Transport and Logistics Officer, DRC DRC, Katanga province, Shamwana and Dubie Reference Code: PR/DRC/TLO
Concern Worldwide is an Irish-based non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.
Job Title: Transport and Logistics Officer Reports to: Logistics and Administration Coordinator Job Location: DRC, Katanga province, Shamwana and Dubie Contract Details:
Contract Length: 1 year
Contract Status: Unaccompanied Salary Grade: A Start Date: as soon as possible
Exact job location: Based in Shamwana with frequent travel to Dubie.
Job Purpose: The Logistics and Transport Officer will be responsible for the efficient management of the vehicle fleet and general logistics/administration in the Shamwana and Dubie Field Offices.
Main duties & Responsibilities: Manage the vehicle fleet in Shamwana/Dubie (including the drilling rig) with responsibility for planning and oversight of repairs and maintenance.
Build the capacity of the national mechanics and drivers through on the job training Monitor vehicle records and ensure that reports are analysed and submitted on time Manage staff and cargo movements in line with Concern procedures Responsible for overall management of logistics (purchasing, transport, storage, asset management) in Shamwana/Dubie, ensuring that all tasks are carried out in line with Concern and donor procedures. Oversee the efficient management of all Concern warehouses and stores in Shamwana and Dubie through regular spot checking and ensure they are operating in accordance with Concern Worldwide procedures. Manage the Logistics Assistants in Shamwana and Dubie, providing guidance on Concern procedures and ensuring that reports are accurate and timely. Control Concern’s assets in Dubie/Shamwana ensuring that all assets are recorded, tracked, marked and monitored using a full inventory and asset register. Oversee and organize the efficient upkeep of all logistics related records (Procurement, Warehousing, Vehicles and Assets), ensuring they are logically filed for efficient auditing. Provide timely reports to the Logistics Coordinator including Vehicle Management, Asset Inventory, Warehouse Inventory (stock reconciliation) and In-kind donations. Maintain communications network to ensure it is working efficiently, ie. HF and VHF capability; Ensure that correct radio procedures are followed at all times and ensure that the radio hardware is used appropriately and correctly all the time. Oversee the financial management at the bases, with support from the Assistant Accountant and Area Coordinator, ensuring that Concern procedures are followed. Manage the administration and transport budgets for Shamwana/Dubie Oversee the management of the bases at Shamwana/Dubie ensuring that supplies are available as necessary and repairs and maintenance work is conducted Manage the security focal groups in Shamwana/Dubie and ensure that any incidents are reported to the Area Manager. Carry out any other duties as reasonably assigned by the Supervisor. Person specification: Essential • Minimum 3 years work experience with logs and transport • Driving license • Ability to speak French and/or Swahili • Fluent written and spoken English • Ability to work in an organized and systematic manner • Commitment to meeting goals and objectives • Ability to work under pressure • Proficiency with computers programmes, excel, word, spread sheets • Ability to plan, work within budgets and write progress reports. • Ability to lead and work as part of a team • Flexible, adaptable and patient • Ability to train local staff and to motivate and develop skills of others • Commitment to Concern’s ethos and values
Desirable • Knowledge of Concern logistics and financial systems • Qualified Mechanic • Previous NGO experience
• Experience of working in Africa • Demonstrated language ability with commitment to learning French
Country/Programme Profile 1. BRIEF OUTLINE OF CONCERN'S COUNTRY PROGRAMME:
Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian NGO with its headquarters in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland, devoted to relief assistance and advancement of people in need in less developed areas of the world. Currently it has operations in 30 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Since 2002 Concern has a field operation in DRC and the current programmes are in Livelihood Security and Health in Kinshasa, Kivu and Kasongo. In 2005, a decision was been made to add a community therapeutic care (CTC) programme to the existing supplementary feeding programme. The programme targets moderately and severely malnourished children under 5 as well as moderately malnourished pregnant and lactating women and children 5 -17. The livelihood security programmes in Kasongo, Kinshasa, and Kivu contributes to reducing absolute poverty and hunger by increasing access to food and income. Households have improved food security by increasing the land area for food production, by diversifying crops, enhancing soil fertility and using improved seed varieties.
In March 2006, a strategic decision was made to keep the existing sectors and add water and sanitation, and HIV/AIDS programmes. Additionally, Concern DRC decided to respond to emergencies primarily where we work and other areas in Eastern DRC based on selected criteria. Many activities are directly implemented programmes, however an effort to work with civil society and government is encouraged and preferred where feasible.
Following a rapid needs assessment of conflict affected populations in eastern DRC in June 2006, it was agreed that Concern would become operational in Katanga province to provide immediate assistance to local and returning populations; continue to closely monitor the humanitarian needs in Katanga province with a view to becoming operational; and plan for a more comprehensive assessment in Katanga that would include livelihoods, food security (including infrastructure rehabilitation) and water/sanitation.
Concern established an operational presence in Katanga, and undertook a broader needs assessment in both Katanga and Ituri provinces.
