Description
World Central Kitchen (WCK) is seeking a tenacious and adaptable Response Director to lead our relief operations across Gaza, Lebanon, and Israel. This role demands quick, strategic decision-making, an ability to triage competing priorities, and a talent for building relationships while leading and motivating diverse, multidisciplinary teams. The ideal candidate thrives in chaotic and ambiguous environments, excels at capacity building, and embodies WCK’s North Star values while ensuring timely and effective delivery of food aid to communities in need.
Based in Jordan, this position offers a unique opportunity to shape WCK's responses in the Middle East. The Response Director will oversee all aspects of ground activities and ensure seamless coordination between local and international teams. This position reports directly to the Chief Relief Officer.
The Response Director is a six (6) month term position with the opportunity for renewal, offering a unique chance to lead and shape WCK's responses.
Key Responsibilities:
Activation Management
- Serve as the primary on-ground leader, managing relief operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
- Direct Jordan- and Gaza-based teams, including the Response Leadership Team (comprising Unit Managers in Gaza and their counterparts in Jordan).
Key departments include: - Safety & Security
- Community Outreach
- Operations/Distribution
- Culinary
- Finance/HR
- Procurement and Logistics
- Oversee additional sub-departments as necessary to adapt to the scope of operations.
- Strategically implement relief activities in alignment with WCK’s North Star values.
- Build and train local teams to ensure operational readiness, employing WCK’s accordion staffing model.
- Lead scope setting, program adjustments, and activation timelines in collaboration with the Chief Relief Officer.
- Foster cross-departmental collaboration and information sharing with HQ teams and other Response Directors.
- Ensure seamless transitions and handovers for international contract staff rotating in and out of activation roles.
- Complete After-Action Reports post-activation to capture lessons learned and process improvements.
Safety & Security
- Receive daily briefings from the Safety & Security Manager to stay apprised of evolving conditions.
- Work closely with the Chief Security Officer to implement and adapt protocols ensuring team safety.
- Act as the primary decision-maker for on-ground operations during security crises.
Finances and Human Resources
- Collaborate with the finance team to create accurate cost projections for activations, addressing meal production, staffing, and logistics.
- Work with WCK-HQ to establish and monitor robust financial policies, systems, and safeguards.
- Approve key purchase orders, invoices, and financial reporting documents, as required.
Procurement & Logistics
- Guide the procurement team to source materials efficiently, balancing speed, cost, and quality.
- Supervise logistics teams in managing the transportation of goods into Gaza, liaising with government agencies and third-party logistics providers.
- Coordinate with Safety & Security to manage intra-Gaza logistical movements.
Community Outreach, Operations/Distribution, and Stakeholder Engagement
- Support the Community Outreach and Operations/Distribution teams in building meaningful relationships with local communities and stakeholders.
- Ensure outreach and engagement activities align with WCK’s reputation as an effective, compassionate relief organization.
- Represent WCK to international audiences, including beneficiaries, partners, and media, as required.
Culinary
- Supervise the Culinary Unit to ensure meals meet WCK’s standards of quality, cultural appropriateness, and portioning.
Response Director (Gaza & Middle East)
Posted 1 month ago
- 🏢 Amman, Amman Governorate, Jordan
- ⏰ Full-time
Sustainability at World Central Kitchen
By providing meals to those affected by crises, we contribute to ending hunger and malnutrition. We also invest in our Food Producer Network to help create resilience ahead of the next disaster, train aspiring chefs in skills and safety to build their careers and food economy, and advocate for more hunger relief and better nutrition.
Good Health and Well-being is another goal that we address through our work. We provide meals that are not just filling but also nutritious to ensure that those we serve maintain good health. We also want clean cookstoves in the homes of the one billion cooks whose health, and the climate, are in danger when all they want to do is feed their families. By doing so, we help reduce indoor air pollution, which is one of the leading causes of premature deaths.
We hire and source locally to jump-start economic recovery through food, which helps create job opportunities for those affected by crises. Additionally, we train aspiring chefs in skills and safety to build their careers and the food economy.
Sustainable Cities and Communities is another goal that we address. By building resilient food systems with locally-led solutions, we contribute to sustainable urbanization.
We address Climate Action through our Climate Disaster Fund, a $1 billion commitment over the next decade to support communities impacted by the climate crisis. We have witnessed climate-triggered hunger and forced migration due to extreme weather events. Our Climate Disaster Fund provides immediate relief through nutritious meals following disasters like hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. In 2022, we responded to 30 climate-related crises using our Urgency of Now approach to secure a kitchen and begin cooking, ensuring families receive fresh food in the hours and days after a disaster.
