Country Representative, Nicaragua

Description of the unit / department: The Latin American region is one of five priority regions where Trócaire works overseas. The regional office is based in Tegucigalpa Honduras. Background to the Role: To date, Trócaire’s programme in Nicaragua has been managed from a country office in Nicaragua with the support of a number of regionally based programme staff. The Nicaragua office has 2 Programme Officers plus 1 administrator/ financial officer. The development programme provides support to 40 local partner organisations working in the sectors of Livelihood Security, Civil Society development and Human Rights. The annual budget for the country programme is approximately €1.2m.
Reporting to: Assistant Regional Manager based in Tegucigalpa, Honduras Managing: (Individuals/Team) Overall strategic management of Trócaire’s country office in Nicaragua, including implementation of Strategic Plan for Nicaragua 2011- 2014; identify and document contributions from Nicaragua that enable Trócaire to fulfil its global plan 2011- 2016; roll-out of organisational policies, procedures and strategies including security planning; facilitation of programme development; management of programme and administrative staff.
Contract Type: Fixed term Contract Duration: 3 years Grade and Scale: Overseas Country Representative Location of Position Managua, Nicaragua. Travel within the country will be part of the job, as will occasional travel in the Central American region and to Ireland.
Scope of the Role: The role covers all of Trócaire’s programme (both development and emergency/recovery) in Nicaragua, and will involve linking with Trócaire’s regional and international programmes. Key Duties & Responsibilities Representation 1. Represent Trócaire’s interests in Nicaragua, in particular, liaising with Government Institutions, UN agencies, EU delegations, church groups, international and local NGOs and donors. 2. Represent Trócaire in its relationship with local partner organisations, sister agencies including those from the Caritas/Cidse networks, and other local networks. 3. Undertake media work on behalf of Trócaire as requested and link with possible visiting delegations, such as from Irish Aid or other donor partner groups. 4. Participate in and link with local and national civil society fora.

Management and Administration 1. Take responsibility for the leadership and management of Trócaire’s staff and programme in Nicaragua 2. Ensure efficient and strategic use of all resources within the programme and aim to minimise risk for Trócaire. 3. Develop and manage a supportive and motivating work environment for the team. 4. Agree key performance indicators in relation to individual team members, and identify training needs within the team. 5. Prepare and monitor all aspects of financial management, including the preparation of budgets to Trócaire head office/regional office, ensuring adherence to approved budgets and developing financial reports. 6. Contribute to the strategic direction of the Regional programme in Latin América and the International Department. 7. Liase with Trócaire’s cross organizations teams based in Ireland and identify aspects of Nicaraguan programme work which can contribute to achieving overall success of global strategic plan.. 8. Submit to Maynooth annual reports on overall work, as well as regular assessment reports on socio-economic and political status 9. Facilitate field visits as required by Trócaire staff or visitors invited on their behalf. 10. Oversee the implementation of a country security plan and ensure regular updates of this plan. 11. Participate in regional meetings of Latin American team. Programme Development 1. Oversee the implementation of the sustainable livelihood programme in Nicaragua. 2. In collaboration with programme officers, progressively review projects/programmes to ensure they meet the highest standards and and support programme officers in their management of partner relationships and the development of partner projects. 3. Carry out regular reviews of progress of the Nicaragua aspects of Trocaire’s Latin American Strategic Plan and recommend changes where appropriate. 4. Where appropriate, identify new initiatives for support by Trócaire in line with the Strategic Plan and other guiding policies. 5. Ensure the production of programme reports for Trócaire’s purposes (annual report, co-financing reports for donors, MAPS report) 6. Identify and develop co-financing opportunities available locally. 7. Maintain a comprehensive analysis of the national socio-economic and political situation. 8. Support the implementation of Trocaire’s cross cutting themes in gender and HIV-AIDS mainstreaming with staff and across all programmes.

Person Specification – Essential Requirements (E) (E) Qualification • Graduate level education in development studies or a relevant subject. (E) Experience • At least five years’ experience of development work, working with civil society organizations preferably in Latin America, of which at least two years must be in a management capacity. • Ability to build the capacity of and manage a small programme team. • Good understanding and experience of project/programme management cycle, participatory appraisal techniques, and budget management • Demonstrated representational abilities and capacity to liaise with governments and donors.

(E) Skills • Ability to organise own work, to take initiative as well as working in a team. • Fluency in written and spoken English and Spanish • Computer competency in main programmes.

(E) Qualities • Commitment to Trócaire Partnership, Vision, Mission and Values and ways of working, including a understanding of a partnership approach to development. • Ability to build successful relationships and to work cross-culturally. • Familiarity with global justice, advocacy and development issues.

(E) Other • Availability to work outside normal working hours and to travel extensively within Nicaragua and occasionally internationally.

Person Specification – Desirable Requirements (D) (D) Qualification
(D) Experience
(D) Skills • A full driving licence

How to apply:

To apply, please complete application form which can be downloaded from; http://www.trocaire.org/whatwedo/job/country-representative-nicaragua-0 and return completed form to Jason Rice, Human Resources Officer at jobs@trocaire.ie.