EUROPEAN UNION DELEGATION TO SOUTH AFRICA EUROPEAN CIVIL PROTECTION AND HUMANITARIAN AID OPERATIONS - ECHO OFFICE IN PRETORIA.

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE POST OF
PROGRAMME OFFICER

REF. ECHO/PO/PRY

To join DG ECHO in Pretoria, South Africa

The European Commission’s Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) funds relief operations for victims of natural disasters and conflicts outside the European Union. DG ECHO works with about 200 operational partners, including United Nations agencies, the Red Cross/Crescent movement, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Aid is channelled impartially, straight to victims, regardless of their race, ethnic group, religion, gender, age, nationality, or political affiliation.

DG ECHO is recruiting one National Staff to be based in Pretoria (South Africa) as a Programme Officer.

1.     Duties & Responsibilities:

The Programme Officer (PO) will carry out activities to ensure an effective humanitarian response. The PO will work under the supervision of ECHO Technical Assistant(s) but will be required to work independently to enhance the effectiveness of the support provided in the Southern Africa & Indian Ocean Region (SAIO). The PO will be required to travel/undertake missions on his/her own within the Southern Africa & Indian Ocean Region on a regular basis and for extended periods as may be requested /needed. He/she will be responsible for the following main tasks, but not limited to:

• Contribution to designing DG ECHO overall strategy and policies.
• Analysis of DG ECHO partners' financing proposals and assessment of policy compliance and coherence, in line with the pre-defined selection criteria.
• Conducting field trips to monitor the implementation of DG ECHO-funded operations.
• Preparation of fichops (e-documents completed by DG ECHO staff for assessing and monitoring projects).
• Evaluation of interim and final reports submitted by partners, with recommendations to DG ECHO as appropriate. Building and maintaining partnerships with DG ECHO partners present in the country/region of intervention.
• Provision of regular reports and other ad-hoc documents as needed.
• Management/supervision of contracts/grants database.
• Close collaboration with ECHO country offices, EU Delegations and field representatives of EU Member States in the coordination of EU-funded projects in the SAIO region.
• Participation to meetings of operational co-ordination fora organised by the international humanitarian community or the local or national authorities as appropriate.

A detailed Terms of Reference (including competencies required and more detailed information on the tasks) is available athttps://www.eeas.europa.eu/delegations/south-africa_en

2. Required Qualifications:

Education: A relevant second level university degree or equivalent professional experience.

Knowledge and experience:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience at national or international level in supporting programme/project operations, including at least 2 years of experience with an NGO, UN, donor, or national/international organisation.
• Experience in monitoring and evaluation of multi-sectoral humanitarian aid projects/programmes will be considered as a strong advantage.
• Good knowledge of international NGOs, UN Aid Agencies and Red Cross Movement.
• Good knowledge of ongoing humanitarian situation in the Southern Africa & Indian Ocean Region.
• Experience in coordination with other relevant stakeholders along the humanitarian-development-peace nexus will be considered as an asset.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc).

Languages:

• An excellent command of English (written and oral - Minimum level C1) is required.
• Good knowledge of French and/ or Portuguese is an added advantage.

3. Required Skills:

• Thorough knowledge of the Logical Framework Approach and Project Cycle Management.
• Very good knowledge of the EU humanitarian aid system as well as humanitarian aid principles, policies and standards.
• Personal initiative: ability to work both independently and in a team, with ability to set priorities, and to work to tight deadlines.
• Ability to analyse and process complex information and combine it with field reports to produce strategy documents.
• Ability to convey information clearly and concisely to others with excellent drafting skills in English.

4. How to apply:

Applications, including a cover letter, a detailed CV, copy of education certificate degree/ diploma, and a copy of relevant past employment certificates, should be uploaded at https://www.ats.flexi-personnel.com/jobs/ by 28/01/2024 at 18:00h. This position is open to nationals and other residents of South Africa with valid permanent residence permits.

Only the short-listed candidates will be contacted. Candidates who are not contacted by 31/03/2024should consider that they have not been selected.  Any form of canvassing, soliciting, or influencing will be treated as grounds for disqualification.

Shortlisted candidates who are successful in the written test and who make it to the oral interview phase but are not to the final selection, could be included (depending on the results of the oral interview) in a reserve list and can be considered if a new procedure takes place for a similar post in the next 12 months.

DG ECHO applies a policy of equal opportunities. Our recruitment policy is based on respect for diversity, maintaining the gender balance, as well as the balance between professional and private life, and support for training and development opportunities.

For information, the employment conditions that could be proposed include an initial contract of one year with the possibility of renewal subject to a 3-month probationary period and following a positive annual evaluation. As an indication, the monthly basic salary range is ZAR 69.019 (minimum corresponding to 5 years’ experience and subject to local tax law). The salary will be adapted according to the exact duration of relevant professional experience supported by a work certificate (two years of relevant experience account for one step in DG ECHO’s salary grid). In addition to this, the employee will also receive disability/retirement allowance, 13^th month salary as well as a medical coverage.

DG ECHO’s employees are bound by the National Staff code of conduct which is available on the link:https://ec.europa.eu/echo/system/files/2019-09/code_of_conduct_for_national_staff.pdf

“Any processing of your personal data will be done in accordance with the applicable EU legislation (Regulation (EU)2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data.” The privacy statement can be found on DG ECHO’s website.

  https://ec.europa.eu/echo/system/files/2020-01/privacy_statement_recruitment_ns_final_version.pdf

*To drop your application, click on 'Apply for this job', then register in our ATS system by filling in all the required details, uploading your documents and answering all the questions asked truthfully. Once done, click on 'submit' and you will receive a confirmation email.