Under the direct supervision of the Middle East Desk Manager at HQ, the main objectives of the Head Of Mission in Syria are the following:

• Develop a clear analysis of humanitarian needs’ coverage gaps including geographical, sectoral and target communities priorization
• Develop a clear analysis of funding opportunities related to the identified gaps
• Develop, if relevant, recommendations and methodologies for the conduction of in-depth technical assessments
• Develop a network of relevant and reliable contacts among the main external stakeholders linked to humanitarian interventions (NGO, UN agencies, donors, authorities, suppliers…)

Evaluate the relevance and feasibility of the deployment of a CDE intervention in the country and provide linked recommendation and positionning strategy / intervention propositions

Essential duties and responsibilities

• Safety & Security : S/he is responsible for the safety & security of all CDE staff and resources within the country
• Needs’ Assessment and Strategic positionning : S/he is responsible for the proper analysis of the humanitarian situation in the countries, the identifications of uncovered needs, the suggesting of conduction of in-depth assessments and the drafting of strategic positionning and project concept papers.
• Human Resources: S/he manages all CDE staff in the country including needs’ identification, recruitment…
• Logistics, administrative and financial monitoring: S/he, with the direct support of the Middle East Desk Manager at HQ, ensures that logistical and administrative practices used by the team in-country respects CDE procedures and templates. S/he is responsible of all logistics, administrative and financial elements at field level.
• Representation : S/he represents the association in its relations with partners, donors,the media and different authorities. S/he builds up a strong and comprehensive network of relevant and reliable external stakeholders.
• Relations with Headquarters: S/he is the link between the field team and HQ.

Ensuring the safety and security of goods and people

• S/he ensures that relevant security and safety protocols are designed and enforced.
• S/he ensures that all areas targeted by the assessments are properly assessed security-wise and that all staff under his/her supervision are properly briefed
• S/he ensures that material and personnel resources are sufficient to ensure the optimal safety of the teams, the material and the beneficiaries.
• S/he ensures that in case of a security incident, the information concerning the incident is communicated, without delay, to the Middle East Desk Manager and in accordance with the existing format.
• S/he ensures that safety & security information is properly collected, analysed and that alerts or important information is effectively and timely communicated to the Middle East Desk Manager
• S/he ensures the implementation of a strict movement tracking system both in-country and in link with the Middle East Desk Manager
• S/he provides a comprehensive analysis of the security situation in the areas identified for assessment / intervention to the Middle East Desk Manager for prior validation

Ensuring that needs are properly assessed and that relevant humanitarian actions are designed and/or implemented

• S/he is responsible for the provision of comprehensive analysis of the gaps in humanitarian needs’ coverage
• S/he is responsible for the collection of relevant data from external stakeholders pertaining to the humanitarian situation in the country
• S/he attends all relevant humanitarian foras at both central or local level and interacts consistently with relevant external stakeholders for the collection of information regarding the humanitarian situation
• S/he is responsible for the proposition, resources design and coordination of in-depth technical assessment within identified areas of concern (including additional resources to be discussed and validated at HQ level)
• S/he establishes a formal coordination mechanism within his/her team and between the team and external stakeholders
• S/he supervises the deployment of the assessments, the data collection and analysis and ensures real time sharing of general findings
• S/he initiates, organizes and ensures that the general and/or in-depth assessment findings are translated into intervention propositions. S/he prepares Concept Notes and shares them with the Middle East Desk Manager
• S/he leads the fundraising strategy of CDE in the country and advocates towards relevant donors for the coverage of the identified humanitarian gaps
• S/he leads, if relevant, the preparation of the deployment of interventions in the country

Supervising local and international personnel teams in-country

• S/he supervises all local and international staff in the country
• S/he leads the definition of HR needs (both national and international staff) for the diagnosis and (if relevant) the intervention phase
• S/he, in direct link with the Middle East Desk Manager, identifies international HR needs and provides relevant Job Descriptions / Terms of Reference
• S/he leads the recruitment process of national staff during the diagnosis phase
• S/he briefs, or has someone else brief, each new member of the in-ountry staff, when they take on the job, on the context, the objectives and the working schemes of the mission, as well as safety regulations, logistical and administrative procedures, financial management and human resources and the use of communication means.
• S/he leads the training of expatriate or national staff (organizational, methodological and potentially technical support, organization of trainings, etc)
• S/he is particularly sensitive to managing the team’s stress. S/he monitors and authorizes “breaks” and also mediates potential conflicts, seeking appropriate support in case of an incident.
• S/he ensures CDE’s Internal Regulations are respected.
• S/he protects CDE’s image in the country and thus makes sure the entirety of the staff behaves in a way which is in compliance with the values maintained by the organization and is respectful of the local culture.

Ensuring the logistical and administrative monitoring in-country

• S/he leads the identification of means and resources (including human, material and financial resources) to be allocated in-country and conveys them to the Middle East Desk Manager
• S/he, ensures that all in-country staff are respecting CDE logistics and administrative procedures and formats
• S/he is responsible for the management of financial / cash resources in-country
• S/he leads the mapping of the in-country logistics and administrative environment, including (primary items/services price lists, suppliers lists, labour legal frames, financial institutions…)
• S/he supervises premises, equipmen…under the responsibility of the mission staff (vehicles, IT equipment, office equipment, radio-communication and telecommunication equipment) and ensures they are properly utilized.
• S/he is responsible for general cost optimization of the mission deployment
• S/he is responsible for the drafting of financial and logistics components of project proposals

Ensuring the representation of CDE

• S/he represents the association at external meetings (authorities, humanitarian stakeholders…) and relevant coordination schemes
• S/he leads the official registration process of CDE in the country
• S/he participates in important coordination meetings and is an active attendee of these meetings.

Team composition :

• Inception phase:
• The team composition will evolve according to the humanitarian needs identified and the implementation opportunities.

• Education:

• Advanced university degree in project management, financial management, human resource management, logistics and security is desirable.
• Professional experience:
• Min. 5 years of humanitarian and technical experience in project coordination.
• Previous experience as Head of Mission in an NGO
• Previous experience in assessment / exploratory missions
• Successful experience in expatriate team management and multi-sector programmes.
• Security management.
• Experience in Middle East in derisable.

• Languages:

• English in mandatory.
• Arabic is an asset.

• Personal qualities:

• Leadership skills and the ability to make decisions
• Trustworthiness and a sense of responsibility
• Charisma and strong advocacy skills
• Ability to use authority, when necessary
• Analysis and synthesis abilities (discenrment, pragmatism)
• Ability to adapt
• Organisational skills, ability to be thorough and respect due dates
• Strong listening and negotiation skills
• Good people and communication skills
• Ability to remain calm and level-headed
• General ability to resist stress and particularly in unstable circumstances
• Ability to work in unstable circumstances.
• Ability to work with minimalistic comfort and limited support resources

• Terms and conditions

• 3 months full time contract renewable, as an expatriate
• Monthly gross salary from 2900 euros according to experience
• Non accompanied status
• Position based in Damascus
• Starting date: Febrary 2025
• Monthly per diem and living allowance
• R&R: 5 days R&R at 3 and 9 months of contract
• Travel: round trip ticket flight beginning/end of contract + paid leaves at 6 months of contract
• Housing: individual guesthouse
• Medical coverage with 50% of employer contribution
• Medical evacuation and repatriation insurance paid by the employer
• Death and disability insurance paid by the employer