SOS Children’s Villages is an independent, locally registered, child-focused, social development non- governmental organization with a strong reputation for providing quality care and protection, education and health needs for vulnerable children. Since its inception in 1991, SOS CV Uganda has reached over 60,000 children, youths and adults directly and indirectly to become empowered and self-reliant to contribute significantly to the needs of their families and communities.

Works in partnership with a number of donors, (institutional and corporate agencies) including; Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Austrian Development Agency (ADA), Grieg Foundation, ERIKS Development Partner, USAID/Bantwana World Education, European Union, AVIS Foundation, Brand Charity, USAID/Uganda Private Health Support Program (UPHSP), Terre des Hommes (TDH), Stanbic Bank Uganda, DHL – Go Teach, Madhvani Group of Companies.

SOS Children’s Villages Uganda is seeking qualified candidates to fill the following positions;

THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAMME COORDINATOR – NATIONAL OFFICE (1)

Job Purpose: The National Emergency Response Programme Coordinator (NERPC) reports directly to the National Development Programme Advisor. The position is based in Kampala with an estimated 50% time traveling within and outside Uganda. The position provides strategic leadership in the areas of emergency preparedness and response, coordination and liaison with key state holders in the humanitarian sector in Uganda, aiming at strongly positioning SOS CV Uganda as a credible emergency response actor, known for its focus on child care and protection.

The NERPC leads the development and implementation of the emergency program strategy to ensure SOS CV Uganda’s intervention is timely, effective and relevant to a range of needs and incorporates a gender focus in all aspects of programming. S/he manages multiple project managers/coordinators, providing training, mentoring and capacity building for SOS CV Uganda staff and potentially for partner agencies as well.

The job incumbent is responsible for developing concept notes and prepare proposal for humanitarian response interventions.

The position is also responsible for ensuring SOS CV Uganda is positioned and represented in key humanitarian coordination bodies at national, local and settlement level ranging from national and local governments, UN agencies, other NGOs, through direct representation and through coordination with other CO thematic experts, coordinating SOS CV Uganda overall engagement in these spaces.

The position holder works closely with the NPDA, Program Directors and National Office program and finance team to ensure SOS CV Uganda has long term development models and approaches are used in SOS CV Uganda emergency response programs in line with the SOS Care Promise, SOS Strategy 2030, Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) and SOS ERPP .

Job Specifications: Priority tasks & responsibilities
Planning and implementation
This position is responsible for ensuring that the National Association (NA) is always prepared to respond to and/or prevent an emergency. In order to ensure continuous high levels of preparedness, the NERPC will:
• Keep informed at all times about risks facing Uganda that could lead to humanitarian disasters and emergency situations in the country;
• Develop and review the NA’s Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) at least once yearly or more often if needed. This includes regularly assessing NA preparedness levels, identifying gaps, proposing solutions for identified gaps, organizing meetings and workshops to review the EPP document (updating the scenarios, etc);
• Develop and roll out specific Contingency Plans for specific risks; this may include outbreaks, like cholera and Ebola or any other very specific risks that requires very specific emergency preparedness and response;
• Based on the EPP, the job holder will develop and ensure the implementation of a Preparedness Action Plan (PAP) that summarizes all key actions needed to ensure NA preparedness and clearly assigns roles and responsibilities;
• Establish a NA Emergency Response Team (ERT) across all locations and ensure it is always prepared to support an emergency response. This includes ensuring the team is always complete (e.g. replacing members if staff have moved on), has all key functions covered (HR, IT, media, logistics, program, security), ensuring all members understand their roles and fulfil it (e.g. implement actions attributed to them in the above mentioned PAP), meets regularly (at least quarterly or more often when emergencies are about to happen);
• Capacity building of NA and partner staff in preparedness, readiness and emergency response. The NERPC will be responsible for identifying staff capacity gaps, planning and developing practical solutions with support from colleagues and supervisor.
• Integrate and train and ensure that all staff and key stakeholders are knowledgeable and committed to addressing is gender in emergencies and humanitarian settings.
Initiating Emergency Response & Resource Mobilization
• Based on SOS CV emergency protocols, the NERPC will prepare an alert for SOS CV global when an emergency is about to strike or has just happened;
• Prepare an Emergency Response Fund (ERF) request for SOS ESAF Region and International Office in case the NA has no funds to respond to an emergency aligned to the SOS programming planning process.
• Organize and lead Rapid Assessments as quickly as possible when a disaster strikes; This includes setting up a team of colleagues and reaching out to other agencies (INGOs, local partners and relevant UN agencies, government agencies) to join the assessment to attempt as much as possible to conduct multi-agency assessment; Rapid Assessments should include a Rapid Gender Analysis considering SOS’s focus on child care and protection, child abuse assessments should be conducted early as part of rapid assessments.
• Conduct rapid assessments includes preparing the logistics, obtaining permission from relevant authorities (e.g. OPM, UNHCR etc), setting up and preparing the team, sourcing expert support, supporting and participating in data collection when possible, supporting data analysis, supporting report writing, ensuring dissemination of results and of the report through the various mechanisms that exist in country (e.g. InterAgency meeting, relevant Technical Working Groups at national and local level, e.g GBV TWGs, Protection TWGs, Shelter TWGs, SRH TWGs, etc);
• Develop a response strategy from the assessment to support the NA’s efforts to mobilize resources. This includes leading on resource mobilization efforts for the response, writing of proposals, developing budgets, meeting donors, advocating through Regional Office partners to mobilize funds for the response, developing media and communication materials to raise the profile of the crisis, etc

