Project Management Delegate Response Preparedness – Mali

We help to reduce vulnerabilities and strengthen resilience by responding to disasters and crises and by supporting community and institutional risk reduction and preparedness.

This is done in the Netherlands with more than thirty thousand volunteers, and internationally with the aid of specialists or by sending relief supplies or money.

Together we act before, during and after disasters to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people. We do this without regards to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinion.

Our seven principles guide our humanitarian work: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

The Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) seeks a Project Manager to provide technical and project management support for its response preparedness project with the Croix-Rouge Malienne (CRM) in Mali.

Position title: Project Management Delegate Response Preparedness

Duty station: Bamako – Mali

Time period: 12 months with possibility of extension

Starting Date: 06 March 2024

Status: Single posting/R&R

Rationale

Netherlands Red Cross Response Preparedness Program

In 2011 the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (RCRC) was held. During this conference the Dutch government and NLRC agreed to support a selection of National Societies to provide more effective emergency response. This resulted in the so-called ‘RP’ program, a first full-fledged response preparedness program implemented from 2012 until 2016 in 5 countries. In Mali, a second RP program (RP2) followed with implementation from 2016 till 2021.

The third and current Response Preparedness program (RP3) runs from September 2022 until February 2026. It consolidates the achievements thus far and further strengthens the National Society’s (NS) core activities of disaster preparedness. The aim is to enable a better prepared response mechanism of the NS, together with RCRC Movement partners and national stakeholders in case disasters strike. The program therefore does not only address the internal capacity of CRM, but also its specific position within the country’s broader disaster response preparedness mechanism. Where possible, links are made with regional and global capacity levels. Consequently, the RP fills a critical gap between on the one hand, community-based resilience and disaster risk reduction programs, and, on the other hand, international disaster response. In addition, RP3 contributes to global Red Cross and Red Crescent tools and guidelines on response preparedness through the IFRC Secretariat and the RCCC.

Purpose of the position

The Response Preparedness Project Management delegate is responsible for providing technical and programmatic support to CRM in design, planning and monitoring of the NLRC supported project to ensure effective and efficient implementation as well as narrative and financial reporting. The Project Delegate will work in collaboration with the CRM, the Emergency Operational Center in Bamako, the RCRC partners and a wide range of stakeholders to assure high-quality interventions in response preparedness and disaster management.

Position in the organization

• The Project Manager is based in Bamako and reports to the NLRC Country Representative in Bamako;
• The Project Delegate will have a direct working link with three national staff (Project manager, Accountant, PMEAL);
• For all project related obligations and information, the Project Delegate has a functional link with the NLRC RP Program Manager, Partnership & Portfolio Coordinator, Portfolio Officer, Technical advisor, PMEAL advisor, Financial Controller, Roving Finance Delegate, Project Administrator, Logistics Officer and Desk Assistant.

Summary of responsibilities

Project Management & Implementation

• Responsible for overall project management and ensuring that the goals, objectives and work plan are met, in close collaboration with the CRM staff and Country Representative in Mali, and working with the relevant advisors and the Desk at HQ;
• Work closely with the CRM in order to strengthen its disaster preparedness and response management and improve its planning processes;
• Strengthen the CRM Disaster Management unit by providing guidance on operational structure and member’s roles and responsibilities;
• Appraise the annual plans of the Malian government as well as those of the CRM; verify whether they are in line with the objectives and the overall project description and use them as a base for yearly revision of the RP3 Plan of Action and budget;
• Ensure effective working relationships with the project staff;
• Provide appropriate mentorship, capacity building and technical support to the CRM counterparts and volunteers, including on assessment and identification of needs, priorities, objectives, outputs and core components and activities;
• Provide support to all staff in ensuring that cross-cutting themes are considered in interventions at all levels, especially in project design, work plans, and trainings;
• Undertake regular monitoring with field visits and meetings with relevant actors including project partners in assessing trends, patterns and changing needs, and consequently advise on appropriate strategies.
• Monitor quality of project implementation, indicate at an early stage the need for technical support to RP technical advisor and ensure feedback from advisor is incorporated;
• Coordinate the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the RP3 project with support of the PMEAL advisor in order to achieve all the project outputs within the set timeframe, while ensuring that interventions adhere to the quality standards;
• Ensure the exit plan of the project is taken into consideration from the planning process.
• Ensure that the donor’s rules and requirements are followed throughout the entire project cycle;
• Present, in collaboration with the Country Representative, the Desk and the HQ, the identified needs, new program opportunities and support the writing of new proposals;