Katanga Katanga province, located in the south and with an area of 496,877 km2 is the second largest province in DRC. With a population of 6.2 million largely drawn from 12 main ethnic groups, Katanga is the home province of President Joseph Kabila and is both the nation’s most mineral-rich province and one of its most impoverished and violent. During the 1960s and 1970s the DRC was the world's leading producer of copper and cobalt and Katanga provided a major source of revenue to the central government. Throughout the 1970s President Mobutu successfully quashed secessionist insurrections in Katanga with the help of foreign nationals. This period was marked by the widespread corruption, misappropriation of resources and lack of investment synonymous with Mobutu's government.
Renewed conflict erupted in 1998 when President Laurent Kabila armed the local Mai Mai in an effort to protect his home region and Katanga’s vast mineral wealth from invading Rwandan and Ugandan forces. The Mai Mai grew into a force of more than 19 war lords, commanding bands of between 5,000 and 8,000 soldiers. Created for a purpose now long since redundant, the Mai Mai became the central source of conflict in the region. In 2001, Kabila’s son, Joseph, ordered the integration of the Mai Mai soldiers with the national police force, however this was largely ignored and they continued to expand their control over villages in central Katanga through often brutal and repressive methods.
The conflict in Katanga escalated dramatically in November 2005 when the Congolese army, the FARDC, mounted a series of offensives against the Mai-Mai causing the flight of hundreds of thousands of civilians during the height of the agricultural season.
In the area located to the north of Dubie up to Kalamata, thousands of people fled their homes to neighboring villages, which in turn were attacked. In their rush to escape they left everything behind: most left with nothing but the clothes on their back. People traveled long distances by foot, some as far as 200 kilometers. Women interviewed by Concern said they traveled for days through the bush with their children to reach the camps. In total an estimated 78,740 were displaced in this area. Many of the people living in the Shamwana area fled to Dubie, and swelled the ranks of the already over crowded Dubie IDP camps which until late 2006 hosted more than 12,000 people living in shabby and overcrowded tented camps. Others remained hidden in the forests, surviving on what they could forage, for weeks and months, too afraid to return home.
With the capture of Gideon, one of the most notorious of the Mai Mai commanders, in May 2006, the Mai Mai were in disarray and the Congolese army succeeded in forcing their retreat and eventual surrender. Many fled further east; others have started a painfully slow process of demobilizing. The Congolese army has now effective control over the centre of Katanga and is visible throughout the area. The FARDC, largely made up of young poorly paid soldiers, have become the new threat to the local populations that they are charged with protecting.
In the Shamwana area, the population, which had been hiding in the forest used as human shields by the Mai Mai have returned to their villages. Families who sought refuge in the Dubie camps have also returned home. However, despite the fact that the major conflict has ended, violence, fear and abject poverty remain. There is a huge humanitarian challenge to assist people who have nothing to rebuild their lives and communities as they try to return to their former lives.
Following a rapid needs assessment in June 2006 of conflict affected populations in northern Katanga, Concern became operational to provide immediate assistance to local and returning populations. Concern’s initial emergency response program started in September 06 distributing NFI, food and seeds to returning IDPs. Infrastructure rehabilitation (schools, roads and bridges) also started at this time.
As the quantity of food and seeds distributed during the emergency phase in 2006 was not sufficient to avoid some of the households resorting to coping strategies such as eating the seed distributed, planting the seeds received after the optimum period, and eating the young maize crop, a follow on livelihoods programme, initially funded by OFDA, started in August 2007. The main activities were seeds and protection food ration distributions, agricultural trainings and further roads and bridge rehabilitation through a cash for work scheme.
The Katanga food security and livelihoods programme then entered a new phase. While still focusing on supporting achievement of food security and increasing income through agricultural production in the target zone, programme activities have expanded to cater for other income generating activities. Activities such as seeds fairs and banks, the introduction of transformation tools, goats’ distributions and professional trainings have been implemented from August 2008 to diversify income and promote value chain activities in the zone. The programme is funded by Concern US/MAPS/GDs up to the end of 2009 and further long term donors are currently being sought.
In parallel to the livelihoods programme, Concern secured funding from Irish Aid in March 2008 to implement a water and environmental health programme in the target zone. This intervention is aimed at improving the health of target beneficiaries by providing clean, safe water (through drilling boreholes), and improving awareness on health and hygiene practices. The watsan programme is funded up to Sept 2009 with further funding being sought.
Lubumbashi, 518,000 km² is the capital of Katanga Region with a population of around 4.1 million. The principal commercial and industrial center of the region, Lubumbashi is in an area rich in mineral resources. The second largest city of the country, it is a commercial and industrial center. Copper is smelted there, and textiles, food products and beverages, printed materials, and bricks are manufactured. Founded in 1910, Lubumbashi was known as Elisabethville and prospered with the development of the region's copper-mining industry. Lubumbashi was the capital of the secessionist state of Katanga (1960–63) and was the scene of bloody strife between UN troops and Katangan forces. The city is the site of a university, a regional museum, and a modern airport. It is situated on a transcontinental railroad that links Luanda on the west coast of Africa with Beira on the east coast.
