Programme Assistant

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

The DG ECHO office in Jerusalem is seeking to recruit a candidate to be based in its sub-office in Gaza for the position of:

The candidate needs to meet the following criteria:

-University degree from a recognized university in International Relations / Political Science / Economics &  Development studies
-Demonstrate 5 years relevant working experience in the development and/or humanitarian aid sector / INGOs / NGOs.
-Able and willing to work in a multi-cultural environment
-Proficiency in Arabic and English and ability not only to communicate in both but also draft reports;
-Able to follow up budget programming

Other desirable qualifications:

(1)Experience working with United Nation Agencies or International NGOs or European Commission
(2)Capacity to work in the field
(3)Computer literate (Word, Excel, Access, Outlook)
The Programme Assistant based in the Gaza sub-office is responsible and reports to the DG ECHO Jerusalem Head of Office or his/her person designated as substitute, who will assign duties as appropriate.

Basic Function of Position:

The Employee serves as a Programme Assistant in Gaza by collaborating with implementing partners and other relevant organisations to assure an overview of needs. He/She provides input for the development of DG ECHO's strategy in the Gaza strip, participates in the elaboration of project proposals at the request of Technical Assistants (TAs), Programme Officers (POs) and Programme Assistants (PAs) of the Jerusalem office. He/she also closely monitors the implementation of the DG ECHO projects by non-governmental and international organisations, advises on DG ECHO's response to specific situations, and provides input for the final evaluation of projects in Gaza, at the request of TAs, POs and PAs of the Jerusalem office or on a proactive basis.
In particular, the employee will monitor, on the basis of a monthly programme or at the specific request from DG ECHO-Jerusalem office, the actual implementation of projects with regards to contractual arrangements, report to DG ECHO on the implementation modalities, possible delays and deviations from agreed proposals, and provide DG ECHO with recommendations on those.   
The employee will also be asked to participate to coordination meetings on behalf of DG ECHO and represent DG ECHO at opening / closing ceremonies in the absence of a representative from the Jerusalem office.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

The Employee will fulfill his duties under the supervision of the DG ECHO Jerusalem Technical Assistants:
Assessment of needs: in co-ordination with clusters and agencies working in Gaza, the assistant will be asked to carry out the following tasks at the request of TAs, POs and PAs of the Jerusalem office or on a proactive basis:
-Assess the humanitarian needs in the sectors of interest to DG ECHO.

Monitoring of projects: the assistant will be asked to carry out the following tasks at the request of TAs, POs and PAs of the Jerusalem office:
-Monitor each individual project on site, at least twice over the contract period when over 6 months, or once for projects up to 6 months;
-Assess the implementation of projects against pre-defined work plan, results and indicators, including visibility / communication activities;
-Assess the feasibility of restarting projects that are suspended;
-Assess the opportunity of initiating projects;
-Interview implementing partners, local implementing partners, beneficiaries and other stakeholders to understand whether project activities respond to beneficiaries needs and fit into the overall sector approach;
-Advising on the operational capacity of the implementing partners;
-Examining partners' reports and monitoring operations with a particular view to items of major significance for project impact and items of major financial significant.
Reporting: the assistant will be asked to carry out the following tasks:
-Provide DG ECHO with standard monitoring assessment reports after each field visit, using the fichop. Reports will include photographic evidence of the status of implementation of projects.
-Provide DG ECHO with monthly reports summarizing general observations and findings per sector, and give recommendations on implementation modalities and overall sector implications.
The assistant will submit the reports in soft and hard copies, in Word format, in English, to DG ECHO in Jerusalem.

Participation to meetings: the assistant will be asked to carry out the following tasks:
-Attend general and sector coordination meetings organised in Gaza on an ad-hoc basis, if requested by DG ECHO Jerusalem office.
-Report back the main outcomes of meetings to DG ECHO in Jerusalem.
Communication / visibility: the assistant will be asked to carry out the following tasks:
-Attend ceremonies organised by partners on the occasion of opening / closing projects. 
Assistance in preparation of missions: Prepare monitoring missions of DG ECHO staff based in Jerusalem as per requests, as well as:
-Translating/interpreting as well as taking minutes from meetings as required.
-Carrying out any other duties that may reasonably be required to ensure the smooth operation of DG ECHO's work.

Due to the limited presence of DG ECHO in Gaza, the assistant is expected to work on projects across sectors. However, the overall responsibility of project management and direct recommendation to implementing partners will remain with DG ECHO-Jerusalem office

Closing date for applications: 04/01/2010 @ 12:00

Interested candidates should apply to DG ECHO, c/o YWCA, Ibn Jubeir Street, 4, Jerusalem, hand delivered to the reception or to fax number 026289396, attention Mr. Hervé Caiveau or by e-mail to:              
[email protected]
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Any form of canvassing, soliciting or influencing will be treated as a disqualification.