Country Director

Background:

DRC has been providing relief and development services in the Horn of Africa since 1997. Using a human rights framework, the DRC East Africa and Great Lakes (EAGL) operation focuses mainly on people who are affected by displacement, including refugees, internally displaced, and migrants in Burundi, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The EAGL Regional office also supports non-operational initiatives, focusing on mixed migration issues, civil society engagement, and advocacy and policy initiatives related to displacement.

DRC is a leading protection agency and has been operating in South Sudan since 2005 in conjunction with our specialist unit, the Danish Demining Group (DDG). Our mandate is to promote and protect durable solutions to conflict and displacement affected populations on the basis of humanitarian principles and human rights. DRC is implementing a multi-sector response to support Sudanese refugees, IDPs and host populations both within established camps and in surrounding counties – with projects and activities being tailored according to needs and gaps in the local contexts. DRC-DDG main sectors are: CCCM, Protection, SGBV, Livelihood, Shelter-NFI and Infrastructure, Demining and Armed Violence Reduction. The DDG specialist unit supports DRC activities in these locations with Mine Action and Armed Violence Reduction activities, as well provides a roving country wide capacity. DRC has operational bases in Maban, Malakal, Aburoc, Fashoda, Bentiu, Mayom, Kotch, Leer and Jamjang areas, as well as roving country wide capacity with five protection led multi-sectorial mobile teams. The overall operation is supported by a country-office in Juba. Total annual turnover is approximately 20 million USD with 55 expatriate staff members and 450 national staff.

Overall purpose of the role:

The CD’s prime objectives will be to provide leadership and strategic management with a view to position DRC as the leading INGO in South Sudan on protection of displaced populations and the promotion of durable solutions, oversee the strengthening of DRC’s programme development, quality and accountability framework and be a proactive partner in the wider regional strategic and programme development processes.

Responsibilities:

Direct managerial oversight and support: Ensure that the SMT and PMs have clear and realistic performance based management goals.

Tasks include:

• Direct line management of SMT, Consortium Managers, and country wide programme support team;
• Support PMs to establish good management support for their teams;
• Provide on-going support and coaching, and ensure that staff has the necessary capacity to fulfil their responsibilities.

Programme Strategy: To develop and update the South Sudan programme strategies and linkages with South Sudanese hosting countries within DRC/DDG’s overall regional and global strategic frameworks.

Tasks include:

• Keeping abreast key conflict and displacement trends in the region impacting the country;
• Identifying key developments and trends in refugee response in countries and position the organisation to best deal with these
• Ensure that the key regional and global frameworks are contextualised and applied in the country program context and ensure that staff understand these,
• Leading a consultative process for local strategy development,
• Leading the South Sudan annual programme portfolio analyses and review process
• Playing a key role in fundraising and donor contract management.

Quality and Accountability: To be responsible for ensuring that programmes comply with the organisational quality and accountability commitments.

Tasks include:

• Ensure that the Operations and Programme Handbooks are utilized throughout all offices,
• Lead process of developing and updating the local Humanitarian Accountability Framework and Quality Management System,
• Promote accountability concepts and practices.

Safety and Security: To hold overall responsibility for ensuring that South Sudan programmes are delivered in a safe and secure manner.

Tasks include:

• Working with DRC’s Regional Security Advisor and South Sudan safety specialists to ensure that all EAGL security management protocols and procedures are updated, made locally relevant and applied consistently,
• To be overall responsible for ensuring security analyses is being done collectively and regularly,
• Ensuring compliance with risk mitigation against corruption, fraud and diversion.

Representation, Coordination and Stakeholder management: To ensure that DRC/DDG maintains excellent and productive relations with all key stakeholders, especially beneficiaries, local authorities, the humanitarian community and donors.

Tasks include:

• Representing DRC/DDG at relevant and senior forums/ meetings,
• Ensuring other staff are appropriately representing DRC/DDG at relevant forums/ meetings,
• Maintaining agreed profile of DRC/DDG at country level,
• Conducting regular stakeholder analyses to ensure that DRC/DDG has good understanding of dynamics/ relationships,
• Engaging in, and where effective, leading coordination processes amongst key stakeholders.

Advocacy and communication: To lead the South Sudan advocacy in all DRC/DDG key messages.

Tasks include:

• With Regional Office to prepare and implement an advocacy and communication strategy,
• Guiding staff to advocate clearly, appropriately and strategically.

Financial accountability: Ensure that the different programmes deliver financial accountability. Tasks include:

• Playing an active and coordinating role in linking finance teams with the Regional finance teams, and financial management itself,
• Ensuring that financial systems are followed by FOs and that financial reports submitted are accurate, Ensuring the finance and programme teams have a productive engagement.

Experience and technical competencies

• At least 8 years’ management experience, as head or senior member of humanitarian or development programme/organisation; at least four years in East Africa region
• Demonstrated experienced with conflict related displacement issues
• Good communicator and proven diplomacy with all types of stakeholders
• Proven commitment to accountable practices and knowledgeable of quality assurance systems
• Hands on experience in managing staff in insecure and remote locations with strong human resource management skills in general.
• Experience of managing budgets and multiple donor contracts Demonstrated experience in donor contact, fundraising and networking
• Fluency in English (speaking, writing, reading) is essential 

Unit/department: Management

Location: Juba with frequent travel to field locations

Authorization level: As per IDRA

Employment category: D

Reporting to: Regional Director, East Africa and Great Lakes Direct reports: HoP, DDG HoP, HOSS, Safety Coordinator