Country Director

Job Specification

Action Against Hunger is a global leader in the fight against hunger. For 40 years, across nearly 50 countries, we have led the global fight. We save the lives of children and their families. We are there for them before and after disaster strikes. We enable people to provide for themselves, see their children grow up strong, and for whole communities to prosper. We constantly search for more effective solutions, while sharing our knowledge and expertise with the world. We push for long-term change. We will never give up. Until the world is free from hunger.

We are currently seeking for a solid and transformational leader to be our Country Director in Ethiopia.  Specifically, we are seeking for a leader with robust programmatic and operational experience in complex and constantly evolving settings. The Country Director position will be responsible to execute a country growth strategy that will ensure our continuous relevance and impact of Action Against Hunger in Ethiopia.

Candidates need to show relevant experience of have manageddiverse program portfolios, increased significantly diverse funding portfolios, and have proven records of external engagement with a variety of stakeholders including local and national government entities as well as local and international organizations.

Summary

The Country Director (CD) leads the continuous strategic development and ensures growth of the Country Program. The CD integrates program and operational structure into a coherent country office. The CD represents Action Against Hunger at country level and with donors and is responsible for building the Action Against Hunger brand and reputation at country level.

Purpose

The role of the Country Director is to lead development and emergency programs at national level in addition to plan the integration of sectoral initiatives into coherent programs for development consistent with the country office priorities and growth needs.

Engagement

Develop relationships with, consult and represent Action Against Hunger to donors, local and national government authorities, organizational partners and collaborators, other INGOs and the local community with that aim of creating a positive profile for the organization within the country.

The Country Director will liaise with the Action Against Hunger country, regional, HQ and network staff on strategy, programming opportunities partnerships in addition to compliance matters.

Delivery\t

Create an effective platform for delivery of development services by aligning internal capacities with national development priorities and Action Against Hunger strategic plans, build effective networks of collaboration to position Action Against Hunger as a critical partner.

Essential job roles

\u00b7 Provide vision and direction in the development of a country strategy that integrates programmatic and operational aspects of the country programs; ensure continued relevance with national context and alignment with and contribution to regional and global Action Against Hunger objectives.

\u00b7 Guide program strategic development to take advantage of emergent opportunities and areas of work and consolidate strategic insight from regional and country level expertise

\u00b7 Develop and establish policies and systems in collaboration with the Action Against Hunger Senior Leadership Team at country level that are fully compliant with Action Against Hunger USA policy as well as with national/local legislation

\u00b7 Expand program funding through engagement with donors ensuring continuous flow of resources to support country program growth

\u00b7 Facilitate the technical development and growth of programmatic and operational functions of the country program through championing programmatic and operational country needs to regional and global levels of Action Against Hunger USA

\u00b7 Represent Action Against Hunger USA to national governments, bilateral/multilateral institutions and in NGO networks to build and uphold the Action Against Hunger brand and reputation as a reliable partner in the delivery of programs and as a key voice in nutrition sensitive programming

\u00b7 Responsible for creating and maintaining a positive and conducive working environment amongst all staff at country level to ensure a healthy and effective organizational culture which:

Supervisory Responsibilities

The Country Director will directly line manage the Programme Director, Operations Director, Head of HR and Head of Finance and other roles as per organogram.  

Gender Equality Commitments & zero Tolerance to Abuse

\u00b7 Foster an environment that reinforces values of women and men, and equal access to information.

\u00b7 Provide a work environment where women and men must be evaluated and promoted based on their skills and performance.

\u00b7 Promote a safe, secure, and respectful environment for all stakeholders, particularly for children, beneficiaries, and members of staff.

\u00b7 Help to prevent any type of abuse including workplace harassment and sexual abuse and exploitation.

\u00b7 Respect beneficiaries\u2019 women, men, children (boys and girls) regardless of gender, sex orientation, disability, religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin, age, or marital status.

\u00b7 Value and respect all cultures.

Fiscal Responsibility

 The position will be the overall budget holder for Ethiopia country office and will also be responsible for reporting to Action Against Hunger, the host government authorities on annual audits & other statutory obligations.

Physical Demands

\u00b7 While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to sit for long periods and to concentrate on work, including typing, and turn out heavy volumes of work accurately, within short time frames under stressful situations in the context of a moderately noisy office with many interruptions. Must be able to proofread own work accurately so that only minor corrections are needed on an infrequent basis.

\u00b7 The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Working Conditions, Travel and Environment

 The duties of the job require regular job attendance at least five days per week. Must be available to work outside normal office hours or on the weekends as required.

 Must be able to travel as required for standard domestic and international business purposes. While performing the duties of this job in the field, the employee may be exposed to precarious settings under high security risks and/or very basic living conditions and outside weather conditions, as well as to infectious diseases. 

Requirements

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

\u00b7 At least 10 years of senior management experience.

\u00b7 Minimum 10 years of working in humanitarian and development contexts, preferably with experience in complex settings in Africa.

\u00b7 Effective negotiator, with the ability to influence cross departmental and cross sector working.

\u00b7 Proven analytical skills and ability to think strategically, including the ability to think beyond the country program context.

\u00b7 Excellent written and verbal communication skills to motivate and influence.

\u00b7 Fluent in English (professional English needed)

\u00b7 Results driven and demonstrable ability to set and communicate goals and ensure effective and appropriate decision making and problem solving.

\u00b7 Ability to organize, mentor, engage and motivate a multicultural team.

\u00b7 Strong emotional intelligence.

\u00b7 Disciplined and able to work and arrive at decisions autonomously with minimal guidance.

REQUIRED SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

\u00b7 Experience of fund raising from diverse donor institutions, especially USAID, DFID, EU.

\u00b7 Advanced knowledge of donor guidelines and procedures (USAID, ECHO, EU, UNICEF, BPRM, WFP, DFID, GAC, SIDA, GFFO etc.).

\u00b7 High level financial management skills to steer the operational budget.

\u00b7 Sound understanding of strategic human resource management principles, strategies and approaches.

\u00b7 Understanding of managing security and risk within an INGO context.

\u00b7 Good level of IT literacy and an understanding of how new developments in technology can positively contribute to the aims of an INGO.

\u00b7 Ability to manage the development of, and contribute to, the high-level analysis of the underlining factors of chronic under nutrition including socio-cultural factors.

Benefits

Action Against Hunger-USA provides all staff with an attractive salary & benefits package. We provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees & qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, age, handicap, disability, marital status, or status as a veteran. Action Against Hunger-USA complies with all applicable laws governing nondiscrimination in employment.

Application Process.

Interested? Then apply for this position by clicking on the apply button. All applicants must upload a cover letter and an updated resume and both must be in the same language as this vacancy note. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Application Close date is March 15,2024