Organisation Background
Founded in 2011, the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO) is an international charity that supports the safety of aid workers by establishing safety coordination platforms in insecure contexts. INSO provides registered NGOs with a range of free services including real-time incident tracking, analytical reports, safety related data and mapping, crisis management support, staff orientations and training.
INSO services help NGOs with their day-to-day risk management responsibilities and improve their overall situational awareness to support evidence-based humanitarian access decisions.
The organisation has grown from innovative start-up to become a globally recognised charity and a valuable component of the humanitarian safety coordination system.
Today the organisation provides daily support to more than 1000 beneficiary organisations (NGOs) in some of the world’s most insecure environments and has earned a strong reputation for performance, principles & professionalism.
INSO Mali
Since 2013, Mali has witnessed a return to intensive armed conflicts and violent criminality which have spread towards Central and more recently also to Southern parts of Mali, nowadays also impacting Burkina Faso and Niger. An estimated 6.80 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Mali alone, amid a legacy of unresolved peace accords, proliferation of organised armed groups, eruption of militia-led inter-community conflicts, eroded social cohesion, displacement and political tensions which resulted in August 2020 coup d’état.
INSO Mali was established in 2013 and supports more than 150 partner NGOs, among them both international and local organisations. From coordination offices in Bamako, Gao, Mopti, and small field offices in Tombouctou, Menaka, Kidal and Segou, our Mali team supports humanitarian programming countrywide thanks to funding contributions from USAID-BHA, DG ECHO and SDC. A new co-funding from FCDO is also in the course of preparation.
In 2018, INSO opened a new NGO safety platform in Burkina Faso. To enable a quick start and to generate regional analytical capability, INSO’s platform in Burkina Faso was initially integrated under a joint programme management team with INSO Mali. Due to the concurrent growth of both platforms, and for conformity with INSO’s standard country office model, the joint Mali-Burkina Faso programme will be transitioned to two autonomous country offices in the first quarter of 2021.
Our strategic objective for 2021 includes building upon the strengths of three separate country offices in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, to maintain strategic regional outlook and develop a more effective outreach to partners.
A vacancy has arisen for an experienced professional to lead the Malian programme into the next stage of its development as our Country Director. The Country Director will be based in Bamako with travel to INSO field sites and partner field locations as required. The position reports to the Regional Director for West Africa at the headquarters, and liaises frequently with other headquarters staff (financial controller, chief analyst, other leads of technical departments) and other country directors in West Africa region (Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon).
Job Summary
The Mali Country Director is responsible for leading and managing a programme of over 110 staff and field monitors to deliver high quality information, analysis and advisory services that enable the NGO community to plan, manage and deliver aid and assistance more safely. The role requires an accomplished programme director with experience and keen interest in conflict analysis and high-profile external representation.
The successful candidate will possess solid programme and human resources management skills and will be a natural and confident communicator, consensus-builder and networker. They will combine keen intellect and analytical skills with pragmatism, patience and a good sense of humour and will enjoy the challenge of translating strategic concepts into workable practices in difficult environments. The successful candidate will be fluent in both French and English, and comfortable in drafting analytical reports in both languages.
Key Responsibilities
Programme Leadership and Management
* Provide engaged, effective leadership across the programme, ensuring that INSO Mali performs well across all functions – programme delivery, finance, operations, HR – and in compliance with INSO SOPs.
* In the first quarter 2021, work closely with the Regional Director, and Country Director Burkina Faso on the separation of Mali and Burkinabe platforms into two autonomous and distinct programmes.
* Steward INSO resources effectively and transparently in full compliance with internal and donor policy.
* Develop and deliver annual programme planning, aligning programme development strategy with realistic assumptions of future funding. Ensure all activities and grants are managed in compliance with the annual plan, and if required, initiate a revision (usually at least once a year).
* Manage INSO Mali donor relations and produce high-quality, compelling donor proposals and progress reports that underscore INSO Mali’s impact. Most of INSO donor reports are delivered in English.
* Line manage a Deputy Director (Programme), a Finance Manager and an Operations Manager (Support).
* Ensure that INSO Mali recruits and retains high-calibre staff and orients them to the INSO mandate.
* Promote and exemplify a culture of openness, collaboration and cohesion across the organisation.
* Uphold rigorous risk management standards, not least as it affects the welfare and wellbeing of staff.
Service Delivery
* Develop and maintain a sophisticated personal understanding of the Mali context and the prevailing challenges to humanitarian safety and access.
* Supervise all INSO Mali service delivery, ensuring that programme targets are met, quality is maintained and that services remain relevant and responsive to the evolving context and needs of NGO partners.
* Deliver strategic analysis to senior humanitarian leadership, including through monthly directors’ briefings, quarterly analytical reports and as needed on request.
* Lead crisis management support to individual NGO partners or the NGO community at large during critical incidents.
* Identify and support programme synergies and regional approaches among INSO platforms in central Sahel (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) and on the wider INSO West Africa team (incl. Nigeria and Cameroon).
External Representation
* Effectively represent and protect INSO’s principles of independence, impartiality and neutrality and actively promote INSO as an integral member of the humanitarian community.
* Represent INSO towards senior humanitarian leadership, on a bilateral basis and in relevant coordination fora, utilising INSO’s expert understanding of the context to promote more informed, more effective decision making on issues affecting humanitarian access and safety.
* Engage with third parties, including local government, the UN, diplomatic missions and the military forces.
Mandatory Requirements
* Ability to handle competing deadlines and to balance daily management priorities with conflict monitoring, strategic development of the project and representation of the organisation towards employees and partners
* Mature leadership and staff management experience in a diverse multi-cultural setting.
* Proven writing, editing, and analytical skills and a keen eye for detail – the position entails substantial report editing and reviewing.
* Exemplary command of English and French – ability to provide analytical reports and briefings in both languages
* Graduate level education in a relevant field.
* Significant experience in insecure/conflict-affected environments with progressive seniority and at least one year at senior management level.
* Acceptance and strong understanding of humanitarian principles.
* Demonstrable understanding of humanitarian safety practices and their application.
* Excellent networking, diplomatic, and representative communication skills.
* Outgoing and confident personality.
Preferred Characteristics
* A year’s (recent) experience working in Mali and demonstrable understanding of the central Sahel humanitarian context.
* Experience in staff capacity development and training.
* Experience with NGO project management, including donor reporting and relations.
* First-hand experience of crisis management.
* Prior experience in a high-profile inter-agency role.
* Existing information networks and/or local language skills (including Arabic).
* Detailed understanding of INSO mandate & services.
Key Personal Competencies
* A good listener
* An effective communicator
* Excellent analyst
* Team player
* Excellent interpersonal skills
* A people manager
INSO’s Safeguarding Policy
INSO is fully committed to safe recruitment, selection and vetting of all potential new staff, trustees and volunteers and we will ensure rigorous compliance with our Code of Conduct and Safeguarding policy throughout the recruitment process. As such, the following safe recruitment practices will be applied:
* All offers of employment will be conditional on receiving at least two satisfactory professional references.
* INSO will ask candidates about significant gaps in employment history or frequent changes of employer and address.
* All essential qualifications and relevant professional accreditations and memberships will be verified.
* The successful candidate will be required to provide a valid proof of identity (passport, ID card).
* All new hires will receive an orientation in INSO’s safeguarding policy and procedures and associated documents (Code of Conduct, Whistleblowing etc.).
* All new hires will be required to sign and abide by the Code of Conduct as a condition of employment.
Terms & Conditions:
12-month contract with expected start date of 15 January 2021, €5,500 per month salary, 4 calendar days annual leave per month and 7 days of R&R every 3 months with a €1250 allowance per R&R cycle, housing allowance, global medical coverage and USD $200,000 AD&D coverage.
How to apply
Interested applicants are requested to send the following to [email protected] and reference “CD Mali” in the subject line of the email:
* Cover letter specifying how you meet the mandatory requirements, your motivation in applying and what you hope to bring to INSO (1-page maximum).
* Up to date CV (5-page maximum).
* One relevant and substantive writing sample in French, which demonstrates your analytical and reporting abilities (10 page maximum).
Please do not send any additional information (such as copies of certificates, copies of diplomas, other writing samples, etc.) and keep the total size of your application under 2MB if possible.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
More Information
- Job City Bamako
