Recrutement  SYRIA (Damascus) General Coordinator

syria

GENERAL COORDINATOR (Damascus)

Référence MDM-COORDO G-SYRia-Damascus

Syria is the main destination of the majority of the Iraqi who has left the country. Syrian authorities and UNHCR place the number of Iraqi refugees living in Syria at close to or even over 1.5 million. The Syrian government claims that 80% of these are living at present in or around the capital city of Damascus, with the rest spread out over the north, in Aleppo, Hassakeh and Der Ez Zor. The influx of these refugees since the beginning of the war in Iraq has been called the largest displacement of people in the Middle East in recent history. So far, 10% of Iraq’s population has been uprooted. Most of the Iraqis that arrived before 2005 (approximately 450,000) were initially wealthy people, and so managed an easier transition to living in Syria, either with the view to long-term residency, or hoping for relocation to a third country elsewhere in the world. Most of these refugees arrived after making a solid decision to leave Iraq due to the deteriorating security and living conditions. Less and less of them believe that the situation will improve and allow them to go back home.

The refugees that have arrived since then are in a worse position. Most of them have left Iraq hurriedly and in more dire conditions, sometimes not being able to sell property and assets before. Moreover, they are not, for the most part, financially able to look forward to a long-term residency in Syria. Their finances are limited, and cannot cover all their needs. Moreover, the rampant inflation in Syria tends to make even more vulnerable the Iraqi families. With time, the situation becomes more critical for the Iraqis as they run out of money to pay for housing, school supplies, food, and health issues. They become more and more dependant on the assistance of the Syrian state, the UN and the International NGOs.

Since October 2007, a visa is required for Iraqis entering in Syria and the influx of new refugees has stopped. Iraqis in Syria are not allowed to work. This makes all their labor illegal, and thus, poorly paid. Day-labor, housekeeping and other badly paid jobs are the only ones they can take, and due to the poor salaries, they are unable to fully support themselves. In this way, any capital they brought with them into Syria from Iraq is used up, sometimes forcing whole families to return to Iraq’s insecurity, but this time with no house and no money. Remittances to Iraqis in Syria from family still in Iraq or from third countries are also taking place, in order to support them. Only 8,500 Iraqis have been admitted to third countries for resettlement, a negligible percentage compared to the many applications. The problems arise from passport controls of third countries, none-recognition of older Iraqi passports, and security requirements of the receiving countries, like many European and North American countries refusing to host such large numbers of Iraqis.The worsening financial situation of Iraqis means that family households have to make serious decisions about what part of their necessary monthly actions have to be cut. Usually, after rental payments and schooling, the cuts made have to do with hygiene, health and nutrition, making Iraqi households increasingly vulnerable in these sectors. The humanitarian assistance that the international community can provide is essential to satisfy the needs of this vulnerable population.

MdM France is already working on the Iraqi issue within Iraq and watches closely the situation of the Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan. MdM Greece is also implementing a project in Iraq. Moreover, MdM Greece is present in Syria through a program of mobile clinics for the Bedouin population in the Hama region. Both MdM France and MdM Greece belong to a wider network of NGOs. Médecins du Monde is indeed a network of 16 international solidarity organizations aiming to provide healthcare to the most vulnerable people worldwide and in their own countries and to speak out against impeded access to healthcare and violations of human rights and dignity.

To insure the good functioning of the network, several bodies have been set up. Their purpose is to enhance coordination among delegations in order to meet the needs of populations as appropriately as possible. Among them, the International Secretariat looks after the everyday life, the administration and the organisation of the network at all levels, thus guaranteeing the orderly coordination of all the delegations of the network (setting up of international emergency or long-term missions, circulation and distribution of information between the members of the network, etc). The International Secretariat is involved in the actions undertaken by at least two delegations, insuring the collaboration between the different delegations of the network. Therefore it will closely follow the actions of MdM France, MdM Greece and their General Coordinator in Syria.

MdM France and MdM Greece have a jointly intervention in Syria on the Iraqi refugees issue. They already have launched the process of negotiation and coordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and are ready to sign the MoU with the SARC which will allow them to work on the field. In a first step, they will support two SARC clinics in the rural area of Aleppo with equipment, medicines and trainings for the staff. To support the MDM team who will be present in Aleppo, the two delegations of MDM jointly mandate a general coordinator in Damascus.

In the follow-up of what has already been undertaken by his predecessor, the General Coordinator will be in charge of:

- Insuring the institutional representation and the coordination towards SARC, Syrian authorities, UNHCR, other NGOs and UN agencies, and donors.

- Coordinate, follow up and supervise the activities implemented in the region of Aleppo.

- Assessing, defining and elaborating the modalities of implementing the new steps of the project (location, type of partners, activities, potential donors, etc.)

- Monitor developments in Syria of the political issues relating to the Iraqi refugees issue, and ensure that MDM maintains an active policy of advocacy on their behalf.

The general coordinator will have to do frequent travels between Damascus and Aleppo. His tasks and responsibilities are:

- coordination & Institutional Representation

- implementation & supervision of the activities in Aleppo

- elaboration of the future steps of the project

- internal communication & relations with the network

- fundraising

- safety

- context evolution

- administrative tasks

He/she operates under the administrative oversight of MdM France and under the direct supervision of the MdM France Desk Officer in charge of Syria. MDM France headquarters will ensure the information flow and sharing of decisions with:

- The Department of International Operations through its desk officer in charge of Syria,

- The International Secretariat of the network through the Director and the Operational Coordinator,

- The field teams of MDM intervening in the region and on the Iraqi issue, when necessary.

Departure: As soon as possible

Duration: 7 months

Status: Volunteer

Monthly Allowance: 915 Euros + Daily Subsistence

Profile:

¨ 5 years field experience in a similar position.

¨ Flexibility and autonomy.

¨ Diplomacy and sense of negotiation.

¨ Experience in public health projects.

¨ Good organisational and time management skills.

¨ Proven report writing skills.

¨ Good analytical skills.

¨ Knowledge of the Middle East a plus

¨ Previous experience working within a network a plus.

¨ Previous experience with MdM a plus

¨ Fluent English & Arabic