Venezuela Earthquake Response Manager- Readvertised

Location: Venezuela, with flexibility to be based either in-country or in a nearby regional hub.

Department: Programme Support

Reports to (Line Manager): Head of Programme Support

Grade: UK Salary Grade D or its equivalent based on the cost of living in the country of hire

Contract Type: 12 months, Fixed term

About HelpAge

HelpAge International works with a diverse global network of around 200 organisations across 99 countries to promote the rights of older people to lead dignified, healthy and secure lives.

Through partnership and collaborations, we work to ensure the inclusion of older people across society and strive to deliver a just and fair world for everyone as they get older. Our work is driven by our desire to achieve real impact for older people, to be inclusive, to work in partnership and to learn from our shared experience.

Venezuela Earthquake Crisis

On 24 June, two consecutive earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck north-central Venezuela at around 18:00 local time, followed by more than 130 aftershocks. The most affected areas are La Guaira, Caracas/Capital District, Miranda, Carabobo, and Yaracuy, with La Guaira reported as the area of most severe humanitarian impact.

The earthquake has compounded the chronic deterioration of Venezuela's critical infrastructure, affecting transport networks, electricity, water systems, telecommunications, and public services. Damage to health facilities has further strained an already fragile health system, reducing access to emergency care, disrupting the continuity of treatment for chronic conditions, and limiting the availability of mental health and psychosocial support services at a time of increased demand.

We are seeking a passionate, professional and experienced candidate to support our response to the Venezuela earthquake crisis, someone who thrives in collaborating with others (inside HelpAge International and beyond) and who can work in agile ways and across boundaries.

About the Job

The Venezuela Earthquake Response Manager will be responsible for the overall management of the Humanitarian response programme in Venezuela, which will be implemented by local partners, and will work closely with relevant members of the Programme Support and other Teams engaged with this emergency. There will be a strong focus on promoting the inclusion of older people in the emergency response and engaging in advocacy, as well as supporting roll out of training and guidance to make that happen. We are looking for someone skilled in program design and implementation, proposal preparation (with support from humanitarian staff), partner capacity building and support, quality assurance and monitoring, donor and stakeholder representation.

Key areas for impact/influence and responsibilities

• Develop overall programmatic response and support 2-5 local implementing partners in programme start-up/scale up in response to the catastrophic earthquake in Venezuela.
• Oversee the programme management of humanitarian partner-led response, in line with Humanitarian Inclusion Standards with a focus on older people, in earthquake affected communities
• Monitor the quality of the humanitarian response, supporting implementing partners, making recommendations for change where needed to improve the impact on the lives of older people
• Work closely with the implementing partner organisations, including building their capacity, to ensure a high quality, age-friendly, inclusive, coordinated response
• Identify and develop new funding opportunities and project partnerships to build a humanitarian portfolio of work and increase the impact for older people in the response.
• Lead coordination between local implementing partners, HelpAge global teams and supporting members / donors
• With support from MEAL colleagues, lead on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning for the response, tracking progress, sharing and utilizing related information, data, learning and evidence across the organisation and externally
• Ensure security of all staff and assets and compliance with external standards and internal requirements
• Act as primary representative with host governments, other officials in charge, donors, clusters, UN agencies and other International and national NGOs
• With the HelpAge Global Communications Manager be the primary spokesperson for HelpAge International on the ground which may include various media.

Skills and experience required

You will be someone with:

• Extensive experience managing complex multi-sector programs in an acute emergency situation
• Experience managing multi-donor funded projects including experience working with key emergency donors such as DEC, ECHO, Appeal funds, Trust and Foundations
• Demonstrable experience in leadership and programme management with local partners and geographically dispersed teams and in challenging humanitarian contexts.
• Familiarity with the Cluster system and its various areas of focus, with preferable experience in Protection and Inclusion promotion.
• Substantial experience in all aspects of Project Cycle Management with particular focus on proposal development, quality assurance, monitoring,
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a demonstrated ability to lead effectively in insecure environments
• An ability to represent HelpAge with traditional and non-traditional partners, donors and networks.
• Extensive knowledge of humanitarian principles, standards and human rights.
• Experienced in strengthening and supporting staff and national partner capacity
• An ability to travel, occasionally at short notice.
• Strong oral and written Spanish and English language communication skills

Desirable

• Previous work experience in Venezuela or with communities in LAC region
• Experience of working with older people and people with disabilities

Key Behavioural Competencies

Working Collaboratively with Others: Work collaboratively, building mutual trust and respect, withexternal organizations and partners to achieve our strategic aims and objectives; being accountable for the work we do together.

Adaptability and Flexibility: Adapt to new directions or opportunities arising within the organisation andin our workarea; being flexible in our role, constantly using the feedback to learn more and evolve further.

Supporting and Facilitating Change: Lead behavioural and cultural change through embracing a supportive, collaborative and highly inclusive environment where everybody feels supported, respected and engaged.

Extend HelpAge’s Reach and Impact: Extend HelpAge’s reach and impact by creating and identifying new business development opportunities and building relationships with new partners.

Diversity and Inclusion: Lead and promote a culture of including the voices of older people across our support, convening and thought leadership roles, in a way that is transformative, empowering and highly inclusive of those marginalised by gender, economic status, disability and other factors of discrimination.

Leading Others (for managers): Demonstrate strong leadership to own unit/department and manage people in a well and reputable manner. Create an atmosphere of trust and an enabling environment where staff can contribute their best and develop their potential.

Safeguarding

HelpAge International is committed to safeguarding the communities with which we work, our partners, staff and any others who we come into contact with. The post holder will also be responsible for:

• Preventing harm and abuse from our people, operations and programmes to anyone that encounters our work.
  • Reporting all safeguarding incidents you see, hear, hear about or suspect, using our internal reporting mechanism.
  • Complying with all safeguarding framework policies and practices.
  • Completing mandatory training courses relating to our safeguarding policy framework and complying with HR vetting procedures.

SAFER RECRUITMENT

All employments at HelpAge International will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include misconduct disclosure schemes and terrorism finance checks.