Emergency Response Manager / Head of Programmes - Venezuelanew

1. Background

Plan International is implementing a growing humanitarian and early recovery portfolio in Venezuela, with a strong focus on children, adolescents, women, caregivers and crisis-affected communities.

The operation combines humanitarian response and early recovery programming and is delivered predominantly through Venezuelan partner organisations, with Plan providing programme leadership, technical oversight, quality assurance, MERL, safeguarding, financial and grant management, operational accompaniment and capacity strengthening.

The portfolio may include Child Protection in Emergencies (CPiE), Education in Emergencies (EiE), Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), WASH, Shelter/NFI, health and sexual and reproductive health, basic assistance and recovery interventions, depending on individual grants and partnerships.

The response is evolving from acute emergency delivery towards stabilisation, recovery and greater territorial and programmatic consolidation. The operation therefore requires strong leadership capable of maintaining strategic oversight while ensuring close follow-up of implementation, partners, programme quality, financial delivery, donor commitments and operational risks.

2. Role Purpose

The Emergency Response Manager / Head of Programmes - Venezuela provides overall strategic and operational leadership to Plan International's humanitarian and recovery programme portfolio in Venezuela.

The postholder is accountable for ensuring that the portfolio is delivered on time, within approved budgets and in accordance with proposals, donor requirements, humanitarian standards and Plan International's commitments on programme quality, safeguarding, gender equality, inclusion and accountability to affected populations.

A central responsibility is to ensure that Plan's partner-led operating model translates into high-quality and accountable delivery at field level, supported by clear expectations, adequate technical accompaniment, effective monitoring and timely corrective action. This is a highly operational role requiring the ability to move confidently between strategic leadership and hands-on programme troubleshooting.

3. Key Responsibilities

A. Humanitarian Strategy and Programme Leadership

• Provide overall leadership and strategic direction for the humanitarian and recovery portfolio in Venezuela.
• Maintain an integrated overview of projects, grants, partners, technical sectors, donor commitments and geographical areas under implementation.
• Translate the Venezuela response strategy into clear operational priorities, workplans, management decisions and measurable results.
• Regularly review the relevance of the response as humanitarian needs and operating conditions evolve.
• Guide the transition between immediate humanitarian response, stabilisation, early recovery and recovery programming.
• Advise senior management on programme priorities, implementation constraints, operational risks and emerging opportunities.
• Ensure management decisions are translated into clear responsibilities, deadlines and follow-up actions.

B. Humanitarian Portfolio Management

• Maintain consolidated oversight of workplans, implementation schedules, budgets, indicators, procurement requirements, partner deliverables, reporting deadlines and donor obligations.
• Monitor progress across the portfolio and proactively identify delays, underspending, implementation bottlenecks and quality concerns.
• Establish practical mechanisms for project-level and portfolio-level monitoring, including regular review meetings and action tracking.
• Ensure appropriate project start-up, implementation, modification, extension and close-out processes.
• Identify dependencies and complementarities between projects and sectors.
• Escalate significant programmatic, contractual, financial, safeguarding or operational risks with clear recommendations.

C. Partner Management and Localisation

• Maintain productive, equitable and accountable relationships with national and local implementing partners.
• Ensure partners understand project objectives, deliverables, indicators, budgets, reporting obligations and technical standards.
• Coordinate programme, technical, MERL, financial, safeguarding and operational accompaniment to partners.
• Ensure implementation issues are identified early and addressed through agreed improvement measures.
• Strengthen partner capacities in programme management, humanitarian quality, safeguarding, accountability, monitoring and donor compliance.
• Support partner mapping, due diligence and engagement with potential new partners when required.

D. Programme Quality and Technical Leadership

• Ensure interventions comply with Plan International standards and recognised humanitarian standards.
• Coordinate technical support across CPiE, EiE, MHPSS, WASH, Shelter/NFI, health and other relevant sectors.
• Ensure coherence and complementarity between sectoral components and promote integrated programming where it improves outcomes.
• Work with technical specialists to identify quality gaps and establish practical corrective actions.
• Ensure field monitoring assesses technical quality and safeguarding, not only activity completion.
• Ensure technical guidance is translated into practical actions by teams and partners.
• Promote programme adaptation based on evidence, community feedback and changes in need.

