COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVE

BACKGROUND

Created in 1980, Inter Aide is an association specialized in the realization of rural development programmes, which aims to strengthen the capacities of the most vulnerable populations so that they can improve their living conditions. Inter Aide currently runs 50 programs in seven countries: Haiti, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Malawi and Mozambique. We focus on 4 key sectors – community health, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and maintenance services, agriculture, and education. In 2021, more than 193,000 beneficiary families were supported to meet their most vital needs.

Inter Aide has been working on rural development programmes in Sierra Leone since 2007. The programmes aims at improving access to drinking water, the functionality of water points and food security in four districts of the country.

Inter Aide began its operations in the North and North-West of Sierra Leone in 2007 and has developed through the years a strong field expertise that directly involves and helps empowering local beneficiaries and actors in the following key areas:

• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and maintenance services: The WASH team is in charge of building and rehabilitating about 30 water points per year and improving latrine coverage. Another specific team also works on preventive maintenance that currently covers more than 2,500 water points via a network of independent water pump technicians.
• Family farming and food producing agriculture: The agricultural team works on the improvement of production techniques and on new cropping systems (especially horticulture).

In addition, there is a “log/admin” support department that provides transversal support to the programmes.

In total, Inter Aide’s team in Sierra Leone is composed of about 85 people.

In this context, Inter Aide is looking for a Country Representative that will be in charge of administrative, financial and logistical coordination, relations with development partners, in particular with local authorities in the capital and in the districts, communication with the head office and with the Programme Managers.

He/she will be based in the city of Makeni, Inter Aide’s headquarters in SL, with frequent travels in the field in the intervention areas and more occasionally in the capital.

MISSIONS

The Country Representative works in close collaboration with the Area Managers and the Administrative and Financial Managers based at HQ in France and the Thematic Coordinators and Programme Managers in the field. Through regular missions in the field, his/her main functions are to:

1) Represent Inter Aide and strengthening partner relations

• Facilitate the link with institutional partners (different ministries and their decentralized entities, local authorities, etc.) and technical partners;
• Support the head office and the Programme Managers in the negotiation, implementation and follow-up of the memoranda of understanding with institutional partners;
• Obtaining or renewing, with the support of HQ, approvals from the authorities;
• Facilitate and sometimes accompany field visits from HQ or partners;
• Monitor political orientations and ensure that the actions correlate with the Sierra Leonean policy and guidelines;
• Participate in meetings and gatherings of other actors operating in similar areas or zones in Ethiopia;
• Participate in the preparation of activity reports for Sierra Leonean institutions in line with the established deadlines;
• Participate in sectoral meetings organized by the government and its decentralized services (in Freetown and in the district’s capitals), as well as local authorities;
• Participate in the promotion of Inter Aide’s models in order to influence the development of new national and local policies, in collaboration with the program managers;
• Explore new sources of funding.

2) Administrative and financial monitoring and control

• Ensure the application of Inter Aide’s internal rules, procedures and Charter, and ensure the respect of the Sierra Leonean regulations;
• Follow up the fund transfers from the various projects and ensure the quality of services provided by the Sierra Leonean bank;
• Make regular visits to support the teams: ongoing training, proper filing of contracts, administrative documents, and inventory management procedures, etc.;
• The employee is responsible for the quality of budget monitoring and accounting and financial reports;
• In coordination with Inter Aide’s HQ, he/she compiles the administrative and financial elements required by the donors and ensures that the budget monitoring indicators are respected and controlled;
• He/she will be responsible for the monitoring, control and consolidation of the accounts. He/she will be responsible for the accounting reports produced in the field and communicated to donors (EU, AFD, Charity Water).
• He/she will ensure the proper preparation of internal and external audits;
• He/she will ensure compliance with procurement procedures and the conformity of supporting documents (signing certain contracts as head of the logistics department, conducting calls for tender, drafting procurement reports and summary notes);
• He/she is responsible for the budget allocated to common expenses (logistic and administrative);
• He/she prepares the monthly budget forecast;
• He/she is responsible for common purchases;
• He/she is responsible for the monthly financial report;
• He/she supports and trains the local administrative/logistical team so that they acquire more autonomy and rigor;
• • He/she develops, with the teams, tools to improve the management and the logistic and administrative follow-up.

3) Management of the logistics and administrative team

This project support team is composed of 26 people (including guards and drivers), spread over 3 bases (Makeni, Kamakwie, Port Loko).

In close collaboration with the Administrative and Financial Manager based at HQ, you will be responsible for supervising this team in its mission to support the projects:

• Adapt job descriptions, set objectives and results, evaluate each team member to help them progress and improve their skills;
• Propose salary increases, sign contracts and salary slips;
• Coordinate the smooth operation of logistical and administrative activities;
• Carry out regular inventories of the various stocks;
• Ensure that the inventory tracking database is kept up to date.

4) Key link between the field and HQ, as well as between the different programmes

• Maintain regular communication with the Programme Managers as well as with HQ;
• Develop formal and informal exchange mechanisms between programs (weekly management meetings, logistic meetings, thematic meetings, etc.)

5) In close collaboration with HQ, manage the human resources of field teams

• Manage and sign contracts for program managers and the logistic/admin team;
• Disseminate and sign internal rules and salary scales;
• Provide line management supervision from an administrative point of view;
• Ensure the application of administrative and security measures taken jointly with the headquarters.

PROFILE

• Master’s degree in project management, communication, agronomy, water and sanitation
• Skills in human resources, accounting and financial management, logistics, and administrative and legal management (short training in finance, Bioforce International Solidarity Administrator training or other relevant training)
• At least 4 years of professional experience in a similar position or context
• Experience working with local authorities in a similar context
• Experience in developing countries is a plus, experience in an NGO is preferred
• Ability to interact with different partners
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Mastery of Pack Office essential
• Methodical rigor
• Diplomacy, humility, flexibility, dynamism, patience and tenacity
• Resistance to cultural and linguistic isolation
• Driving license, knowing how to drive a 125 motorcycle is a plus