In the wake of a 2005 study by the IASC Task Force on Training, the IASC authorized the development of the Emergency Team Leadership Programme (ETLP) to promote cross-organisational participation and inter-agency leadership development in order to support the development of competencies for team leaders. UNHCR was selected to administer the training and the first course kicked-off in 2006.
The IASC Emergency Team Leadership Programme (ETLP) enhances the effectiveness of participants in their roles as emergency team leaders in disaster response and humanitarian settings. At the request of the IASC, UNHCR serves as the programme’s administrator and institutional home.
Due to pandemic, the next ETLP will be conducted virtually online combining webinars, self-assessments, remote coaching and independent reading and assignments.
ETLP Overview
The ETLP focuses on the leader’s emotional intelligence, team leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills in the context of leading diverse and multi-functional disaster and humanitarian response teams. Key themes include leadership self-awareness, situational leadership, influence without authority, win-win negotiation approach, conflict resolution, coaching, delegation and decision-making in emergencies. All ETLP learning activities, discussions and presentations are contextualized to reflect humanitarian emergency environments, challenges and scenarios. Due to the special Covid-19 related circumstances, the topic of leading teams remotely will also be addressed.
As a special feature of this ETLP Online version, all participants will complete the Hogan Personality Assessment which assesses strengths and blind spots related to how one relates to others, and how he or she leads and follows, based on the five-factor model of personality. Following completion of the assessment, each participant will also receive a private one-on-one coaching session with a certified Hogan Assessment coach to help interpret and reflect on the results.
Each ETLP accommodates up to 20 participants. The ETLP online course methodology combines presentations, groupwork, peer exchange, mock exercises, role-playing and participant led case studies. The applicant must commit to completing all of the pre-course assignments before beginning the course and also to attending all the live online web conferencing sessions as described below.
Designed as an online blended learning programme, the 2021 online ETLP consists of:
- Pre-course asynchronous self-study with relevant readings, personal case study, completion of self-assessments, including the Hogan Assessment, and feedback from three peers or team members (Commitment: 10-12 hours between May 6-20, 2021)
- Synchronous online course from May 21 & May 24-27, 2021 using UNHCR’s WebEx web conferencing system (Commitment: 4 hours/day in web conference to be tentative scheduled from 13h00 to 17h15, based on GMT +2 time zone (same as Budapest, Hungary or Geneva, Switzerland), plus up to 1 or 2 hours of offline assignments, totaling 22-24 hours between May 21-27, 2021.
- One private 1-on-1 coaching session via web conferencing based on the Hogan Assessment to be scheduled individually in June and July. (Commitment: 1.5 hours)
- A post-course asynchronous learning activity designed and implemented by each participant within 2-months of completing the course (Commitment: 5-12 hours).
Expected outcomes of the ETLP
- strengthen the quality of leadership in humanitarian operations
- support stronger coordination among agencies
- foster development of best practice in emergency leadership and management
- contribute to the expansion of a larger cadre of experienced team leaders proficient in emergency leadership competencies
Target Audience
The programme is designed for qualifying candidates from IASC UN member organizations and the UN partner NGOs involved in disaster and humanitarian response. IASC members are especially encouraged to nominate candidates from their NGO partners, especially from national and local NGOs in crisis-affected countries with presence in the field.
The ideal candidate for the ETLP has emergency field experience and is either currently serving in a disaster/humanitarian team leadership role, or is expected to be assigned, within the next 4 months, to lead a disaster or humanitarian response team, manage a sub-office or field office or serve as humanitarian cluster/sector coordinator in the field. Those invited to participate in the ETLP programme:
- are dedicated and passionate about disaster response and humanitarian work
- have a minimum of 5 years of field experience in humanitarian or emergency operations with at least 6 months of experience in a management or team leader position where they lead humanitarian response staff, emergency teams and/or inter-agency groups in the field.
- are able to commit the time required to do the pre-course learning activities (about 10-12 hours), complete the Hogan Assessment and coaching, attend the online webinars (20 hours of webinars over five days) and complete and report on a post-course activity (5-12 hours).
- are open to receiving feedback from their peers and team members about their strengths and blind spots as a leader
- possess a positive attitude towards lifelong learning, collaboration and leading teams.
- English language speaking, reading and writing advanced proficiency.
Previous participating organizations
Through the years nearly 400 participants from 30+ organizations have attended the ETLP, including from: UNOCHA, UNICEF, WFP, FAO, UNFPA, OHCHR, UNHCR, IOM, ICRC, IFRC, WHO, ICVA, Oxfam UK, Mercy Corps, CARE, CHF International, IRD, LWF, INTERSOS, Norwegian Refugee Council, Danish Refugee Council, World Vision International, Caritas, AIRD, HIAS, FOHNAD-RDC, the Refugee Consortium of Kenya, the Kenya Red Cross and the IASC Secretariat amongst others.
Additional information
For additional information about programme administration, application or technology requirements please contact hqemtu@unhcr.org at UNHCR’s Global Learning and Development Center (GLDC). For additional information about the ETLP objectives and content, please contact Charles Dufresne at dufresne@interworksmadison.com.