Project Manager - Anticipatory Action

Join Danish Refugee Council (DRC) as a Project Manager - Anticipatory Action — this full time role is based in Mogadishu. Professionals with a background in Project Management and at least 5 - 6 years of experience are encouraged to apply. Qualified candidates are urged to apply before the May, 31 deadline.

About the job

DRC is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Anticipatory Action (AA) Project Manager, based

in Mogadishu, to lead and coordinate anticipatory action programming in Somalia. The position will

serve as the Project Manager and national lead for the AHEAD project, providing strategic, technical,

and operational leadership to ensure high-quality implementation and alignment with DRC’s global

AA strategy.

Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

Management and Coordination

• Serve as the national technical focal point for Anticipatory Action (AA), ensuring alignment with

DRC’s global AA strategy, country priorities, and donor requirements.

• Coordinate closely with national, regional, and global AA teams to integrate anticipatory action

across DRC’s broader programmatic strategies and contribute to cross-fertilization of learning.

• Facilitate awareness, understanding, and uptake of AA approaches across sectors and among

key stakeholders, including government authorities, UN agencies, local partners, and community

structures, with specific emphasis on the reliable use of the AHEAD displacement forecasting

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APPLY FOR POSITION

Application due:

5/31/2026

Workplace:

Mogadishu

Department/Country:

Somalia

Contract type:

model.

• Actively engage in existing AA coordination platforms and technical working groups (including

National Technical Working Groups on Anticipatory Action) and support the establishment of new

coordination mechanisms where needed, promoting harmonized AA approaches and

implementation standards.

• Ensure strong visibility and representation of DRC’s AA portfolio within humanitarian coordination

platforms, including the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and relevant clusters, seeking formal

endorsement of AA frameworks by the HCT or equivalent body

• Serve as the field focal point for AA activities in Mogadishu, Belet-Hawa, and Jalalaqsi, ensuring

coherence between national strategy and field implementation.

Implementation and Technical Oversight

• Lead the design, development, and implementation of anticipatory action plans, including

readiness actions, anticipatory actions, trigger mechanisms, and evidence-generation

frameworks, using a localization-focused and a participatory and bottom-up approach.

• Oversee anticipatory action systems strengthening, including early warning systems, trigger

development, and operational AA plans, in close collaboration with duty bearers and in-country

partners, ensuring implementation adheres to critical humanitarian principles, including

impartiality and neutrality.

• Provide technical leadership and operational oversight for all AA project activities, ensuring timely,

high-quality, and compliant implementation in line with approved project plans and donor

requirements. This includes integrating conflict sensitivity throughout the program cycle to ensure

a ‘do no harm’ approach and mitigate the risk of unintentionally fueling conflict.

• Supervise the rollout of anticipatory and protection activities, ensuring strong community

engagement, accountability, protection mainstreaming, and quality assurance, guided by Age,

Gender, and Diversity Mainstreaming (AGDM) principles

• Coordinate closely with emergency response and preparedness teams to ensure anticipatory

actions are fully integrated into broader emergency preparedness and response frameworks and

linking AHEAD to existing development and peace frameworks.

• In the event of trigger activation, lead or support operational oversight of AA implementation,

ensuring rapid delivery and robust monitoring and evidence generation.

• Systematically consolidate, triangulate, and analyse information on shocks using data from

monitoring networks, social media tracking, and partner updates to support early warning, trigger

activation, and anticipatory planning, including contributing to H2R (Hard-to-Reach) analyses to

inform access strategies for vulnerable segments.

Capacity Building, Technical Support, and Learning

• Provide ongoing technical assistance and capacity strengthening to DRC country teams and local

partners on anticipatory action concepts, including forecast-based planning, anticipatory finance,

and operational delivery.

• Work closely with the Evidence, Knowledge, and Learning (EKL) team to ensure that data, risk

analysis, and displacement forecasting models are effectively applied to AA decision-making and

contribute to evidence-based adaptive programming.

• Support global and regional analysts to monitor and analyze disaster risk and displacement data,

ensuring that triggers and forecasts remain relevant to evolving field realities and integrating

community-level indicators to ground truth AHEAD model predictions with local observations.

• Capture, document, and disseminate lessons learned and best practices from AA

implementation, contributing to national, regional, and global learning, advocacy, and policy

influence including developing resources and tools for replication by local organizations

Business Development and Advocacy

• Contribute to the development of funding proposals and concept notes for anticipatory action

initiatives in collaboration with country teams and donor engagement units.

