Action Aid South Africa Careers 2012 (www.actionaid.org)

Fixed term contract: 24 months (Local Terms and conditions of employment apply)

Location: Nairobi, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro

The Emergencies Preparedness Capacity Advisor will support ActionAid country programmes in Africa and Latin America to put comprehensive, dynamic, emergency/conflict preparedness plans and systems into place that are signed off by their Senior Management Teams (SMTs) and National Boards (where applicable).

This will be achieved through the following deliverables:

Emergencies Preparedness: Support country programmes to assess country level (including partner) capacities and gaps for emergency response; Facilitate country level work to inform and implement preparedness plans at local, regional and national levels; Ensure that country level preparedness plans are owned by the country and are signed off by the Senior Management Team /National Board in that country programme and by International Emergencies and Crises Team (IECT) management; Support countries to design, develop and maintain systems for regular monitoring, review and updating of preparedness plans; Support countries to put in place guidelines, policies and partnerships to support effective preparedness planning; Support countries to put in place effective emergencies monitoring/alert systems ; Support countries to run, review and act on in-country simulation exercises based on preparedness plans; Ensure International Programme Managers are informed of obstacles to effective preparedness planning

Capacity Building: Design, with inputs from IECT SMT, and deliver country level training programmes on emergency preparedness and response; Design, with inputs from IECT SMT, and deliver country level in-depth specialised training programmes on specific areas of emergency preparedness and response

International Preparedness: Feed into generic relevant emergencies tools e.g. needs assessment templates; SOPs etc. as required; Make recommendations to International Programme Manager on international preparedness requirements based on country interactions and learning.

Desired Skills & Experience The successful candidate will have a graduate degree or relevant qualification; Good knowledge of Humanitarian issues and environments; Extensive field experience in insecure environments, including emergencies and conflict situations; Experience and understanding of preparedness/resilience for humanitarian disasters; Demonstrably strong leadership, influencing and persuading skills; Ability to achieve results through others where there is no direct line management; Ability to make quick assessments and decisions under pressure and with competing priorities; Experience of facilitation or training ; Proactive and supportive; Able to travel for about 60% of the time, and for up to four weeks at a time, often to insecure environments; Strong understanding of women’s issues and rights; Commitment to ActionAid’s vision, mission, values and ways of working