Emergency Program Coordinator
The Luxembourg NGO SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde a.s.b.l. (SOS VEM Luxembourg) and its partner, SOS Children’s Villages Cape Verde, are recruiting an Emergency Program Coordinator for a 12-month contract. The position is based in São Vicente island in Cape Verde.
Background:
SOS Children’s Villages is a non-governmental social development organization that supports children without parental care and families living in difficult conditions, through care services, prevention of family separation and emergency aid. It also advocates for the rights of children and young people and works in close collaboration with a wide variety of partners.
In Cape Verde, the headquarters are based in the city of Praia, and the organization is present with programs in 5 municipalities: in Assomada (since 1984), in São Domingos (2003), and in São Vicente (2008). The main services include alternative care in the localities of Assomada and São Domingos, and family strengthening (through the Social Center) in Mindelo – São Vicente. In Luxembourg, SOS VEM co-finances and provides technical support for the implementation of development and emergency programs, particularly in West and East Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The organization benefits from institutional and private funding. Both organizations actively promote and defend the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in terms of compliance and safeguarding of children and young people and protection and prevention against sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse (PSHEA).
On the night of 10–11th August 2025, torrential rains triggered devastating flash floods across São Vicente and Santo Antão, with partial impacts also reported in São Nicolau. The intense rainfall, concentrated within just a few hours, caused widespread flooding, landslides, and severe destruction of homes, infrastructure, and essential services. In the aftermath of this unprecedented disaster, SOS Children’s Villages Cape Verde mobilized a Rapid Assessment Team and an emergency response was designed.
It seeks to restore livelihoods, strengthen essential services, and enhance community resilience for families affected by the floods in São Vicente. The program integrates humanitarian relief with early recovery by focusing on five key outcomes: restoring livelihoods; improving WASH and flood-resilient shelter; protecting children and youth; strengthening access to health, education, and social protection systems; and building functional community disaster-risk-management mechanisms. It is jointly implemented by SOS Children’s Villages Cape Verde with technical support from SOS VEM Luxembourg and co-leadership of the Municipality of São Vicente and Civil Protection and is jointly funded by the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and SOS VEM Luxembourg.
Main Function of the Emergency Program Coordinator:
The Emergency Program Coordinator provides overall leadership, coordination, and operational oversight of the Emergency Project. The incumbent ensures the effective planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting of all emergency recovery activities in alignment with the project’s logframe, donor requirements, and SPHERE and CHS humanitarian standards. The Coordinator leads multi-sector interventions—livelihoods, protection, health, WASH, and social protection—ensuring strong collaboration with government authorities, civil protection, municipalities, and community-based organizations. The role also involves supervising field teams, managing partnerships, ensuring accountability to affected populations, and promoting child-safe and gender-sensitive programming throughout all stages of the project cycle.
The Emergency Program Coordinator works under the joined supervision of SOS Children’s Villages Cape Verde’s National Director of Program Development and SOS VEM Luxembourg’s Head of Program. He/She works with SOS Children’s Villages Cape Verde’s local team in Mindelo, with technical accompaniment of SOS VEM Luxembourg’s emergency advisor and financial controller.
Job Requirements:
- Advanced degree in Humanitarian Action, Development Studies, Public Health, or related field.
- Minimum of 5–7 years of experience in emergency response and recovery programming, preferably in small island or coastal contexts.
- Proven capacity in project coordination, partner management, and donor compliance (EU, MFA Luxembourg, or equivalent).
- Strong skills in team leadership, participatory planning, and community mobilization.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Languages: Bilingual proficiency in Portuguese and English is essential; working knowledge of Cape Verdean Creole is desirable.
To work with SOS Children’s Villages, it is required to agree with the principles set out in our code of conduct and our policy for protection and prevention of harassment and all types of abuse. The selected candidate will have to provide a criminal record extract.
Applications including a cover letter and a curriculum vitae must be sent to SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde Luxembourg at the following E-mail address: recruitment@sosve.lu with the reference SOS/RH/2025/03. The deadline for application is set on December 23rd, 2025.