Country Director Job in DRC


Country Director 

(Democratic Republic Of Congo) For Concern Worldwide.

About Concern Worldwide

Concern Worldwide is an non-governmental, international, humanitarian organisation dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.  Concern’s headquarters is based in Ireland.

Concen’s Vision For Change

A world where no-one lives in poverty, fear or oppression; where all have access to a decent standard of living and the opportunities and choices essential to a long, healthy and creative life; a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

Concern’s Mission

to help people living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements in their lives which last and spread without ongoing support from Concern.

Concern works in partnership with the very poorest people directly enabling them to improve their lives, as well as using their knowledge and experience to influence decisions made at a local, national and international level that can significantly reduce extreme poverty

Concern’s Programs

Concern targets the poorest and most vulnerable communities with a significant focus on women and children.

Concern’s dual priorities in their overseas programs are emergency responses, which are time-bound attempts to address the consequences of crises, and development interventions, which aim to deliver sustainable solutions to extreme poverty.

In addressing the root causes of poverty, Concern’s programs are focused on five critical sectors:  Education; Health (nutrition, maternal and child health, water and sanitation); HIV&AIDS; Food Income and Markets (livelihoods) and; Emergencies.

Country Director (DRC) Role

A.    Job Purpose:

The Country Director has overall responsibility for strategic development and effective management of the Concern DRC country programme in line with Concern Worldwide’s organisational and country specific strategies, policies and procedures. S/he will chair the senior management team and represent the organisation with Government, donors and other International Organisations.

B.    Expected Outcomes:

1)    General Responsibilities:
  • Ensure the efficient and transparent use of all Concern’s resources in order to maximize the benefit to the targeted communities.
  • Promote and ensure compliance with the requirements of Concern’s Programme Participants Protection Policy and implementation of Humanitarian Accountability Partnership (HAP) standards including Community based complaint and response mechanisms to ensure maximum protection to programme beneficiaries.
  • Promote and protect the reputation of Concern in external settings, ensuring that the organization’s experience and expertise is well communicated and consistently presented, and that we are looked to as a professional organisation.
2)    Leadership: 
  • Lead in the finalisation of the country strategic plan (2012-2015) that contributes to achieving Concern’s global strategy and objectives
  • Provide leadership in the overall effective planning and direction of Concern’s programme and operations at country level.
  • Build a strong and committed team of national and international staff adhering to Concern policies and procedures and applying key principles of transparency, accountability, good stewardship and participation. 
  • Create and maintain shared vision, amongst all Concern DRC staff, of Concern’s programme goals and objectives and their role in achieving these. 
  • Lead and support in strengthening coordination and collaboration within teams and across all teams, maintain and ensure constructive communications, contribute to a positive working environment.
3)    Programme Development and Management: 
  • Oversee and lead the strategic development and implementation of programmes in line with Concern’s organisational and country strategic plan and following Concern’s PCM policy including proposal writing and sourcing funding. 
  • Ensure that effective monitoring and evaluation systems including a Results Based Framework are established and implemented in line with Concern policies and tools to measure impact and efficiency.
  • Ensure effective coordination of technical inputs (e.g. SAL advisors, regional advisors) in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating programmes. 
  • Regularly review funding opportunities according to in-country strategy, and maintain productive working relationships with donors and be responsible for undertaking country level negotiations related to securing funding, programming contracts, and reports. 
  • Manage the country programme effectively including allocation of resources and ensuring that appropriate monitoring and controls are maintained at all levels by working with programme and systems managers and staff. 
  • Provide adequate leadership and support to ACDP, Area and Programme Managers in setting up high quality standards and implementation of humanitarian, recovery and development orientated sector programmes ( Livelihoods, WASH and Emergency) as well as cross cutting themes including equality,  protection, prevention of GBV, DRR, HIV and AIDS, social protection etc. 
  • Ensure that all programmes are implemented and completed according to programme documents including agreed plans and budget. 
  • Maintain efective communication and liaise with Concern head office in Dublin and ensure that high standard internal and donor reports are produced and submitted in timely manner and in line with relevant targets and objectives.
4)    Human Resources Management:
  • Provide Line Management to the senior management team and be responsible for the overall management and development of national and international staff of Concern DRC.
  • Manage and support country programme team ensuring that there is clearly defined up-to-date structures and job descriptions for all staff. 
  • Ensure that a regular staff Performance and Development Review (PDR) system is established and maintained and that PDRs are undertaken seriously at all levels. 
  • Develop, review, and effectively implement all Human Resources related policies and procedures in accordance with Concern’s policies and procedures and in line with the national labour law of DRC. 
  • Work with CMT and programme managers to develop and implement sound staff development plans. 
  • Establish and maintain regular, participative and documented forums and meetings for all key staff to discuss policy, strategic, operational and management issues, coordinate planning and implementation of activities, and ensure information sharing. 
5)    Financial Management: 
  • Be responsible for overall financial management of Concern DRC including participatory budget preparation, revision and monitoring. 
  • Ensure that Concern’s organisational and country specific financial guidelines and procedures are adhered to.  
  • Ensure development and implementation of work and expenditure plans and ensure that programmes are implemented within agreed and approved budgets through undertaking regular budget monitoring of expenditure against budget. 
  • Ensure that internal and donor financial reports are submitted in a timely manner and up to high quality standard. 
6)    Policies and procedures: 
  • Ensure consistent implementation of Concern organisational and country specific policies and procedures.
  • Liaise with Concern head office and technical advisors over country specific policy development and make recommendations for organisational policy revisions as necessitated by field conditions. 
  • Ensure that all Concern DRC staff are familiar with policies and procedures and effectively implementing them. 
  • Ensure that support systems are in place and functioning in accordance with best practices in order to ensure transparency and accountability to programme participants, donors, government, and other relevant stakeholder. 
  • Be responsible for security and safety of Concern personnel and resources in DRC including participatory development, review and implementation of Country Security Management Plan. 
7)    Representation and Networking: 
  • Represent Concern DRC and maintain coordination and networking relationships with the government, donors and other national and international development actors in the country. 
  • Ensure that relationship and formal agreements with the government are maintained and updated as appropriate. 
  • Represent Concern at various national level coordination forums.
C.    Mandatory Competencies And Qualifications: 

