We’re looking for a Country Manager who is, at heart, a peacebuilder. You will be someone willing to lead by your example, coaching, inspiring and giving technical support as you spend time with peacebuilding teams across the north of CAR, including three Hub Peacebuilding Managers in local offices in the borderlands, up to eight programme officers and over 300 local peacebuilders who form our Advisory Groups.
Living in Bangui, you’ll report directly to the Regional Director and work collaboratively as a key part of the Regional Leadership Team to shape the strategic direction of Concordis’ future work across the Central African region.
The needs in CAR are immense, and we need you to have the vision and motivation to look beyond programme delivery, as important as that is, and to identify new opportunities and new funding for additional programming. You’ll support the team as they design, develop and source funding for new work that will a deliver measurable change for peace.
You will be someone who is curious and keen to spend time with people in the borderlands, where conflict is fought and felt. You will also have the confidence and ability to be part of high-level meetings with ministers and ambassadors, amplifying voices that are often ignored by decision makers, leading to evidence-based, conflict sensitive policy making.
Responsible for technical peacebuilding aspects of Concordis’ work in CAR
Responsible for leading on all aspects of peacebuilding in delivering an ambitious but realisticborders programme to time and to budget, meeting all contractual requirements of the donor
Responsible for providing managerial oversight in developing and delivering strategic work plansin accordance with donor log frames to achieve delivery of all activities and outcomes, reportingon these to the donor
Develop opportunities to use the significant flexibility built into this contract to maximiseimpacts for peace, beyond pure contractual terms, negotiating these with the donor
Visionary leadership with the staff team, key stakeholders and international donors to identifygaps in peacebuilding provision and to develop opportunities for future work that will meetidentified needs, be locally owned and deliver measurable impact
Influence policymaking and advocacy
Represent Concordis in CAR with high-level engagement with local, national, regional andinternational decision makers, using evidence from the programme to influence policymaking
Build and maintain relationships with key decision makers, then use this access to amplify voicesthat are often ignored, engaging with Government officials, Diplomatic staff, Regional bodiesthat support Central African countries (eg COMIFAC, ECCAS, CEMAC, OFAC etc), UN andmultilateral agencies and humanitarian and developmental staff
Participate actively in regional conferences and negotiations to ensure that the voices of peoplein the borderlands are heard, and that locally-led and conflict sensitive solutions are reflected instrategic decision-making
Responsible for strategic programme development
Building and maintain relationships that may lead to new funding opportunities from bilateral,multilateral and other institutional donors
Provide strategic support to fundraising providing timely information to support thedevelopment of new bids and engaging directly with donors
Leadership responsibility in the Regional Team
Member of the Central African Regional Senior Leadership Team and will lead the CAR CountrySenior Leadership Team supported collaboratively by the CAR Finance Manager
Responsible for line managing three Peacebuilding Hub Managers
Responsible for giving coaching, mentoring and technical support to the peacebuilding team inCAR, inspiring them in their roles and focusing their efforts to deliver rapid and sustainableresults, whilst ensuring that staff development needs are met
Promote clear lines of communication between staff members and offices, across the CentralAfrican Regional programme and with staff in the UK. Lead or participate in a system of teammeetings, one-to-ones and informal gatherings
Responsible for ensuring that staff development needs are met including training and appraisals
Responsible for ensuring that CAR project staff understand and adhere to staff safety, securitypolicies and plans and that such plans are kept up to date. Closely monitor the securitydynamics in target areas and report to the Regional Director on significant changes in thesecurity context
Work collaboratively with finance staff to manage project resources, prepare project budgets,review and monitor spending and submit regular reports to the donor
Work with Regional Head of MEAL to prepare regular donor reports to the donor
Person Specification:
Essential:
At least 5 years in a senior management role in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, managingprogrammes and budgets in excess of five hundred thousand dollars per year
>5 years of leading, managing and inspiring culturally diverse teams in complex and challengingenvironments
Demonstrable personal experience of dialogue facilitation, mediation and conflict analysis
Demonstrable personal experience of facilitating workshops and consultations
Proven track record of successfully securing grants from institutional donors for peacebuildingor development programming
Demonstrable knowledge of the Central African context, including history, geography, legalframeworks etc. with >3 years’ work on CAR
Professional level written and spoken English and French, with experience of makingpresentations and drafting technical documents in both languages
Willing, able and available to spend extended periods of time in remote areas in the north ofCAR
Strong diplomatic and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and negotiate patiently andeffectively including with potentially suspicious / hostile actors
Excellent IT skills
Resourceful, proactive, flexible and kind, able to manage and prioritise competing tasks
Commitment to Concordis’ mission, principles, values (availableat http://concordis.international/our-mission-and-values/
Desirable:
Fluency in Arabic, Sango, Fulfulde etc.
Experience of monitoring and evaluation of peacebuilding processes.
Practical experience and/or training in NGO Security Management.
Masters degree in international relations, development studies, conflict resolution or a relateddiscipline.
How to apply
Applications will only be considered if they are submitted as follows:
Submit your CV and a covering letter as two separate documents. The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain:
Why you are interested in the post and why you’d like to work for Concordis
How your skills and experience make you a good fit for the person specification
What languages you can use to a professional level, including verbally and in writing. Whatlanguages have you prepared donor reports in or been published in
Your experience in senior management
Your role in negotiating new contracts/grants
Your experience working in conflict-affected areas in a peacebuilding role
Examples of how you have personally helped to shape or influence local or national policy
The document should be saved in PDF in the following format:
Your First Name-Your Last Name–Document Name–Date(mmyy) eg, John-Smith-CV-0524
Please send both documents to hr@concordis.international
Selection Process:
All submitted applications will receive an automatic response acknowledging receipt but we regret that we will not be able to enter into individual correspondence with unsuccessful applicants.
Interviews are expected to take place online.
Equality Statement:
Concordis International is committed to treating all people equally and with respect irrespective of their age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. We actively encourage equality and diversity and we look to recruit across age, gender, ethnicity and background to support our peacebuilding mission.
Queries:
If you have any queries or you would like an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact the HR team by email on hr@concordis.international and we’d be happy to help.
We will keep your personal data carefully and within the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations.
All offers of employment will be subject to pre-employment checks including satisfactory references and appropriate screening. This includes criminal records checks, review of sanctions and proscribed groups lists. Concordis also participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.
For more information about Concordis International please visit our website at www.concordis.international