E. MERL, Accountability and Learning

• Provide strategic oversight of Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) across the portfolio.
• Ensure every project has appropriate indicators, targets, monitoring plans and means of verification.
• Ensure programme data are reliable, timely, safely managed and used for decision-making.
• Review portfolio performance and identify projects, results or indicators requiring corrective action.
• Ensure monitoring information from partners is systematically consolidated, verified and analysed.
• Ensure effective Accountability to Affected Populations, including safe and accessible feedback and complaints mechanisms.
• Promote learning through project reviews, Real-Time Reviews, evaluations, case studies and documented lessons learned.

F. Financial and Grant Management

• Maintain oversight of expenditure and financial performance in close coordination with Finance and Grants colleagues.
• Regularly review Budget versus Actuals against implementation progress, forecasts and project milestones.
• Identify underspending, overspending and significant budget variances early and ensure corrective action.
• Monitor partner financial reporting and expenditure in coordination with Finance.
• Ensure donor contractual requirements are understood and met across programme teams.
• Support budget realignments, grant modifications, no-cost extensions and compliant project closure.
• Coordinate timely and high-quality narrative inputs for donor reports.

G. Field Implementation and Operational Follow-up

• Conduct regular monitoring visits to project and partner locations.
• Review implementation directly with teams, partners and communities, and verify delivery against expected quality standards.
• Ensure field-visit recommendations result in documented actions and follow-up.
• Coordinate programme requirements with Supply Chain, Finance, Security, Communications and other enabling functions.
• Ensure plans adapt appropriately to access, security, logistics and contextual constraints.
• Maintain close engagement with personnel and consultants working outside Caracas.

H. Programme Development and Resource Mobilisation

• Identify emerging humanitarian and recovery needs and translate them into strategic programme opportunities.
• Lead or contribute to needs assessments, concept notes, proposals, results frameworks and implementation strategies.
• Ensure programme designs are evidence-based, technically sound, operationally feasible, appropriately costed and aligned with implementation capacity.
• Support donor engagement, briefings and programme presentations.
• Ensure new funding opportunities are coherent with the Venezuela strategy and partner-led operating model.

I. Humanitarian Coordination and Representation

• Represent Plan International, as delegated, with donors, UN agencies, clusters, sector groups, NGO coordination mechanisms, civil society and relevant authorities.
• Contribute to humanitarian coordination, inter-agency assessments, information sharing and response planning.
• Position Plan International appropriately and identify opportunities for collaboration, consortia and joint programming.
• Ensure information from external coordination informs internal strategy and operational decisions.

J. Team Leadership and Internal Coordination

• Provide clear leadership and management direction to programme personnel under the role's responsibility.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, objectives and accountability mechanisms.
• Ensure regular coordination between Programme, MERL, Finance, Partnerships, Supply Chain, Security, Communications and technical specialists.
• Strengthen coordination between national personnel, consultants and regional or global technical support.
• Identify capacity gaps and coordinate appropriate mentoring, induction and technical assistance.
• Promote an inclusive, respectful, accountable and solution-oriented working culture.
• Ensure adequate handover, documentation and continuity across temporary and surge positions.

K. Safeguarding, Gender and Inclusion

• Ensure safeguarding and prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment requirements are integrated throughout the programme cycle.
• Ensure partners understand and comply with applicable safeguarding requirements.
• Promote safe, accessible and confidential feedback and reporting mechanisms.
• Ensure programme decisions consider different risks faced by girls, boys, adolescents and other groups at heightened risk.
• Promote gender-transformative and inclusive programming where appropriate.
• Ensure implementation follows Do No Harm and protection-mainstreaming principles, and escalate concerns through established mechanisms.

L. Security, Access and Risk Management

• Ensure programme planning integrates security, access and duty-of-care considerations.
• Work with relevant functions to establish practical risk mitigation for field activities and travel.
• Maintain an updated overview of strategic and operational risks affecting implementation.
• Ensure field movements and programme decisions follow applicable security procedures.
• Develop programme continuity measures where access or contextual constraints affect implementation.

