Economic Recovery Manager at Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a Danish international non-governmental organisation, which promotes and supports durable solutions to the problems faced by refugees and internally displaced people all over the world. DRC is present in more than 30 conflict territories around the world assisting displaced people with shelter, food, income-generating activities, and a wide range of other assistance. It is of utmost importance for DRC to work in compliance with the DRC Accountability and Quality Management system and national legislations. Smooth, reliable and effective operational systems are preconditions for DRC to maintain its position as a trustworthy and reliable partner for our donors and an accountable organisation towards our beneficiaries.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Economic Recovery Manager

Locations: Mubi, Adamawa & Maiduguri, Borno
Type of Contract: National contract
Duration: 12 months
Line Manager: Area Manager
Technical Line Manager: Economic Recovery Coordinator
Area of Operation: Area level

Background

• Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has had an operational presence in Nigeria since 2015, and has experience working in 33 Local Government Areas (LGAs) across the BAY states. DRC provides life-saving assistance and protection to vulnerable, conflict-affected populations including IDPs, returnees, and host communities in the sectors of armed violence reduction, livelihoods, nutrition and food security, protection, shelter and non-food items (NFI) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
• The operational context in northeastern Nigeria remains challenging, as the ongoing conflict impedes conflict-affected communities’ access to what limited basic services are available, as well as DRC and other humanitarians’ access to persons of concern.

Purpose 

• The Economic Recovery Manager is responsible for the implementation and delivery of DRC’s Economic Recovery programme (food security, livelihoods and financial inclusion) including Cash and Voucher Assistance in Borno targeting IDPs, returnees and vulnerable local non-displaced populations and refugees. Programme activities include; provision of food assistance, provision of vocational skills training, job referrals and/or provision of business training and business grants, life-skills training, literacy and numeracy training, establishment and facilitation of savings and loans groups and additionally, cash and voucher assistance to support the conflict affected population to cover their basic and food needs.
• To this end, the Economic Recovery Manager will liaise with DRC staff across departments to ensure compliance with DRC Economic Recovery SOPs and the maintenance of SOP-compliant records during programming as directed by the Area Manager and Economic Recovery Coordinator. Additionally, the role of the Economic Recovery Manager is to ensure the development and implementation of an efficient, accountable, and measurable economic recovery program in the areas where DRC is operational and within the geographical area of responsibility.

Duties and Responsibilities
Programming:

• Provide leadership, management and technical direction of the economic recovery program, in coordination with and as agreed technically with Area Manager and Economic Recovery Coordinator.
• Supervise and ensure the implementation of all economic recovery activities in the field, ensuring quality and timeliness.
• Plan and implement economic recovery activities with the guidance of the Area Manager and Econonmic Recovery Coordinator, including but not limited to: provision of food assistance, provision of vocational skills training, job referrals and/or provision of business training and business grants, life-skills training, literacy and numeracy training and establishment and facilitation of savings and loans groups, etc.
• Uphold the professional standards related to economic recovery prorgramming in humanitarian assistance.
• Develop a strong understanding of DRC’s economic recovery procedures and standards.
• Take lead in building partnerships with private sector actors to link to broader markets and facilitate employment opportunities for the targeted populations.
• Provide inputs for the development of Nigeria’s strategy, theories of change and operational research initiatives.
• Contribute to the development of concept notes, logical frameworks, and proposals as needed.
• Assist in the identification of strong local partners and potential programme synergies to develop for future opportunities.
• Ensure a market price monitoring in the areas of DRC intervention is conducted on monthly basis and subsequentely provide analysis on the market trends, price inflation, market functionality and commodities availability amongst others.
• Plan, ccoordinate and supervise all project’s assessments and studies including feasibility studies, needs assessments, market assessments etc.
• Manage the CVA projects and ensure the distribution of multipurpose cash assistance are conducted in a safe and accountable manner.
• Faciliate ongoing communications with relevant partners throughout the project cycle.
• Uphold the highest standard of confidentiality when managing records to ensure beneficiary dignity and privacy.
• Work with the Area Manager and technical coordinators to lead the design of evidence based pilot activities, that are responsive and relevant to the target population.
• Ensure quality monitoring and evaluation of activities, working with relevant MEAL staff to coordinate and roll out MEAL systems, ensuring adequate monitoring, documentation and reporting of activities against relevant indicators.
• Ensure that the Financial Service Provider platform is up to date and operational including maintainance of beneficiaries data, distribution requests in timely manner etc.