• Represent DRC in national and, as required, regional AA forums, advocating for anticipatory action

as an effective and cost-efficient humanitarian response approach, using robust evidence

generated from pilots regarding cost-efficiency and benefits on humanitarian needs (food,

protection)

• Work closely with advocacy and policy teams to influence national policies and promote the

institutionalization of anticipatory action within government systems and humanitarian planning

frameworks, promoting AA as a clear contribution to AUC’s wider peacebuilding and conflict

management agenda where applicable

• Secure further financing for the pooled anticipatory action fund established under AHEAD,

leveraging the seed funding to expand pre-arranged anticipatory finance capacity

National contract

Homepage:

drc.ngo

ABOUT DRC

Founded in 1956, DRC Danish

Refugee Council is Denmark’s

largest, and a leading

international NGO. We have

continuously been ranked as

one of the best NGOs in the

world - and are one of the few

with a specific expertise in

forced displacement. In around

30 countries, we protect,

advocate and build sustainable

futures for refugees and other

displacement-affected people

and communities.

Reporting, Communication, and Coordination

• Ensure timely, accurate, and high-quality reporting on AA activities in line with donor,

organizational, and internal requirements.

• Maintain strong communication with field and country focal points to track progress, address

implementation challenges, and ensure alignment across locations.

• Provide regular technical guidance and support to field teams and partners, ensuring clear

understanding of AA objectives, triggers, and implementation responsibilities.

6.

Budget

Management and Accountability

• As Program Manager, monitor expenditures against approved budgets for assigned projects,

proactively mitigating risks related to over- or underspending.

• Liaise with support functions, including Finance, Supply Chain, and Human Resources—to

ensure timely availability of information for Program Monthly Meetings and decision-making.

• Hold overall responsibility and accountability for quality delivery of AA project outputs, ensuring

compliance with donor rules and DRC standards, and escalating risks and challenges to the

Senior Management Team as required. Ensure adherence to fraud and corruption mitigation

strategies, including conducting due diligence on local partners.

About Mogadishu

Mogadishu, known locally as Muqdisho, is the capital of Somalia and the country's largest city. It serves as the political, economic, and cultural heart of the nation. The city hosts the headquarters of numerous UN agencies, international NGOs, and government institutions, offering diverse career opportunities for development and humanitarian professionals.

Ereyada Soomaaliga (Somali Keywords): Shaqo Cusub • Shaqo Buuxda • Shaqo Muqdisho

To be successful in this role we expect you to have:

• Minimum bachelor degree in development studies, social sciences, international development, or

relevant degree qualifications.

• At least 5 years of international experience in disaster risk management or anticipatory action

programming, preferably in conflict-affected regions.

• Proven track record of designing and implementing anticipatory action projects, including the

development of triggers and anticipatory action planning.

• Strong understanding of data-driven decision-making, with experience with displacement

forecasting models and early warning systems being a strong asset.

• Excellent stakeholder coordination skills, with an ability to navigate diverse stakeholder groups

and drive joint progress to achieve common goals.

• Familiarity with conflict-sensitive programming and the impacts of displacement on vulnerable

populations.

• Ability and willingness to travel, including to remote or conflict-affected areas, up to 35% of the

time.

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and coordination skills, with the ability to work across

multiple teams and with diverse stakeholders.

• Travel to remote and isolated rural communities will be required within this role.
• The position requires a high degree of collaboration with program staff and all relevant

stakeholders to ensure effective communication and priority setting.

• Experience with programming related to climate resilience, preparedness, and conflict sensitivity.
• Demonstrated ability to innovate and take a flexible, problem-solving approach in complex

humanitarian environments.

• Strong project management skills and experience with donor reporting and proposal writing.
• Familiarity with humanitarian coordination mechanisms and key international standards.
• Commitment to and understanding of DRC’s aims, values and principles
• Languages: Proficiency in written & spoken both English and Somali

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ 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.

We offer

• Contract length: 1 year with the possibility of extension, subject to funding and performance.
• Employment Band: M-F2
• Work

location: Mogadishu

• Start date: 1st July 2026
• Reporting to: Area Program Manager

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for

employees on national contract.

Application process

• All Applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages) in

English.

• Applications sent by email will not be considered
• Closing date for applications: 31st May 2026
• This Position is open to both internal and external candidates
• Qualified Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply

DRC as an employer

By working in DRC, you will be joining a global workforce of around 6000 employees in approximately

30 countries. We pride ourselves on our:

• Professionalism, impact & expertise
• Humanitarian approach & the work we do
• Purpose, meaningfulness & own contribution
• Culture, values & strong leadership
• Fair compensation & continuous development

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