The Government Liaison Coordinator is a critical position within NRC Iran. The position will lead the relationship with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including Ministries, Immigration Office, and any other formal and informal government authorities, to manage NRC access in line with humanitarian principles, donor requirements and the operation approval and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government.
The coordinator will keep NRC Country Management aware of national regulations and administrative issues that could affect NRC.
Generic responsibilities
Ensure adherence with NRC policies, tools, handbooks and guidelines
Act as the main interface for national authorities. Support in securing government approvals, for project implementation, trainings, travel, operation approval and MoU, visa and residency permits and any other authorization that might be required for implementation of NRC activities in Iran
Plan and facilitate meetings with relevant government officials to explain, advocate and negotiate for NRC access and implementation, and reduce barriers, supporting NRC programme, advocacy and area teams.
Supervise NRC’s Government Liaison staff, organize their workload and tasks
Ensure the development and implementation of internal systems and procedures
Prepare status reports for Country Management Group (CMG) on humanitarian access
Monitor legal and policy developments relevant to NRC, internally share summaries and brief the CMG
Work closely with the NRC Advocacy and Communications and Programme teams to support effective communication of NRC objectives, messages and priorities with relevant authorities
Ensure capacity building of staff in skills related to Government Liaison purposes
Promote the rights of displacement affected populations in line with the advocacy strategy
Specific responsibilities
Lead the strategic relationship with ministries and other relevant authority
Maintain an overview of government approvals and rejections, and develop a plan to improve NRC access
Ensure proper archiving and filing of all incoming and outgoing documents and communications
Liaise with the Humanitarian Access and Safety (HAS) team to monitor trends in humanitarian access in Iran and provide recommendations on how to address access barriers
Ensure timely submission of Government required reporting, in particular quarterly and annual reporting
Ensure that communications and translations across NRC are harmonized, factually and grammatically correct. If necessary, develop a network of translators that are approved by NRC in terms of quality
Support and accompany NRC management for meetings with Government authorities and facilitate translation
Maintain a Government Liaison calendar for senior management to be able to plan meetings as much as possible
Capture lessons learned with regards to collaboration with different levels of the Government and provide recommendations of improvements to CMG
Other duties as