Terms of Reference (TOR)
Position: Country Director (CD)
Location: Kabul, Afghanistan
Duration: 12 months
Reports to: Regional Director (RD), Africa/Asia
About RI
Relief International specializes in relief and development programs that benefit people in acute distress. A registered non-profit in the US, UK, France and Belgium, our work targets those fragile countries or communities that suffer from recurrent man-made or natural crises that impede human development. The people that we serve live in seventeen countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia where the debilitating effects of political instability, forced displacement, and natural disasters are pervasive. Often, RI is the only organization providing healthcare, education, logistics, energy, capacity building, economic development, sanitation, and many other forms of assistance to these highly vulnerable communities.
Position Summary
The Country Director will ensure strong leadership of all members of the RI Country Team that builds team spirit, cohesion, motivation, commitment, quality performance and fulfillment of all agency functions. He/she is directly responsible for the overall strategic planning, program design and implementation, program support operations (security, HR, procurement, logistics), country-level external relations and coordination, finance and budget compliance, administration, monitoring and evaluation, staff supervision, and required reporting on grants. He/she will ensure that programs meet stated objectives, are in line with RI’s philosophy and strategy, meet the needs of beneficiaries, and are implemented to the highest standards, on time, and within budget. The CD will lead in obtaining funding, and identifying and pursuing new program opportunities. The CD will continually assess, identify and address gaps and weaknesses so as to improve overall country program performance, efficiency, and effectiveness.
The CD is the primary link between the country team and Regional Support Office or team (RSO) and Global Support Office (GSO). He/she will build and maintain a close, collaborative and responsive relationship and frequent communications with the Regional Director as his/her direct supervisor and key link to global support services.
Position Responsibilities and Duties:
Program Planning, Development, and Resource Acquisition
· Lead the process of developing medium and long-range country strategic plans maintaining program focus in areas congruent with RI's program objectives and core sectors
· Pro-actively ensure effective ongoing direct communications and networking with donors that produces actionable and timely business intelligence.
· In collaboration with Regional PD Manager and country staff, lead and ensure that preparation of funding proposals are of the highest quality and closely responsive to donor requirements
· As needed personally draft entire, or substantial parts of funding proposals and budgets
· Track funding and program trends to understand specific donor priorities and resources.
· Cultivate relationships with new donors.
· Actively identify and pro-actively pursue new opportunities for program growth and start-up, in coordination with relevant country, regional and GSO Program Development, and Program
· Assess other organization's activities to identify geographic or sector gaps and to map competitors.
· In close collaboration with regional and GSO management, participate in negotiation of contracts and agreements with donors, ensuring both programmatic and financial relevance
· Identify, and where appropriate, initiate and maintain program partnerships with external agencies.
· Supervise and plan assessments, field research, and data collection in support of program design
· In coordination with the Global Emergency Director, and as needed, lead all aspects emergency and disaster response, including internal and external inter-agency coordination at the country level, networking with donors and authorities, conducting emergency assessments, leading the design and drafting of proposals, and re-allocation of country staff and assets as appropriate.
Program Management
· Supervise and ensure quality project implementation through interactive management of project/program managers, including ensuring appropriate allocation of resources and that controls are maintained at all levels
· Fully responsible for actively monitoring of projects to ensure they are on track with deliverables and quantitative targets, on time, and on budget without overspending or underspending and that they fully meet goals as committed in project documents.
· Take the lead, with program management team, in sufficiently early identification and diagnosis of off-track projects and actively determining feasible strategies to correct such problems.
· Ensure that all project modifications, adjustments, or no-cost extensions are fully justified and appropriately communicated and agreed by donors.
· Ensure that operations in support of projects, in particular procurement and logistics, are efficiently and effectively carried out
· Ensure that team members effectively and efficiently contribute to the necessary work to ensure quality implementation of their programs. Provide feedback to staff to ensure optimal performance.
· Provide program guidance and technical input and advice as needed to maintain strategic vision
· Ensure project communication, and all requested internal and external reporting is completed with the highest quality, responsive to information requirements, and submitted on time.
· Conduct ongoing sub-office and field visits to enable direct staff support and observation of activities
Personnel Management and Development
· Responsible for ultimate leadership and management of national and expatriate staff in country
· Assess staffing requirements for programs and country office and supervise recruitment in coordination with country HR manager, and as needed, in consultation with the RD.
· Ensure complete orientation process for all incoming staff covering RI goals and objectives, country and program background, vision and future plans, policies and procedures and security
· Assess staff training and capacity building needs and ensure training opportunities are provided.
· Act as a Point of Contact for Child Protection, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Harassment, and Code of Conduct policies, and train staff and beneficiaries on reporting misconduct mechanisms.
· Ensure that all HR personnel practices, contracts, taxes, compensation, registrations, residence permits, and departures are in accordance with local laws and RI policies.
· Ensure timesheets, payment records and contracts are properly kept, fully supported, updated and maintained, and easily available for audit
· Assess staff training and mentoring needs and develop a layer of Local National leaders through promoting the National Officer Corp program.
· Ensure staff are working effectively as a team to meet Country Strategic objectives, and individual performance and satisfaction are maximized through efficient support structures and procedures within the legal framework of the country and within RI policies and guidelines
Safety and Security
· Overall responsibility for the safety and security of all RI country staff, volunteers and visitors
· Overall responsibility for all RI assets in country.
· Ensure the appointment of an appropriately qualified staff member as Country Security Focal Point while still maintaining overall responsibility and working closely with the Focal Point
· Ensure that all country staff are adequately familiar with, and trained in RI Security Policy and in particular the country-level security plan and procedures
· In coordination with the global and regional security staff, ensure the development and/or bi- annual update of a RI country security plan.
· Ensure all relevant SOPs’ are in place and updated/revised as per programmatic requirements.
· Ensure orientation of staff, visitors and volunteers on specific country safety and security issues.
· Represent RI in coordination of all security matters with other NGOs, the United Nations, other stakeholders, and local authorities.
· Strictly enforce compliance of all safety and security policies and procedures by all staff members.
· Lead close coordination with, and reporting to, RI GSO and Security Director in times of crises.
· Lead appropriate actions in security high risk situations, including but not limited to the activation of emergency evacuation plans.
External Representation
Financial Management
Compliance
Minimum Qualifications & Requirements:
This position demands a dynamic individual with a demonstrated ability to achieve results in a demanding and fast paced environment.
Relief International's Values:
We uphold the Humanitarian Principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence. We affirmatively engage the most vulnerable communities.
We value: