Country Director, April 2024

Country Director

South Sudan

Danish Refugee Council is a leading protection agency pursuing our mandate to protect and promote durable solutions to displacement-affected populations based on humanitarian principles.

In the East Africa and the Great Lakes, DRC applies a regional approach with operational presence in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Danish Refugee Council (DRC) in conjunction with Danish Demining Group (DDG) has been operating in South Sudan since 2005 initially concentrating on providing safe and supportive conditions for refugees returning from neighboring countries after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed.

Overall purpose of the role:

The Country Director plays a strong leadership role in DRC’s comprehensive and solutions-based approach to displacement through a high level of strategic leadership, innovation, and effective advocacy. The Country Director is ultimately accountable in country for all aspects of DRC’s work, leading the consolidation and at the same time development of the programme, continuing the process of developing solid impact measurement mechanisms, strengthening accountability initiatives, and ensuring that the financial management and organizational setup is adapted to the operational context. The Country Director sets direction, leads, maintains team morale, safety, and welfare, and manages resources. The Country Director delegates specific duties as necessary, while maintaining oversight and accountability.

Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

Representation

Represent the programme to authorities, donors, partners, and in various co-ordination fora;
Strengthen DRC’s position nationally and regionally;
Ensure that DRC maintains excellent and productive relations with all key stakeholders, especially beneficiaries, local authorities, the humanitarian community and donors.
Direct managerial oversight and support
Ensure that the senior management team members have clear and realistic performance based management goals;
Overall management of the operation and direct manager for senior staff members;
Ensure that the senior management team is effective, mutually supporting and sufficiently involved in decision making;

Fundraising and Advocacy

Ensure the country operation has an actionable and living fundraising strategy that leverages DRC’s strategy and strengths to play an meaningful role in Somalia that is grounded in reality of the funding environment;
Together with the Head of Programme, lead the team in writing concept papers, project proposals and budgets in line with the approved country strategy;
Lead on advocacy for all DRC key messages;

Safety

Accountable for ensuring that the programme is delivered in a safe and secure manner;
Provide overall accountability for security, including development of and ensuring adherence to security procedures, monitoring of the security situation, analysing and provision of recommendations;

Support Services

Together with the Head of Support Services, provide overall budget monitoring, financial management and expenses control including compliance with minimum DRC and donor requirements and ensuring that necessary systems are in place;
Manage the resources allocated effectively and transparently by respecting and meeting all legal requirements in country;
Provide leadership support to staff and promote best practices in human resources management;
Ensure coaching and counselling advice to staff when necessary and lead initiatives to develop staff capacity;

Programme development

Together with the Head of Programme, lead the development and update of the programme strategy, within DRC’s overall regional and global strategic frameworks;

Accountability and Quality

Ensure that DRC standard regulations and operational procedures (Code of Conduct, DRC Management handbooks, CHS standards, etc.) are followed;
Continuously monitor and develop relevant accountability initiatives in the field as well as strengthening the effort to document the impact of activities and our presence.

About you

To be successful in this role we expect you possess the following:

Minimum seven years’ management experience in emergency/development contexts as country director/senior manager of a humanitarian or development organization or similar
Experience representing a large and leading organization to donors, external partners and authorities;
Experience with networking, advocacy and coordination;
Experience in managing staff in insecure/stressful locations;
Experience with conflict related displacement issues;
Experience of managing budgets and multiple donor contracts;
Experience in donor contact, fundraising and networking;
Experience working in the East Africa and/or Horn of Africa (preferred);
Experience and proven leadership skills and a competence in people management;
Proven communicator with all types of stakeholders; and
Proven commitment to accountable practices and knowledge of quality assurance systems

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:

Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.

Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.

Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.

Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.

Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer

Contract length: 2 Years Contract with the possibility of extension, subject to funding and performance.

Band: D Management

Duty Station: Juba, South Sudan

Designation of Duty Station: Unaccompanied, Non-Family Duty Station
Reporting Line: Operations Director EAGL

Availability: 15 June 2024.

Salary and conditions will be in accordance with Danish Refugee Council’s Terms of Employment for Expatriates; please refer to drc.ngo under Vacancies.

Application process

All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English. Applications sent by email will not be considered.

Closing date for applications: 21 April 2024

More Information

Job City Juba

Danish Refugee Council Juba

Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

The Danish Refugee Council is currently implementing a broad range of activities relevant to conflict affected communities and persons. The activities are categorized in ten sectors:

Shelter and Non-food Items, Food Security, Protection, Income Generation, Coordination & Operational Services, Community Infrastructure & Services, Humanitarian Mine Action, Armed Violence Reduction (AVR), Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH), and Education.

Here you can read some short exemplifications of what types of activities the respective sectors include:

Shelter and Non-food Items: Provision of emergency shelter, emergency cash grants, rehabilitation of housing, distribution of non-food items (NFIs) and provision of return and repatriation kits.

Food Security: Emergency food provision or food voucher programmes. Training and capacity development in agriculture, agricultural inputs (e.g. tools and seeds), agricultural grants.

Protection: Advocacy for the rights of displaced people in their context of displacement, child protection initiatives, individual protection assistance based on vulnerability, legal aid, land & property rights, sexual and gender-based violence prevention, registration services for the internally displaced and refugees, monitoring of rights and rights awareness-raising, facilitation of return and repatriation processes.

Income Generation: Business training and SME development, business grants, life-skills training, literacy and numeracy training, vocational training, micro-credit loans, savings groups, group enterprise development and facilitation.

Coordination & Operational Services: Coordination and management of refugee and IDP camps, active participation in UN cluster coordination, humanitarian surveys and studies, facilitation of NGO Networks focused on displacement solutions, capacity development, training and support to local NGOs, secondment of experts to UN emergency operations worldwide

Community Infrastructure & Services: Provision of physical infrastructure like roads, bridges, community centres, irrigation systems or other community structures, facilitation and training of infrastructure management groups at community level, facilitation and funding of community development plans, initiatives for disaster risk reduction at community level.

Humanitarian Mine Action: Manual or mechanical mine clearance, clearance of former battle areas, education for affected communities – with special focus on children on how to avoid harm from mines and UXO, surveys of expected and confirmed mined or UXO areas, explosive ordnance disposal and stockpile destruction, capacity building of national demining institutions.

Armed Violence Reduction (AVR): Education in procedures for safe storage and safe handling of small arms and light weapons (SALW), capacity building of institutions for safety, local and community level conflict management and mitigation.

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH): Emergency water supply, hygiene item distribution, hygiene information and education, construction of latrines, installation water points, wells and water storage. Water purification.

Education: Education grants and fee support, school feeding programmes, teacher training and support, school materials provision and construction or rehabilitation of school structures.

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