Regional Humanitarian Emergency Affairs Director (RHEAD)

With over 70 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 34,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

Employee Contract Type:

Local - Fixed Term Employee (Fixed Term)

Job Description:

POSITION PURPOSE

The Regional Humanitarian Emergency Affairs Director (RHEAD) provides strategic and operational leadership to enhance emergency response capacity and ensure high-quality emergency responses for World Vision (WV) in the Southern Africa Region (SAR). In close collaboration with technical and operational counterparts, the RHEAD will lead decision-making for country and regional humanitarian emergency affairs, guiding where, when, and how WV in the SAR builds capacity and responds to emergencies.

The RHEAD will work closely with National (NO) and Regional Office resource development units and Support Offices to secure effective resourcing across all disaster management aspects, exploring innovative funding opportunities across all streams (grants, private non-sponsorship, corporate and sponsorship). They will coordinate and lead support for emergency responders at the country level and ensure that WV SAR's emergency capacity strengthening, preparedness, and response efforts align with WV’s and global standards.

Serving as WV SAR's thought leader in humanitarian emergency affairs, the RHEAD will also ensure collaboration with government entities, partner organizations, and other leadership bodies involved in emergency services, disaster policy and operations, and community resilience.

STRATEGIC OVERSIGHT & LEADERSHIP

• Lead the Southern Africa Regional Disaster Management efforts in alignment with the global strategy to drive impact, income and influence. Support new and innovative program development, including “nexus” type programs linking humanitarian, relief, and development.
• Work across technical sectors and operational functions to contribute to strategy and ensure effective disaster management in all areas of WV’s work.
• Assess pending disasters through scenario analysis and design and develop preparedness, advocacy, and resourcing action plans.
• Lead the establishment and functioning of emergency preparedness and response strategies based on sub-regional country groupings.
• Working with national offices, assess, adopt, and operationalize WV’s engagement with a range of contemporary humanitarian principles and issues such as international humanitarian standards, conventions, codes of conduct, shrinking humanitarian space, contextual & humanitarian analysis, and conflict issues.
• Work closely with Environmental Sustainability and Climate Action (ESCA) and other technical teams for appropriate integration with HEA and disaster management in Southern Africa Region.
• Working closely with National Directors (NDs), the Regional Security Director Safeguarding and Risk Management Leads, promote appropriate measures to ensure safeguarding, fraud and corruption risks are objectively assessed, mitigated, and communicated to staff, especially in medium to high-risk locations.
• Recruit, performance manage, train, counsel, and recommend salary increases and promotions for those under direct supervision. Particular attention should be given to ensuring team members have manageable portfolios, overall team health, and individual professional development opportunities.

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT & EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

• Contribute to donor engagement with existing and new donors through: (i) tracking of regional humanitarian funding opportunities; (ii) participation in strategic coordination and information-sharing forums; (iii) support to the maintenance of a network of donors.
• Work with the resource development units, technical teams and Support Offices to ensure effective resourcing of all aspects of disaster management and all funding streams (grants, private non-sponsorship and sponsorship).
• Engage with donors to secure funding and advocate for multi-year support for recovery interventions.
• Work with the regional grant finance team and internal auditors to review and follow up on country HEA project management and audits reports.
• Ensure that National Offices have a functioning national emergency preparedness fund in place as per policy guidelines.
• Work with communications and advocacy teams to organize events and develop visibility material, policy briefs, newsletters, for relevant networking events.
• Work with the National Offices program and supply chain teams to support Anticipatory Actions and foster effective emergency supply prepositioning.

Working with the regional External Engagement Director, pre-position, partner, and represent WV SAR in strategic forums that could enhance WV's profile.

• Ensure HEA is contributing to child well-being reporting and breaking silos between development and relief.
• Promote the use of different strategies (such as nexus) to bring humanitarian development and peacebuilding work together to enhance the coherence and strategic alignment.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE COORDINATION & COLLABORATION

• Support and advise the Southern Africa Regional Senior Director of Operations in the Category 2 and Category 3 declaration processes and in the management of Category III responses.
• Support and ensure National Offices have the technical and managerial capacity to respond to Cat 2 and 3 responses.
• In the event of a Global or National Office Response Declaration, fulfil all duties of the Regional HEA Director as outlined in the emergency management system manual.
• At a strategic and policy level, represent WV with government agencies, UN, INGO, NGO and church bodies, in collaboration with National Offices.
• Ensure gender-sensitivity and inclusion of under-privileged and marginalized groups in emergency assessments and response strategies.
• Ensure that ICRC/NGO Code of Conduct including SPHERE and other humanitarian minimum standards are maintained in responses.
• Enhance constructive collaboration with Global Centre, Support Offices, Field Offices and SARO teams.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT/CAPACITY BUILDING

