Country: South Sudan
Closing date: 22 Mar 2018
Position details :http://candidatures.alima.ong/Position/84
THE ALIMA ASSOCIATION
ALIMA’s aim since its creation in 2009 is to provide a high standard of healthcare in situations of emergency or medical disaster and to improve the practice of humanitarian medicine by developing innovative projects associated with medical research.
By joining us, you will integrate a young and dynamic organization and contribute to its associative development as well as its operational impact on the field. As Head of Mission, you will have the opportunity to manage challenging and innovative medical programs in the line of ALIMA’s values and objectives while bringing your humanitarian experience.
Since its creation, the association and its partners have successfully developed in line with the increase in humanitarian medical needs, especially in Western and Central Africa: 650,000 patients treated in 2015 including over 48,000 hospitalizations, new governance between the partners of the medical NGO platform in the Sahel, new innovative approaches and operational research projects. With operations in ten countries, 17 projects + 7 research projects, over 1,300 employees and a budget of €35 million in 2016, ALIMA is a dynamic NGO, effectively deploying medical aid for the most vulnerable.
CONTEXT
ALIMA is supporting a health and nutrition project in Raja and one another emergency project in Aweil (Malaria Intervention in the beginning that became a Primary Health care Intervention).
Unicef Wau has contacted ALIMA South Sudan on November 2nd 2017 sharing the emergency of Malnutrition in Baggari and the surrounding area. ALIMA had an exploratory mission in Wau (Baggari); and we are planning to launch a Nutrition Project.
South Sudan was the location of much of the fighting during the second Sudanese civil war (1983–2005), which pitted a coalition of Sudanese armed forces, paramilitaries, and non-state armed groups against the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). Both sides armed Southern tribal militias, and the SPLM/A split numerous times, with some factions returning to the government only to rebel once again. In the latter phases of the war, much of the conflict was intra-Southern, with the pro-government fighting conducted by a patchwork of Khartoum-supported Southern commanders and militias loosely organized under the banner of the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF).
The SPLA and the Government of Sudan signed a series of agreements culminating in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005, which established a six-year interim period for Southern Sudan to consider its future relationship with Sudan, while the SSDF was side-lined. Following the death of SPLA leader John Garang, his successor Salva Kiir attempted to integrate the former SSDF commander into the army through the 2006 Juba Declaration, even as the inner circle of the regime moved more decisively towards supporting independence. South Sudan became an independent nation on July 9th 2011.
As Southern independence approached, a number of rebellions by former SSDF commanders, as well as others linked to tribal groups in conflict with the Dinka-dominated SPLA, shook the Greater Upper Nile region. Some of the rebel commanders supported by Khartoum.
The fragile governing coalition between former enemies unravelled in 2013 after President Salva Kiir’s unilateral sacking of his cabinet and the firing of his vice-president, Riek Machar, who was close to anti-SPLA militia leaders from the civil-war era. The political crisis became a military and humanitarian one after elements of the SPLA killed an unknown number of ethnic Nuer in Juba in December 2013, rebel cadres rapidly self-mobilized, with Riek as leader, and large numbers of the army defected to the rebellion, known as the SPLM-in Opposition (SPLM-IO). Fighting concentrated largely in Greater Upper Nile. The breakdown of the latest, IGAD-brokered cease-fire agreement in July 2017 has fuelled violence in the Greater Equatoria, which relatively spared by the conflict until the Arrow Boys militia initiated their rebellion in the former Western Equatoria. This added further strain to an already exhausted civilian population across the country.
The population uprooted. More than 4 million people. One in every five people in South Sudan, forced to flee their homes since the conflict began, including 1.9 million internally displaced people (with up to 85 per cent estimated to be children and women). More than 2 million refugees in neighbouring countries Due to the fluidity of displacement, it is difficult to determine the number of IDP returnees. However, humanitarian partners estimate that 7 million people will be in need of assistance in 2018. Thousands of homes ruined during the fighting and many people displaced multiple times because of repeated attacks. Thousands of people living with HIV have seen their life-sustaining treatment interrupted without possibility of resumption due to displacement.
1.1 million Children under age 5 estimated to be acutely malnourished. Between 15,000 to 16,000 children are estimated to be recruited by armed actors in South Sudan. Over 10,000 children registered as unaccompanied, separated or missing. An adolescent girl in South Sudan is three times more likely to die in childbirth than complete primary school. An estimated one million children believed to be in psychosocial distress.
The International Crisis Group estimated that between 50,000 to 100,000 people across South Sudan killed in the period December 2013 to November 2014. This number increased as fighting continued. In Leer, Mayendit and Koch counties of Unity State alone, an estimated 1,000 civilians killed, 1,300 women and girls raped and 1,600 women and children abducted from April to September 2015. Mortality exacerbated by acute malnutrition and disease, including an unprecedented malaria outbreak and a cholera outbreak in 2015 for the second year in a row.
