Economic Recovery Team Leader – Rural Livelihoods

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency with a mandate to protect, advocate and promote durable solutions for displacement affected populations. 

DRC has been operating in Ukraine since 2014, currently DRC employs over 800 staff in Ukraine and will continue significant scale-up in 2024 to implement emergency response in the Protection, Livelihoods, Shelter/NFIs and Humanitarian Disarmament and Peacebuilding (humanitarian mine action) sectors, using direct interventions, support to duty bearers and civil society organizations (CSOs), and partnerships with CSOs. DRC will continue and adapt its durable solutions portfolio to the evolving context.

DRC is currently looking for an Economic Recovery Team Leader – Rural Livelihoods for its agricultural and non-agricultural livelihoods activities in Kharkiv Oblast.  

This position will report to the Economic Recovery Programme Manager.

About the job:

Under the management of the Economic Recovery Programme Manager, the Livelihoods Team Leader will manage and oversee the implementation of economic recovery activities focusing on rural households and businesses, including but not limited to provision of sectoral cash to subsistence and small-scale farmers and providing grants and capacity building to agri-businesses. They will be responsible for managing and supervising the Rural Economic Recovery team and will provide technical support and guidance to the teams. They will be responsible for the planning and follow up of rural and agricultural economic recovery activities, including coordinating with other departments in DRC. They will participate in coordination meetings and represent DRC in relevant forums. The position is based in Kharkiv DRC office, with field activities in Kharkiv oblast.

Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

Under the supervision of the Economic Recovery Programme Manager, the Economic Recovery Team Leader – Rural Livelihoods will:

• Manage and supervise the Rural economic recovery team, providing guidance and support, facilitating team meetings, developing work plans, completing performance reviews and recruiting/onboarding new staff.
• Support the Economic Recovery Manager in project kick-off and close-out, including resource planning, geo-targeting, and lessons learned identification.
• Coordinate frequently with the Urban Livelihood Economic Recovery Team Leader and team to share information, lessons learned and ensure the coherence of economic recovery programming.
• Engagement with stakeholders and representatives from key institutions and organizations such as coordination units, farmers associations, and agriculture service providers.  
• Support the review of SOPs and tools guiding the implementation of agriculture focused programming.
• Ensure contracted organizations deliver requested services in a timely and high-quality manner, for example the delivery of coaching or other consultancy services to agri-businesses.
• Develop work plans for the project activities and track the progress of implementation against project targets and indicators.
• Support the monitoring of project expenditure against budgets and provide timely feedback on budget follow-up.
• Plan and coordinate project logistics and team movement plans, and initiate procurements for project supplies.
• Conduct training needs assessments of staff and beneficiary groups and develop, review, and adapt training materials on rural and agriculture livelihoods topics accordingly.
• Lead the capacity building and mentoring of the Rural Economic Recovery programme team.
• Coordinate with other organizations and stakeholders working in the same area to ensure that economic recovery programming is integrated and effective.
• Participate in coordination meetings and represent DRC in relevant external forums and ensure the sharing of pertinent points and meeting minutes with relevant colleagues.  
• Establish and maintain effective working relationship with relevant partner agencies, community focal points and service providers.
• Ensure that accurate and timely reports are submitted to donors and DRC stakeholders, and that program documentation is maintained and up-to-date.
• Contribute to and provide field-related inputs for proposals for funding for new projects, including reviewing assessment tools.
• Support the identification of partnership opportunities with CSOs, duty bearers, and private sector at the are level.
• Any other duties as may be assigned by the Economic Recovery Programme Manager, relevant to the achievement of on-farm economic recovery objectives.

About you:

To be successful in this role we expect you to have strong skills and experience in agricultural livelihoods, as well as team management. Moreover, we also expect the following: 

Required  

• Secondary education in the field of agriculture, agronomy, technology of production and processing livestock products, agro-engineering, or other relevant discipline.
• Previous experience in managing a team or supervising team members at least 2 years.
• Understanding of vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities or elderly persons, and inclusive engagement in economic recovery.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to work effectively with vulnerable groups, staff members, and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple responsibilities.
• Strong sense of personal integrity and understanding of confidentiality and ethics.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, Outlook/Exchange, Windows operating systems.
• Fluent Ukrainian skills
• Good professional English language skills.

Desirable 

• Experience working for civil society organizations or NGOs

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:   

• Striving for excellence: Focusing on reaching results while ensuring efficient processes.
• Collaborating: Involving relevant parties and encouraging feedback. 
• Taking the lead: Taking ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.
• Communicating: Listening and speaking effectively and honestly. 
• Demonstrating integrity: Upholding and promoting the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to DRC’s values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. 

We offer:

• Contract length: 3 months probation period, with the possibility of extension based on funding and satisfactory performance 
• Level: G
• Designation of Duty Station: Kharkiv
• Start date: As soon as possible.
• Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for national staff.

Application process:
All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages in English).

Applications sent by email will not be considered.

Closing date for applications: recruitment will be on rolling basis.