Technical Field Manager, Chad (Subject to Funding)

Fixed Term – 6 months

The salary for this position is £68,656 GBP / approx. $83,811 USD including all allowances.

About MAG

MAG (Mines Advisory Group) is an international humanitarian organisation based in Manchester, UK, and working in 32 countries. We remove landmines and unexploded ordnance to release safe and productive land for communities, and work to reduce the threat of armed violence by supporting governments to safely manage weapons and ammunition. In 1997, MAG was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for our work campaigning for the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.

About the role

Our Technical Field Managers are the core of our work. Under the supervision of the Technical Operations Manager and the Project Manager, you will conduct training related to Weapons and Ammunition Management, EOD refresher courses for the destruction and transportation of ammunition stockpiles and carry out technical assessments of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) storage facilities and ammunition depots. You will be responsible for the technical oversight until the handover of the storage facilities, and you will also lead operations for cutting SALW and the destruction of ammunition stockpiles. You will establish trust-based relationships with our partners, which will require diplomacy and cultural awareness.

You will provide training, evaluation and daily monitoring of all technical operations staff to ensure safe practices. You will also provide coordination and technical oversight of WAM projects from initial project design, rehabilitation and/or construction of new facilities to the development of sustainable national capacity.

About you

The successful candidate must have experience of working in SALW/PSSM type Operations in developing countries. You must have relevant professional training and experience of managing Weapons and Ammunitions Management (WAM) Operations. You must be EOD 3 qualified and have substantial previous experience as EOD operator. You will be experienced in leading, motivating and managing a diverse team of people, and in mentoring and coaching others. You will also have experience of conducting formal or informal training and the transfer of appropriate skills to others.

The postholder will be innovative, proactive, and committed to high quality standards and continually improving effectiveness and efficiency. You will be able to establish and develop effective working relationships at all levels internally and externally and to represent and promote MAG. In addition, you will possess excellent communication, interpersonal, diplomacy and organisation skills, with the ability to plan and coordinate activities and projects. Experience of working independently for extended periods of time in ‘stand-alone’ environments with minimal supervision is required.

Ability to work in English and French is required.

About the Chad programme

More than 30 years of civil war – including the Libyan invasion – have resulted in significant landmine/UXO contamination and large-scale population displacement in Chad. In 1997, the Chadian authorities signed and ratified the Ottawa Treaty and created the “Haut Commissariat National de Déminage” (High Commission for demining) to clear all mines, which now aims to destroy all anti-personnel mines in areas under its jurisdiction by 1 January 2020.

MAG has been working in Chad since 2004 and has carried out demining operations in the Lake and Tibesti regions since 2014. MAG has also implemented weapons management and destruction projects across the country, working closely with the Chadian authorities to reduce the risks and impacts of unplanned explosions and reduce the danger of weapons proliferation to civilian populations.