Disaster Response Field Coordinator Volunteer - Eastern US & Canada

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Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) is currently seeking an individual with strong verbal and written communication, knowledge management, and teamwork skills to be a Field Coordinator Volunteer for the Eastern US and Canada.

This is a remote service opportunity and provides operational and technical support to HFHI's US and Canada Disaster Risk Reduction and Response (DR3) program. He/she will be responsible for developing and maintaining strong external relationships with peer agencies, partners, and volunteers at the state and regional levels. Additionally, this volunteer supports the DR3 team with monitoring and responding to a variety of hazards within the Eastern US and Canada in order to provide appropriate support to affiliates and other HFHI offices. In addition to supporting affiliate disaster response efforts, this individual will also play a key role in the development of training materials, best practices and lessons related to disaster response, risk reduction, mitigation and preparation.

Time commitment: estimated to be 5-10 hours per week with additional hours during active disaster responses.

Location: You can volunteer virtually from home most of the time for this role.

Travel: May involve up to 10% travel in order to represent Habitat as part of the assignment, assist affiliates with preparedness initiatives and training, and provide surge capacity to affiliates post-disaster.

Key elements of the assignment:

- Engage and connect Habitat to peer agencies, partners and volunteers throughout the DR3 sector
- Establish and maintain partnerships with state VOADs and regional FEMA representatives
- Represent Habitat on a state and/or regional level in the US, serving on a committee or as a board of director member when appropriate and selected by peers
- Build capacity of Habitat entities to design and implement disaster preparedness and response programs
- Monitor natural and man-made threats and hazards that may affect Habitat entities in the Eastern US and Canada
- Work closely with different levels of staff to coordinate and/or conduct assessments in support of disaster response and disaster risk reduction program interventions
- Provide surge capacity, leadership and backstop support for the development, oversight and management of disaster response interventions by Habitat across the Eastern US, Canada, and elsewhere if needed
- Support monitoring and evaluation of disaster risk reduction and disaster response programs across the Eastern US and Canada
- Research, identify and disseminate disaster response promising practices and internationally-accepted standards throughout the Habitat community
- Support the development of new modalities for working on disaster risk reduction and response programs in the contexts of the US and Canada
- Design, promote, facilitate and participate in disaster response and risk reduction training activities to increase capacity of Habitat entities across the US and Canada
- Engage in the development of best practice documents, case studies and standards on behalf of the DR3 department

Key skills and knowledge needed:

- Associate's degree or equivalent work experience
- 5 years of related experience
- Ability to network and form partnerships/alliances with organizations both inside and outside of HFHI
- Knowledge and experience in disaster response programming
- Strong leadership, planning, organizational and diplomatic skills required
- Ability to maintain cross-cultural sensitivity
- Ability to drive operational vehicles in post-disaster environments (MRUs)
- Ability to travel and deploy for limited periods of time and operate in diverse settings
- Computer literate and knowledge of satellite phones, GPS systems and VHF/HF radio communication
- Strong writing and communication skills
- Formal training in disaster risk management
- Fluency in language other than English desired