Country Director – Uganda

Country Director – Uganda

Founded in 1977, GOAL works to promote the realization of the fundamental rights of the poor, the vulnerable, and those affected by humanitarian crisis. GOAL currently works in 17 countries and programming spans emergency interventions though crisis recovery to development approaches. GOAL’s head office is in Dublin. GOAL is strongly committed not to harm the people under our care. Every staff member, in all countries and project, must agree to adhere to the child-protection policy and staff code of conduct. Candidates should be aware that Goal’s human resource department will look for confirmation of behaviour. Employees will be expected to raise concern if they witness situations of harm, of abuse or if they suspect a situation putting people at risk.

GOAL Uganda’s Country Programme

First operational in Uganda in the late 70’s, the current country programme focuses on two of GOAL’s three strategic sectors, namely: health (including WASH) and livelihoods. GOAL Uganda uses a systems approach throughout all programming in order to support sustainable socio-economic development. GOAL work across 21 districts and uses a mixture of direct implementation and partnerships with national and international civil society organizations, local government, the private sector and communities to give effect to our mission.

GOAL Uganda has a team of 95 personnel and manages an annual operating budget of approximately €8 million (2016). GOAL has six established offices in Kampala and Bugiri in the south and east, Abim and Kaabong in Karamoja, Agago in Acholiland and Lira in Lango sub-region. GOAL Uganda’s country programme is funded by a number of donors who include DfID, charity: water, Irish Aid, The MasterCard Foundation, GOAL and a number of small foundations.

General Description of the Role

The GOAL Country Director (CD) takes overall responsible for the planning, management and appropriate development of GOAL’s work in-country. The CD is responsible for the strategic direction and the development and promotion of specific competencies key to building reputation and resource mobilization. The CD is responsible for organisational coherence and policy implementation and regular and effective communications within the country team and with GOAL Regional Office.

Key Duties

Programmes

The Country Director is responsible for ensuring that all programme activities are planned, resourced, implemented, monitored and evaluated in a timely manner, to ensure that they are appropriate, necessary, cost effective, targeted, sustainable and in keeping with GOAL’s mission and philosophy.

• The County Director will work closely with the Assistant Country Director – Programmes on all aspects related to programmes.
• The Country Director must ensure that GOAL programmes meet the highest national and international standards, and comply with codes of conduct and agreements to which GOAL is a signatory
• The Country Director leads the elaboration, implementation and review of the overall country strategy, and of individual programme objectives. The Country Director in collaboration with the Senior Management Team must ensure that the Country Strategy is implemented through annual Country Plans.
• The Country Director will review all programme proposals prepared by the Assistant Country Director – Programmes and the programme team before their submission to donors. And ensure that all proposals and reports are submitted to GOAL Regional office and approved prior to submission to donors
• The Country Director reports to the Regional Director

Fundraising / donors

The Country Director is the principal point of contact with the in-country donors.

• The responsibility for securing adequate funds to support GOAL Uganda programmes is shared between the Country Director and the Regional GOAL office;
• It is the responsibility of the Country Director to secure programme funding from donors in-country where possible.
• The Country Director is responsible for developing GOAL’s working relationship with all the major donors in country and maintaining its reputation with them.
• The Country Director is responsible for liaising with donors regarding all matters related to programmes; including facilitating visits to GOAL programme sites.
• The Country Director should be familiar with the legal requirements of the donors providing support to GOAL’s programmes as well as donor country strategies.
• The Country Director is responsible for ensuring that the country team conducts regular Grant Management Meetings to ensure that projects progress in a timely manner, meeting set targets within the proposed budget.

Financial Accountability

The Country Director has ultimate accountability for all financial matters in the field and must review and approve the monthly management accounts.

• The County Director will work closely with the Financial Controller on all aspects related to finance.
• The Country Director must ensure adherence to the financial guidelines as per the GOAL Dublin Financial Manual.
• The Country Director must ensure that comprehensive and timely reports are produced in accordance with schedules agreed by GOAL Regional Office
• The Country Director must ensure that donor financial reports are submitted in accordance with specific donor requirements.
• The Country Director should ensure that Budget Monitoring Tools are produced by Finance on a monthly basis and reviewed by the CD, Programmes and Operations.
• The Country Director has responsibility to inform the Regional Director of budgetary overspends or underspends as they affect programmes and plan appropriate interventions.

Personnel

The Country Director is responsible for the health and welfare of all staff and are empowered to use all available resources to promote their development in line with GOAL policy.

