Country Director – Central African Republic (CAR)

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The Mercy Corps Central African Republic Country Director is an innovative and visionary leader responsible for resourcefully managing all programming in CAR. S/He has held senior roles in formulating strategic direction within an international development context. The CD has supervisory responsibility for the 50 member country team and a budget of approximately $2 million per year, with funding from the European Commission, US State Department, United Nations and other private donors and foundations. The CD develops sustainable, multi-sector programming and is accountable to beneficiaries and donors, placing a high value on innovative solutions to development issues and creative partnerships in tough environments.

PROGRAM/ DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

Mercy Corps has been operational in the Central African Republic since 2007. With a focus on development programming, Mercy Corps is implementing water, sanitation and hygiene, food security, livelihoods, reproductive health, civil society building, human rights promotion and GBV programs around the capital of Bangui and in the regional towns of Bouar, Bambari and Bangassou. Mercy Corps’ goal in CAR is to promote the development of resilient, inclusive, secure, productive and just communities. Mercy Corps operations in CAR are focused on helping targeted communities to be effective in driving their own development through improvements in access to water and sanitation, food security, healthcare, information and education; demonstrate good governance and respect for human rights through inclusive, effective and responsible engagement of the population, civil society and media in decision making processes; and realize improved economic opportunities and employment through increased production and sale of agricultural goods and entrepreneurial activities.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Strategy and Vision

• Explores, evaluates and presents innovative funding opportunities, leveraging impact and integrating activities with other NGOs, particularly focused on long-term development.
• Leads the annual country planning process and provides timely quarterly reporting and strategic updates.
• Anticipates needs, understands donor pool and secures sufficient resources in a timely manner.

Personal Leadership

• Consistently demonstrates flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances.
• Maintains high ethical standards and treats people with respect and dignity.
• Has high emotional intelligence and is aware of his/her own strengths and development needs.
• Seeks to understand and address underlying causes of a problem rather than focusing on the symptom.
• Makes informed, transparent decisions in a timely manner and takes follow-up actions.

Representation

• Represents Mercy Corps programs with national and international media, and participates in community activities as appropriate.
• Communicates a clear vision of present and future program goals and strategies to team members and stakeholders that translate into concrete programs and work plans.
• Maintains productive relationships with internal and external constituents.

Team Management

• Recruits, manages and motivates a skilled, efficient team; incorporates staff development strategies and performance management systems into the team-building process, encouraging a culture of learning and innovation.
• Supervises and leads a diverse team of direct and indirect reports in field offices, fostering a respectful and effective team environment.
• Contributes to country team-building efforts, helps team members identify problem-solving options and ensures the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.

Operations Management

• Applies Mercy Corps’ Design, Monitoring & Evaluation principles and framework to programs and ensures the country’s overall strategy includes effective, timely reporting systems for all donors.
• Ensures effective, transparent use of resources in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies/procedures.
• Oversees budget management of sub-grantees/sub-contractors, if applicable.
• Builds and maintains operational systems that ensure proper administrative support for programs, as well as segregation of duties between finance and operations.

Security

• Develops and maintains systems that ensure the safety and security of the team in all aspects of its work.
• Liaises with the Regional Security Advisor and Deputy Regional Program Director on crucial events, high-risk periods, incident reporting and security policy changes.

Organizational Learning: As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve - we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries: Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:

ACCOUNTABILITY:

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Deputy Regional Program Director

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: CAR country team, HQ-based program operations team, finance and technical support unit

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• BA/S or equivalent in relevant field required; MA/S preferred.
• Field experience in international relief and development programs, including demonstrable success in managing development programs.
• Senior-level leadership, capacity building and field management experience.
• Proven skills in financial and grants management; prior experience with European Commission preferred.
• Previous work experience in Africa.
• Successful and proven negotiation, communication and organization skills.
• Fluency in English; proficiency in French is required.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

The successful CAR CD will skillfully represent programmatic priorities of the agency to donors and regional partners while providing effective leadership to the Mercy Corps program team. S/he will have high emotional intelligence, constructive mentoring skills, and proven experience with capacity building. S/he will be committed to long-term program sustainability & the delivery of high-impact activities at the community level. Successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and challenging environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority.

LIVING /ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:

The CD is based in Bangui. The location is accompanied and Bangui is relatively secure. Housing is individual accommodation with freedom of movement beyond the house/office. All MC CAR employees are expected to work a five-day work week, and may be required to work evenings and weekends. There are international schools in CAR. Staff will have access to electricity and water, though they should expect occasional outages. Access to health care is limited. This position requires approximately 25% travel, mainly by vehicle, to field offices, some of which are in insecure environments.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Submitting a resume online at a job site could cause valuable screening information to be missed.

Please apply directly at:
http://mercycorps.silkroad.com/epostings/submit.cfm?fuseaction=app.dspjob&jobid=217721&company_id=15927&version=2&jobboardid=479

Mercy Corps is an AA/EOE.