Uganda: HEAD OF MISSION - UGANDA

INTERSOS is an independent humanitarian organization that assists the victims of natural disasters, armed conflicts and exclusion. Its activities are based on the principles of solidarity, justice, human dignity, equality of rights and opportunities, respect for diversity and coexistence, paying special attention to the most vulnerable people.

1.Terms of reference

Job title: Head of Mission

Duty Station: Kampala with frequent travel to Northern Regions

Starting date: September 2017

Duration of contract: 12 months

Reporting to: Head of Emergency Unit

Supervision of: 20 National Staff and 2 PM Expat Project Managers (AICS & UNHCR)

Dependents: yes

2.General context of the project

INTERSOS has started its operation in the country in February 2017 in coordination with INTERSOS emergency programme in South Sudan. Since the South Sudan crisis erupted in December 2013, Uganda has always received a remarkable number of South Sudanese refugees. Nevertheless, their influx considerably increased in the aftermath of hostilities renewal in July 2016. As of June 2017, the total number of South Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers in the country reached 950.562, as per Office of the Prime Minister Refugee Department (OPM)’ data. According to figures, this number is keep increasing with a continuous influx of new arrivals counted up to 2.022 daily. Children and women represent the majority within the South Sudanese refugee population, counting for 86% over the total number of individuals crossing the Ugandan border. In particular, women account for over half of the total, while children under 18 represent 65%.

Notwithstanding the welcoming politics of the Ugandan Government towards refugees1, this unprecedented influx of new comers i) places enormous pressure on Ugandan resources; ii) undermines its basic service delivery system and iii) leads to conflicts on the use of scarce assets between the Ugandan Host Community and the South Sudanese Refugee Community. At this regard it is worth mentioning that in Uganda, differently from other countries, refugees are integrated in settlements within host community, and have access to basic and social services as per with Ugandan nationals.

Refugee Settlements in Arua district (Bibidi, Invepi, Lobule and Rhino) reached or they are about to reach their full capacity. For this reason, OPM and UNHCR identified a new site, Rhino Extension, in Omugu Sub-County, Arua district, onwards Omugo settlement, with a capacity of around 43.000 people, whose site preparation is currently-ongoing. In this framework, starting from July 2017 INTERSOS plans to contribute to the response in this same refugee settlement with an integrated multi-sector protection Health and WaSH intervention funded by the Italian Agency for Development and Cooperation (AICS).

3.General purpose of the position

The general purpose of the post is to represent INTERSOS in Uganda and act in accordance with specific directions from and supervision of the Emergency Unit.

4.Tasks and responsibilities

· Establish and maintain collaborative relations with Local Authorities and Institutions, Donors, International Agencies, NGOs, partners and other stakeholders;

· Follow up, guarantee and monitor government recognition procedures for the organization in compliance with the host country formalities (OPM Office);

· Define, in coordination with the country team, country priorities based on context and needs analyses; monitor donor intervention strategies in the country; design, promote and elaborate new interventions;

· Define strategic priorities for the development and set up of the mission structure;

· Continuously assess, analyse and evaluate new areas of intervention in Uganda especially in the North Regions;

· Conduct frequent mission to Arua district in order to ensure proper activities supervision and coordination with stakeholders and with the authorities;

· Support the definition of the mission financial plan, ensuring self-sufficiency and consistency of expenses, and assume responsibility for the mission funds management, including bank accounts;

· Coordinate, guide and supervise the mission staff, and evaluate their performance;

· Proactively participate in relevant coordination and strategic meeting at Kampala and Arua level.

5.Required profile/experience

· Advanced university degree. A first level university degree with a relevant combination of academic qualifications and experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;

· At least 5 years of professional work experience as Head of Mission or other management/ coordination positions in humanitarian/development contexts;

· Knowledge of the regional coordination mechanism;

· Previous experience in refugees operation in East Africa is an asset;

· Proven experience in management of EU, UN, USAID and ECHO funds;

· Remote control experience is an asset as well as risk management knowledge ;

· Ability to analyze the regional dimension of the Somalia situation;

· Ability to analyze and integrate information from a wide range of sources;

· Ability to administrate funds, logistics and human resources and to manage staff teams;

· Mastery of IT tools (MS Office package, internet, e-mail, etc.);

· English compulsory, Italian is an asset and Swahili a plus;

· Strong organizational and problem-solving skills with analytic approach;

· Excellent communication skills, both oral and written;

· Demonstrated ability to establish effective working relations with staff, beneficiaries and other stakeholders

· Ability to work in a High Risk environment within multi-ethnic and multicultural teams.

Qualified applicants are requested to submit their CV, motivation letter and 2 references to recruitment@intersos.org with subject line: "Head of Mission – Uganda”.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for the first interview.