This position is no longer open for applications

ABOUT THE JOB 

General objectives

The Country Director is Solidarités International’s official representative in a country. He / She oversees the smooth running of the mission. He / She proposes mission strategy, according to the geopolitical and humanitarian context, and ensures its implementation once it has been validated. He / She monitors projects, ensuring that they are progressing in accordance with the Solidarités International charter and complying with internal and contractual procedures. He / She mobilizes the material and financial resources necessary for the programs to run effectively and supervises the administration of these resources. He / She coordinates the teams in place and ensures their security on the mission. He / She is the direct liaison for Solidarités International’s HQ.

Main responsibilities and priorities

Representation of the Organization and Coordination with other actors:

• Local and National Authorities to secure principled humanitarian access and build acceptance at provincial and district level
• Donors to strengthen existing relations and further develop SI’s profile and promote SI’s strategy and programs for scale-up and future funding
• UN agencies and clusters to enhance sectorial and geographical coordination, while increasing the level of funding coming from the UN agencies.
• INGOs and NGO, especially via ACBAR (Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief & Development) to ensure humanitarian coordination and develop bilateral cooperation.

Security and humanitarian access:

• Follow the evolution of the national and provincial security context.
• Serve as main focal point for the mission for critical incidents.
• Liaise with security national authorities and other stakeholders (INGOs, INSO, NGO Forum, UN).
• Brief new staff on security context of the country and the mission.
• Update the security package accordingly and ensure compliance with security and safety regulations.
• Pursue the implementation of SI’s Access strategy to ensure principled delivery of principled humanitarian assistance.
• Train and mentor employees involved in Security, Access, and Liaison (Field Co, Field co Assistant, DCD and Liaison and Access Manager).

Strategic orientation:

• With the support of the Program Coordinator, design and launch assessments to enhance SI’s understanding of its areas of operations.
• Based on assessments, update the strategy of the mission in terms of geographical coverage and sectors of intervention.
• Ensure that all departments align with this strategy and kick-off the development of departmental strategies (HR, logistics, finance, admin, MEAL, etc.) to allow implementation of the organizational strategy.
• Realign this strategy based on the level of funding available, with a possible scale-up in 2023.

Proposal developments and fundraising:

• Engage actively with potential donors at country-level.
• Remain up to date with regards to fundraising opportunities and decide, with the support of the Desk and the Program Coordinator, whether SI shall apply or not.
• Develop partnership opportunities with other actors.
• Lead the proposal development process, engaging with Prog Coordinator, Admin Coordinator, Log Coordinator and Field Coordinators.
• Ensure timely and quality submissions to maximize the chances of funding.

Financial Management

• Support the planning of project budgets, in collaboration with relevant coordinators and managers.
• Manage the spending within the program in-line with the approved budgets. Analyze projected cash flow, decide on the timing of major procurements, oversee audits, and anticipate where over or under spending may occur and ensure necessary action is taken.
• Ensure sufficient and appropriate controls are in place to prevent fraud and that relevant staff receive the required information and training to minimize the risk of occurrence within the country program.

Staff Management

• Oversee all HR related issues within the organization including job descriptions, recruitment, performance management, development and training, health and safety, team structures, capability disciplinary action, etc. in collaboration with the relevant staff and managers.
• Ensure a positive team spirit within the organization, holding regular coordination meetings and all-staff meetings. Remind guiding principles, including SI’s ethical framework, within the organization to ensure positive interactions guided by SI’s humanitarian mandate.
• Monitor the performance of his / her team directly managed.

Compliance with local regulations:

• Regular report to authorities, following NGO law and NGO guidance.
• Ensure compliance with Tax Law and Labor Law, as well as any other regulations applying to NGOs.

Coordination within the mission

• Lead the coordination between coordination departments and bases through regular meetings with coordinators.
• Lead weekly Senior Management Team Meeting.
• Ensure that mission monitoring tools are updated and shared on regular basis.
• Keep an overview of the gaps and needs in multiple locations and departments.

Coordination with HQ

• Ensure that desk is informed of the situation of the mission through regular updates and sharing of the monitoring tools as well as regular calls with desk manager.
• Request approvals from HQ on decision requiring decision above his / her level.

Main priorities for the first three months

• Lead the scale-up of the mission, in compliance with SI’s current policies and practices.
• Lead the opening of the field office in the South-West to cover Farah and Nimroz provinces.
• Kick-off SI’s new projects in a timely and quality manner.
• Pursue engagement with potential donors or donors that have recently decided to fund SI.
• Engage with authorities to ensure principled access for the implementation of SI’s new projects.
• Manage the financial risk of the mission (if any) in coordination with the Desk.
• Oversee the roll-out of SI’s new policies and tools (Cash, HR, Link for Logistics, digitalization, etc.).