Myanmar: Head of Office Maungdaw District Rakhine State, Myanmar

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is seeking a dynamic and experienced Head of Office to open a permanent DRC base in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State. The ideal candidate would also oversee the start-up of a livelihood programme and lead needs assessments to identify unmet humanitarian needs that DRC could help address.

Who are we?

DRC is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) specialized in protection and promoting durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced people worldwide. DRC is present in 30 countries reaching over 1.5 million people. For further details, please click the following link: http://www.drc.dk/home/

DRC is present in Myanmar since 2009 and today works across the country out of seven bases with over 200 dedicated national and international staff.

Rakhine State is one of the poorest states in Myanmar, lagging significantly behind the rest of the country in all sectors; northern Rakhine State is the poorest part of Rakhine. Almost one third of the people living in Rakhine are stateless and long standing communal tensions erupted into open conflict in 2012 displacing 140,000 people.

Youth in Maungdaw Township have very little access to secondary school, and no access to post-secondary education or vocational training. To address this need, DRC will start offering life skills and vocational training for youth in Maungdaw.

Duties and Responsibilities

· Build and manage a good professional relationship with the local authorities, both civilian and military

· Establish the DRC office

· Provide leadership and vision for DRC's possible expansion in NRS

· With the support of the Sittwe based technical coordinator, the Head of Office will oversee the implementation DRC Maungdaw programmes. Activities will include but not be limited to village targeting, setting up vocational training centres, recruiting and line managing all technical and support staff

· Office management, ensuring that finance, administration, logistics, procurement and human resources are in compliance with DRC policies

· Regular contextual and programmatic reporting

· Engage proactively and coordinate with other humanitarian and development actors active in Maungdaw District

· In close coordination with DRC’s Safety Manager, monitor the security environment and implement appropriate safety and security procedures (MOSS compliant)

The Head of Office will report to the DRC Livelihoods Coordinator on programmatic matters, and to the Program Manager for Rakhine State on operational and coordination issues.

About you

The qualified candidate brings excellent program management skills and is able to work independently in a challenging, relatively isolated environment. She/he is familiar with humanitarian principles as well as recovery stage development work and is a natural diplomat able to represent an international organization to external partners and authorities.

The ideal candidate represents the majority of the below mentioned areas:

· At least 3 years of experience with international humanitarian or early recovery programmes - ideally in displacement-related and/or transitional contexts

· At least 1 year experience managing a field base/office – including responsibility for operations (logistics procurement, finance, admin and HR)

· At least 2 years of experience managing humanitarian or development activities; livelihoods experience preferred

· Experience establishing an operational office

· Proven experience in relationship building with government and military

· Strong staff management skills

· Experience with project cycle management including proposal writing, budget monitoring, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting

· Ability to work independently in a remote location

· Professional fluency in English

· Prior knowledge of working with DRC and/or in South East Asia will be considered an asset

Duty station

Maungdaw Township, northern Rakhine State with frequent travel to Sittwe, and occasional travel to Yangon. Housing may initially be in local guesthouses until permanent staff housing can be identified.

We offer

DRC will offer the successful applicant a 12 month contract with the possibility of extension. Envisaged start date is October 1, 2016. Salary and conditions will be in accordance with DRC’s Terms of Employment for Expatriates; please refer to www.drc.dk under Vacancies. The position is placed at level A15/A16 depending on experience.

Rakhine State is considered a non-family duty station and the position is eligible for a location adjustment to salary and R&R. Maungdaw Town is a remote posting located 4 hours from Sittwe by boat and vehicle. There is a small international community of UN and NGO workers in the town.

Interested? Then apply for this position by clicking here.

All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in the same language as this vacancy note. CV only applications will not be considered. Applications close September 2, 2016.

Applications will be shortlisted and interviewed on an ongoing basis, position may be filled before advert closes

If you have questions or are facing problems with the online application process, please contact job@drc.dk

Need further information?

For more details on this position please contact Elizabeth Hallinan, DRC Livelihoods Coordinator at elizabeth.hallinan@drcmm.org or Krishnan Nair, DRC Program Manager for Rakhine State, at krishnan.james.nair@drcmm.org

Please note that applications sent directly to Ms Hallinan/Mr Nair will not be considered.]

For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website www.drc.dk