Colombia: Technical Field Manager

Organization: Handicap International
Country: Colombia
Closing date: 14 Jun 2017

1. Context:

Under the umbrella of the Direction of Development Action, HI is working in Colombia since 1998, assisting persons with disability, displaced populations, armed violence victims and also mine victims.

The program started working in the demining sector in 2016, following the historic peace agreement between the government and the FARC. The agreement triggered numerous support from the international community and from various donors to support the post-conflict transition, and particularly the demining/clearance activities in 54 townships through a rapid response mechanism.

HI’s demining operations are scattered in 7 large geographical areas, including indigenous reserves and national parks, which lead to human and material resources management challenges. Contamination in Colombia is mainly composed of artisanal landmines, UXOs and IEDs, which further adds to the complexity of operations.

Demining is a new activity in the country: it is therefore important to setup new operational standards and ensure HI is positioned as a central actor in the mine action sector.

HI is known and respected in Colombia for its Inclusion & Victim Assistance and Protection related projects. All those projects are interrelated and demining activities are expected to be implemented consistently.

Demining activities take place more than 600km away from HI’s HQ in Medellin. Logistic constraints to access those areas are important and need to be anticipated carefully in collaboration with the support services team.

A strong communication with other development partners, local authorities and other clearance operators is required.

HI currently has five offices in Colombia:

  • Medellín coordination office

  • Bogotá demining office

  • Cajibío field office (covering 3 municipios) – Cauca department

  • Vistahermosa field office (covering 1 municipio) – Meta department

  • San Vicente del Caguán field office (covering 1 municipio) – Caquetá department

HI’s current and planned activities in the mine action sector include:

  • Non-Technical Survey (NTS) in the Cauca, Meta and Caquetá departments, contaminated with artisanal landmines, UXOs and IEDs;

  • Manual clearance and potentially machine-assisted demining at a later stage;

  • EOD spot tasks and Battle Area Clearance;

  • Risk education to vulnerable populations;

  • Victim Assistance and Comprehensive Victim Assistance projects and livelihoods.

HI currently has 6 NTS teams and 5 clearance teams, who have all passed operational accreditation. NTS activities are ongoing and clearance is scheduled to begin in July 2017.

2. Objective:

The Technical Field Manager reports hierarchically to and under the technical supervision of the Chief of Operations and works under his Quality Assurance monitoring. The Technical Field Manager will support the implementation of the specific objectives of the demining project in the Cauca department.

3. Responsibilities:

The Technical Field Manager supervises directly 2 to 3 clearance teams, each of them composed of one Supervisor, one Team Leader, 6 to 10 deminers and one Medic; and 2 to 3 NTS teams, each of them composed of one Team Leader, two NTS Officers, and one Medic. The tasks carried on by the teams will vary according to the contamination found on the ground and might include NTS, technical survey, manual clearance, machine-assisted clearance, EOD spot tasks, and BAC. This position has a strong capacity building component; the goal is to train local staff to be able to assume national TFM positions in the future.

3.1) Training of local staff in preparation for deployment to the field

  • Contribute to the recruitment and training of the teams (when necessary) and provide refresher training as required;

  • Ensure team members are adequately trained and equipped prior to deployment to the field;

  • Identify opportunities for staff capacity building and design and implement training programmes;

  • Ensure all produced materials and tools are in line with HI SOPs and NMAS/IMAS and respect technical guidance and quality standards.

3.2) Ensure the safe execution of the demining project in designated base according to internal SOPs

  • Assist in the creation and ensure the implementation of work plans for NTS/TS/clearance operations;

  • Supervise and lead the deployment of 2 to 3 clearance teams, guaranteeing compliance with regulations and methodology in force;

  • Supervise and lead accurate and consistent data management and monitoring for feeding into the national database.

  • Conduct the disruption, deflagration and disposal of APMs and ERWs in accordance with HI SOPs and DAICMA National Standards

  • Ensure all disposal procedures are conducted safely and in a timely manner.

3.3) Conduct regular Quality Assurance (QA) on NTS, TS and clearance teams

  • Ensure a high level of quality assurance of activities using the appropriate internal guidelines and technical tools;

  • Report any non-conformity to the Chief of Operations and recommend corrective measures;

  • Seek the continual improvement of HI’s operations in terms of efficiency and effectiveness, in coordination with the Chief of Operations;

  • Prepare and accompany QA visits from national authority and external monitoring bodies

3.4) Logistics and administration

  • Support the logistics team in the identification and procurement of required equipment using HI’s internal templates and respecting logistic and administrative

  • procedures;

  • Is fully responsible of HI explosives stored in the area under his/her responsibility; ensures storage, handling and use of explosives by accredited personnel follows IMAS, HI SOPs and Colombian Law.

  • Ensure proper use and storage of equipment.

3.5) Transversal responsibility

  • Undertake other relevant tasks as required by the Chief of Operations.

4. Collaboration and reporting:

The TFM will work under the supervision of the Chief of Operations and in close coordination with the national Location Manager, to whom he/she will respond regarding security aspects. He/she will take care to apply the following directives in terms of reports and progress reports:

4.1 Compile daily/weekly/monthly reports, as required by the Chief of Operations.

4.2 Ensure operational reporting internally, to authorities and donors as required.

4.3 A final report, at the end of the mission is to be submitted to the Programme Director, Chief of Operations and regional Senior Technical Advisor.

Those directives have the goal to insure a good collaboration between the consultant and HI.

5. Consultant profile:

Mandatory

  • EOD3+/IEDD certification and a minimum of 5 years in a similar position (military or demining experience)

  • Predisposition to work within a multi-cultural team and live in a rural area with limited amenities

  • Good communication and writing skills in Spanish

  • Previous management and capacity building experience

Desirable

  • Experience of field work with an NGO in the humanitarian/development sector

  • Good communication and writing skills in English

6. Specific Conditions:

Type of contract: Consultancy

Duration of the contract: 12 months

Start date: 1st July 2017

Salary: From 6,000 to 7500 EURO per month according to experience

Affectation base: Cajibío (Cauca)

Leaves: 37 days field leave (R&R) + 10 bank holidays

Flight tickets: 1 return ticket for deployment + 1 return ticket for leaves

Accommodation: Provided by HI in country, shared guest house

How to apply:

Please send a CV and motivation letter with the reference COL/31051 to mineactionroster@handicap-international.org.

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