AFD and UN agencies.

To learn more about the Myanmar mission, please click here.

About the job

The role:

In close collaboration with the Country Director (CD), the DCD’s prime objectives are to provide leadership and management of the strategic programming, overseeing the strengthening of SI’s programs development, quality and accountability. The DCD ensures the internal coherence between program activities and is responsible for ensuring that programs are driven by needs, based on evidence, adaptable to contextual changes and conflict sensitive, monitored closely and resourced appropriately.

Specific stakes and challenges:

Access challenges and remote management: due to bureaucratic and administrative impediments, access to the country and, within the country, access to the areas of intervention remains a constant challenge to adapt to with impacts on completion of activities, budget consumption etc. While the most critical barrier is access to the field, the current situation prevents SI to secure visas in a short-term perspective. As such, the position will initially be held remotely.
Principled positioning: Myanmar is marked by constant challenges on principled humanitarian response due to instrumentalization of aid, frequent access disruptions and intense pressure on NGOs’ operations from authorities and other stakeholders.
Scope of programming: with activities ranging from pure emergency response through partners to development activities implemented by SI, the scope of programming of SI Myanmar covers a wide spectrum, although focusing primarily on WASH, FSL and shelter & NFI.
Partnership approach: a strong focus is put on localization in all areas of intervention. This requires adaptation to new operational modalities and a strong support to local partners. It also has a strong impact on some key departments at coordination level, with additional work to be considered.
Multiplicity of funding & donors: mission has recently increased in size, securing new donors and new projects. Despite a scale-up in some departments, the increase requirements in terms of reporting, compliance and the operationalization of new funding secured will require close monitoring.

Priorities for the first 2/3 months:

Close monitoring of program implementation: in a volatile environment plagued by bureaucratic and administrative impediments, and with a recently increased budget for the mission, a close monitoring of projects’ progresses, and budget consumption is required to adapt quickly to the situation, in line with donors’ contractual requirements, programming strategy etc.
Support the program department: with 4 Program Coordinators (WASH, FSL, Emergency, MEAL) under line management but also multiple PMs across bases and a potential turnover in the coming months, the DCD will need to provide strong support to the program department. Specific attention should also be paid to the nationalization of management position at base level that has recently been taken place. The DCD will support the technical coordinators/manager in building capacities of the national staff.
Localization process: localization is a strong trend in Myanmar context, due to multiple reasons. Support should be provided to the coordination and bases’ teams to ensure identification of relevant partners and update a localization and partnership approach on the mission.

Your profile

Education:

University level degree, preferably a master’s degree in political science, International Relations, Humanitarian Aid.

Experience:

Substantial experience in a senior management position in an overseas NGO environment, ideally in both emergency and developmental contexts.
Previous experience in strategy development
Experience of program implementation in different fields: WASH, food security – livelihood and DRR with a strong community mobilization and localization focus.
Experience in leading program development across multiple bases with multiple donors, preferably with knowledge of using contextual understanding and evidence to strategically guide the mission’s development with regards to programs.
Experience of managing large teams and local partners in multiple locations with various challenges.
Experience of budget management.
Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures.
Experience in Donor relations.
Previous experience in South Asia (recommended).

Technical skills and knowledge:

Extensive knowledge about project cycle management and monitoring tools (good understanding of MEAL systems expected).
An ability to reflect on and learn from own performance and the performance of the program; and to act upon that learning.
An ability to analyse information quickly and accurately.
Good problem-solving skills in day to day and crisis situations.
A flexible approach to managing and prioritizing a high workload and multiple tasks with tight deadlines.
A good understanding of cross-cutting issues, such as environment & climate change adaptations, gender, protection mainstreaming etc…
Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office, Excel.
Extensive report writing skills in English.
Capacity to deal with many different issues, programs, sectors, to self- update and learn very quickly from a highly and constantly evolving environment.
Strong representation / public relation skills.

Transferable skills:

Ability to take decisions and work in autonomy is essential.
The candidate must display diplomatic and smooth leadership skills.
An understanding of and commitment to SI’s mission and values.
Show a clear calm, stable, mature, and rational personality with a culturally sensitive approach.
Willingness to work under challenging conditions.
Able to work under pressure, be dynamic and highly motivated to meet populations’ humanitarian needs.

Language:

Bilingual in English and capacity to work with non-native English speakers.
Burmese or French are a plus.

SI will offer you

A salaried position
According to experience, starting from EUR 3080 gross / per month (EUR 2800 base salary, gross / month + 10% annual leave allowance paid monthly) + a monthly Per Diem of USD 700.

SI covers accommodation costs and travel expenses between the expatriate’s country of origin and the place of assignment.

The Field Coordinator lives in a shared guesthouse with the other international colleagues.

Breaks

During the assignment, a system of alternation between work and time off is implemented at the rate of 7 working days every 3 months. For a one-year assignment, the expatriate will have a 7 working days break at 3, 6 and 9 months (with USD 850 allocated by SI). In addition to these, SI adds 1 additional rest day per month of work, i.e. 12 additional days off for a one-year contract.

Insurance package
Expatriates benefit from an insurance package which covers all healthcare expenses (including medical and surgical expenses, dental care and ophthalmological expenses, repatriation) and a welfare system, including war risks. Essential vaccination and antimalarial treatment costs are refunded.

Living conditions

Due to access constraints for international staff and current inability to secure visa, the position is expected to be held remotely during minimum the first 6 months of the contract. As of now, there is no visibility on ability to secure visas from a middle-term perspective.

As such, the expatriate will be stationed outside of Myanmar, in a country in South-East Asia (possibly Thailand). Should visas be secured, the candidate will be based in Yangon.

Application process

Please send us your CV and cover letter in English.

If you have already been technically validated for SI on the position, please mention it.

NB: the vacancy may close before the deadline.

To learn more about SI, please visit our website.