The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.
BACKGROUND:
The Country Director is the most senior in-country leadership position in the International Programs Department’s management structure. It is critical to the overall success of the organization and the achievement of its strategic objectives, including the delivery of the highest quality programs possible. While strong efforts have been made to invest in succession planning and reduce position turnover, Country Director positions occasionally fall vacant without an immediate incumbent to take over. The Roving Country Director position has been created to help fill such staffing gaps and thereby ensure that the IRC’s country programs have, to the maximum extent possible, top talent always at the ready to ensure continuity of leadership.
SCOPE OF WORK: The Roving Country Director position will fill a critical need in the International Programs Department: to provide highly skilled, experienced, and senior-level management support and leadership to the IPD’s 25 country offices and five regional offices due to unexpected vacancies, program transitions, in-country senior management team transitions, extreme spikes in work loads, large-scale emergency or non-emergency program opportunities, and other situations that may require very senior leadership support. The Roving Country Director must be capable of quickly assuming the top post in country, may be called upon where the CD is in place but requests assistance, and will be available to assist IPD at an HQ or regional level to advance the organization’s Strategic Plan. In most situations, temporary assignments will not excee two months.
The Roving CD reports to the Deputy Vice President, International Programs.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Deploy to IPD country programs, regional offices, or IRC HQ for short-term (up to two month) assignments to provide a variety of leadership, strategic execution, and management support functions including, but not limited to: • Acting as temporary Country Director in an existing, new, or closing country program; • Acting as another temporary senior-level leadership position due to a vacancy, transition, or extended leave; • Acting as a coach to new country directors, or to other senior-level leadership positions; • Assisting a sitting Country Director when a country program requires additional external support to manage a particular situation (see introduction above); • Acting as a subject matter expert or active contributor to an IPD Strategic Plan objective;
REQUIREMENTS: • Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree in a related field or at least 10 years experience at a comparable level of seniority; • Minimum of seven years’ field work experience in developing countries, including at least four years’ experience as Country Director in at least two countries in different operational contexts (i.e. refugee assistance; emergency response; post conflict development; start-up; close down). • Excellent communication skills, including written and oral communication and the ability to present to groups of all sizes; • French language skills a strong advantage; • Solid diplomatic and representation skills the ability to effectively manage a variety of internal and external relationships, including donor relationships; • Proven cross-cultural people management skills and the ability to lead staff and promote productivity in a pleasant work environment; • Demonstrated financial management experience,including the ability to effectively manage program budgets and compliance issues with a wide range of donors and portfolio sizes; • The ability to be flexible and work well under pressure in a fast-paced team environment; • Good computer skills, such as facility with MS Word, Excel, and email/internet software.
WORK ENVIRNOMENT: The Roving CD is based from the employee’s home of record and is expected to be able to deploy anywhere in the world where IRC may require him or her. The position requires extreme flexibility as IRC cannot predict with any certainty the specific kinds of assignments, their location, or their duration that will come up in the course of a year. While assignments will generally entail deployment to an extant IRC country program, there may be situations where the Roving CD will be called upon to work in or from a regional office, IRC HQ offices in NY or London, or in locations in which IRC does not currently have an operational presence.
In recognition of the heavy travel and irregular working requirements of the position coupled with the expectation of relatively short duration of assignments, the Roving CD position is entitled to supplemental leave above and beyond that basic entitlement for interational employees. The Roving CD, however, is not entitled to either R+R or Home Leave.
Please apply at http://tbe.taleo.net/NA2/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=IRC&cws=1&rid=7212
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