Country Director- Sudan

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Sudan is facing one of the most complex and devastating humanitarian crises in the world today and has remained at the top of IRC’s watchlist for two consecutive years. Since the outbreak of war in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the country has spiraled into relentless violence, institutional collapse, and mass displacement. Despite multiple ceasefire announcements, violence has continued for nearly two and a half years, displacing over 12 million people across all 18 states.

The crisis has devastated health services nationwide with over 70% of health facilities are non-functional or overwhelmed, and 30.4 million people now require humanitarian assistance. Around 25 million people face acute food insecurity, including 770,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Damage to health infrastructure, supply shortages, and restricted humanitarian access continue to severely hinder the response.

In response to increasing needs, the IRC has scaled up its humanitarian efforts despite immense challenges. We are supporting Sudanese communities, both within the country and across national borders and now seeking a senior-level Country Director to lead this operation.

Scope of Work
The Country Director (CD) is responsible for the overall leadership and management of IRC staff, programming, operations, and relationships in Sudan. This includes ensuring program quality and accountability, acquiring and managing resources, promoting staff well-being, and overseeing safety and security. The Country Director is also responsible for performance management and representing IRC externally. The CD will have proven ability to oversee programs with a portfolio exceeding USD 40 million, involving diverse implementation modalities (direct and partner-based), remote and in-person operational management, and activities spanning multiple geographic regions with varying power dynamics and access constraints.

As IRC's principal representative for the Sudan program, the Country Director engages with government authorities, donors, international organizations, civil society, other NGOs, and the media. They are expected to oversee and manage a portfolio of responsive and effective humanitarian, recovery, and development programs, both direct and in collaboration with partner organizations.

The Country Director will lead the country program staff in achieving the goals outlined in IRC’s strategy for Sudan, bringing the team together to deliver high-quality, cost-effective programming results while maintaining high levels of accountability.

Major Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Representation
• Provide visionary leadership to shape and execute strategies that deliver high-impact, client-centered programs aligned with IRC’s global mission and Sudan’s evolving humanitarian context.
• Serve as IRC’s principal representative in Sudan, articulating the organization’s vision and priorities at national, regional, and global platforms—including donor briefings, inter-agency coordination bodies, and high-level policy forums.
• Lead the development and delivery of a country strategy aligned with IRC’s Strategy100 and Sudan’s evolving context while providing strategic leadership to develop and implement high-quality programs that meet client needs.
• Forge and sustain strategic partnerships with national NGOs, civil society actors, and community-based organizations to enhance program reach, local ownership, and sustainability.
• Lead IRC’s engagement in humanitarian coordination mechanisms, proactively shaping collective responses and advocating for principled, needs-based action.
• Maintain constructive relationships with government counterparts to facilitate operational continuity, including timely registration renewals, access permissions, and policy dialogue.
• Cultivate a culture of collaboration, inclusivity, and accountability across the country team, fostering high staff morale and enabling peak performance.
• Lead IRC-hosted events and strategic dialogues in-country, positioning IRC as a thought leader and convener on critical humanitarian and development issues.
• Represent IRC to diverse audiences—including media, diplomatic missions, UN agencies, and global stakeholders—in close coordination with the Regional Vice President (RVP), ensuring consistent messaging and strategic alignment

Strategic Direction & Program Quality
• Collaborate with the Regional Vice President (RVP) and senior management team to implement the program's strategic vision, ensuring high-quality programming tailored to the Sudan context and aligned with IRC’s Strategy 100.
• Drive program innovation and excellence, ensuring interventions are evidence-based, contextually relevant, and client-centered and high program quality is consistent throughout the country program.
• Actively seek out and pursue opportunities to expand humanitarian programming in Sudan to reach underserved and hard-to-reach areas.
• Foster learning, accountability, and adaptive management to strengthen program quality
• Integrate GEDI principles into all IRC operations and programming to enhance inclusivity and foster a positive impact.
• Promote SIT programming by coordinating with the Protection team and partners to establish and share referral and response pathways for survivors of violence, exploitation, and abuse.
• Establish strong communication and working relationships with key internal stakeholders at the regional and HQ level to support country program operations and delivery.

Fundraising & Donor Relations
• Lead the design and execution of a diversified funding strategy, proactively engaging donors, cultivating strategic partnerships, and driving proposal development and negotiations to secure a broad range of sustainable funding streams.
• Proactively monitor donor priorities and position IRC to capitalize on emerging opportunities; stay informed on evolving programmatic and partner-related issues, and develop adaptive strategies in response to changing contexts.
• Cultivate and sustain strong relationships with donors, government bodies, and coordination mechanisms by demonstrating program excellence, operational integrity and strategic alignment with donors and different stakeholders
• Oversee the production of high-quality proposals and reports, ensuring timely submissions and compliance with donor requirements.

Operational & Financial Management
• Ensure compliance with IRC’s global policies and standards for finance, supply chain, and operational systems.
• Oversee country program budgets, ensuring financial sustainability through accurate forecasting, funding gap analysis, and cost-effectiveness measures.
• Drive operational excellence for cost-effective and timely program delivery, while strengthening systems for transparency, accountability, and operational agility.

