Humanitarian Access Coordinator at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a non-governmental, humanitarian organization with 60 years of experience in helping to create a safer and more dignified life for refugees and internally displaced people. NRC advocates for the rights of displaced populations and offers assistance within the shelter, emergency food security, and water, sanitation and hygiene sectors.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Humanitarian Access Coordinator

Job Identification: 935
Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Reports to: HSS Manager
Supervision of: Access Officer / Assistant
Travel: 75%
Duration and type of contract: One-yearcontract

Background of the positon

• Humanitarian access in the conflict-affected states of northeast Nigeria has been highly constrained since the start of the current humanitarian response in 2016. An estimated 1.2 million Nigerians living outside the government-controlled areas in those states are completely cut off from humanitarian assistance, while several million more are obstructed to varying degrees in their ability to reach and be reached by critical aid. A combination of insecurity, the actions of the parties to the conflict, and the lack of strong and concerted advocacy across international diplomatic and humanitarian actors has made northeast Nigeria one of the most challenging operational environments for aid organizations.
• Under the direct line supervision of the HSS Manager, Access Coordinator position will promote humanitarian access and coordination efforts, and support day-to-day implementation of the NRC Project in implementation site. The main tasks will be delivered through training of staff of day to day negotiation, humanitarian principle and contribute to evidence base advocacy.
• The coordinator will work closely with other program coordinators, Advocacy, field coordinators to ensure that there is a unified reporting information sharing on access constraints, enablers and statistics. He / She will regularly interface with NRC access technical team at the Regional level through attending meetings, webinars and communicating outcome to HSS Manager.

Role and Responsibilities
The following is a brief description of the role:

Humanitarian Access Management and Strategy Implementation:

• Design, in a participatory manner with field offices and programme unit (CCs), NRC humanitarian access strategy for CO which is responsive to the local context.
• Develop, in a participatory manner, access work plans with field offices working closely with the Field Coordinators.
• As a member of the NRC Nigeria HSS unit, he / she will support the HSS Manager in development, reviews and implementation of HSS management plans in all locations.
• Support monitoring and evaluation of access-related initiatives, and other reporting and information / communication flows.
• Support access innovation initiatives in all NRC field offices.
• Participate in security incident reporting and analysis to determine the access impact to NRC activities.
• Maintain and update access related incident tracker for all locations in northeast Nigeria.
• Provide area-based access analyses supporting operational implementation or programme development
• Support HSS Manager in mentoring field staff on access and humanitarian principles which are relevant to program implementation.
• Collate and compile monthly access reports in consultation with all CCs, Program Coordinators, Area Managers and submit to HSSM.
• Maintain and update area specific actors mapping for all NRC locations.
• Continuously and proactively monitor and evaluate the political, economic, social, and humanitarian situation for developments affecting humanitarian access, to inform NRC’s response.
• Collaborate with the advocacy team to respond to monthly access-advocacy global surveys

Access Coordination Support:

• Support the facilitation of access coordination groups which NRC participates in and leads
• Participate in all Access Working Group meetings, Civil – Military Co meetings and ad hoc meetings as may be required from time to time.
• Provide briefings, following special research or assessments, to access groups
• Facilitate field-level coordination meetings with the Field Coordinators ensuring that access challenges are identified and discussed with relevant local actors.
• Conduct regular visit in all NRC field locations including those with potential for interventionsand work closely with NRC RRM.

Humanitarian Negotiations and Community Outreach:

• Represent NRC as a humanitarian organization in community outreach meetings and in access negotiation meetings with government and non-government stakeholders
• Strategically network with interlocutors, in a fully principled and transparent manner
• Coordinate humanitarian negotiations and community outreach plans with all NRC field offices
• Develop training plans for staff on humanitarian principles, negotiation and mediationand CIMCORD.

Critical interfaces
By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are:

• NRC Nigeria Program units, Field Coordinators, Area Managers
• NRC HSS team
• Government (State and Federal) local authorities
• Non-government authorities
• Access coordination groups, relevant UN and INGO stakeholders

Competencies
Competencies are important in order for the employee and the organisation to deliver desired results. They are relevant for all staff and are divided into the following twocategories:

Professional competencies
These are skills, knowledge and experience that are important for effective performance.

Professional competencies for this position:

• Strong interpersonal skills, including capacities to negotiate with non-government stakeholders
• Strong Report-writing ability and negotiations skills  
• TOT on humanitarian Negotiation and Mediation or its equivalent with experience of training frontline staff on Negotiation
• 2 to 4 years of working experience within a similar function with INGOs, the UN, or government or private sector focusing on access or program implementation, advocacy or security.
• Previous experience from working in complex and volatile contexts, particularly in the North East Nigeria
• University or advanced degree or Masters in Social Studies, Administration, Security Management, Humanitarian / Refugee Affairs, and Disaster Risk Management.
• Basic training on humanitarian access and negotiation and demonstrated knowledge on humanitarian principles.

Context related skills, knowledge and experience:

• Understanding and respect for humanitarian work, particularly relating to refugee and displacement issues.
• Demonstrated ability in both written and spoken English. Ability to fluently speak Hausa / Kanuri or local language skills is highly desired.
• A passion for humanitarian work.
• Ability to work under stress and in high-risk contexts
• The ability to travel regularly to the field independently is essential.
• Flexibility to work outside standard working hours.
• Excellent computer skills (Outlook, Excel, etc).

Behavioral competencies:

• Organized and able to multi-task
• Handling insecure environments
• Working with people
• Willingness to do other tasks as required.

Performance Management
The employee will be accountable for the responsibilities and the competencies, in accordance with the NRC Performance Management Manual. The following documents will be used for performance reviews:

• The Job Description
• The individual Work- and Professional Development Plan
• The Competency Framework.

Application Closing Date
1:00 AM; 13th April, 2021.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organization’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity and accountability. These attitudes and believes shall guide our actions and relationships.
• A job description is a written statement that describes the employee’s role and responsibilities. The role and responsibilities shall be executed within the NRC framework. The job description facilitates the recruitment process by stating the necessary competencies. It is mandatory for all positions.