Regional Economic Recovery Coordinator (Latin America & North Africa)

Introduction

The Danish Refugee Council assists refugees and internally displaced persons across the globe: we provide emergency aid, fight for their rights, and strengthen their opportunity for a brighter future. We work in conflict-affected areas, along the displacement routes, and in the countries where refugees settle. In cooperation with local communities, we strive for responsible and sustainable solutions. We work toward successful integration and – whenever possible – for the fulfilment of the wish to return home.

The Danish Refugee Council was founded in Denmark in 1956 and has since grown to become an international humanitarian organization with more than 7,000 staff and 8,000 volunteers. Based in Copenhagen (Denmark) and present in forty countries, the Danish Refugee Council is a non-profit-making, politically independent, non-governmental and non-denominational relief organization.

Our vision is a dignified life for all displaced. All our efforts are based on our value compass: humanity, respect, independence and neutrality, participation, and honesty and transparency.

1. Background

DRC has been operating in West Africa since 1998 and in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2011. The DRC West-North Africa & Latin America (WANALA) Regional Office is based in Dakar, Senegal, and covers several countries. Led by the Regional Executive Director, the DRC WANALAC oversees, supports, and provides strategic directions for DRC’s Country Offices within the above-mentioned regions. From 2024, it includes Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Tunisia, and Venezuela.

The Regional Program Team has a range of technical capacities, including 2 Economic Recovery regional coordinators, one who covers West Africa and one who covers Latin America and North African countries. The position advertised is for the ECREC coordinator covering Latin America and North Africa.

2. Purpose

The Economic Recovery sector aims to empower conflict- and displacement-affected individuals to achieve self-reliance and resilience, particularly in both urban and rural contexts. Our focus is on addressing immediate unmet needs through direct assistance and supporting communities in recovering or developing sustainable means of income generation. We employ a holistic, integrated, and contextually adapted approach that emphasizes the importance of food security, sustainable livelihoods, and financial inclusion. The Regional Economic Recovery (ECREC) Coordinator is crucial in designing and implementing DRC’s policies and programs, providing strategic direction, technical support, operational guidance, and capacity building aligned with the global DRC strategy.

The ECREC Coordinator is responsible for defining the regional sectoral strategy, contributing to the development of country and multi-country strategies, and translating these into actionable plans with a particular focus on food security, financial inclusion, and decent livelihoods. This  role will also emphasize transformative agricultural processes to enhance crop and livestock productivity using sustainable methods, supporting the development of agricultural value chains with a regenerative and climate-sensitive approach.

3. Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of the Regional Head of Programme, the Regional EcRec Coordinator will undertake the following activities:

Country and Multi-Country Specific Support

• Strategic Support:
  • Assist DRC country operations in developing and implementing strategies related to economic recovery, market-based programming, and agricultural transformation, particularly in rural and peri-urban settings.
  • Developing decent livelihoods concepts, methodologies, and impactful modes of support – across DRC’s core activity categories – ranging from emergency and longer-term food security promotion to wage employment and business support (through skills development, access to inputs, market linkages, etc.); and financial inclusion; etc.
  • Analysing recent trends in economic recovery policy and evidence: e.g. on green and/or graduation approach; social protection, building self-reliance; private sector partnerships; and other areas of innovation
  • Provide technical and operational guidance on rural, peri-urban economy and root causes of migration and displacement analysis, and in integrated programming that promotes sustainable agricultural, livestock practices and resilient livelihoods in rural and peri-urban context. Identify and promote an EcRec response to causes of migration and displacement (including natural resources management, value chain, climate change, contributing to conflict management and resolution)
• Proposal Design:
  • Support the design of innovative project proposals that align with global, regional, and country-level strategies focused on improving farming models and enhancing value chains in rural and peri-urban areas, economic recovery programming in hard-to-reach areas, green approached and use of digital tools for socioeconomic integration among other innovative approaches
• Coordination:
  • Maintain external relations with stakeholders, ensuring DRC’s active participation in relevant sub-sectors of economic recovery networks and coordination bodies (Clusters, EcRec Communities of Practice, IPC, working groups)
• Technical Support:
  • Provide technical guidance, advice, and support to DRC country and multi-country operations on economic recovery (decent livelihoods, food security and financial inclusion support), graduation, social protection and market-based programming, including cash and voucher assistance programming.
  • Provide expert guidance on rural economy analysis, and identification and support of economic opportunities, including Market system development (MSD) and promotion of environmental friendly and sustainable farming systems.  
  • Support field missions and remote guidance to ensure quality needs assessments and the design of effective interventions tailored to local contexts.
  • Act as reference/focal point answering specific technical questions, providing troubleshooting, and addressing country-specific challenges
  • Develop or review methodology, guidance, and tools essential to ensuring predictable, accountable, and high-quality programming
  • Ensure programme strategy and design is in line with context and needs, and integrated with other DRC sectors/areas of intervention to the extent possible
• Capacity Building :
  • Develop and deliver tailored training materials and workshops on different technical areas depending on need (e.g. CVA, decent livelihoods, transformative agriculture and economic recovery strategies), fostering local capacities in DRC and partners.
  • Support the recruitment and training of technical staff focusing on agricultural innovation and sustainable practices.
• Quality Assurance:
  • Conduct field visits to assess program quality and impacts related to agricultural and livestock initiatives, providing actionable feedback for continuous improvement.
• Learning:
  • Facilitate collaborative learning processes to document and disseminate best practices in transformative agriculture and economic recovery programming.