Partnership development, coordination and liaison with key actors

The jobholder is responsible for mapping out strategic partners, actively engaging in relevant spaces and coordination mechanisms, including, but not limited to:
• Building and nurturing relationship with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) who is the lead government agency in Uganda for Disaster Preparedness and Response. This includes OPM at the national level but also in the field, at regional, district and refugee settlement level. The NERPC will develop and monitor the MOU with OPM, including submitting the required information to OPM on new projects, reporting to OPM on existing projects, etc.
• Participate in ER meetings organized by the OPM like the Inter-Agency meeting co-chaired by OPM and UNHCR at the national level for emergencies involving refugee populations;
• Monitor how response teams on the ground are engaging and participating in the various meetings called for by OPM at the local level;
• Building and nurturing good relationships with all other (non OPM) government institutions, such as key Ministries at the national level but also district local governments that are mandated to coordinate NGOs as per the NGO Act; This may involve supporting the signing of MOUs with districts and ensuring reporting to them on emergency programs takes place;
• Building partnerships with UN agencies and the EU with a focus on those critical to SOS’ priority emergency sectors, including but not limited to UNHCR (Protection, Shelter, FRRM), UNICEF (child care and protection), UNFPA (for GBV and SRH), UNWOMEN (for cash transfers).
• Monitor the participation of the various designated SOS staff in the various relevant sectoral working groups that are chaired by these UN agencies. When designated staff are not available, the NERPC may participate in these meetings
• Coordinate and oversee timely and quality reporting into UNHCR’s Refugee Response Plan;
• Keep abreast of strategic and policy developments related to the Global Compact for Refugees, Durable Solutions in the context of emergencies, the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework, nexus thinking and ensure SOS CV Uganda is able to influence thinking on this in Uganda as well as be influenced by these frameworks, reflected in our interventions;
• Building and nurturing partnerships with the civil society organizations, INGO community involved in emergency response in Uganda. This involves participating in the monthly INGO humanitarian coordination meetings as well as identifying INGOs with whom SOS could collaborate and developing partnerships with them. Occasionally, this also involves contributing to specific initiatives from the INGO Refugee Network such as preparation of joint events, advocacy statements, joint assessments etc;
• Developing good relations with peers and relevant colleagues within SOS global, e.g. ERP Advisor ESAF, IO, SOS CV ERP team.

HR Process development

Provide technical support to managers of emergency projects and ensure quality and timely implementation of emergency projects
The NERP will also maintain supervision over some of the emergency response interventions, in agreement with supervisor and as long as a balance is maintained with the other responsibilities. This will include typical oversight of project managers as per the project cycle, such as:
• Ensuring staff selection, orientation on SOS and other emergency protocols and performance management;
• Oversee sound management of all project resources and assets in accordance with SOS and donor rules and regulations;
• Timely and quality reporting, both financial and narrative;
• Documentation of lessons learnt, successes and challenges, generating knowledge for the NA on its humanitarian;
• Grants/Award and sub award policy is strictly adhered to by project managers and teams, including conducting inception workshops, close out workshops; etc .
Other duties
• Realization of other tasks given by National Development Programme Advisor and National Director.

Required Experience and Qualifications:
• Minimum of a Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Development studies or any relevant emergency response field from a recognized university.
• At least 5years experience in emergency preparedness and response, with proven experience in Gender in Emergencies, for a large International NGO;
• Experience and knowledgeable about emergency coordination mechanisms (UN and government) in large scale emergencies;
• Experience with refugee emergency programs required;
• Experience with key typical protocols of emergency preparedness and response in International NGOs (e.g. alerts, ERFs, sitreps, etc)
• Proficiency in written English

Technical Skills
• Demonstrated capabilty and experience in successfully setting up emergency operations from the start, with limited support;
• Very high planning and organizing skills and high capacity to multi-task in rapidly changing and fast-paced environments;
• Strong writing capacity (ERF, donor proposals, response strategies) while having capacity to clearly translate strategies into concrete actions;
• Proven experience with all aspects of managing emergency projects (design, implementation, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, Learning, financial management, procurement and administration, reporting, donor compliance, Human Resource management, etc);
• Proven experience using and strong knowledge of humanitarian accountability frameworks including CHS, Sphere, etc
• Strong knowledge of and demonstrated personal commitment to relevant organizational codes of conducts for emergencies, including anti-fraud and anti-corruptionetc
• Demonstrated leadership and interpersonal skills and proven experience influencing others without necessarily directly managing them;
• Personal commitment to gender equality, Gender in Emergencies and women and girls’ rights;
• Strong communication and representation skills
• Demonstrated use of positive coping strategies in stressful environment

Job Education Requirements: Master’s degree

Job application procedure
If you believe you are the right candidate for this position, please send your application letter, detailed curriculum vitae (CV), and photocopies of academic certificates, and names and contact details of three traceable referees to the address below to reach not later than Friday 20th February 2021:

The Head Human Resource and Administration
SOS Children’s Villages Uganda,
Plot 53 Ntinda II Road
Kampala, Uganda

Electronic Applications must be sent as one Single PDF Document not exceeding eight pages to: [email protected]

Applications that are late, do not have CV or certificates or exceeds eight pages or electronically submitted as images will be disqualified. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.