GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN DIRECTOR

Job Description

JOB SUMMARY:

The Global Humanitarian Director (GHD) will be responsible for setting a leadership culture of collaboration, transparency, and support. Together with key stakeholders, the GHD will seek to create appropriate enabling capacities to empower CARE’s partners, Country Offices, operational members, and affiliates to implement effective and impactful humanitarian programs. The GHD will ensure effective and efficient use of Confederation resources, timely decision-making, and good coordination across the Confederation in humanitarian response and outreach. As Chair of the Humanitarian Working Group, the GHD will be expected to facilitate consensus and decision making between and amongst the members.

The GHD will be accountable to the Confederation’s Humanitarian Governance Group, with day-to-day line management provided by CARE USA. The GHD will ensure alignment with CARE International (CI) working in close coordination on crisis specific operations, information management, policy, fundraising, communications and media, thereby reflecting the collective voice and expertise of all members.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic Leadership and Representation

• Provide vision and direction in the design and implementation of CARE’s humanitarian work, ensuring achievement of CARE’s impact goal of reaching 10% of affected populations and commitments on gender and localization with quality humanitarian response. Link to CARE-vision-2030.
• Uphold the HGG Accountability Framework & Confederation Governance to ensure strategic engagement and relationship building with all parts of the CARE system to develop the enabling capacities needed for effective humanitarian response. This includes establishing a working culture in line with CARE’s values and principles.
• Create meaningful partnerships with CARE Member Partners so that CARE
  delivers high-quality, large-scale responses by deploying resources and working
  with leaders across the organization to ensure that CARE plays a full role as a
  leading humanitarian actor.
• Monitor and uphold humanitarian principles and program quality standards in CARE’s programmatic work and humanitarian advocacy.
• Ensure strategic linkages between CARE’s humanitarian programs and programs
  in other related impact areas, working closely with the CI Program Director and
  other impact area leads.
• Represent CARE at key international humanitarian working groups and fora,
  working closely with the CI Humanitarian Advocacy Coordinator to advance critical
  advocacy issues influencing key policy makers and officials on a global level.
• Lead CARE’s engagements with key humanitarian institutional and private
  sector donors on behalf of all CARE Members.
• Lead and Chair CARE’s Humanitarian Working Group.
• Act as custodian for CARE wide emergency response protocols and online resources.

Management and Oversight

• Lead and manage a global humanitarian team. The GHD will foster a unified, consistent, and streamlined culture and approach across the Confederation, including effective coordination and decision-making mechanisms.
• Convene crisis coordination calls on humanitarian crises and responses.
• Promote a comprehensive approach through CARE’s Rapid Response Team and roster to ensure that surge and deployment capacity complement regional capacities when emergencies occur or as needed.
• Manage CARE’s surge fund to support emergency response needs.
• Work with relevant business support leads in different lead and operational members to strengthen business systems. Convene discussions on how smaller operational members or partner platforms can be effectively supported in the event of a major emergency
• In close coordination with CARE’s National Directors and senior management of CARE Country Presences, carry out support and oversight visits to major humanitarian crises, in order to identify needs and advocacy priorities.
• Ensure oversight of humanitarian data collection, reporting and MEAL across the CARE Confederation.

Resource Development and Mobilization

• Collaborate with CARE’s fundraising teams to launch timely appeals and donor engagement, working closely with the CI Humanitarian Communications Coordinator and the CI Senior Global Fundraising Manager to collaborate on communications and fundraising appeals. 
• Oversee the management of financial and related resources to ensure they are used effectively to maximize impact.
• Expand and strategically diversify CARE’s humanitarian donor base.
• Ensure that humanitarian response teams are adequately resourced.
• Ensure compliance with the requirements of key European institutional donors including CARE’s governance and decision-making processes can be clearly demonstrated as being under effective confederational leadership and control

External Representation and Strategic Policy and Advocacy

•  Serves as a key global external /representative and media spokesperson for the entire CARE confederation on major humanitarian crises. 
• Works in close coordination with the CUSA Humanitarian advocacy, the CO, the CARE International (CI) Humanitarian Policy & Advocacy Coordinator in the Secretariat and the HGG to align crisis-specific operational advocacy with CARE’s global humanitarian policy positions.
• Ensure that CARE’s humanitarian work considers the evolving humanitarian context, using evidence-informed approaches and fostering innovation.
• Promote accountability throughout CARE’s humanitarian work, guiding our work
  in line with our external commitments to key agreements such as CHS, Grand Bargain, SPHERE, and the Pledge for Change
• Ensure that humanitarian responses and initiatives utilize appropriate technological advancements.
• Foster a culture of learning and agile adaptation.
• Stay abreast of emerging and evolving policies and standards in the humanitarian sector.

Required Qualifications:

- Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., International Development, Humanitarian Assistance, Social Sciences).
- Qualified/course in humanitarian principles, access negotiation or related topics.
- Minimum 15 years’ experience leading humanitarian response design and management, and related advocacy, fundraising & coordination.
- Strong understanding of humanitarian work in on-site including in natural disasters and conflict zones.
- Demonstrated experience working in multiple regions, especially those with high humanitarian needs like East Africa and the Middle East.
- Demonstrated expertise in leading and coordinating diverse humanitarian strategies, responses, and accountability measures.
- Proven track record of successfully managing and leading multi- sectoral humanitarian teams and initiatives that uphold CARE’s values of integrity, compassion, and transparency.
- Proven track record of speedy action and coordination for at-scale high quality, locally led, and gendered humanitarian responses.
- Knowledge of Gender Equality principles and integration of Gender in Emergencies (GiE) principles in humanitarian settings
- Demonstrated leadership in developing and implementing business continuity plans in emergency crisis situations that ensure effective implementation of vast humanitarian portfolios without disruption.
- Demonstrated experience in development contexts that demonstrate humanitarian work contributes to longer term recovery.
- Demonstrated expertise in upholding accountability to affected people, and centrality of protection.
- Strong experience in fundraising, including private and institutional donors, and launching appeals in a timely manner.
- Experience in engaging with high-level external stakeholders and forums in the humanitarian system.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Proven track record in media engagement.
- Demonstrated experience in humanitarian response planning, budgeting, and financial management.
- Demonstrated organizational and staff leadership, management, decision-making & development skills.
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and challenging environment, demonstrating resilience, adaptability, and problem- solving skills.
- Demonstrated commitment to CARE’s mission, values, and principles.
- Willingness and ability to be deployed as necessary, and to travel extensively, including in extreme-risk context.
- Fluent in written and spoken English.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Knowledge of, and fluency in, at least one language most commonly used in high-risk humanitarian countries.