Regional Support

• Capacity Assessment:
  • Evaluate DRC’s capacities economic recovery sub-sectors and identify technical gaps in rural context programming in particular
• Strategy Development:
  • Advise on enhancing the integration of agricultural recovery programming with other DRC core sectors, focusing on achieving regenerative outcomes as part of the broader DRC WANALA strategy.
  • Advise on all the economic recovery sub sectors and innovative approaches, and in integration with protection sector

4. Required Qualifications

Mandatory:

• Experience: Minimum of 5 years in international humanitarian or development organizations, with significant experience in agriculture-focused economic recovery programming in rural settings affected by conflict or displacement.
• Knowledge:
  • Familiarity with agricultural value chains and market systems approaches, including demonstrated ability to implement market-based programming that supports smallholder farmers.
  • Strong, practical and up-to-date knowledge of livelihoods concepts, methodologies, and impactful modes of support – across DRC’s core activity categories – ranging from emergency and longer-term food security promotion to wage employment and business support (through skills development, access to inputs, market linkages, etc.); and financial inclusion; etc.
  • Understanding of the Market System Approach (MSA), including proven ability to support development of market-based programming.
  • Experience with cash and voucher assistance: concepts; terminology; assessment and design methodology; and (digital) operations/implementation
• Skills:
  • Proven expertise in designing and implementing cash and voucher assistance
  • Experience in capacity building through impactful training and workshops tailored to local needs.
  • Ability to develop resource mobilization strategies, prioritizing sustainability and climate-resilient practices.
  • Strong representation and networking capabilities to foster partnerships in rural economic recovery.

Desirable:

• Strong understanding of transformative agricultural practices that enhance crop and livestock productivity sustainably
• Previous experience in Latin America and/or North Africa with a focus on rural agricultural contexts.
• Experience in NGOs committed to human rights and the protection of displaced populations with a special emphasis on environmental sustainability.

5. Required Skills & Qualities

• Full professional proficiency in English and Spanish
• Core Competencies of DRC:
  • Striving for excellence
  • Collaboration
  • Taking the lead
  • Communication
  • Demonstrating Integrity
• Knowledge of Arabic or French is an advantage
• Ability to work in a multinational and multicultural environment
• Proactivity, with a sound commitment to teamwork and with a spirit of genuine collaboration
• Excellent communication skills, as well as patience and politeness, are required
• Multi-tasking and Organizational skills are necessary
• Adaptable and Flexible
• Proven analytical and critical thinking skills
• Exemplary sense of ethics in the workplace
• Team-oriented & good sense of humor

6. General Regulations

• The employee shall follow DRC instructions on safety, confidentiality and ethical guidelines, including the Code of Conduct and the Humanitarian Accountability Framework
• Employee should not engage in any other paid activity during the DRC contract period without prior authorization
• Employee should not engage in any activity that could harm DRC or the implementation of any project during the DRC contract period
• Employee should not give interviews to the media or publish project-related photos or other material without prior authorization
• Employee shall return all borrowed equipment for the project to DRC after the end of the contract period or upon request

7. Application Process

Are you interested? Then apply for this position online. All applicants must send a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages). Both must be in English.

DRC provides equal opportunity in employment and prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability.

DRC encourages all applicants to apply and does not practice any discrimination in any recruitment process. However, applicants must be aware that DRC cannot employ, under an international traineeship or volunteering agreement, a citizen of the country in which she/ he is going to be stationed (in such case, the Republic of Mali).

Applications close on the 22nd November 2024 at 11:59 PM. (Dakar-time). Applications submitted after this date will not be considered.

Due to the urgency of the position, DRC has the right to recruit a candidate whose profile matches the required profile before the above deadline.