Country Director

Organizational context

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. It does so by investing in rural people. IFAD finances programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity and raise rural incomes, and  advocates at the local, national and international level for policies that contribute to rural transformation.

Post's organizational accountability

The Programme Management Department (PMD), under the leadership of an Associate Vice-President, is responsible for the overall programme of loans and grants of the Fund and is composed of five (5) regional divisions, a Programme Technical Advisory Division and an Environment and Climate Change Division.  Under the strategic management and policy guidance of a regional Division Director, the Country Director is responsible for management of assigned country programmes and corresponding offices(s) and the staff of the COs, both in-country and HQ-based according to the structure of the assigned country teams. 

The Country Director is accountable for the IFAD core values of integrity, transparency, and equity in the management of assigned IFAD programmes. The Country Director's accountabilities/key results also include advocacy for and enhancement of national government programmes that improve the access of poor rural people to natural resources; agricultural technologies; financial services; markets; employment opportunities and enterprise development. The Country Director additionally promotes capacity building of the rural poor in terms of the skills required for their participation in national and local policy and programming processes.

The key results expected comprise five broad thematic areas:

• Country Programme Strategy
• Country Programme Management
• Partnership Building
• Policy dialogue
• Knowledge management

Country Directors are overall supervised by the relevant Division Director and administratively supervised by the Head of the relevant Sub-regional Hub.

Key results expected / Major functional activities

1. COUNTRY STRATEGY MANAGEMENT: The Country Director leads strategic positioning and country strategy development. S/he is accountable for leading and managing the development and implementation of medium to longer-term strategies (COSOP) for IFAD’s collaboration with governments, other national stakeholders, development partners and the UN country team for agricultural development and rural poverty reduction following the principle of ownership, alignment and harmonization. This entails analysis of the dynamics of agricultural development and rural poverty reduction; development of relevant country-specific strategies; and the definition of IFAD’s value added in this context.

2. COUNTRY PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT: The Country Director manages IFAD programme and related IFAD-funded projects within the portfolio assigned by the Regional Division Director. S/he leads the design and supervision of the projects as well as loan and grant negotiations, all in accordance with IFAD’s applicable policies. The Country Director is accountable for analysing relevant information, assisting in the periodic monitoring and evaluation of results achieved and reporting on and dissemination of findings. S/He contributes effectively to the IFAD organizational change agenda, with reference to issues related to IFAD’s direct supervision and implementation support modalities.

3. INSTITUTIONAL REPRESENTATION AND PARTNERSHIP MANAGEMENT: The Country Director ensures IFAD presence at country-level. S/he contributes to catalyse effective partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders in agricultural development and rural poverty reduction, including government and non-governmental institutions, bilateral and multilateral financing institutions, civil society organizations, research centers and the private sector. Additionally, S/he enhances IFAD’s relationship and collaboration with in-country partners focusing on synergies and coordinated strategies with multilateral/bilateral donors and civil-society organizations involved in agricultural development and rural poverty reduction. S/he represents IFAD on the UN Country Team, acting as the primary point of contact to transmit IFAD's decisions, and provides support in the coordination of operational activities for development, and contributes to all international and national meetings/thematic groups meetings.

4. CONTRIBUTION TO POLICY LEADERSHIP: The Country Director contributes to corporate level strategy on core IFAD policy positions within the assigned portfolio, led by Regional Division Directors. S/he maintains and promotes constructive dialogue on the development of pro-poor agricultural development and rural poverty reduction policies and in enabling the rural poor to advocate for institutional transformation. S/he regularly participates in relevant policy meetings and events of interest to IFAD’s target groups and which involve the government, donors, and civil society, including NGOs, to render the policy dialogue agenda both credible and sustainable. S/he contributes to IFAD's policy intelligence with regular updates and information exchange on relevant policy discussions and ensure proper knowledge management in place. Policy dialogue focuses on seeking to link the realities on the ground and the voices of the poor with national policies and programmes.

5. OFFICE MANAGEMENT: The Country Director supports the Head of the relevant Sub- regional Hub/SSTC and Knowledge Centre in managing the utilization of the allocated resources. As such, s/he supports the management of human resources, contracting goods and services, and financial management. S/he also supports budget preparation, management, and monitoring of expenditures.

