The French Red Cross (CRF) has been operational in the Central African Republic (CAR) since 2004, and in the Eastern region of Cameroon since 2014, in support of Central African refugees and Cameroonian host populations. In partnership with the host national societies, the Central African Red Cross (CRCA) and the Cameroonian Red Cross (CRC), the CRF focuses its actions on responding to emergencies and developing integrated programs mainly in the areas of health, risk and disaster management and capacity development of national societies to enable them to properly assume their role as auxiliaries to the public authorities.

Job Context

The Central African Republic (CAR) and Cameroon face challenges related to decades of instability, forced displacement and limited access to basic services. From 2019 to 2023, the cross-border project I Yéké Oko (IYO) phase 1, financed by AFD under the Minka Peace and Resilience Fund and led by a consortium of actors (Red Cross and NGOs), aims to promote civic, social and economic cohesion in the reception and departure areas of displaced populations in Kadey and Mambéré-Kadeï. The first phase of the project reached 236,000 people, but new needs, challenges related to returns and emerging crises require consolidating the gains made.

IYO phase 2 will be implemented in the same intervention area by a consortium composed of CRF Cameroon, CRC and Care on the Cameroon side; and CRF RCA, CRCA and IRAM on the CAR side. It aims to contribute to the balanced, simultaneous and sustainable development of territories affected by population displacement resulting from the Central African crisis, in CAR (Mambéré-Kadeï) and Cameroon (Kadey). The project focuses on three main areas: (1) strengthening the capacities of institutional actors to improve the planning, management and delivery of basic services; (2) perpetuating the community structures set up during phase 1; and (3) stimulating productive sectors as well as the development of human capital, in line with the needs of the local job market.

This second phase of the project, designed in response to the Yaoundé Declaration (2022), places emphasis on localization, giving an increased role to the Central African and Cameroonian Red Cross.

In Cameroon, the CRF is currently operating in the Far North region and has a coordination office in Yaoundé (Centre Region), a sub-delegation in Maroua and a base in Kousseri. The base in Batouri, East Region (closed in July 2023) will be reopened in 2025 as part of the IYO 2 project. In CAR, the CRF operates in regions 2 and 7 and has a coordination office in Bangui (region 7) and an operational base in the city of Berberati (region 2, IYO 2 project area).

Job

The IYO 2 RCA/Cameroon Consortium Coordinator ensures the coordination of the consortium and is responsible for its proper functioning in perfect collaboration with its various members. Specifically, he/she:

• Ensures smooth operational and/or strategic progress throughout the life cycle of the IYO 2 project;
• Ensures the harmonization of partners’ actions to align resources, skills and objectives in a shared vision;
• Ensures coherence and complementarity between the activities carried out by the different members of the consortium of the 2 countries in accordance with the objectives of the IYO 2 project;
• Maintains perfect external and internal coordination between the two countries to ensure the achievement of project objectives and compliance with the lessor’s rules;
• Facilitates collaboration between stakeholders, particularly with local administrative authorities, central and decentralized technical services in the two countries, beneficiary communities, national and international partners;
• Ensures the link between the lessor and the members of the consortium, in particular through periodic meetings and the maintenance of effective and transparent communication, in accordance with the guiding principles of the Red Cross Movement.