Field Coordinator Assistant

NGO PRESENTATION Handicap International is an independent and impartial international aid organisation working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. Working alongside persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, our action and testimony are focused on responding to their essential needs, improving their living conditions and promoting respect for their dignity and their fundamental rights. Handicap International is a not-for-profit organisation with no religious or political affiliation. It operates as a federation made up of a network of associations that provide it with human and financial resources, manage its projects and implement its actions and social mission. Through its Emergency Response Department (ERD), created in 2006 after the merge with Atlas Logistique, the organization is committed to: Provide an adequate response to major natural disaster and conflict situations, anywhere in the world as much as possible within 72 hours; Provide assistance to vulnerable groups (refugees, IDPs, persons with injuries, elders, children, etc.) affected by a crisis and maximize the number of beneficiaries. Within vulnerable groups, target especially PwD and meet their specific needs; Constantly monitor chronic crises and/or conflicts to ensure preparedness for and rapid response to eventual emerging needs.   Directly linked to the Emergency Response Department of Handicap International France, the expatriate will be mandated for the following mission: MISSION CONTEXT   The 2011 Syrian uprising began on March, 15th 2011 with public demonstrations as part of the wider Arab Spring and developed into a nationwide uprising and a civil war in 2012. The violence in Syria has caused around 5.2 million of people to flee their homes and to seek refuge in other part of the country (UNHCR September 2013). The humanitarian situation of the population inside Syria appears to be catastrophic, and the population has immediate needs for health services to treat the wounded, food and non-food items. Host communities are seeing their resources progressively exhausted by the double burden of a degraded economy and their efforts to support the displaced. Scarcity of resources has added to the exasperation, and daily reports of exactions further fuel tensions. In parallel to the emergency response in the hot-spots, the support to host communities and displaced people has become essential in avoiding widespread desperation of a population. However, with little access to the field and significant constraints for humanitarian actors to operate in the country (difficulties in obtaining visas, ban on using questionnaires or organizing surveys, restrictions on coordination), assessing the needs has always been a major challenge in Syria. Finally, the situation does not allow humanitarian actors that were not in Syria before the unrest to intervene and tackle the needs within Syria. Additionally, the violence in Syria has caused the displacement of civilians fleeing from violence in the neighbouring countries of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. In September 2013, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the number of Syrian refugees had reached over 2.6 million. In a very volatile and complex context, HI has carried out a detailed on-the-ground assessment of the situation in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan in March-April 2012. Following the recommendations of this assessment mission, the HI Emergency Response department launched a regional emergency intervention for the most vulnerable people affected by the Syrian crisis, which started beginning of May both in north Jordan and Lebanon.   PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES   Lebanon -Provision of emergency physical rehabilitation (North and Bekaa) -Cash Assistance to the most vulnerable refugees (North and Bekaa) -Improvement of basic and specific needs coverage of persons at risk/vulnerable persons and their families (North and Bekaa) -Emergency preparedness   MAIN RESPONSABILITIES OF THE POSITION   Under the responsibility of the Field Coordinator, you will be responsible for:   Context monitoring of the Emergency Response Department intervention in the Bekaa Valley concerning the Syrian crisis: Follow up of the security situation in the Bekaa Valley and implementation of security management tools in order to ensure the security and safety of the HI teams on the field Participation in coordination meetings at base level Participation to external meeting upon request of the field coordinator Monthly reporting and capitalization of contextual and security documents External communication documents (activity reports etc…) Contextual situations follow-up in Bekaa Valley Gathering and compilation of humanitarian information, Building and maintenance of a strong and impartial network under strong monitoring of Field Coordinator   MAIN TASKS OF THE POSITION Under close supervision of the Field Coordinator, you will be in charge of:    CONTEXT FOLLOW UP   Mapping of actors intervening in the humanitarian response in the Bekaa Valley Mapping of stakeholders related to the crisis Gathering and compilation of humanitarian and context information Follow up and dissemination of assessment reports and information gaps within the humanitarian community Propose Assessment following approval of the Field Coordinator SECURITY FOLLOW-UP Alerts the Field Coordinator without delay of all security incidents or threats which could have an impact on personnel’s security and/or HI’s affairs, and writes up an incident report to this effect if relevant Active participation to the weekly context briefing (during coordination meeting or ad hoc meetings). Improve the global and specific analysis of the security situation in the Bekaa Valley Redaction of daily/weekly press review on the security situation Development of a reliable network to extend the information sources: in support to the PMs, develops contacts with national partners on a zonal level (civil society, civil and military authorities, local NGOs, Ministry of Health representatives, etc.) in order to obtain all the information and agreements necessary for the integration of HI’s programs in the local context. Creation, implementation and follow up of security management tool: security trees, mapping, etc. Brief new arrivals in the field on matters of security Ensure the respect of safety precautions and regulations Security assessment according to the situation upon field coordinator request Ensure a close coordination with the logistics department: intervention in case of incident, check of the security standards, communication and transportation means In charge of the tracking with the team on the field (interbases movement) Strong communication with the projects and support departments regarding potential deterioration of the security situation Capitalization of all the documents related to the security management on the Bekaa Base Monthly report and Security follow up Give regular training on safety and security rules to all staff   EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION AND PARTICIPATION TO THE Representation of the association (Upon request of the Field coordinator) Representation of Field Coordinator towards local authorities (Cazas, religious leaders, City Halls, etc…) at zonal level in the respect of the organization image and principles; Participation in external coordination meetings Attendance to other meeting upon request; Facilitation of Field Coordinator representation towards local partners and stakeholders (hospitals/specialised centres/private clinics, local organizations, international organizations, etc) in the respect of the organization image and principles; Issuing minutes of meetings Passes regular information to local partners concerning HI’s activities INTERNAL COMMUNICATION  Reminding and follow-up of issues potentially raised by national teams to Field Coordinator; Is responsible for the welcome and briefing of new arrivals (contextual and team briefing). Following the approval of the Field Coordinator, plans and leads working meetings: security, team meetings (national and expatriate personnel) REPORTING AND CAPITALIZATION   Writing of minutes of internal and external meetings Support the Field Coordinator in the monthly situation report (SITREP) redaction through data compilation and provision of context and project data ; Security FU Press review Capitalization of humanitarian context documents and security management tools PROFILE REQUIRED Experience at a similar position in INGO Good knowledge of the Bekaa Valley  context Very good writing skills in English and Arabic / Experience with writing in English Good command of written and spoken English (knowledge of French would be an asset). Good communication capacities Good networking capacities Ability to manage an important work load Knowledge of computers and Microsoft applications