Background
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, with 192 member National Societies. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, our work is guided by seven fundamental principles; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.
Organizational Context
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network. The Federation is a membership organization established by and comprised of its 192 member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Along with National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises. IFRC’s work is guided by seven fundamental principles (humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality), policies and by Strategy 2020, which voices our collective vision and determination to move forward in tackling the major challenges that confront humanity in the present decade. The IFRC Secretariat has a decentralized structure: five regional offices (each with several CCST and country offices reporting to it) covering the globe and responsible for frontline delivery through National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, backed by the Secretariat HQ based in Geneva. The Lebanon country office based in Beirut; supports the Lebanese Red Cross and the Palestinian Red Crescent -Lebanon branch. IFRC country office support is provided at strategic and operational levels. The position holder will be located at the IFRC country office (embedded in Lebanese RC HQ) in Beirut, Lebanon. While the person will work closely and consider as part of the workforce led by LRC, S/he will report to the Head of country office. The position will have a technical line to the regional operations coordinator- DCPRR MENA Unit.
Job Purpose
The role of the Operation Manager is to lead and oversee the overall support on planning, implementation, reporting and compliance for the Lebanon country office in support of the ongoing Beirut-Port explosions Operation. This will include coordination and technical support in the implementation of the Emergency Appeal operation as well as close coordination with external and movement partners. The Operations Manager is the main point of contact for participating National Societies and external partners on all operational issues. The Operation Manager will be the line manager of 1 officer in Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (PMER).
Job Duties and Responsibilities
Assume overall responsibility for planning and leading the support to the operations on behalf of the IFRC Lebanon Country Office, ensuring appropriate close liaison with the IFRC MENA regional office.
Lead the continuous analysis of the political, social, economic and humanitarian context in the areas of intervention
Ensure the application of the strategic direction of operations and focus on achievement of the planned objectives;
Contribute to the processes related to the Emergency Appeal, including plan of action revisions, and make recommendations on the scope and content of plans of action (EPoA) in line with standard operating procedures;
Manage the performance of the IFRC staff dedicated to this Operation.
Ensure a constant and strong operational coordination is maintained with Movement partners with the LRC in the lead.
Supervise the implementation and monitoring of quality activities, with attention to context monitoring and achievement of results, ensuring that rigorous monitoring and evaluation framework is being applied to measure
the progress against set objectives;
Ensure the identification of vulnerable populations and assessment of needs are being performed in an ongoing basis, and give direction to operational priorities;
Ensure technical guidance and provide direct and hands-on support for LRC operations in Health, WASH, Livelihoods and basic needs, Protection and Gender Inclusion (PGI) and Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA), communication, logistics, Information Management, as required;
Manage the effective and proper use of assets, financial resources and facilities according to Red Cross Red Crescent and IFRC standard procedures in order to comply with accountability requirements;
Ensure full compliance of operations with Red Cross Red Crescent principles, IFRC rules, regulations and policies
Support the consultation, collaboration and coordination of IFRC with key external partners responding to Beirut-Port explosions including Government agencies and UN partners.
Ensure that timely and accurate financial and narrative reports are prepared and are in line with requirements specified in the project agreement or standard Federation reporting guidelines; ensure that the progress of the operation is routinely monitored by the PMER officer against the key deliverables and milestones articulated in the response strategy and plan.
Provide guidance and support to necessary disaster response to National Societies during emergency operations. This could include the use of Federation disaster response tools such as rapid response personnel, emergency appeal and DREF.
Ensure that NS response is appropriate and aligned with the SPHERE guidelines and CHS commitments.
Maintain oversight of ongoing disasters and provide weekly feedback on emerging trends and ongoing operations.
Ensure processes and training for NS to improve and maintain proper mechanisms, organisational, management and other structures and systems for managing emergencies
Support other tasks as assigned by the line manager.
Duties applicable to all staff:
Actively work towards the achievement of the Federation Secretariat’s goals
Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross and Red Crescent principles
Perform any other work-related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager
Education
University degree in relevant area or equivalent experience required
Technical training in disaster preparedness, management, and recovery
Experience
5-7 years’ experience in international disaster response and recovery Operations - required
Previous experience in IFRC Operation management - required
Experience in managing and empowering staff and volunteers - required
Field experience with RC/RC with special attention to finance responsibilities - required
Experience in project cycle management including proposal development, budgeting and reporting, monitoring and evaluation - required
Experience in working to enhance the capacity of local partner organizations - required
Experience in establishing and following monitoring systems to track progress of implementation - required
Experience in narrative and financial reporting and proposal writing - required
Experience in the Lebanon context - preferred
Knowledge, skills and languages
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and independent decision-making capacity - required
Results oriented and demand driven individual, entrepreneurial, ability to lead in unprecedented and/or ambiguous situations - required
Excellent communication and inter-personal skills with the ability to represent the International Federation and to negotiate and influence people’s opinions - required
Knowledge of technical aspects of disaster preparedness, relief and recovery and of key donor and partner organisations - required
Knowledge of minimum standards for disaster relief and performance and accountability frameworks - required
Ability to lead a complex or major disaster operation - required
Flexible and adaptable to work effectively in a multicultural environment and ability to travel at short notice - required
Computer knowledge as a user – self-supporting in MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint - required
Fluently spoken and written English – required
Good command of another IFRC official language (French or Arabic) - required
Competencies and values
Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability
Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust
Functional competencies: Strategic orientation; Building alliances; Leadership; Empowering others
The Federation is an equal opportunity employer