4. Essential Qualifications and Experience

• University degree in International Development, Humanitarian Affairs, International Relations, Social Sciences, Programme Management or another relevant field.
• Minimum seven years of progressively responsible experience in humanitarian and/or development programming, including significant humanitarian response experience.
• At least three years of programme management or senior coordination experience in humanitarian settings.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-project and multi-donor portfolios.
• Strong experience across the full project cycle, including design, implementation, monitoring, financial follow-up, reporting and close-out.
• Experience managing programmes implemented through local or national partners.
• Strong understanding of humanitarian principles, programme quality, safeguarding and accountability.
• Experience with grant management and institutional donor compliance.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate technical, programme and operational functions.
• Experience working in volatile, rapidly changing or operationally complex environments.
• Strong analytical, leadership, negotiation, coordination and communication skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel regularly within Venezuela.

Language Requirements

• Spanish: Advanced professional proficiency, C2 or equivalent.
• English: Advanced professional proficiency, C1 or equivalent, including the ability to lead meetings, engage with donors, and draft or review high-quality technical and donor documentation.

5. Desirable Experience

• Previous experience as Head of Programmes, Emergency Response Manager, Programme Director, Deputy Country Director - Programmes or in an equivalent senior role.
• Experience in Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly Venezuela or a comparable operating environment.
• Technical familiarity with one or more of the following: CPiE, EiE, MHPSS, WASH, Shelter/NFI, Cash and Voucher Assistance or integrated humanitarian programming.
• Experience working with institutional humanitarian donors, pooled funding mechanisms, consortia or multi-partner programmes.
• Experience managing localisation-focused or partner-led delivery models.
• Experience supporting humanitarian scale-up and transition to early recovery.
• Familiarity with Sphere, the Core Humanitarian Standard, Accountability to Affected Populations and relevant sector standards.

6. Core Competencies

Strategic and operational leadership: Maintains strategic direction while engaging directly with implementation challenges and management decisions.

Portfolio management: Manages multiple grants, donors, partners, budgets and reporting requirements simultaneously.

Decision-making under pressure: Prioritises effectively and takes timely decisions in uncertain and rapidly evolving environments.

Partner management: Combines accountability with constructive accompaniment, capacity strengthening and respect for local leadership.

Financial acumen: Interprets budgets, BvAs, forecasts and expenditure trends and connects financial information with implementation performance.

Programme quality: Identifies technical and operational quality gaps and ensures corrective action.

Communication and representation: Represents the organisation credibly with donors, partners, humanitarian actors and senior management in Spanish and English.

Collaboration: Brings programme, technical and operational functions together around common implementation priorities.

7. Initial Priorities and Expected Results

• Establish and maintain a consolidated, reliable overview of the humanitarian and recovery portfolio.
• Confirm clear project, partner and internal accountabilities.
• Strengthen alignment between implementation progress, financial execution and procurement planning.
• Ensure timely identification, documentation and escalation of programme risks.
• Ensure consistent monitoring of indicators, deliverables, budgets and donor obligations.
• Improve follow-up of partner reporting, safeguarding commitments and implementation actions.
• Establish regular field-based monitoring and practical corrective-action mechanisms.
• Ensure effective coordination between programme, technical, MERL, Finance, Supply Chain and Security functions.
• Support timely, accurate and high-quality donor reporting and programme development.
• Position the Venezuela portfolio for continuity, recovery and additional funding opportunities.

8. Contract Duration

The initial contract will be for three months. It may be renewed subject to satisfactory performance, operational requirements and availability of funding.

Given the short initial contractual period and the dynamic nature of the Venezuela response, the successful candidate will be expected to assume responsibilities rapidly and provide immediate management continuity to the programme portfolio.

9. Safeguarding and Equal Opportunity

Plan International is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults from harm and to preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. The successful candidate must uphold the highest standards of professional conduct and comply with all applicable safeguarding, data protection and accountability requirements.

Plan International promotes equal opportunities and values diversity. Recruitment is subject to appropriate background and reference checks in accordance with organisational policy and applicable legislation.

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Location: Caracas - Venezuela

Type of Role: 3-month fixed-term, full-time International or Local contract

Reports to: Head of Mission - Venezuela

Grade: 16

Closing Date: 12/11/2026

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International's Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Please note that Plan International will never send unsolicited emails requesting payment from candidates.