Netherlands: Humanitarian Diplomacy Coordinator

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 NLRC international support for victims of disasters and conflicts and for vulnerable people exposed to hazards.

As part of the Netherlands Red Cross led Partners for Resilience initiative, the International Assistance department has opened a vacancy for a:

Humanitarian Diplomacy Coordinator

The Hague, 40 hours per week

Purpose of the position

The 2016-2020 Partners for Resilience (PfR) initiative is looking for a Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC)-based Humanitarian Diplomacy Coordinator (HDC) to support PfR lobby and advocacy (L&A) trajectories that promote Integrated Risk Management (IRM). The HDC will be responsible for optimising Red Cross Red Crescent involvement in L&A, within its established frameworks and in accordance with its mandates and principles. He/she will coordinate with the Alliance partners and proactively work with sister national Red Cross organisations (NS) and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) to ensure strategic use of Red Cross capacities and resources in response to opportunities identified.

Background

Partners for Resilience

Partners for Resilience is an alliance of humanitarian, development, climate and environmental civil society organisations, composed of five Netherlands based members (CARE Nederland, Cordaid, the Netherlands Red Cross, the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre (RCCC), and Wetlands International) and their partner organisations in the South. The alliance, led by the Netherlands Red Cross, promotes the application of Integrated Risk Management (IRM) to strengthen and protect livelihoods of vulnerable communities. PfR defines IRM as an approach to strengthen community resilience by reducing risks and strengthening livelihoods of vulnerable communities, with specific attention for marginalized groups and women, by involving the wider civil society in addressing risks faced by all groups in society, in particular women, and by working on a conducive legal and financial environment.

The Integrated Risk Management (IRM) approach bridges time- and spatial scales. It integrates attention for changing risks due to changes in hazards, exposure and vulnerability. IRM includes a specific focus on ecosystem degradation, locally and in the wider landscape, as well as changes in hazards due to climate change (in relation to current risks, near-term changes and longer-term shifts in climate patterns). IRM thus integrates elements from disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and ecosystem management and restoration.

The PfR members have been working as an alliance in the field of IRM since 2011. The alliance is now entering a new partnership with the Ministry (for 2016-2020), aiming to enhance community resilience through:

1. Strengthening partner Southern civil society organizations (CSOs) and communities (through Community-Based Organisations, CBOs) in their lobby and advocacy knowledge and capacity on IRM in the interest of all people in society, so that these communities, supported by the partner organisations, are capable of enhancing their resilience;
2. Embarking on specific lobby and advocacy trajectories on IRM at local, national, regional and global levels, focusing on three interrelated domains:

· Policy – ensuring that IRM (including disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, eco-system management and restoration) is mainstreamed in policies and legislation at all levels;

· Investment – ensuring that investments in IRM are increased, and that IRM-based safeguards and screenings are incorporated in sectoral investments, and that related funding mechanisms are coherent across the development, humanitarian, climate financing continuum;

· Practice – ensuring that projects and programmes of governments and the private sector are implemented based on context-specific IRM principles, and address community interests and priorities at all levels.

NLRC and the RCCC, in partnership with other PfR members, have been supporting a range of National Societies in developing countries, and will continue to do so in the coming years. These efforts are also closely aligned with the IFRC’s objectives and activities in this area, and coordinated with the CPRR department and the IFRC Zone offices. In particular, a new initiative led by a Steering Group that includes NLRC (which also hosts the secretariat), IFRC, and RCCC (as well as other partners such as German Red Cross and Wetlands International) aims to leverage the success of the first phase of PfR, and the special status of the IFRC at the European Commission, for significant scale-up of investments in resilience building through National Societies.

The Netherlands Red Cross

The Red Cross Red Crescent movement operates in accordance with its seven fundamental principles: humanity; impartiality; neutrality; independence; voluntarity; unity and universality. In the Netherlands, the Red Cross aims to reduce the impact of emergency situations, strengthen self-reliance and increase respect and willingness to help.

In its auxiliary role to the Dutch government the NLRC has a domestic and internationally focused programs. In the Netherlands it focuses on first aid training amongst other activities, enabling its more than thirty thousand volunteers to provide relief and first aid on an event and on-demand basis. The Department of International Assistance of the NLRC is responsible for international relief and empowerment of communities exposed to natural and manmade disasters. It achieves this through long-term partnerships with sister Red Cross and Red Crescent associations in 17 countries.

Responsibilities

The Humanitarian Diplomacy Coordinator will though a collaborative process:

· Ensuring Lobby & Advocacy (L&A) activities comply with the Red Cross mandate, principles and established frameworks.

· Support PfR partners to seek maximum synergy in the L&A on IRM by identifying and mobilising relevant RCRC expertise and capacities

· Upon request, provide technical assistance to PfR members and their partners on HD

· Support and optimise HD in Red Cross Red Crescent L&A trajectories on IRM within the context of PfR.

