Operations Manager

Vacancy Announcement

Organizational context (where the job is located in the Organization)

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian network, with 191 member National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. IFRC uses the Triple R – response, resilience and respect – to deliver on Strategy 2030. IFRC responds to disasters and crises, ensuring timely, coordinated and locally led humanitarian action. IFRC supports its members in building community resilience in the areas of climate and environment, health and wellbeing, and migration and displacement. IFRC promotes respect for our fundamental principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality, including in our work on values, power and inclusion. The IFRC focuses throughout on our core mandate – our raison d’être – of strategic and operational coordination, humanitarian diplomacy, National Society development, and accountability.  

IFRC is led by its Secretary General and has its Headquarters in Geneva and five regional offices in Africa (Nairobi); the Americas (Panama); Asia Pacific (Kuala Lumpur); Europe (Budapest); and MENA (Beirut) as well as representation offices, service centres and delegations across the globe.

The IFRC has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, and lack of integrity (including but not limited to financial misconduct). IFRC also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles.

The IFRC is currently present in Nepal through a Country Delegation (CD - first established in 1965 with a presence through regional representation at times), providing support to Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) programmes and National Society development (NSD) amongst as well as emergency response, other areas. The longer-term mission of the Nepal Delegation is to facilitate organisational growth, technical capacities, partnerships, and resource mobilisation that enable Nepal Red Cross Society to deliver on its humanitarian mandate in the country through the provision of technical support, advocacy, representation and coordination functions, in accordance with Strategy 2030, the IFRC Renewal and annual Operational Plans.

The Country Delegation also provides integration services to six IFRC members with a presence in Nepal.

On 26 August 2026, a major ice-rock avalanche occurred in the upper Bhote Koshi watershed near the China–Nepal border, resulting in an historically powerful flash flood that advanced from the border down the entire length of Nepal along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli River basins.  This position is being hired to response to the operational requirements of the Flash Flood 2026 response operation, within a Federation-wide operation.

Job purpose

Reporting to the Programme and Operations Coordinator, the Operations Manager provides the technical lead to ensure the optimal coordination and direct management of resources required for the effective, and efficient, sustainable and context-driven planning, implementation and monitoring of the emergency operations responses, aligned with humanitarian and organizational standards and priorities, as well as the IFRC Emergency Response Framework.

Job duties and responsibilities

Operational Strategy and Programme Management:

• Negotiate, plan and mobilise IFRC resources in support of the NRCS in the assessment, planning, and implementation of the emergency response.
• Ensure that the response is based on frameworks and approaches that are consistent with national and international standards and guidelines, as well as IFRC policies, procedures and tools. 
• Supervise IFRC technical leads to ensure they work closely with the managers of relevant NS departments in all related programming roles and responsibilities, providing advice and recommendations that carefully consider local capacity and context and ensuring mitigating actions of the identified risks are being implemented.
• Ensure a robust and coherent monitoring of the situation and its potential evolution and ensure that humanitarian interventions are responsive to current and emerging needs and threats. 
• Advise on the need of additional human resources and support deployments in coordination with the Regional IFRC offices, HR departments and/or surge desk.
• Ensure sound financial management is applied to all Federation-assisted programmes within the NRCS, that budgets are monitored, and any problems identified, and solutions implemented in timely and effective manner.
• Manage operational budgets to ensure that expenditure relating to IFRC-supported operations is within income and approved ceilings, in compliance with IFRC finance procedures and in line with donor earmarking requirements.
• Lead, direct and motivate staff to ensure the highest level of performance in their respective areas of responsibility, ensuring quality service, compliance and timeliness.
• Monitors and ensures the implementation and updating of the Risk Management Plan and Risk Register for the operation as per the IFRC’s Risk Management Policy, .
• Establishes a frequency for risk reviews and reporting to line supervisor. Escalates increasing and emerging risks as well as challenges in the implementation of identified mitigation measures, particularly in complex orange level crises.
• Work with the IFRC security focal point to ensure the safety and security of staff in the operation by taking operational decisions based on changing risk levels, providing relevant updates to stakeholders and factoring in risk management into planning, through existing security structures when possible. 
• Manage direct line reports and assigned resources (financial, equipment, etc.).
• Promote and ensure the integration of the response into longer term programs. 
• Lead and ensure the effective operationalisation of safeguarding policies and practices across the operation, fostering a culture of safety, and holding staff accountable for maintaining high standards of conduct for all personnel and vulnerable individuals in line with IFRC`S Code of Conduct, policies and Principles.

Coordination:

• Support and promote the leadership role of the NRCS in the operation
• Assist the NRCS, Movement and external partners in the achievement of planned outcomes and deliverables following quality standards, in a timely fashion, and within budgets, ensuring alignment of all IFRC network activities.
• Support the NRCS in setting up and updating the structure needed to ensure that all components of the response are identified, planned and carried out in a coordinated, collaborative and integrated manner with Movement and external partners. 
• Promote and support membership coordination: Support the NRCS in efforts to establish and maintain effective membership coordination structures at operational level and ensure these structures facilitate collaboration and shared leadership among all members.
• Together with the NRCS and the Head of Country Office/Delegation, represent IFRC in coordination meetings and forums, involving national authorities, national and international agencies, donors and other partners in the country.
• Collaborate with NRCS technical teams to support and promote a common context, needs, and situational analysis. 
• Assist the NRCS as needed in updating operational objectives and priorities for emergency operations; ensure that IFRC Network activities align with these objectives.
• Support the NRCS in developing and implementing operational standards, tools and procedures that ensure quality, consistency and sustainability of emergency response interventions. 
• Support common planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting framework. Support a single data collection mechanism and promote a common accountability framework.
• Work with the regional Health, Disasters, Climate and Crises (HDCC) Department to develop, implement and review contingency planning for identified threats in operational areas, as well as the development of capacities within the NS(s) for emergency response.
• Work with PMER leads in IFRC and the NRCS to ensure that planning and reporting requirements are met in a timely and efficient manner.

National Society Capacity Strengthening

• Support IFRC network technical leads to ensure that operational efforts also support longer-term development needs and strategies of the NRCS
• Ensure existing data on the National Society response capacity is analysed alongside the context and the NRCS mandate to incorporate relevant resources to support.
• Review operational learnings from previous operations and utilize findings to analyse and adapt response options and prioritization and identify NS Response Capacity strengthening opportunities. 
• Support the NRCS in establishing an effective information management system for the response, including statistics.

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Operations Manager JD.pdf 

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