CARE – Global Humanitarian Director

Global Humanitarian Director

Photo by Ninja Taprogge. CARE staff responding to a flood in Guara Guara, a village in the district of Buzi, Mozambique.

About CARE

CARE is a global Confederation of Members, Affiliates and Country Offices in over 100 countries. As a dual-mandate organization, CARE is on the frontlines of humanitarian crises and tackles the underlying causes of poverty and injustice to deliver lasting change through development. As a leading humanitarian global organization we deliver lasting change to some of the world’s poorest communities and place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. To learn more about CARE, visit https://www.careinternational.org/

Our Mission

CARE works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice.

Our Vision

We seek a world of hope, tolerance and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and all people live with dignity and security.

Our Focus

We put women and girls in the center because we know that we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities.

Our Values

• Transformation: We believe in urgent action, innovation, and the necessity of transformation – within the world and our own organization.

• Integrity: We are accountable to the people and partners we humbly serve, transparently sharing our results, stories and lessons.

• Diversity: We know that by embracing differences, actively including a variety of voices, and joining together we can solve the world’s most complex problems.

• Excellence: We challenge ourselves to the highest level of learning and performance, tapping the best of the human spirit to create impact.

Role: Global Humanitarian Director (GHD)

The Role Job Summary

The Global Humanitarian Director (GHD) is the most senior humanitarian in the CARE Confederation, responsible for providing vision and strategic direction to all of CARE’s humanitarian work in over 100 countries worldwide. S/he will uphold CARE’s values and principles and ensure CARE’s high-quality, timely, and effective humanitarian response. The GHD will collaborate with all CARE members, regional teams and country presences to fulfill our shared commitment to reaching 10% of affected populations and advancing CARE’s priority focus on gender and localization.

The GHD will be responsible for setting a leadership culture of collaboration, transparency, and support. Together with key stakeholders, the GHD will seek to create appropriate enabling capacities to empower CARE’s partners, Country Offices, operational members, and affiliates to implement effective and impactful humanitarian programs. S/he will ensure effective and efficient use of Confederation resources, timely decision-making, and good coordination across the Confederation in humanitarian response and outreach. As Chair of the Humanitarian Working Group, the GHD will be expected to facilitate consensus and decision making between and amongst the members.

Location: Global

The GHD will be accountable to the Confederation’s Humanitarian Governance Group, with day-to-day line management provided by CARE USA. S/ he will have a matrix management relationship to the CARE International (CI) Humanitarian Advocacy Coordinator. S/he will also work closely with the CI Humanitarian Communications Coordinator and the CI Senior Global Fundraising Manager to collaborate on communications, fundraising appeals, and advocacy work.

This new position offers an exciting opportunity to lead CARE’s humanitarian action worldwide as laid out in CARE’s Vision 2030. With a global team of more than 11,000 staff and annual budget of $1.2 billion, CARE is one of the largest humanitarian and development NGOs in the world, reaching 174 million people last year. CARE draws twenty percent of its humanitarian funding from private sources, offering opportunities for creativity and innovation in humanitarian programming. As a representative of one of the key humanitarian responders globally, the person in the role will influence and work with UN leaders, global philanthropists, bilateral institutional donors, and other policy makers on the world stage.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Representation (30%)

• Provide vision and direction in the design and implementation of CARE’s humanitarian work, ensuring achievement of CARE’s impact goal of reaching 10% of affected populations and commitments on gender and localization with quality humanitarian response. Link to CARE-vision-2030.

• Ensure strategic engagement and relationship building with all parts of the CARE system to develop the enabling capacities needed for effective

• humanitarian response. This includes establishing a working culture in line with CARE’s values and principles.

• Create meaningful partnerships with CARE Member Partners so that CARE delivers high-quality, large-scale responses by deploying resources and working with leaders across the organization to ensure that CARE plays a full role as a leading humanitarian actor.

• Monitor and uphold humanitarian principles and program quality standards in CARE’s programmatic work and humanitarian advocacy.

• Ensure strategic linkages between CARE’s humanitarian programs and programs in other related impact areas, working closely with the CI Program Director and other impact area leads.

• Represent CARE at key international humanitarian working groups and fora, working closely with the CI Humanitarian Advocacy Coordinator to advance critical advocacy issues influencing key policy makers and officials on a global level.

• Lead CARE’s engagements with key humanitarian institutional and private sector donors on behalf of all CARE Members.

• Lead and Chair CARE’s Humanitarian Working Group.

• Act as custodian for CARE wide emergency response protocols and online resources.

Management and Oversight (25%)

• Lead and manage a global humanitarian team. The GHD will foster a unified, consistent, and streamlined culture and approach across the Confederation, including effective coordination and decision-making mechanisms.