· Identify relevant opportunities for HD in L&A on IRM.

Core activities

The Humanitarian Diplomacy Coordinator will work in close cooperation with the alliance members and civil society partners at all levels to:

· Lead day-to-day mentoring of NSs and local PfR partners in their policy work, and in doing so ensure close coordination with various parts of the IFRC.

· Identify synergies between IFRC and PfR activities and networks to support continuous exchange of experiences and incorporation of best practice on HD, in the context of PfR and more broadly where required.

· Coordinate with PfR Alliance partners in the Netherlands and abroad on relevant policy efforts such as identifying opportunities, key messages, identifying policy targets and entry points in relevant ongoing policy discussions.

· Proactively liaise with sister national Red Cross Red Crescent Societies and the IFRC to ensure strategic use of Red Cross capacities and resources in PfR’s L&A.

· Support IFRC in its global HD trajectories by providing them with PfR examples and results.

· Write position papers and develop relevant frameworks for PfR.

· Support the coordination of L&A training materials, notably by inventory of existing HD L&A training materials

· Take into account differences and complementarity of mandates of member organisations, existing levels of knowledge and skills, topics, local and national sensitivities.

· Represent NLRC/PfR (and where agreed IFRC) in specific HD and resilience related policy trajectories, including for instance relevant side events and panels.

· International advocacy and analytical work: support preparation of policy briefs and provide comments upon request (e.g negotiating texts), including in relation to synergies between policy trajectories relevant to PfR and IFRC (UNFCCC COP, SDGs, WHS etc).

Profile candidate*Qualifications*

Working and thinking: masters level. Training in line with subject / area of ​​responsibility. Knowledge of humanitarian diplomacy, community resilience strengthening and IRM is a prerequisite.

Skills and experience

· Work experience in the humanitarian and development sector; international experience is a strong advantage plus. Experience in supporting organisations, intercultural cooperation.

· Knowledge of and experience with IRM initiatives and opportunities on global, regional and national levels.

· Knowledge of and experience with international policy and financing mechanisms, and how these are translated to regional and national levels.

· Extensive experience in the development of policy and strategy, and supporting multidisciplinary and complex projects programs on HD and IRM.

· Experience with the UN system, other intergovernmental organisations and/or development banks is an advantage.

· Good knowledge of the functioning of the Red Cross international context is important.

· Proven written and verbal communication skills (proposals, reports, texts for external communication) in English.

· Excellent oral and written command of English language supplemented with control of one or two other relevant foreign languages ​​(preferably French).

· Knowledge of Dutch is an advantage.

· Accustomed to a complex international environment with a myriad of players with different interests; sensitive to political relations

· Good knowledge of MS Office.

Personal traits

He/she has the following personal characteristics: political sensitivity, relationship building and management, judgment, giving feedback, results-orientated, flexible, motivated, initiative, situational awareness, networker.

Location

The NLRC-PfR Humanitarian Diplomacy Coordinator will be based in Den Haag. He/she will be travelling frequently to represent the PfR alliance and NLRC and visits to operating countries (1-2 weeks per month).

Reporting lines

The NLRC-PfR Humanitarian Diplomacy Coordinator will closely coordinate his/her activities with the PfR Coordinator, the PfR Capacity Strengthening Coordinator, the PfR Global Policy Advisor (Geneva) and the Lobby & Advocacy team of the Netherlands Red Cross. He/she will report directly to the head of International Assistance at NLRC, and indirectly to the PfR Steering Group.

We offer

§ A full time appointment (based on 40-hour work week) for 1 year, with the possibility of extension depending on the outcome of the strategy developed in the first year and the approval of the PfR Steering Group.

§ A flexible and human centred working environment in an international environment with a variety of international organizations.

§ Well balanced conditions of employment with space for initiative and development.

The NLRC-PfR Humanitarian Diplomacy Coordinator will be funded by PfR through the NLRC payroll. Remuneration: the salary scale level is set at 12 as mentioned in the CAO, depending on education level and experience. (min. € 3.528,23 until max. € 4,707,88 gross per month on the basis of full time employment).

Please send your resume in English and letter of motivation with reference before 23 November 2015 using our online application tool http://werkenbij.rodekruis.nl/en/Vacancy/Apply/55887

For more information about the position, you can contact Juriaan Lahr, Head of International Assistance at NLRC HQ (jlahr@redcross.nl, +31650240792).

An assessment can be part of the selection procedure.

For more information of the work of the Netherlands Red Cross please go to www.rodekruis.nl and www.rodekruis.tv.NLRC on Facebook: Facebook.com/rodekruis and Twitter: Twitter.com/rodekruis

Acquisition fort his vacancy will not be appreciated