DRC EU Director

Contract

This is a DRC - National contract. More about DRC - National contracts.

Are you a senior leader with humanitarian experience with a diplomatic, constructive, and solution-oriented approach to collaboration? Would you like to use your field experience to lead fundraising and advocacy for conflict and displacement affected persons? Then the role of Director for the DRC EU Representation in Brussels may be your next challenge.

Who are we?

Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, is looking for an experienced professional to lead DRC’s EU Representation in Brussels, Belgium. In line with, DRC wants to strengthen its position vis-à-vis EU donors and partners within the humanitarian and development sector to forge strong partnerships and make our voice heard in the ambition to work for increased protection and enhanced inclusion for conflict and displacement affected persons.

The DRC EU Representation is part of DRC HQ within the department for Partnership, Advocacy and External Relations (PAER) and the Director will be a member of the PAER department management group. PAER is responsible for DRC’s high-level global strategic engagement with partners and drives global advocacy, press and external communication efforts.

About the job

Based in Brussels, you will report to DRC’s Executive Director for Partnerships, Advocacy & External Relations (PAER) in DRC Headquarters in Copenhagen and cooperate and coordinate with colleagues in DRC Headquarters, DRC Regions, and DRC Country Operations. The DRC Geneva and Germany Representatives will be your close colleagues.

Your immediate main duties and responsibilities will be to:

• Set the strategic direction of the DRC EU Representation to effectively deliver on DRC’s global strategy, the Institutional Donor Strategy and the Global Advocacy Strategy, and through the development and implementation of donor engagement plans designed to effectively influence EU policies, legal frameworks and practices, while also strengthening, broadening and growing our EU and UK funding portfolios.

• Be an effective bridge between the EU and relevant DRC colleagues in HQ, regional and country offices, by ensuring that all levels are being informed about relevant EU decisions and by delivering on advocacy and funding priorities relevant to EU institutions as jointly identified with colleagues across DRC.

• Actively engage with Brussels-based donor agencies, funding mechanisms, humanitarian actors and partners to increase the information, awareness and reputation of DRC.

• Pursue a systematic approach to participate and influence in advocacy and policy fora relevant to conflict, displacement, protection, durable solutions and humanitarian response in debates in Brussels, as well as in relevant umbrella organisations, such as VOICE and ECRE.
• Strengthen the visibility and branding of DRC towards EU and UK-based donors and partners.
• Engage and seek influence with Member State permanent representations to the EU, the European Parliament, European Commission and Council relevant to issues and topics related to the mandate and scope of work of DRC to contribute to drafting policy statements and advocacy messages.
• Collaborate with Brussels and UK-based humanitarian and development organisations, NGOs, academia and thinktanks on advocacy and policy influencing on humanitarian issues or relevance to DRC’s mandate and role.
• Ensure that DRC convenes the voices of conflict and displacement affected persons towards EU institutions and support direct representation.
• Act as DRC’s legal representative in Brussels in accordance with Belgian law and regulations.

About you

To be successful in this role we expect you to be an experienced professional humanitarian with a diplomatic, constructive, and solution-oriented approach to collaboration and to the many challenges that the sector is experiencing. Ideally, you have an already established network in Brussels. The Duty Station is Brussels, and you will report to the Executive Director for Partnerships, Advocacy & External Relations (PAER) at Head Quarters in Copenhagen. All employees should master DRC's core competencies: Communicating, Taking the lead, Collaborating, Striving for excellence and Demonstrating integrity.

A more detailed job description has been elaborated, however we also expect the following as a minimum:

• Academic background relevant to working with refugee, displacement and humanitarian issues.
• Extensive experience with humanitarian and development donors, and engagement with these.
• Excellent advocacy and communication skills with proven ability to influence policy decisions at a high level.
• Extensive knowledge of the EU institutions, and experience on how to effectively influence EU policies, legal frameworks as well as practices linked to humanitarian aid, development assistance and/or the EU’s asylum acquis.
• Demonstrable commitment to cooperating with the voices of conflict and displacement affected persons, and more broadly towards ensuring that the rights of displaced are improved and upheld.
• Knowledge of key humanitarian debates and policy issues.
• Minimum 10 years of professional work experience within international humanitarian/development work, with displaced- or conflicted affected populations, of which a substantial time needs to be field experience.
• Excellent networking and public speaking skills.
• Proficiency, written and orally, in English. Working knowledge of French or Dutch is an asset.
• Management experience, including financial management.
• Documented experience with contributing to policy statements and position papers.
• Proven Record of EU fundraising
• Solid experience in senior level engagement and networking with EU partners – MEPs, Commission, Permanent Representation.
• Diplomatic, constructive, and solution-oriented approach to collaboration and to the many humanitarian challenges that the sector is experiencing.
• Working experience from an International NGO, UN or other humanitarian operation aid actor or/and working for a relevant EU institution are an asset.

We offer

Contract length: Permanent

Duty Station: Brussels, Belgium

Start date: May-June 2024

This is a national position for which local terms and conditions apply.

Application process Al applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English. Apply online on our page Current Vacancies at www.drc.ngo.

A****pplications sent by email will not be considered.

Closing date for applications: 14 January 2024.

Further information

For questions regarding the vacancy please contact the Executive Director for PAER, Nirvana Shawky at nirvana.shawky@drc.ngo.

For further information about the Danish Refugee Council, please consult our website www.drc.ngo.