• Oversee the work of Regional Humanitarian Directors, who have delegated authority to lead and support humanitarian action on behalf of CARE members and affiliates in each region where CARE is located.

• Convene crisis coordination calls on humanitarian crises and responses.

• Promote a comprehensive approach through CARE’s Rapid Response Team and roster to ensure that surge and deployment capacity complement regional capacities when emergencies occur or as needed.

• Manage CARE’s surge fund to support emergency response needs.

• Work with relevant business support leads in different lead and operational members to strengthen business systems. Convene discussions on how smaller operational members or partner platforms can be effectively supported in the event of a major emergency.

• In close coordination with CARE’s National Directors and senior management of CARE Country Presences, carry out support and oversight visits to major humanitarian crises, in order to identify needs and advocacy priorities.

• Ensure oversight of humanitarian data collection, reporting and MEAL across the CARE Confederation.

Resource Development and Mobilization (25%)

• Collaborate with CARE’s fundraising teams to launch timely appeals and donor engagement.

• Oversee the management of financial and related resources to ensure they are used effectively to maximize impact.

• Expand and strategically diversify CARE’s humanitarian donor base.

• Ensure that humanitarian response teams are adequately resourced.

Other Responsibilities (15%)

• Ensure that CARE’s humanitarian work considers the evolving humanitarian context, using evidence-informed approaches and fostering innovation.

• Promote accountability throughout CARE’s humanitarian work, guiding our work in line with our external commitments to key agreements such as CHS, Grand Bargain, SPHERE, and the Pledge for Change

• Ensure that humanitarian responses and initiatives utilize appropriate technological advancements.

• Foster a culture of learning and agile adaptation.

• Stay abreast of emerging and evolving policies and standards in the humanitarian sector.

Other Responsibilities as Assigned (5%)

Candidate Profile

Education/Training

Required:

• Master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., International Development, Humanitarian Assistance, Social Sciences).

• Qualified/course in humanitarian principles, access negotiation or related topics.

Experience/Technical Skills

Required:

• Minimum 15 years’ experience leading humanitarian response design and management, and related advocacy, fundraising & coordination.

• Strong understanding of humanitarian work in on-site including in natural disasters and conflict zones.

• Demonstrated experience working in multiple regions, especially those with high humanitarian needs like East Africa and the Middle East.

• Demonstrated expertise in leading and coordinating diverse humanitarian strategies, responses, and accountability measures.

• Proven track record of successfully managing and leading multisectoral humanitarian teams and initiatives that uphold CARE’s values of integrity, compassion, and transparency.

• Proven track record of speedy action and coordination for at-scale high quality, locally led, and gendered humanitarian responses.

• Knowledge of Gender Equality principles and integration of Gender in Emergencies (GiE) principles in humanitarian settings

• Demonstrated leadership in developing and implementing business continuity plans in emergency crisis situations that ensure effective implementation of vast humanitarian portfolios without disruption.

• Demonstrated experience in development contexts that demonstrate humanitarian work contributes to longer term recovery.

• Demonstrated expertise in upholding accountability to affected people, and centrality of protection.

• Strong experience in fundraising, including private and institutional donors, and launching appeals in a timely manner.

• Experience in engaging with high-level external stakeholders and forums in the humanitarian system.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Proven track record in media engagement.

• Demonstrated experience in humanitarian response planning, budgeting, and financial management.

• Demonstrated organizational and staff leadership, management, decision-making & development skills.

• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and challenging environment, demonstrating resilience, adaptability, and problemsolving skills.

• Demonstrated commitment to CARE’s mission, values, and principles.

• Willingness and ability to be deployed as necessary, and to travel extensively, including in extreme-risk context.

• Fluent in written and spoken English.

Desired:

• Knowledge of, and fluency in, at least one language most commonly used in high-risk humanitarian countries.

How to Apply About Oxford HR

All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Oxford HR. To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button on the job advert page, complete our online application form, and submit your CV and cover letter as two different documents, which should be prepared before applying as they will be considered in the application process.

The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit.

The document should be saved in PDF in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (mmyy) e.g., Pat-Jones-CV082023-CARE or Pat-Jones-CoverLetter-082023-CARE.

Timeline

Closing Date: 5 September 2023

First stage interviews: TBC

Final interviews: TBC

Selection Process

All candidates will receive an update regarding their application after the closing date. We advise candidates to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder.

Equality Statement

Equality and diversity are at the core of CARE’s values. Staff are expected to work collectively and individually to promote a constructive and sensitive approach to others from a variety of backgrounds, where the work of others is valued and respected.

Queries

If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email at care-global-humanitarian-director@oxfordhr.com in the first instance.

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