Strategy & Axis Coordinator

Overall purpose of the role: 
Overall purpose of the role: This role is part of a new multi-donor financing mechanism designed to strengthen Sudanese leadership, access, and resourcing through flexible and locally grounded funding modalities. The Fund aims to support locally led responses across Sudan by providing accessible financing and technical support to a diverse ecosystem of actors, including civil society organisations, mutual aid groups, community-based organisations, and locally organised response networks.

The Strategy & Axis Coordinator will play a central role in ensuring that the Fund’s governance arrangements, strategy, and operational approach reflect localised Sudanese priorities and realities. The role will:

• Support consultations with Sudanese stakeholders to inform the Fund’s governance and strategy;
• Contribute to the development of credible and locally grounded governance and decision making structures;
• Support the refinement of the Fund’s strategic approach and axis prioritisation;
• Coordinate engagement and implementation within the first selected geographic axis.
• The position will help ensure continuity between the Fund’s consultative design process and its early operational implementation.

Duties & Responsibilities:

1. Stakeholder Consultation and Engagement

The Coordinator will support structured consultations with Sudanese stakeholders to inform the Fund’s development. This includes engagement with, civil society organisations, Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), Mutual aid and grassroots networks, Women-led and youth-led initiatives, Local response coordination platforms. Main activities will include:

• Facilitate consultations and dialogue sessions with stakeholders;
• Ensure perspectives from diverse regions and constituencies are reflected;
• Support inclusive engagement with grassroots and informal actors;
• Capture and synthesise consultation insights.

2. Governance Development
The Coordinator will contribute to the development of governance arrangements for the Fund. They will help ensure that governance arrangements are credible, inclusive, and grounded in Sudanese realities. This includes supporting work on:

• Governance structures and decision-making bodies;
• Mechanisms for stakeholder participation;
• Accountability and transparency measures;
• Safeguards to ensure locally led decision-making.

3. Strategic Development and Axis Prioritization
The Coordinator will contribute to the refinement of the Fund’s strategic approach by:
Supporting the development of the axis prioritization framework;

• Providing contextual analysis on local response ecosystems and political economy dynamics;
• Supporting discussions that identify and conceptualize the first geographic axis for engagement;
• Contributing to preparation and facilitation of strategy workshops and consultations.

4. Coordination of Axis Engagement
The Coordinator will lead coordination of the Fund’s work within the first selected geographic axis. This includes:

• Supporting development of the axis engagement strategy;
• Coordinating relationships with local actors and networks within the axis;
• Facilitating dialogue between the Fund and locally led response actors;
• Ensuring locally led perspectives inform programming priorities.

5. Supporting Accessible Funding Processes
The Coordinator will help ensure that funding modalities within the axis remain accessible to diverse local actors. This includes:

• Facilitating dialogue between partners and the Fund Management Unit;
• Identifying barriers to participation faced by grassroots actors;
• Supporting approaches that expand access for informal and community-based actors.

6. Learning and Systems Analysis
The Coordinator will contribute to ongoing analysis of the local response ecosystem by:

• Identifying emerging needs, opportunities, and risks;
• Supporting reflection and learning processes within the Fund;
• Contributing insights to inform adaptive programming.

7. Representation and Coordination
The Coordinator will represent the Fund in relevant coordination discussions connected to the axis. This includes:

• Engagement with local civil society networks and coordination platforms;
• Participation in relevant discussions with response actors and partners;
• Supporting constructive relationships between the Fund and locally led response systems.

Experience and Technical Competence 
Mandatory

• Strong understanding of Sudan’s civil society landscape.
• At least 7 years of experience in humanitarian, development, or civil society programming.
• Strong experience facilitating multi-stakeholder consultations.
• Demonstrated understanding of locally led response systems.
• Experience working in conflict-affected environments.
• Professional written and spoken Arabic and English language

Desirable

• Experience working with civil society networks, ERRs, or mutual aid initiatives.
• Familiarity with pooled fund mechanisms or multi-donor initiatives.
• Experience supporting governance or strategy development processes.
• French language skills

Education

• University degree in international development, business administration, political science, or a related field.

Languages: 

• English - professional level spoken and written.
• Arabic - professional level spoken and written
• French - skills are an advantage

Key stakeholders: Internal & External

• Fund Director
• Fund inception advisers;
• Other technical advisers involved in Fund design.
• Sudanese local and national actors for consultation 

About you:  
In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’s 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 act in line with our vision and values.   

Conditions  

• Contract: One-year contract with possibility of extension. Salary and other conditions are offered in accordance with DRC’s Terms of Employment. 
• Availability: May 2026
• Duty station: Nairobi, Kenya or other regional capital 

Application and CV:  
Only motivated applications that address the stipulated duties and meet the required qualifications, sent together with a CV, will be considered.  
DRC only accepts applications sent via our online-application form on www.drc.ngo under Vacancies. Please remember to upload both a letter of application and your CV and do not attach any written recommendations.  
Please submit your application and CV in English no later than 7th April, 2026

Gender Equality: DRC is committed to achieving gender parity in staffing at all levels.  In light of this, Female candidates and those from minority groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
Equal Opportunities: DRC is an equal opportunity employer.  We value diversity and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment based on mutual respect for all employees.  We do not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, disability status, religion, ethnic origin, color, race, marital status or other protected characteristics.  
DRC’s capacity to ensure the protection of and assistance to refugees, IDP’s and other persons of concern depends on the ability of our staff to uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation DRC’s values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. DRC conducts thorough and comprehensive background checks as part of the recruitment process. Visit drc.ngo to read more about what we do to secure robust safeguarding mechanisms. 
If you have questions or are facing problems with the online application process, please visit drc.ngo/jobsupport. 

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