• Collaborate with National Directors and Field Office Resource Development Leads to identify HEA capacity gaps and develop effective and innovative strategies to address gaps.
• Identify, document, and effectively share best practices, critical success factors of successful responses, and lessons learned, including guidelines, tools, and standards.
• Share learning, innovations, and better practices across the region and within the HEA communities of practice.
• Promote continuous learning in the field of HEA at regional level, ensuring that NOs have the resources they need to apply good practices.
• Fine-tune the existing Anticipatory Action initiatives and provide the necessary technical support to the Field Offices in the development and implementation of Early Action Protocols.
• Participate in all interview panels for NO HEA Leads.
• Ensure that National Disaster Management Teams and Regional Disaster Management Teams are recruited, built and developed.
• Conduct risk assessments and maintain up-to-date disaster risk profiles for all countries.
• Ensure that learning from HEA and disaster management strategies and programs are effectively captured, documented, and ready to be shared across the programs, Global Centre, Support Offices, as well as with external audiences.
• Facilitate the development of transition strategies.
• Ensure that the NOs, National and Community Disaster Preparedness Plan are updated as frequently as necessary.
• Support NOs to establish and strengthen Early Warning Systems and Early Action.
• Participate in, and facilitate lessons learned processes, program evaluations and audits (operational as well as financial) of NO and contribute to post-audit monitoring and remedial activities.
• Promote learning and adaptive management, data integration and feedback mechanisms into the HEA portfolio.
• Lead regional coordination of HEA and integration across different sectoral activities to foster cross learning.

KNOWLEDGE/QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE ROLE

Required Professional Experience

• A minimum of 15 years of humanitarian work experience in several countries with a minimum of five years in a leadership role in a large international organization, preferably in Africa.
• Extensive experience in strategy development, response management and program integration.
• Proven ability to lead and manage seasoned professionals in a virtual environment.
• Strong empirical knowledge of the humanitarian sector including humanitarian charters, laws, and standards.
• Ability to influence and lead in a global, federated organization, in an increasingly complex industry environment.
• Very good experience in networking, relationship building and creating strategic partnerships with UN agencies, INGOs, NGOs and research institutions.
• Understanding of program management and integration in a cross-functional matrix model.
• Strong commitment to WV’s vision, mission, and core values.

Universal:

• Digital dexterity, and in-depth computer knowledge including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills.
• Excellent facilitation, negotiation, coordination and networking skills at all levels.
• Strong interpersonal, negotiation and diplomacy skills and ability to bring people from different cultures on board.

Required Education, training, license, registration, and certification

• Masters-level degree in international development or a similar field.

Preferred Knowledge and Qualifications

• Ability to work with a reasonably level of comfort in high tension and high security risk situations.
• Ability to maintain performance expectations in diverse cultural contexts and psychologically stressful environments.

Universal:

• Grounded in biblical knowledge, particularly as it relates to the holistic mission and calling of World Vision.
• Passion to work cross-functionally, ensuring integration of funding types and sectors to increase impact.
• Understanding the Southern Africa contexts through experience working in the region.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, and lead presentations, training courses, and effective meetings.
• Strong analytical (incl. quantitative analysis), organizational, problem solving, time management and cross-cultural skills.
• Proven track record of delivering consistent, quality results with accountability and integrity.
• Able to solve complex and rapidly changing operational challenges in today’s dynamic and connected business environment.
• Ability to cope under significant pressure while maintaining healthy work-life balance.
• Ability to travel and work within challenging environments, such as conflict locations.
• Ability to effectively communicate and negotiate with key internal and external stakeholders while maintaining effective working relationships with varied stakeholders of different academic, cultural, gender, denominational backgrounds.

Travel and/or Work Environment Requirement

• Up to 50% domestic and international travel is expected, which may involve long hours and varying conditions.
• Ability to travel frequently to various regions, sometimes on short notice, including remote or challenging locations.
• Capability to endure extended travel periods, potentially involving various modes of transportation (e.g., small planes, 4x4 vehicles, and boats).
• Comfortable with various travel conditions and able to adapt to changing schedules, itineraries and comfort levels.
• Ability to navigate airport procedures, adhere to safety regulations, and manage luggage.
• Virtual/hybrid work environment.
• Based in any location in Africa where WV is registered, with a preference for Angola or Mozambique.

Application deadline - 10th January 2025

Applicant Types Accepted:

Local Applicants Only