Impact of Key results / Key performance indicators

Country Directors at this level originate and manage new country-level projects or programmes in the country of assignment.  Going beyond established procedures or models, their substantive contributions reflect new approaches that materially expand the range of services or programmes delivered at the country-level. Programme design and development activities reflect authoritative technical capacity in performing the Country Director role. Externally the impact on the overall IFAD programme is significant in projecting the organization’s role/capacity as a reliable partner with a qualitative edge at the national level.

Assigned areas may include sub-regional clusters of countries or politically sensitive, high profile or highly complex countries as identified in the country classification matrix.

Representation / Work relationships

COMMUNICATIONS:

The Country Director serves as the IFAD spokesperson in the country concerned and, in carrying out this role and when required, draws on the advice and expertise of IFAD’s Communications Division (COM). S/He holds regular consultations with IFAD counterparts — line ministries and governmental bodies at all administrative levels, donors, civil society — to enhance the effectiveness and impact of IFAD operations. The Country Director also seeks to improve coordination among IFAD, the government and key development partners with a view primarily to ensuring synergy and a common approach to emerging agricultural development and rural poverty reduction strategies, policies and investment programmes.  S/He serves as IFAD’s liaison with project authorities and helps in addressing administrative and programme-related substantive issues, such as targeting and identifying needs for technical backstopping. The Country Director proactively works with project management to ensure compliance with IFAD policies and overall orientation towards the achievement of results and impact. As the senior expert on country programme formulation and delivery, the Country Director’s effectiveness as an advocate and trusted counterpart substantially affects IFAD’s image as a reliable and creative partner.

Within the parameters of a country programme operation, Country Directors at this level serve as senior technical leaders and focal points on country-level programme promotion. Combination of credible authoritative capacity with independent responsibility for originating specific programme initiatives creates opportunities for maintaining and expanding new client relationships. S/He contributes to resolving complex issues with governments and cooperating institutions. Representation at the highest levels of the government is delegated only within the context of established programmes and policy guidance of the Division Director.

Competencies

Organizational

• Strategic thinking and organizational development: Strategic leadership (Level 1)
• Demonstrating Leadership: Leads by example; initiates and supports change (Level 2)
• Learning, sharing knowledge and innovating: Challenges, innovates and contributes to a learning culture (Both: Level 2)
• Focusing on clients: Contributes to a client-focused culture (Level 2)
• Problem solving and decision making: Solves complex problems and makes decisions that have wider corporate impact (Level 2)
• Managing time, resources and information: Coordinates wider use of time, information and/or resources (Level 2)
• Team Work: Fosters a cohesive team environment (Level 2)
• Communicating and negotiating: Acquires and uses a wide range of communication styles and skills (Level 2)
• Building relationships and partnerships: Builds and maintains strategic partnerships internally and externally (Level 2)
• Managing performance and developing staff: Manages staff and teams effectively (Level 1)

Technical

• Senior expert in programme development and management as well as specific expertise in rural project management and market development.
• Extensive field experience related to agricultural and rural development.
• Excellent knowledge of policy oriented, programme based pro-poor approaches and loan and grant preparation.
• Capacity to communicate fluently with different counterparts (civil society, government authorities, local communities, project staff) to align parties and build networks.
• Ability to represent IFAD as a trusted and reliable partner.
• Communicates verbally and in writing clearly, succinctly and convincingly; listens and communicates effectively to engage others.
• Demonstrated analytical skills in order to identify systemic issues and derive viable, sustainable solutions.

Minimum recruitment qualifications

Education:

• Advanced university degree from an accredited institution in rural development, agriculture, economics, rural finance, development policy or other job related fields.

Experience:

• Eight (8) years of progressively responsible international experience in international organizations, rural development/financial institutions or government services in the area of implementation and supervision of agricultural development or rural development programmes, of which at least 2 years experience working in an international organization.
• Experience must include project design, development, implementation and evaluation.
• Work in more than one geographic region as well as at Headquarters is an asset.

Language:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. Working knowledge of another official language (Arabic, French, or Spanish) is desirable.

Other information

Applicants should note that IFAD staff members are international civil servants subject to the authority of the President of IFAD. In accordance with IFAD's Human Resources Policy, staff members are subject to the authority of the President who can decide to assign them to any of the activities of the Fund. All International Professional staff members are required to be geographically mobile and positions in the professional category are subject to changes in location at any time in line with strategic priorities and reform initiatives in IFAD.    

In the interest of making most cost effective use of funds and resources, we are only able to respond to applicants who are short-listed for interview. Candidates who do not receive any feedback within three months should consider their application unsuccessful

Candidates may be required to take a written test and to deliver a presentation as well as participate in interviews.