Governance and Compliance
• Champion a proactive risk management agenda that safeguards the organization’s people, assets, reputation, and operational capacity in Sudan’s complex and evolving context.
• Shape and embed a risk-informed strategy that aligns with organizational priorities, donor expectations, and the geopolitical landscape, ensuring resilience and adaptability.
• Integrate risk management into strategic planning and operational culture, fostering shared ownership across all teams and levels.
• Guide crisis preparedness and response frameworks, ensuring that contingency measures protect staff, beneficiaries, and program delivery under adverse conditions.
• Influence and engage key stakeholders—including government, donors, and peer agencies, to strengthen collective risk mitigation and advocacy efforts.

Safety & Security
• Lead the strategic and operational management of safety and security across the country program, ensuring timely and effective responses to emergencies and crises.
• Foster a culture of safety and security throughout the country program and keep security, evacuation, and contingency plans current and accessible to country program staff.
• Coordinate closely with the Regional Safety and Security Director on emerging threats and access assess access constraints, and implement mitigation strategies aligned with regional and global standards.

People & Culture
• Foster a high-performance, inclusive culture by ensuring a professional, forward-looking People & Culture function that aligns talent management with organizational strategy.
• Champion leadership accountability for creating and sustaining development pathways, ensuring every manager actively nurtures and advances their teams.
• Partner with regional and HQ P&C teams to design and execute innovative talent acquisition, retention, and succession strategies that anticipate future skills needs.
• Lead strategic implementation of People & Culture practices, embedding them into decision-making, operations, and organizational culture.
• Embed staff care and resilience into organizational systems, actively monitoring well-being indicators and modeling healthy work-life integration

Communications & Advocacy
• Model and promote active practice of the “IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct” principles fostering a culture of respectful, transparent, and values-driven communication across the Sudan country program.
• Cultivate a healthy and empowering office environment that encourages open, honest, and productive communication among IRC staff and with partner organizations including modelling constructive feedback as postive behavior.
• Ensure consistent and effective communication with regional leadership, technical advisors, and HQ departments to align strategic priorities and operational updates.
• Advance IRC’s advocacy agenda to by engaging with key stakeholders, contributing to policy dialogues, and amplifying the voices and needs of the people we serve to influence humanitarian and development policies.

Emergency Preparedness and Response
• Lead Country Emergency Responses: Serve as the designated Response Lead for country-led emergencies, ensuring the timely activation of IRC emergency protocols, clear internal coordination and communication, and effective decision-making.
• Develop and Operationalize Emergency Preparedness Plans (EPPs): Ensure that country teams maintain fit-for-purpose EPPs (if country is on the WatchList).
• Mobilize Support and Resources: Coordinate with regional and HQ teams to secure rapid technical, operational, staffing, and financial support during crises, and proactively engage with donors in emergency contexts.
• Safeguard Staff Safety and Duty of Care: Uphold the IRC’s duty of care commitments by ensuring holistic and contextually feasible measures are in place to support the physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing of staff during an emergency.

Key working relationship
• Position Reports to Regional Vice President – East Africa
• Position directly supervises: Directors in East & West , Finance Director, Program Director

Key Internal Contacts:
• Country Program: All staff
• Region: East Regional Team
• HQ: Crisis Response and Recovery Department (CRRD), Ethics & Compliance, Safeguarding, GEDI, External Relations, Policy and Advocacy, Operations and Strategy, Finance, Global Philanthropy & Partnerships, Technical Excellence and General Counsel

Key External Contacts:
• Partner organizations
• Host country government officials
• Public and private donor agencies
• International and national NGOs
• UN agencies
• Foreign governments

Requirements:

Extensive Leadership Experience: A minimum of 10 years of experience in a senior leadership role, managing large-scale, multi-sectoral humanitarian and resilience programs in complex, high-risk, and fluid environments similar to Sudan.

Qualifications & Experience
• Advanced degree in international development, social sciences, management, or related field.
• Minimum 10 years’ leadership experience in complex humanitarian or development contexts, including 7 years at senior country leadership level.
• Proven success in strategic planning, resource mobilization, and external representation.
• Strong track record in risk management, compliance, and operational oversight.
• Exceptional interpersonal, negotiation, and communication skills.

Core Competencies
• Visionary Leadership: Inspires and aligns teams toward a shared mission.
• Strategic Agility: Anticipates change and adapts effectively.
• Results Focus: Delivers measurable, lasting impact.
• Partnership & Influence: Builds trust and leverages networks for shared success.
• Integrity & Accountability: Upholds the highest ethical and professional standards.

Languages Required/Preferred:
• Professional fluency in written and spoken English.
• Arabic and local language skills are an advantage.

Computer/Other Tech Requirements:
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Working knowledge of file sharing protocols such as Dropbox, SharePoint, etc., an advantage.
• Working knowledge of Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) systems is an advantage

Ability to Travel:
approximately 50% within and outside the region for workshops, meetings, representation, and conferences & Sudan Field offices

Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.

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