Job Title:   Referral Coordinator

Organisation: Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Duty Station: Arua, Uganda

About the Company:

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a private, independent, humanitarian organization working on all aspects of the refugee cause in more than 36 countries throughout the world. The aim of DRC is to protect refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) against persecution and to promote durable solutions to the problems of forced migration, on the basis of humanitarian principles and human rights. DRC works in accordance with the UN Conventions on Refugees and the Code of Conduct for the ICRC and NGOs in Disaster Relief.

Project Background

The Uganda Cash Consortium (UCC) is led by the Danish Refugee Council and in partnership with The Lutheran World Federation. The UCC is implementing a Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance and Cash for Education in Emergencies Project across the refugee settlements in Uganda with funding from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO). The overall goal of the UCC action is to respond to the humanitarian needs of the most socio-economically vulnerable refugees hosted in Uganda through the provision of multi-purpose cash assistance to meet non-food basic needs, to contribute to addressing the most urgent protection cases, and to enhance access to education.

Job Summary:   The Referral Coordinator is responsible for designing and managing a referral system to connect eligible individuals to UCC support, utilizing indicators from the MEAL Coordinator to create and administer an online referral tool. The role focuses on developing informational materials and organizing meetings to promote referral opportunities while representing the UCC in working groups to raise awareness of cash assistance criteria. He/she is the primary focal point with referring agencies. The role is hosted by Danish Refugee Council but represents all partners (currently two) within the Uganda Cash Consortium.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:   Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

Coordination and Collaboration:

• Organize information sessions and training for other partners at Kampala and settlement levels to inform them about referral opportunities. This will include dedicated to the topic sessions and presentations during available working-group meetings, such as the Cash Working Group, sector-specific working groups, etc.
• Identify referring focal points internally and from other aid agencies, train them about the UCC referral process, and collaborate with them on a daily basis.
• Organize and facilitate informational meetings on referrals centrally and at the settlement level, including OPM and local authorities.
• Screen referrals to make a final determination of their eligibility to receive UCC support. This will entail a review of referral information and Question & Answer (Q&A) with the referring agency as necessary.
• Notify referring agencies of referral status (accepted, rejected or on hold) and of the commencement and conclusion of support.
• Collaborate with referring agencies of protection cases to ensure administration of protection impact assessment upon conclusion of assistance.
• Act as the primary focal point for the Project Management Unit (PMU) with UNHCR on all matters pertaining to the collection of Individual Profiling Exercise (IPE) data.
• Collaborate with the MEAL Coordinator to ensure referrals are included in samples for all MEAL activities (baseline, endline, Position Distribution Monitoring-PDMs, etc.).
• Develop and regularly update referral opportunities for UCC recipients to participate in livelihoods or longer-term development opportunities.
• Establish formal referral means with other entities and track referrals from UCC.

Capacity building in referral mechanism:

• Conduct regular assessments to identify gaps in knowledge and skills related to referral processes, developing tailored interventions to address these needs.
• Facilitate workshops, mentoring sessions, and on-the-job training to enhance the technical and operational capabilities of all involved parties.
• Establish and disseminate clear guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to standardize referral practices across the team and partner organizations.

Technical Support:

• Act as the primary focal point between the UCC and referring agencies on all referrals-related technical matters.
• Provide referral focal points with ongoing technical support and troubleshooting.
• Design informational materials to promote referral opportunities to the UCC.
• Using indicators designed by the MEAL Coordinator, design and administer online referral tool/system.
• Develops and is the holder of data-sharing agreements with referring agencies.
• Maintain a database of referrals (or inputs into a centralized database).
• Participate in relevant call for proposals
• Lead the strategic direction of the localization agenda, ensuring alignment with PMU goals and organizational objectives; Participate in the DRC Uganda localization task force and contribute to the development of the Localization Strategy.
• Contribute to local partner mapping and scoping exercises.
• Monitor and evaluate the progress of localization efforts, preparing reports and recommendations for PMU leadership to scale successful practices.
• Support PMU Manager in coordination and advocacy around the Basic Needs Approach (BNA).

Representation and Advocacy:

• Promote referral opportunities to and from UCC.
• Participate in UCC-organized meetings and working groups to raise awareness of referral opportunities offered through the Action and associated referring criteria.
• Represent UCC at both the local and national levels. Coordinate, and maintain constructive relationships with UNHCR, the Office of the Prime Minister, district local governments, other international NGOs and other stakeholders.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:  To be successful in this role we expect you to have experience in humanitarian aid and demonstrated knowledge of the displacement context in Uganda, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo . Moreover, we also expect the following:

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Social work, Social sciences, Development studies, or relevant fields
• Minimum of 6 years of experience in humanitarian aid.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in cash and voucher assistance (CVA).
• Experience of working with ECHO is an asset.
• Experience of working in and with international and national NGOs.
• Exceptional organizational, management and analytical skills.
• Full proficiency in spoken and written English.
• Knowledge of one of the local languages spoken in the operation area is an asset.

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’s five core competencies:

• Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.
• Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.
• Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.
• Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.
• Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.