Emergency Preparedness & Response Advisor - ActionAid (Apply by: 4 June 2014)

ActionAid is a global movement of people working in 43 countries to further human rights for all and defeat poverty. In Zimbabwe, ActionAid Zimbabwe (AAZ) has a wide spread geographical coverage with presence in over 12 districts. The Emergency Preparedness and Response Advisor shall support work within the Climate Resilient Sustainable Agriculture objective of the AAZ Country Strategy Plan 2014-2018 whose strategic objective is to Promote improved livelihoods and enhanced rights to land and natural resources for at least 40,000 rural smallholder producers (25,000 being women and 15,000 being men) and their households.
The advisor will be hosted at ActionAid Zimbabwe main office and will support five main partners: the Farm Community Trust in Zimbabwe (FCTZ), Lower Guruve Development Association (LGDA), FACT Nyanga, Health and Food Organization (HEFO) and Simukai Child Care Centre.

The main objective of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Advisor is to build the capacity of AA Zimbabwe and its partners to:

· Fully operationalize AA Zimbabwe’s Emergency Preparedness and Response plans at Local Rights Programmes (LRPs) and National level

· Integrating the emergence response plans into ongoing or planned AAZ and Partner support interventions in Zimbabwe

· influencing the integration of the preparedness and response into the local and national government’s disaster management plans

· Supporting AAZ and Partner staff in developing and operationalizing community early warning systems, linking them with other existing early warning mechanisms;

· Providing guidance in designing, developing and delivering activities and training programs for communities to anticipate, prepare for and mitigate the impacts of drought, floods and other shocks

· Mentoring Partners in designing mechanisms of ensuring community accountability in disasters

Professional experience and qualifications:

· Master’s Degree or equivalent in social sciences or discipline relevant to emergency preparedness and response with internationally recognized contributions to the theory and /or practice of emergency preparedness and disaster response.

· Proven record of achievement over 10 years of increasingly responsible experience, at least 7 years in developing countries, preferably in Africa in planning and managing technical co-operation strategies and relevant advocacy programmes in emergency preparedness, emergency response, disaster risk reduction and post-disaster recovery.

· Extensive field experience in disaster environments and an in-depth knowledge of issues in the country.

· Application of theoretical knowledge in the design, management and evaluation of complex, multi-disciplinary capacity building programmes involving various stakeholders.

· Well proven analytical and writing skills.

· Demonstrated abilities and contributions to policy and guideline formulation, resource mobilization, team building, team leadership and management, preferably in the NGO sector

· Experience in establishing inter-organizational networks and a partnership at the operational level is an added advantage.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION SUBMISSION: 4th June, 2014

EXPECTED STARTING DATE: 1st November 2014 preferred (see start date condition note below).

All applications must include a letter of motivation and an updated CV should be forwarded by email to advisor1@ms.dk with a subject line: Application for Emergency Preparedness and Response Advisor. Please indicate where you saw the advertisement in your application.

Expected starting date Note:

Contract start is subject to approval of work permit. The assignment is for 12 months, with the possibility for renewal. (Work permit processing process usually takes up to six weeks when all relevant documents are submitted).

Emergency Preparedness and Response Advisor is placed through ActionAid’s People4Change program; a people-to-people programme providing development support to ActionAid Country Programs and there partner organisations. As People4Change is a cross-national program, aiming at building tolerance, respect and expertise across cultures and borders, this position is not available for permanent residents of Zimbabwe. If you are a permanent resident of Zimbabwe and find this job interesting, please note that similar Advisor placements in other countries are regularly advertised atwww.actionaid.org

· 19 June 2014 Shortlisted candidates are contacted

· 24 June 2014 First round of Phone/Skype interviews with shortlisted candidates

· 21 July 2014 Final Phone/Skype interviews with finalist candidate

· 1st November 2014__Preferred start date or when work permit is issued.

Due to the large number of applications received for these positions, it is not possible to provide feedback for all applications. Therefore, only shortlisted candidates will be notified at each stage of the recruitment process. If you have not received any reply to your application by June 30th 2014, then you have unfortunately not been taken into consideration for this position.

More Information

For further practical questions related the advertised position, please contact:

Lillian Matsika – AAIZ Programme & Policy Manager (Governance):lillian.matsika@actionaid.org

Gracious Madyira – AAIZ People4Change National Focal Person and Administrator, AAIZ:gracious.madyira@actionaid.org