Background

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation dedicated to protecting the rights of displaced and affected people during crises. NRC delivers high-quality programmes to support people forced to flee, helping them rebuild their lives and establish a new future. NRC provides immediate humanitarian assistance, prevents further displacement, and contributes to durable solutions. It operates across both new and protracted crises across 40 countries. 

From June 2025, NRC has a new, simplified organisational structure, moving from three (country-region-head office) to two (country-global) levels, and with a leaner Head Office and Representation Offices and smaller Regional Teams.  

NRC has restructured a large part of the organisation, and as such also created a global support structure for several functions previously managed and held by Regional Offices relevant to the Regional Programme Adviser role such as such as the Global PCM and Grants Management facility to support countries and regional teams, Global support including Core Competency and thematic advisers and MEAL support.

The Regional Programme Adviser in collaboration with the Head of Programme  in the regional team can access additional support capacity from the Global Resource Pools, be it from the Core Competencies and Thematic pool, Grants Management pool or MEAL pool. 

Resource Pools (hereafter pool) gather staff in one common team which is organised and managed (but not necessarily physically located) at Head Office. The purpose of pooling is to improve efficiency, equity, access and flexibility. The teams should ensure that all regional staff and country offices have predictable access to the same services and deliver them in an efficient way.

Find out more about NRC https://www.nrc.no/ and Watch this short video to see NRC in action https://vimeo.com/736782633

What we are looking for 

As Regional Programme Adviser, you will be responsible for providing advise and guidance to the  Country Director and/or Head of Programme, ensuring optimal program strategies, structures, systems, and resources are in place.

Across all country offices in the Region, you’ll provide advisory support and capacity building in business development, crisis management, strategy development and  change as well as relevant programme quality efforts.

Working within a technical matrix, you’ll collaborate closely with both technical and operational colleagues, while also contributing to global initiatives as part of a wider community of specialists.

What you will do 

Facilitate collaboration and coordination between the regional team and the global programmes team through information sharing, organising meetings, and identifying critical issues. 

Support collaboration with global support teams in order to ensure optimal support to country offices. 

Assist ongoing transition and change processes at country level (review of programme organigrams). 

Support the process of sharing experiences and lessons learned among programme teams in the region, as well as through exchanges with other regions. 

Engage with partners and donors present at the regional level, by delegation and in collaboration with the RHOP. 

Support the implementation of multi-country projects, notably by identifying and highlighting existing support needs at the country level. 

Contribute to identifying the most relevant projects in the countries in line with NRC’s response policy and mobilises the necessary internal support.

Any other tasks as delegated by the line manager. 

Work collaboratively with colleagues in Global Resource pools to identify gaps in quality and practice, common learning and development needs.

Support potential partnerships (commercial or grants) in close collaboration with global PCM & Grants Mngt resource facility, and identify opportunities for cross-country/regional arrangements and outline business proposals to be taken forward with the Head of Programme and Business Development.

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position Regional Programme Adviser CWA.pdf

What you will bring 

Professional Competencies

5 years of experience within the humanitarian/recovery context, of which 3 years of Manager/Advisor experience

Specialist knowledge and expertise equivalent to an advanced university degree in a relevant field (e.g., international development, politics, social science)

Knowledge of institutional donors’ strategies, priorities, and compliance requirements for relevant donors is an asset.

Track record of successful proposal development, or similar in funding or partnerships

Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts, with preference for previous experience in the region

Understanding of, and commitment to working collaboratively with technical and operational colleagues within a matrix structure, including capacity building

Fluency in English and French, both written and verbal. 

Context related skills, knowledge and experience

Experience with start-up, exit or similar  

Experience working with overall strategy development and planning

Experience of developing learning and development tools and resources to support capacity building

Knowledge of and interest in new business opportunities, including different partnerships modalities, grants and commercial opportunities.

Experience of working with cross-country programmes and donors

Behavioural competencies

Handling insecure environment

Planning and delivering results

Working with people

Analysing 

Communication with impact and respect

What we offer