The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
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IRC attaches great importance to collaboration, cooperation and coordination between NGOs and other stakeholders (State, United Nations system, national NGOs, etc.). This is why IRC Niger has joined forces with the forum of international NGOs in Niger (OIREN) to host and take charge of OIREN’s Humanitarian Working Group (HWG).
Job overview
We are looking for an exceptional candidate to fill this position and play a key role in improving humanitarian coordination in Niger. The Humanitarian Working Group (HWG) was created in 2022 within OIREN. It contributes to the implementation of OIREN’s objectives, which focus on the advocacy and representation of international humanitarian NGOs for the effective implementation of humanitarian actions for affected populations. The GTH aims to ensure recognition of the role of humanitarian NGOs in the humanitarian response through advocacy and institutional communication, while ensuring that humanitarian principles are respected and applied unconditionally. The GTH, which is part of OIREN, is a forum for discussion, information-sharing and consultation on issues and problems specific to humanitarian action in Niger, first and foremost between its members, but also between its members and the various stakeholders involved in international cooperation and humanitarian aid, recovery and development for the benefit of Nigerien populations – national or local authorities, the United Nations, donors, diplomatic representations, national NGOs, etc.
Under the technical supervision of the OIREN Executive Board and the administrative supervision of the IRC Niger Country Director, the OIREN Humanitarian Working Group (HWG) Coordinator-Representative is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the HWG through the following roles and responsibilities:
Main responsibilities
• Ensure effective coordination and communication between GTH members, OIREN coordination, technical groups, donors, UN systems and other stakeholders. Coordination is one of the key elements of the position.
• Represent humanitarian NGOs on the Humanitarian Country Team, and act as a link between the EHP and the NGOs (prepare and share minutes of meetings, share documents sent by OCHA, etc.).
• Represent the GTH with external stakeholders – donors, government, coordinating bodies and local and international NGOs.
• Network with the relevant players to help achieve the GTH’s objectives.
• Participate in the organization and facilitation of monthly GDCI meetings, working groups and ad hoc meetings.
• With the support of GTH members and the OIREN Executive Board, develop and implement a multi-year communication and advocacy strategy focused on humanitarian actions.
• Consolidate and analyze information and responses on operational issues (e.g. collection and compilation of INGO interventions for coordination with the authorities and OCHA).
• Recruit, supervise and manage, as required, specific consultants and subcontractors needed to carry out activities to be identified by the GTH.
• Act as OIREN’s focal point for humanitarian issues.
• Responsible for all aspects of grant management, including, but not limited to, submission of high-quality proposals to donors, financial and narrative reporting, grant ranking, MOUs between the NGO hosting the position and other INGOs contributing to the GTH budget.
• Coordinate monitoring and evaluation of GTH initiatives, as required, for reporting, learning and possibly advocacy purposes.
• Leading the strategy and development of the GTH as a forum
• Develop an operational and financial strategy for the GTH.
• Organize and facilitate GTH meetings at a frequency to be defined and validated.
• Coordinate with GTH members to define agendas in advance of meetings and ensure that meeting minutes are shared in good time.
• Participate in EHP meetings and prepare minutes to share with OIREN members.
• Raise awareness among international NGO heads of mission by capitalizing on and popularizing various humanitarian themes (advocacy, humanitarian access, global policies, etc….).
• Act as GTH focal point with other OIREN thematic groups as required. Oversee the GTH’s advocacy and communications work, including strategy development. Coordinate the preparation of position papers and press releases on topics deemed useful by all GTH members. Ensure advocacy on relevant topics such as humanitarian space, humanitarian principles, access negotiation and, if possible, organize training sessions.
• Oversee the implementation of the awareness-raising and training component on the principles of humanitarian and protection integration with the recruitment, preparatory meeting and supervision of consultants and dedicated staff (if funded by donors in 2022).
• Participate in CTTNUD meetings to monitor discussions on the operationalization of the Humanitarian – Development – Peace Nexus in Niger and to ensure that humanitarian principles are respected and preserved in its implementation.
Key working relationships
The relevant interfaces for this position are:
o GTH: INGO representatives (heads of mission or country directors).
o OIREN: Members of OIREN’s national coordination and office secretariat in Niger
o UN: Humanitarian Country Coordination, OCHA, Agencies, Funds and/or program representatives.
o Coordination mechanisms: EHP, EHP technical groups, CM-Coord, clusters, working groups (e.g. access)
o The incumbent is one of the INGO representatives at the EHP.
o National and local authorities
o Local NGOs
o Donors
Job requirements
• At least 10 years’ experience in a humanitarian context, including at least 5 years in a management position,
• Experience of working in complex and volatile environments,
• Experience as head of mission and/or coordinator of a humanitarian coordination body,
• Experience as NGO representative in coordination mechanisms such as EHP
• Experience in interfacing with donors and government,
• Proven knowledge of coordination and strong advocacy skills,
• Fluency in written and spoken French and English.
• Very good knowledge of the Sahel context and real work experience in one of the Sahel’s French-speaking countries are highly desirable.
• As a representative of humanitarian INGOs in key spaces, the coordinator will need to have demonstrated previous success in advocacy efforts and a proven ability to make their voice heard and represent common positions in public forums.
• Strategic thinking,
• Performance and development management,
• Empowering and building
• Managing resources to optimize results
Working environment: The position will be based in Niamey. While the security situation in Niamey is generally calm, civil conflict continues elsewhere in the Diffa region, and the area is considered unstable. All IRC staff are asked to scrupulously respect security instructions
How to Apply:
