Country Director / Iraq Country Office

The Opportunity

Save the Children’s Iraq Country Office is facing exciting opportunities and challenges. In a nexus context, it is shifting its mix of development and humanitarian programming in recent years. An upper middle-income country, Iraq has varied degree of fragility in multiple dimensions and children keep suffering. Save the Children must continue to deliver on this whilst scaling up or down as required to meet the changing needs of resident and displaced as a consequence of the crises in the region.

The principle purpose of the Iraq Country Director is to lead the development and drive the delivery of the country strategy to bring about lasting positive change to the lives of children and their families who do not enjoy full access to their rights.

As a member of the Middle East & Eastern Europe Regional Leadership Team, they will have also shared accountability for Save the Children’s international development and emergency programming in the region of $200+ million each year through an organisation of 2,000+ people. To achieve our ambitious goals and breakthroughs for children, the leadership team will, in collaboration with Save the Children Members and in conjunction with the other regional organisations, aim to drive strategy, compliance and quality across the region.

Key Areas Of Accountability:

Strategic Leadership

* Provide vision and direction for the Iraq country programme

* Effectively lead a high performing SMT to deliver against strategy and to model behaviours and values expected of staff

* Take responsibility for the leadership and management of staff and programme in Iraq

* Ensure ongoing, current analysis of the national socio-economic, security and political situation in country

* Lead the strategy of the country through its 3-year Country Strategy Plan and ensure ongoing review progress against key country and organisational level objectives, indicators and targets

* Ensuring that the focus of the organisation remains on the rights and needs of children

* Contribute to regional and global knowledge and learning

Human Resource Management

* Ensure that Save the Children attracts and retains high calibre staff

* Pro-actively develop and coach staff to optimise their potential in pursuit of Save the Children’s objectives

* Ensure effective implementation of HR policies and procedures at country level, in line with HR policies, procedures and guidelines and local labour law, and be the driver and accountable for implementing the safeguarding policies

* Ensure consistent implementation of strong performance management systems throughout the country team

* Foster a collegial, supportive and respectful culture within the Iraq team

Programme Development and Management

* Ensure programme interventions are in line with technical best practice and emerging national policies as well as with country and strategic objectives, strategies, policies and approaches.

* Ensure that effective monitoring and evaluation systems are implemented in line with policies, systems and guidelines.

* Ensure that programme learning is effectively captured and communicated

* Preparing for and implementing rapid and effective responses to major emergencies affecting children, including building relationships with key humanitarian and development decision-makers and partners in-country

Financial and Admin Management

* Ensure effective financial budgeting and management systems, processes and controls are in place and are fully compliant with operating standards and local legal requirements

* Ensure effective Save the Children and donor compliant procurement and asset management systems, processes and controls are in place

* Ensure that partner organisations are assessed in relation to financial management and governance standards and are supported to address capacity weaknesses

Audit and Corporate Governance compliance

* Ensure compliance with all host government requirements in relation to registration, taxation, labour law, auditing, fraud etc.

* Ensure that internal and external audits are undertaken in a timely and efficient manner in line with policy and back donor and host government requirements

* Ensure follow-up on recommendations arising out of audits of operations, global assurance and take appropriate actions where necessary

Institutional Funding

* Ensure full compliance with Member and donor requirements in relation to awards secured for the country programme

* Network actively and play a lead role in management level dialogue with members, donors and other INGOs on accessing and managing awards

Security Management

* Develop, establish and manage Iraq programme security plans and procedures in line with policies, systems and guidelines

* Maintain, document and communicate up to date analyses of the changing security context

* Ensure all staff adhere to security guidelines

Representation, Communications and Advocacy:

* Ensure the Advocacy and Campaigns of the Iraq CO are supported and carried out

* Develop and maintain good relations with Members and Donors

* Represent Save the Children’s interests in Iraq including Government Institutions, UN agencies, EU and donor delegations, international & local NGOs

* Ensure the timely provision of internal and external communications material as required

In order to be successful you will bring/have:

Essential:

• Master degree level qualification or equivalent length of experience in the sector
• Substantial experience of building, leading and developing a diverse team of senior staff to deliver on both development and humanitarian programs
• Experience working with large, complex donors to secure and/or manage new large-scale and/or competitive funding.
• Substantial experience in development and nexus setting.
• Experience of managing a humanitarian crisis situation requiring quick changes to priorities and rapid action to respond
• Excellent understanding and experience of risk, programme, financial and operational management processes
• Experience of successfully leading change in an organisation
• Experience of building effective personal networks at a senior level and representation
• Experience of managing security in a complex and rapidly changing environment
• Experience of solving complex issues
• Good understanding of key trends in international and humanitarian development
• Commitment to Save the Children values

Desirable:

• Experience of Iraq with sound knowledge of the country context and key government and civil society stakeholders
• Fluency in local language