• The County Director will work closely with the Assistant Country Director – Systems on all aspects related to personnel.
• The responsibility for securing adequate qualified staff to support GOAL Uganda programmes is shared between the Country Director and the Regional Director.
• The Country Director must ensure that the policies and guidelines as laid down in the GOAL Personnel Manual are adhered to by all staff.
• The Country Director, with programme staff, must ensure that all staff responsibilities are defined and understood. This includes the provision of clearly defined job descriptions and up to date contracts. GOAL Dublin must be provided with all copies of job descriptions / contracts and contract extensions related to international staff.
• The Country Director has overall responsibility for the preparation and implementation of in-country personnel policies in line with overall GOAL and government policy. The Country Director must ensure that all local staff contracts must: Respect local labour laws & be consistent with GOAL policy.
• The Country Director must ensure that all incidents/warnings etc. relating to personnel are clearly documented, and signed by the relevant parties.
• The Country Director must ensure that there are procedures in place to support and encourage appropriate personal and professional development of staff within the context of the organisation’s objectives.
• The Country Director is responsible for ensuring staff receive the necessary support and supervision they require. This includes the provision of training for staff in tasks such as project proposal preparation; report writing etc.
• The Country Director has the mandate to recommend repatriation of any international staff member in line with the GOAL personnel policy.
• The Country Director must ensure that ongoing informal review/evaluation of staff performance, and formal written evaluation of each of the international staff is prepared on an annual basis, and sent to the GOAL Regional office in confidence.
• The Country must ensure that all wrong doing policies are implemented and all staff are extremely familiar with these

Resource Management/Logistics

It is the responsibility of the Country Director to ensure that all available and appropriate resources are accessible in their country of assignment.

• The County Director will work closely with the Assistant Country Director – Systems on all aspects related to logistics.
• The Country Director must ensure that the policies and guidelines as laid down in the GOAL Logistics Manual are adhered to by all.
• The Country Director must ensure that the reporting requirements outlined in the GOAL Logistics Manual are fulfilled in a timely fashion.
• The Country Director must ensure that there are appropriate systems in place for the effective utilisation and management of finance, personnel, supplies, transport, capital assets etc.

Safety and Security

It is the responsibility of the Country Director to be fully informed regarding the political and security environment within their country of assignment. It is the responsibility of the Country Director to ensure that all reasonable measures are taken to minimise/mitigate the safety and security risks faced by the programmes and programme staff.

• The Country Director is accountable for the overall safety and security of staff and for ensuring there is a culture of security within the organisation.
• The Country Director must inform GOAL Dublin (through agreed communications protocols), immediately in the event of a security incident relating to GOAL staff, assets or programmes. Regular communications and updates on security must be shared with the Regional/Global Security Advisor and GOAL Dublin as per agreed reports and protocols and as requested.
• The Country Director is accountable for ensuring that the policies and guidelines, as laid down in the GOAL Safety and Security Manual and the site-specific security guidelines, are adhered to by all staff at all times. The Country Director is responsible for ensuring staff have access to the appropriate resources and training to enable them to understand and adhere to staff security guidelines.
• The Country Director is accountable for ensuring that policies and guidelines related to safety and security are reviewed periodically and revised to reflect relevant changes in the operating environment.
• The Country Director must ensure that Programme Managers adequately monitor the safety and security situation in their programme sites and that all incidents or adverse conditions affecting staff safety or project operations are notified to the Country Director in a timely Fashion.
• The Country Director must work closely with the Regional/Global Security Advisor / Regional Director when assessing the country security context and dealing with any potential threats to GOAL programmes or staff.

Representation/Visibility

The Country Director has the responsibility and mandate to represent GOAL within their country of assignment this includes Media and visibility.

• The Country Director must ensure that there is appropriate liaison and negotiation with the relevant Government partners, regional and local authorities; donors; local agencies etc. at all levels of project implementation.
• The Country Director has sole responsibility for dealing with the media / press in-country. All (political) statements to be issued, and/or policy positions, must be approved by the Regional Director.
• The Country Director has the responsibility to provide feedback to the Regional Director on the possible implications, on programme and staff security, of any comments or statements being prepared by GOAL Dublin.
• The Country Director is also responsible for ensuring that the visibility of GOAL is promoted appropriately at field level.

Information Management

All Country Directors must be fully informed regarding the political, security and humanitarian conditions within their country of assignment.

• It is the responsibility of the Country Director to be fully informed regarding the humanitarian and relief and development perspective in their country of operation.
• Appropriate information should be collected, collated, analysed and forwarded to the GOAL Dublin office / Regional office on a regular basis.
• The Country Director must ensure that there are regular effective communications within the country programme and with the Regional Director. This includes the submission of weekly and quarterly reports to the desk officer.
• The Country Director must ensure that GOAL complies with all the relevant legal requirements of the country.

Requirements (Person Specification)

• Third level qualification in relevant discipline such as Development studies, social sciences, management or other related discipline
• 5+ years of previous overseas management experience in humanitarian assistance and development programmes
• Experience of staff management
• Good interpersonal skills
• Experience in liaising with government officials and a variety of donors
• A willingness to regularly travel to programme sites.
• Experience in proposal and report writing with a proven ability to secure donor funding
• Budgetary control and financial management skills
• To be familiar with and abide by the NGO Red Cross Code of Conduct, the People in Aid code and Sphere Minimum Standards