DRR Delegate Sint Maarten | ReliefWeb 189 views

We help to strengthen resilience of vulnerable people exposed to hazards and crisis situations and we respond to disasters and conflicts to save lives and alleviate suffering. In the Netherlands with more than thirty thousand volunteers and internationally through technical assistance, supplies and money. Together we act before, during and after disasters to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people.

We do this without regards to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinion. Our seven principles guide our humanitarian work: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality.

The International Assistance department is responsible for all Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) international support for victims of disasters and conflicts and for vulnerable people exposed to hazards.

The International Assistance department has opened a vacancy for a Project Management Delegate DRR on Sint Maarten.

Duty station: Sint Maarten

Time period: 7 months (depending on start-date a shorter contract might be possible), with possibility of extension

Starting Date: As soon as possible, when the Covid-19 lock down measures on Sint Maarten are lifted and international travel is allowed

Status: Unaccompanied posting

Purpose of the position

The Project Manager DRR is responsible for assisting and empowering vulnerable communities on Sint Maarten by implementing a project aimed at reducing the overall risk in communities. The overall aim of the recovery programme, which also includes shelter and economic recovery aspects, is to reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience of the people in Sint Maarten to prepare for future disasters.

Background

On September 6th, 2017 hurricane Irma, category 5, struck the island of Sint Maarten. Irma had a devastating impact on the island. Following the devastating impact of hurricane Irma, NLRC started to organize relief efforts, focusing on food and water distribution, as well as other distribution of non-food items. A team of approx. 80 people (volunteers and paid staff) coordinated Red Cross emergency response efforts in the areas of WASH, Restoring Family Links, health, shelter, food, mapping of the most vulnerable area’s and conducting assessments. Subsequently, early recovery support focused on cash based assistance, home repair and school meal projects. The long term recovery phases focuses on three main pillars in 1) Safe & Healthy living, 2) Economic security, 3) Disaster risk reduction & response preparedness. In line with the NLRC strategy, the recovery program is focusing on increasing the resilience of beneficiaries and focus on building back better to avoid or reduce future disaster impacts. This approach takes into account the adaptation to climate change and climate variability. Increased resilience focuses on the building blocks of increased capacity of people to anticipate, adapt, respond and transform.

The Red Cross branch on the island of Sint Maarten is part of the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) and has an established role in the Sint Maarten emergency support framework. In order to facilitate the roll-out of longer term and large-scale projects, the Sint Maarten branch will need to be strengthened and the number of volunteers expanded. Capacity building and strengthening institutional preparedness of the local organisation is part of the recovery programme.

As part of the long term recovery efforts within the Hurricane Irma Recovery Programme, the Netherlands Red Cross, in close cooperation with the Sint Maarten Red Cross branch, developed a Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Project. This project started in 2019, has a budget of approximately 1 mln euro and consists of the following 4 results areas:

• Result 1: Community needs for DRR are identified and communities have received support to address them

• Result 2: Children and schools have increased access to knowledge and tools for disaster preparedness

• Result 3: Communities have an improved understanding of hazards and disaster risk and are more prepared for future crisis events

• Result 4: Community environment is adapted to reduce future disaster risk

The Netherlands Red Cross is recruiting a Project Manager to ensure these results are reached by the end of the project period, together with the team of local staff.

Position in the organization

The DRR delegate will report hierarchically to the Head of Mission on Sint Maarten and will work closely with the other NLRC Project Managers (for shelter, livelihood and psychosocial support) on the island, as well as with the Sint Maarten desk in The Hague. The DRR delegate will supervise the DRR project team on Sint Maarten. In addition, the DRR delegate will work closely with the branch manager and the disaster coordinator of the Sint Maarten Red Cross. The NLRC has also deployed a regional Response Preparedness delegate, focusing on the institutional preparedness building of all six Dutch Caribbean branches.

Summary statement and responsibilities

· Implement the Community-Based DRR project, including elements such as awareness raising, clean-up drives, erosion control etc (all activities including communities), based on the NLRC recovery programme’s strategic objectives;

· Monitor, evaluate and continue to improve the operational and project plan if and when needed;

· Liaise with NLRC HQ staff on project progress and get approval on project agreements, contracts, regulations, communication, financial regulations and technical support;

· Responsible for overall project management, including financial and HR management, in close collaboration with supporting team members in IM and M&E, communications, HR, Finance and Logistics;

· Ensure that objectives and work plan timetables are met;

· Oversee and monitor expenditures of the projects in line with the budget;

· Provide regular operational reports on activities, progress and achievements in the designated areas of responsibility;

· Develop and continuously improve assessments for the identification, verification and registration of beneficiaries;

· Carry out and improve the Plan of Action for community engagement and establishment of approach to two-way communications and complaints and response mechanisms;

· Carry out and follow up the Monitoring & Evaluation plan in close collaboration with the IM/ M&E Officer concerning project monitoring;

· Manage and supervise the local DRR project team;

· Take over stakeholder management and further develop relationships with local key players (local NGOs/private/governmental organizations) and other RC/RC Movement partners relevant to the project;

· Responsible for ensuring the link between project and local branch in relevant areas;

· Promote humanitarian principles and key cross-cutting issues such as gender equality, environmental awareness and disaster risk reduction.

Requirements/Qualifications

· Bachelor’s degree in international development or relevant field required, Masters’ degree desirable;

· A minimum of 5 years’ experience as a Project Manager in a humanitarian/ recovery context in the field of DRR;

· Field experience in humanitarian or development sector is required, especially implementing community-based approaches;

• Strong communication skills in English is a must, spoken Spanish, French or Creole are desirable;

· Experience working for the Red Cross/Red Crescent is an advantage;

· Experience working in the Caribbean is an advantage.

Key competencies

· Team player, with strong interpersonal skills;

· Self-motivated, pro-active and sound judgment;

· Ability to think out of the box, taking a broader and inclusive approach to the entire programme of the mission;

· Ability to prioritize in a demanding and ever-changing environment;

• Ability to work with deadlines and handle multiple tasks simultaneously, while maintaining attention to details;
• Ability to adapt to the cultural context.

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills, English mandatory, Spanish and/ or French preferred;

· Computer literate (MS Office, spreadsheets, Outlook);

· (International) driving license.**

We offer

· A full-time appointment (based on 40-hour work week) until the end of January 2021;

· An international working environment with a variety of cultural backgrounds;

· Well balanced employment conditions with space for initiative and development.