Reporting:

• Contribute to the production of quality and timely reports on program activities.
• Provide weekly/monthly reports to the Area Manager, including accurate figures of distributions/referrals done and challenges encountered, in the agreed format.

Representation and coordination:

• Develop and strengthen relationships with potential local partners,s stakeholders and communities in order to maintain trust in DRC’s professional standard and quality of work among all stakeholders.
• Represent DRC at field-level coordination forums (i.e. Food Security Sector, Cash Working Group and/or Livelihoods Working Group) as agreed with the Area Manager.
• Regularly update mapping of stakeholders implementing economic recovery project in area of responsibility.
• Ensure coordination with other departments (i.e. Protection, MEAL, Procurement and Finance etc).

Operations:

• Contribute to the effective implementation of all operations support activites, including related to administration, finances and logistics, so as to ensure smooth project implementation. In all matters, comply with internal directive and policies as communicated by the Area Manager, Head of Programme and/or the relevant support departments.

Budget Management:

• Provide inputs to Area Manager to ensure effective and efficient utilization of Economic Recovery program resources through monitoring and tracking of expenditures against budgets.
• Anticipate, along with Area Manager, potential over/under spending.
• Provide expenditure forecast to Area Manager on monthly basis.

Staff management, training & Capacity development:

• Manage economic recovery staff and support respectful and positive working relationships for the effective implementation of activities. This is to be achieved through leadership, team building, day-to-day support and capacity-building.
• Ensure objectives for staff are set and that evaluations and performance reviews are conducted on a regular basis for all staff managed.
• Take responsibility for planning and management of leave for all staff managed.
• Identify training and capacity building opportunities for staff and ensure they are well versed in key economic recovery and protection concepts relevant to the context, DRC’s code of conduct, accountability, respectful dialogue with the refugee population, and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse.

Other:

• Conduct other tasks as requested by the the Area Manager for the effective implementation of DRC’s projects, including support to capacity-building activities and other duties.

Required Qualifications

• University Degree or higher education in the field of Business Administration, Social Sciences, Economics, Political Sciences, Development or any other related field
• At least two years of management or technical experience in economic recovery and Cash and voucher programs. Preferably experience working for an international organization.
• Experience in working with employability promotion programmes, labor market studies and business development is an asset.
• Experience in project management including project monitoring, reporting, data management and budgeting.
• Experience in the field of social work, humanitarian intervention, community development, business, support/microfinance or any other relevant field is desirable.
• Programming experience in displacement contexts, including in protracted situations.
• High-level of computer literacy.
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to maintain good communication channels with relevant stakeholders.

Required Skills & Qualities:

• Striving for excellence: Focusing on reaching results while ensuring efficient processes.
• Collaborating: Involving relevant parties and encouraging feedback.
• Taking the lead: Taking ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.
• Communicating: Listening and speaking effectively and honestly.
• Demonstrating integrity: Acting in line with DRC’s vision and values.

Salary & Benefits
Management F

Deadline: 31st July, 2023 at 11:59pm (GMT-time)

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in English.
• DRC provides equal opportunity in employment and prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.
• DRC encourages all applicants to apply and does not practice any discrimination in any recruitment process.
• Applications submitted after the closing date will not be considered.
• Due to the urgency of the position, DRC has the right to recruit a candidate who matches the required profile before the above deadline.

General Regulations:

• The employee shall follow DRC instructions on safety, confidentiality and ethical guidelines, including the Code of Conduct and the Humanitarian Accountability Framework
• Employee should not engage in any other paid activity during the DRC contract period without prior authorization
• Employee should not engage in any activity that could harm DRC or the implementation of any project during the DRC contract period
• Employee should not give interviews to the media or publish project-related photos or other material without prior authorization
• Employee shall return all borrowed equipment for the project to DRC after the end of the contract period or upon request