Dubie is a small town community with a population of 10,000 in the Pweto district and Kilwa health zone of Katanga. The main occupation of the population is agriculture plus petty trading, although due to limited infrastructure this occurs on a small-scale. Dubie airstrip is 500 kilometres north of Lubumbashi, Katanga’s capital. Other agencies operating in Dubye are UMCOR and MSF.
Shamwana is a village situated 5 hours drive north of Dubie town with a population of approx 5,000. MSF have built and air strip in Shamwana, which can take Air Serve 9 seater aircraft. MSF also operate a hospital in Shamwana.
- BRIEF OUTLINE OF POLITICAL SITUATION IN COUNTRY: From the time of Belgian colonial rule, the inhabitants of the Congo have derived little if any benefit from its vast natural wealth. Instead, they have suffered an unbroken succession of abusive political administrations, military authorities and armed political groups that have looted the country and committed human rights abuses with impunity. King Leopold II acquired vast personal wealth without ever setting foot on Congolese soil. The Belgian rulers of the then Belgian Congo, from 1906 to 1960 used slave labour to plunder its rubber, ivory and timber. After independence [on June 30] 1960, the [32 years] of Mobutu’s presidency made the newly named Zaire notorious for cronyism and corruption. When Laurent Kabila toppled Mobutu in May 1997 with the aid of Rwanda, Uganda, Angola and Burundi, hopes were high for the renaissance of the Congo. Unfortunately, the situation deteriorated and already in 1998, the country found itself in the midst of what came to be the deadliest conflict since World War II, involving seven foreign armies and several militia groups. The gradual collapse of the state and the formal economy over the last 40 years, rampant poverty and external competition for exploiting Congo’s vast natural resources contributed to escalating the conflict.
In July 2003, in Sun City, South Africa, a Global and Inclusive Accord was signed among all armed and unarmed factions allowing for the establishment of a transitional government with a President and four Vice Presidents. These armed groups (at least in theory) converted themselves into political parties and they shared power in the transitional government, together with representatives from civil society and the political opposition.
Over the subsequent two years, the transitional period was characterized by: 1) Clumsiness, because of contentious decision making process, and a sprawling bureaucracy with 36 ministries, 500 deputies and 120 senators; 2) Inability to resolve political differences resulting in political weakness at the centre; 3) Inability to deal with armed groups, dissident soldiers and the interference of Rwanda; 4) Disagreement among members of the TG over power sharing in the army, administration and state controlled companies; 5) Opportunism of key members of the TG who have little appetite for elections; 6) Lack of strong control of the army and the police; 7) Failure to fully assume administrative responsibility throughout the country; 8) Parallel chain of command in the army and as well as in the administration; 9) Rising tension between Hutu and Tutsi and other communities in the East, a situation reportedly manipulated by Kinshasa and Rwanda.
Despite the above-mentioned setbacks, the overall outlook for the DRC is perhaps more positive than at other times in its recent history. There were several positive developments in 2005. For example, significant progress has been made in the voter registration process for the elections and a referendum on the draft constitution was peacefully conducted in December and approved by 84.31% of the electorate. In February 2006, the new constitution was promulgated and the national assembly adopted the electoral law. Legislative and presidential elections then took place in 2006, with Joseph Kabila the winning candidate.
There has been increased violence in the North Eastern part of the country over the last six months, particularly in North Kivu province as the CNDP increased their foothold in the area. Development in early 2009 however, saw the surprise agreement between the Government and CNDP forces, followed closely by an agreement with the Rwandan government to undertake joint military action against the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda – these are largely considered to be Hutu fighters and their families who fled Rwanda following the 1994 genocide). This period has seen increased population displacement, abuse of civilians and injury to those caught between the different factions. Current development also give rise to a great deal of concern, in terms of the impact of foreign forces, potential of combat with the FDLR as well as questions regarding the longer term influence and role of Rwanda.
These most recent events have not impacted on Katanga province, and the Shamwana and Dublie project sites remain operational without increased insecurity.
Description of Job Location and Accommodation Facilities: Shamwana is a small village in a remote part of Katanga – 112km from Dubie and 560km from Lubumbashi. Roads in the area are poor and access is difficult, especially in the rainy season. Travel by air to Goma is possible in the rainy season and by road to Lubumbashi during the dry season.
Location & Description of Accommodation Facilities Shared accommodation on the Concern base in Shamwana. Accommodation is basic – brick tukuls. There is no running water but a borehole is being installed. Electricity is supplied by generator. High speed internet and Sat TV is available.
To apply: All applications should be submitted through our website at https://jobs.concern.net
Application deadline is 05th September 2011 Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be short listed on a regular basis and we may offer the post before the closing date.
All candidates who are short-listed for a first round interview will be notified via email after the application deadline
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