Disaster Management Advisory Group (DMAG) Coordinator

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Disaster Management Advisory Group (DMAG) initiated in 2012 aims to advise on the general strategy for Disaster Management (DM) in the region via bringing together knowledge and technical capacities from the 17 National Societies (NS) in the MENA region. It is currently chaired by the Lebanese Red Cross until end of 2020 with 7 other MENA NSs in its steering committee. DMAG works closely with IFRC and ICRC to

• Adopt and promote coherent approaches to common operational challenges, policies and strategies within the DM sector.
• Advise, broker, and facilitate technical issues related to the multiple components of DM activities in the region.
• Strengthen cooperation and coordination among NSs DM efforts. 

DMAG in its 2019 -2020 strategy provides regional support and advice on 4 areas in Disaster management including Safer Access, Contingency planning, Surge Capacity and Weapon Contamination with a possibility of integrating additional DM operational themes. Those priority areas were identified based on a need voiced by the MENA national societies and the DM MENA 2015-2020 strategy.

Following the expression of the collective need of the seventeen NS within the MENA region to coordinate and better align movement support and investment to deliver more effective and efficient humanitarian support to communities, DMAG in its 2019—2020 strategy aims to conduct and coordinate research into MENA regional Disaster Management (DM), in coordination and collaboration with all movement partners active in region through the  2020-2025 RoadMap Project. The goal of the MENA 2020-2025 RoadMap project is to promote the alignment of Movement resources to regional NS and deliver more effective and efficient humanitarian support to communities in MENA. The whole project relies on data/evidence collected from the MENA NSs using a participatory mixed-method mapping approach. The project will span over a period of 18 months from its time of inception. The DM priorities defined as a result of this research will be used by all movement partners to refine and develop both collective and organizational DM strategies for the MENA region.

Job Role

The DMAG Coordinator will be responsible of managing the MENA DM 2020-2025 Road Map Project specifically developing detailed project plans, implementing activities within plan, ensuring proper resource allocation and delivering project outcomes on time within budget and scope. The DMAG Coordinator will also monitor and ensure proper coordination and implementation of other Regional DMAG activities as part of the different DM areas in the DMAG action plan.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

Tasks and responsibilities related to Road Map Project

• Conduct research related to Road Map project as per the developed methodology.
• Develop and pilot the project conceptual framework following a thorough literature review of available frameworks.
• Develop the Road Map project implementation approach & data collection tools and adjust according to technical team feedback.
• Collect data of relevance to Road Map about 17 MENA NSs using a range of quantitative and qualitative data collection tools including interviews, focus group discussions, surveys and desk review.
• Analyze data gathered for each NSs in collaboration with other members of the technical steering committee in addition to coordinating the technical steering committee.
• Draft Road Map reports based on outcomes of analysis.
• Manage day-to-day Road Map project implementation and overall coordination between the different engaged stakeholders.
• Ensure timely preparation and compilation of Road Map project work plans and progress reports.
• Ensure all movement partners are well informed about the Road Map project activities and goals regarding Road Map project.
• Proactively manage Road Map project risks and provide the forum to negotiate solutions to any problems or conflicts.
• Provide appropriate visibility of Road Map project progress and key risks and issues to the Project steering committee, while directly reporting to DMAG Chairman.
• Highlight any risks, issues or problems to the Road Map project steering committee.
• Ensure the aims of the Road Map project continue to be aligned with evolving needs of the MENA National Societies.
• Take the lead in advocating for the RoadMap project objectives.

Tasks and responsibilities related to overall DMAG Action Plan

• Coordinate, guide maintain, and monitor DMAG overall plan implementation, projects schedules, budgets and expenditures.
• Ensure DMAG activities adhere to frameworks and all documentation is maintained appropriately for each project.
• Promote joint trainings and opportunities for knowledge exchange.
• Prepare for, document outcome and follow up on important DMAG activities, meetings and decisions.
• Share information including DMAG lessons learned and initiate review process.
• Represent the DMAG Chair and attend relevant regional meetings and workshops as required.
• Perform other related duties as may be assigned by the MENA DMAG Chairman.

Position Requirements

• Comprehensive understanding of the political, social and humanitarian situation in MENA
• Experience in project development and implementation
• Effective interpersonal, management and negotiation skills proven through successful interaction with stakeholders, including regional/local RCRC authorities & experts and NGOs/communities