Emergency Response Manager DR Congo at Norwegian Refugee Council

Context

The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently facing one of the most severe humanitarian crises in its recent history. In early 2025, the escalation of conflict in Eastern DRC — particularly the rapid territorial gains by the M23 armed group — has led to mass displacement, destruction of infrastructure, and the dismantling of key IDP sites in Goma and Bukavu, which are now under M23 control since the first quarter of the year, triggering unprecedented population movements and acute protection risks.

As a result, over 6.9 million people are now internally displaced, with the majority concentrated in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu. Many displaced households are now living in spontaneous sites, or with vulnerable host communities, while tens of thousands have been pushed into premature, unassisted returns to unsafe or destroyed areas of origin.

NRC is a key responder in this crisis and is scaling up its front-line programming in response to the current emergency. Through the SAFER Consortium — comprising ACTED, Concern Worldwide, Mercy Corps, Solidarités International, and NRC — NRC plays a leading role in delivering Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) to newly displaced populations. Through the SAFER Consortium, NRC provides rapid needs assessments, protection risk analysis, and market evaluations to ensure principled and effective humanitarian assistance.

In addition to MPCA, NRC is expanding its rapid response portfolio across multiple sectors including WASH, Shelter, Education in Emergencies (EiE), Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA), and Protection. The Emergency Manager will be central to driving this scale-up, working closely with the Head of Programmes and Country Director to ensure NRC delivers timely, principled, and impactful first-phase responses.

The Emergency Response Manager (ERM) is responsible for leading NRC’s emergency preparedness and response in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the face of one of the country’s most severe crises in recent history, the ERM will play a pivotal role in ensuring NRC’s emergency interventions are timely, principled, technically sound, and delivered at scale.

The ERM will oversee the design, coordination, and execution of first- and second-line emergency responses, including the strategic use of the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), and the integration of NRC’s core competencies — Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA), WASH, Shelter, Education in Emergencies (EiE), Protection from Violence, and Information, Counselling and Legal Assistance (ICLA).

Reporting to the Head of Programme and working closely with Area Managers, Technical Specialists, and Support departments, the ERM will provide operational leadership and strategic direction to NRC’s emergency response across multiple provinces.

• Drive the design, rollout, and revision of NRC’s Emergency Response Strategy, ensuring it aligns with evolving context dynamics and is informed by operational and protection analysis.
• Provide strategic oversight and coordination of all emergencies and RRM interventions across North and South Kivu, working closely with Area Managers to allocate resources, agree on priorities, and support implementation.
• Work closely with Access and Security teams to ensure that all responses are undertaken with full risk assessments and safety protocols in place.
• Represent NRC in the SAFER Consortium Operational Coordination Unit, ensuring effective partnership engagement, technical consistency, and strategic alignment in the delivery of MPCA and multisector responses.
• Ensure adherence to NRC’s Emergency Response SOPs, including operational risk mitigation, fraud prevention, protection mainstreaming, and SEA mitigation measures.
• Lead the preparation and submission of donor narrative reports, sitreps, and emergency dashboards in collaboration with Grants and MEAL teams.
• Provide real-time contextual and operational analysis to senior management and external partners, ensuring that response decisions are data informed.
• In collaboration with the Head of Programme and MEAL Manager, establish and oversee monitoring, evaluation, and quality assurance mechanisms specific to emergency programming.
• Supervise the periodic review and local adaptation of sector SOPs and delivery tools, ensuring they reflect emerging best practices and lessons learned.
• Support the pre-positioning of stocks and assets, in collaboration with Logistics and Programme Development, to ensure readiness for scale-up in new emergency hotspots.
• Provide technical input into recruitment of emergency staff and lead the development and management of a country-level emergency roster and surge mechanism.
• Act as focal point for inter-agency emergency coordination, including with OCHA, clusters, and provincial coordination mechanisms.

What we offer:

1. Contract of 12 months
2. Grade 9 in NRC scale
3. Location: Goma
4. An opportunity to match your career to a compelling cause
5. A chance to meet and work with people who are the best in their fields

Please find the full job description here.