Hunger and malnutrition are widespread. Food insecurity reached a record-high in September 2017 with 6 million people. Livelihoods decimated by the conflict and economic decline, with livestock looted, killed and disease-prone and crops destroyed or planting delayed due to violence, displacement and unfavourable weather. Nearly one in every three pregnant and lactating women is malnourished.
Infrastructure losses are extensive. South Sudan is one of the most logistically challenging places in the world and has one of the most underdeveloped communications technology infrastructures. The severely under developed and under maintained roads makes 60 per cent of the country inaccessible by road during the rainy season. Prior to the conflict, healthcare was extremely difficult to access in South Sudan, with an estimated 0.15 doctors per 10,000 patients and 0.2 midwives/nurses per 10,000 people. As of September 2015, some 55 per cent of the health facilities in Unity State, Upper Nile State and Jonglei were no longer functioning. The rising cost of living and impact of the conflict have undermined people’s ability to access safe water, including due to the destruction of water points. Landmines and explosive remnants of war contaminate 110 million square metres of land.
South Sudan’s economic crisis driven by the rapidly depreciating value of the South Sudanese Pound (SSP), shortages of hard currency, global declines in oil prices, and significant dependence on imports. The price of staple foods, such as sorghum, maize and beans, are at record highs (up to 150% compared to average). The decline in oil price has crippled the Government’s social services sector and negatively affected more than 40 percent of the population. Since December 2013, an additional one million people pushed below the poverty line. Sources : HSBA (Small Arms Survey South Sudan), OCHA
MISSION AND MAINACTIVITIES
The HOM is the representative of ALIMA in South Sudan. He/She is here to manage the South Sudan mission, by ensuring that the functioning of projects is matching ALIMA’s main objective : to save lives in such a high mortality rate context of emergency.
The HOM reports directly to the Head of Emergency Department in the Headquarters.
Within the following frame, the HOM is responsible to define and achieve the following operational objectives :
We want to provide and ensure an appropriate medical response in emergency
- A permanent monitoring of the political, humanitarian and health situation in South Sudan
- Analysis of the consequences of an intervention of ALIMA (risks, constraints, priorities)
- A rational use of means and resources to carry out emergency projects
- Projects implementation supervision
We want to be known and accepted by the population as well as concerned authorities in South Sudan
- Negotiation/facilitation of collaborations and agreements between ALIMA and local authorities in South Sudan
- Permanent follow up of potential emergencies in South Sudan
- An active and developed network in South Sudan
- Key persons/institutions (information, exploratory missions)
We want to protect our beneficiaries and our team from the high and volatile insecurity
- Safety of staff: security policies, analyze of external risks and threats, updates of relative events, good practices
- Support of the Emergency Department Manager
Our presence has shown us how worrying the medical situation of South Sudan population: we want to deploy the necessary means to stay
- Beneficiaries oriented action.
- Project proposals according to the needs on field.
- Operational reports
- Projects evolution evaluation
- Potential for opening new projects
- Internal and external communication policy for the project
We need a solid and cohesive team on the field, to provide the best and in time care
- Team management
- Climate of trust and collaboration
- ALIMA’s team management following the needs (so objectives) on the field
- Leading, briefing/debriefing, coaching, etc. of team members
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS
- University degree in medicine, public health or paramedical, international relations or any other relevant education
- Project management experiences with international medical NGO, at least two years
- Experience in Security Management
- Strategic vision
- People management
- Negotiation skills
- Strong interpersonal skills
Language: English is mandator**y** (written, read and spoken), French is an asset
CONDITIONS
Contract term: contract under French law, contract length: 6 to 9 months
Position to be filled: ASAP
Salary: depending on experience + Per Diem
ALIMA pays for:
Travel costs between the expatriate’s country of origin and the mission location
Accommodation costs
Medical cover from the first day of the contract to a month after the date of departure from the mission country for the employee
Evacuation of the employee
How to apply:
Documents to be sent: To apply, please send your CV and your answers to the following questions (which stands in for a classical cover letter) to candidature@alima.ngo with the reference “Head of Mission – South Sudan” in the subject line.
1) What do you know about ALIMA and why do you want to be part of it ?
2) What do you think could be potential issues/challenges you will face in this position ? How would you address these situations ?
3) In your opinion, what are the qualities a person should have to perform well as HoM ?
4) Tell us about a situation where you detected a problem/miss efficiency system-procedure and what did you do/propose to improve it ?
5) Please indicate your level both in English and French, written read spoken (scale between 1 and 10, 10 being native speaker).
Any application without answer to the questions will not be taken into account.