Fragile States Deputy Advisor

One of Save the Children UK’s four organisational priorities for 2010 was to develop the operational capacity and raise the income of country programmes in 12 targeted fragile states.

In order to achieve this end, the Fragile States Project was initiated in 2009 by the Capacity Building & Preparedness team of the Humanitarian Department and is implemented in coordination with other key departments in the organisation. The initiative is now being integrated into the work of the department, including expanding the support provision to new Country Programmes.

The goal is to increase and sustain the capacity of these Country Programmes to operate rapidly, at scale, safely and securely, effectively and efficiently. The project has 4 key objectives focusing on: capacity for operational delivery at scale; fundraising and financial management; human resources retention and leadership; and standardised systems for core processes.

Job Purpose

The purpose of the job is to support the Fragile States Advisor in the implementation and monitoring of the Fragile States Project. Working in conjunction with HQ departments, regional and country offices, the post holder will assist the Fragile States Advisor to focus and lead on the operational delivery and core processes objectives of the Project.

The operational capacity objective consists of profiling target countries, determining gaps in organisational structure and delivery mechanisms, developing a report and action plan and identifying needs for surge capacity, training and capacity building and emergency preparedness planning support. This is followed by a customised support package implemented over a year which is maintained with regular follow-up visits.

The core processes objective consists of working together with each of the key departments in the organisation (Operations, Finance, Logistics, Safety & Security, Grants, HR, Administration and Monitoring and Evaluation) in order to develop standard core processes and tools tailored to operational delivery.

Applicants should be aware that Save the Children is currently in the process of developing a new Humanitarian Strategy. As a result, this role may be expanded in the coming year to encompass support to a wider range of countries as well as emergency responses.

The Fragile States Deputy Advisor will work closely with the Fragile States Advisor, providing appropriate support and providing cover in the Advisor’s absence to ensure the relationship with the various country programmes is maintained when the Fragile States Advisor is absent.

To apply for this post please visit: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/jobs.htm (reference number 6559)