Response Director, Middle East and North Africa

Responsibilities:

• Respond within four (4) hours notice to a disaster area to act as Response Director, managing relief operations on the ground, or in rare cases, remotely.
• Direct Activation Managers and oversee the work of their teams, including Culinary, Distribution, Community Outreach, and Procurement/Logistics.
• Ensure strategic and streamlined implementation of relief activities on the ground, operationalizing WCK’s North Star.
• Build and train local teams to meet our human capacity needs to feed the need, embracing our accordion model.
• Direct the scope of responses, programmatic changes, and activation timelines, in conjunction with the Chief Relief Officer.
• Facilitate and implement cross-departmental collaboration and information sharing between WCK departments and Activation Managers on and off activation.
• Ensure smooth transitions and complete handovers with other Response Directors, and between Activation Managers, when rotating field teams through phases of the activation.
• Complete the After-Action Report process immediately following activation wind-down, collating and drawing learnings for process improvement.

Requirements:

• Ability to spend up to 70% of the time in the field.
• Must live within one (1) hour of an international airport or be willing to relocate.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to remote and potentially hazardous locations within four (4) hours notice.
• Masters degree and/or equivalent preferred, or 10+ years of experience in management roles.
• Excellent training and coaching skills, and experience leading large, multidisciplinary teams in challenging and rapidly changing environments.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written, with the ability to engage and coordinate with diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently with minimal infrastructure, amenities and resources.
• Willingness to work in challenging environments with austere living conditions.
• Demonstrated negotiation and diplomacy skills in complex and potentially volatile situations.
• Exhibit a calm and composed demeanor during crisis situations, with the capacity to make sound decisions under pressure.
• Be physically fit and have the stamina to work long hours doing physically demanding tasks in varying and potentially extreme climates.
• Strong mental resilience and emotional intelligence to cope with the stressors associated with working in conflict environments.
• Display cultural awareness and sensitivity, recognizing and respecting diverse backgrounds.
• Fluency in English is required; proficiency in additional languages relevant to common disaster or conflict zones is highly desirable (Arabic, French, Turkish).

Benefits:

• Innovative Environment: Be part of a forward-thinking team that values creativity and innovation.
• Global Impact: Your work will have a direct impact on building a diverse and talented global team.
• Professional Growth: Opportunities for continuous learning and career development.
• Dynamic Team: Work with a supportive and enthusiastic team that values collaboration and fun.

About the Company: World Central Kitchen is first to the frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises. We build resilient food systems with locally led solutions.