Educational Requirements:
  • Third level qualification in Humanitarian Aid/ Development studies or related field.
  • Masters Degree in Humanitarian Aid/ Development studies or related field is desirable
Relevant Experience:
  • Minimum 5 years of senior management role in national or international agencies working in the development sector.
  • Minimum 3 years programme management in developing countries, including financial management, HR management, programme design, networking with donors, agencies and national authorities.
  • Experience in line management of both national and international staff with different skill sets.
  • Regional working experience in East and Central Africa is desirable
Language Requirements
  • Proficiency in spoken French and English.
  • Excellent English writing skills.
Other Requirements.
  • Excellent leadership - people management skills.
  • Strong vision on Concern’s mission and capacity to share it.
  • Patience and good tolerance for frustration.
  • Computer Skills : conversant with Microsoft Word and Excel.
  • Prepared  to work and live in challenging surroundings
D.    Terms And Conditions
  • The Country Director shall be based in Kinshasa, DRC, with regular travelling to Programme sites in Katanga and North Kivu Provinces.
  • The Country Director is recruited on a Three (3) year contract, Accompanied.  Concern provides accommodation, transportation and security for the CD.
  • The Remuneration is based on an internationally competitive and attractive salary scale.
E.    Application

Expressions of Interest with a full CV and supporting statement, highlighting your experience and skills against the requirements of the role should be submitted to Ms. Susan Waweru, Director, SRI Executive Search, Nairobi, Kenya.  Email:  swaweru@sri-executive.com

SRI Executive have been retained by Concern to manage both internal and external applications for this prestigious role.

The closing date for applications is 15 July 2012.