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MISSION
Solidarités International has now been present in Bangladesh since 2007 and the overall country operational objective for 2015 is to improve living conditions and resilience capacity of the most vulnerable persons to natural disaster, climate change and to discrimination (migrants, refugees, urban and rural poor).
SI expertise allows the mission to intervene both in emergency and recovery situations, and gradually shift to interventions aiming at fostering long term resilience of populations in disaster prone areas. SI is currently involved in:
- A WaSH intervention in Cox bazaar which aims at improving access to WaSH services for refugees and host communities in an environment of water scarcity.
- Resilient Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation project in Satkhira District, Bangladesh
The Field Coordinator will be assigned to Cox’s Bazar Ditrict, South East of Bangladesh, which is one the poorest and ethnically diverse districts in the country. There is a high influx of Rohingya Refugees from Myanmar in the district. Since 1992, Bangladesh ceased providing refugee status to the Rohingyas. Even if they settled in Bangladesh, only 35,000 Rohingya refugees are recognized and registered, living in two official camps. The rest are considered by the GoB as undocumented migrants. The Rohingyas features are very alike the local Bangladeshi population, many of them live either within host communities, and up to 40,000 are in two illegal settlements (Leda and Kutupalong makeshift camps) adjacent to the official camps. Whilst in recent years some international attention has been given to the situation of the Rohingya, and the GoB has been advocating that the population be repatriated back to Myanmar.
In Teknaf Upazila, the influx of population has put an additional strain on the region limited livelihood opportunities, extremely scarce resources (water, wood, land) and poor basic infrastructures, which create tensions with the host communities. The area is also vulnerable to natural disasters (cyclone, floods). The malnutrition rates and literacy rates show very low patterns for the overall population, whether refugees or host community.
From March 2010 to August 2011, Solidarités International worked at the Leda makeshift camp to provide water and sanitation to the 14,000 refugees living there. And from September 2010 in 48 villages of Teknaf Upazila, improving access of water and sanitation for both local and refugee communities. Humanitarian intervention in the area is highly political and can be very sensitive. In August 2011, after several months of negotiation with the local community and local authorities, SI had to close its program in Leda makeshift camp, and re-orientate its strategy toward focussing its intervention in the host communities. SI is now embarking on the sixth phase of WASH program (PRM, funding channelled via IOM), ending in June 2016, and is in the second phase of an ECHO program in host communities until December 2015. Partly by adopting a low profile strategy, and despite a sensitive and evolving context, SI currently manages to implement its programs without any major pressures. The authorities at local level and communities are quietly positive SI qualitative WASH intervention.
The field coordinator will split his/her time between Teknaf and Cox’s Bazar. The guesthouse in Teknaf is comfortabe, in a secure and quiet building and has electricity 24 hours a day. Whilst other NGOs have a presence in the town, there are currently no other expatriates. It takes 2.5 hours to travel between Teknaf and Cox’s Bazar. In Cox’s Bazar there is a small expatriate community mostly working for UN or NGOs. The field coordinator will stay in the office-guesthouse.
FUNCTIONS
The Field Coordinator has the role of delegated Head of Mission for a region of a country in which Solidarités International intervenes.
He/she proposes a regional strategy according to the geopolitical and humanitarian context, and ensures its implementation once validated.
He/she checks and ensures that projects are carried out in accordance with the Solidarités International charter, respecting all internal and contractual procedures
He/she mobilizes the material and financial resources necessary for programs to run smoothly, and supervises resource management.
He/she coordinates the teams in place and is responsible for their security in his/her assigned zone.
He/she is the Head of Mission’s direct contact and representative.
The main challenges which will be faced will be relating to security, logistics and human resources. The area of Teknaf has become one of South Asia’s most notorious human and drug trafficking hubs and NGO vehicles have been targeted for non-consent transport by traffickers in recent years. The base has 50 staff, with a roughly equal split between Teknaf locals and those from further away. Human resource management can be sensitive and decisions must be dealt with sensitivity. Local contractors are powerful and can try to exert pressure on the logistics department.
Expérience
Qualification :
• Graduate level in management (desirable but can be balanced by experience)
Experience / skills :
• Substantial experience as a manager of base in an overseas NGO environment, ideally in both emergency and development contexts (at least one year)
• Experience of managing and training teams
• Security management experience
• Strong leadership skills
• Flexibility and ability to work within different cultural and political environments
• An understanding of and commitment to Solidarites’ mission and values
• Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office and computer maintenance
• Ability to write/edit quality reports in English
• Ability to liaise, local authorities, NGOs, other agencies and donors
• Ability to manage and prioritize a high workload and multiple tasks with tight deadlines
Langues parlées
Good communication skills, with working written and spoken English
Qualité du candidat
• An ability to analyze information quickly and accurately
• Ability to take decisions and work in autonomy
• Diplomacy and strong communication skills