Financial, logistics and administration Management

• Responsible for budget management (as NLRC budget-holder); monitoring of expenditure, checking and validating of vouchers, coding vouchers, compilation of budgets; financial questioning from internal and external audits;
• Collaborate with CRM accountant in charge of the project accountability, to ensure respect of both CRM and NLRC financial, logistic and administration procedures and reporting requirements;
• Assist the CRM in producing regular, accurate and timely financial and narrative reports according to NLRC standards through mentoring and training in project and financial management as well as reporting;
• Updating indicators progress on SPACE regularly, and undertaking midterm and end of project evaluations;
• Seeking formal approval from NLRC HQ on amendments, budget revisions and reports;
• Preparation of the procurement list and review/approve procurement processes.

Partnership, Coordination and Communication

• Support the Project Manager in working on partnership and in coordination with the other CRM projects related to preparedness, anticipatory action, and response;
• Support the cooperation of the CRM with the local services, authorities, technical partners, as well as international organizations and other RCRC Movement partners;
• Support CRM to participate in relevant national and international coordination mechanisms and platforms (and represent NLRC when applicable);
• Coordinate with other RCRC Movement partners and identify peers that can be put in touch with the CRM to exchange lessons learned;
• Develop and maintain a strong working relationship and coordination with relevant stakeholders and linking with similar projects and initiatives in the region;
• Promote humanitarian principles and key cross-cutting issues such as PGI, CEA, environmental awareness and DRR;
• Present and communicate on a regular basis and in all transparency, the results, difficulties and development of the project to the NLRC HQ, the management of CRM, and other partners.

Requirements/Qualifications:

• A minimum of five years of work experience in an international humanitarian organization;
• A minimum of two years in managing disaster preparedness projects and operations in the Global South/ emergency/ high-risk settings; practical experience and understanding of the relevant technical competencies required;
• Experience in and/or extensive knowledge of setting up and developing tools necessary for the operationalization of Emergency Operations Centers, drafting Memorandum of Understanding between RC and DRM National agencies, Emergency Response Teams, performing Emergency Needs Assessments (ENA), data collection and analysis, IFRC evaluation tools, IFRC PER approach, IDRL lobby/advocacy, simulations, contingency planning, logistics in emergencies, pre-disaster agreements and other core RP activities;
• University Degree in disaster risk management, development studies, (social) geography, political science, public health or equivalent;
• Experience working and living in a high-risk country other than your domicile;
• Demonstrated experience in project/program management, design, (financial) reporting, monitoring and evaluation of multi-sectoral programs;
• Strong knowledge of finance, logistics, administration and cost control procedures;
• Extensive experience in team management;
• Experience in dealing with and bringing together various stakeholders for the purpose of effective project implementation;
• Fluency in French and English, written and spoken required;
• (International) driving license;
• Computer literate (MS Office, spreadsheets, Outlook);
• Experience working for the Red Cross/Red Crescent is an advantage;
• Experience working with WinPaccs and ODK Collect and/or KoboToolbox is an advantage.

Personal Qualities

• High degree of integrity, discretion, and personal conduct;
• High motivation to work in a challenging emergency context with attention for sustainability through capacity building on RP of CRM;
• Natural team-player with excellent interpersonal skills: demonstrated ability to train, inspire and support the team with a respectful and patient attitude;
• Ability to maintain effective partnerships and working relations in different cultural and organizational settings;
• Flexible and adaptable to changing working conditions;
• Able to work in security constrained situations;
• Self-motivated and proactive, with good judgment and initiative;
• Able to prioritize and meet deadlines.

We offer

• A full-time appointment (based on 40-hour work week) for 1 year, with the possibility of extension;
• A flexible and human centred working environment in an international setting;
• Well balanced employment conditions with space for initiative and development;
• Currently a Rest & Recuperation rotation scheme every 12 weeks.