Programs Director for Iraq (short-term and long-term employment) at People in Need

Contract duration: 3-12 months with possible extension

Country Program: Iraq

Base: Erbil with regular field visits

Line Manager: Country Director, Syria and Iraq Country Programs

Starting date: We prefer candidates, who can take the role only for 3 months, to start in January 2022. For long-term employment, we are flexible with the start date within January to April 2022. In both cases, it is possible to prolong the duration of the cooperation.

About the mission:

People in Need (PIN) has been working in Iraq since 2003. After a temporary relocation outside the country due to the unstable situation, PIN reopened its office in KRI in 2010, and in 2014 started the emergency response to the ISIS affected population. PIN has been supporting affected communities in Iraq in Salahaddin, Kirkuk and Ninevah Governorates addressing needs in the education, livelihoods, food security, protection and climate change adaption sectors. PIN is seeking to expand its engagement with the government and private sector to leverage sustainable change, and works closely with local and international NGO partners, including our Alliance 2015 partners.

PIN is also launching an assessment to adapt its global expertise to the needs of Iraq working in the Market System Development for renewable energies.

General position summary:

Programs Director is part of Iraq Country Management Team (CMT) together with Country Director (CD), Security Advisor and members of HQ Iraq Desk. The Programs Director will be responsible for program teams and program portfolio in Iraq ensuring relevant, impactful programming in line with PIN’s overall strategy. In close collaboration and with support from the rest of the Country Management team members, the Programs Director will play a lead role in ensuring continuous expansion and development of PIN’s programming in the area, proposing new interventions in line with both this strategy and the evolution of the humanitarian situation in the area. The Programs Director cooperates closely with Security Adviser, Operations department, as well as Desk team in HQ.

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Programs Director is directly responsible:

• Contribute to development and lead scale up of PIN’s Iraq Country Program Strategy;
• Direct supervision of senior program team staff members – at this moment: program managers (PMs), MEAL manager and Junior Program Development Officer: to achieve project objectives, guarantees the quality of the work done and ensures reporting and implementation timelines are respected;
• Fundraising and liaising with donors, networking, understanding donors’ priorities and actively seeking new funding opportunities;
• Partnership development with various stakeholders: local and international NGOs, authorities and academia
• With support from technical advisors leading on proposal development;
• External and internal reporting (consolidation, reviews);
• Coordination between programs and operations: regular documented team/project meetings;
• HR tasks: 1) participate in the recruitment of key senior program positions, 2) oversee capacity building opportunities and needs within the program team;
• External representation: primarily on the program level in relation to other NGO partners, clusters, working groups (supported also by program team where relevant); supporting Country Director where requested to liaise with donors, humanitarian actors, local authorities, and participate at other relevant meetings;
• Program quality: respective tools and documentation being in place and followed, ensure compliance with donor requirements and proposal goals;
• Liaising with other country programs in the region and respective staff for a systematic and aligned approach to program quality, development and implementation.

Suitable candidates for this position should possess:

• At least 4 years of management experience of emergency projects in difficult and challenging environments including protracted conflicts.
• Experience with managing multisector projects as a program manager in at least two of the following sectors: Livelihood, Food Security, Education and Child protection and Climate Change;
• Proven experience with management and supervision of large teams and budgets in challenging and insecure environments, and interest in building the capacity of teams;
• Excellent communication skills, including fluent spoken and written English;
• Strong grasp of all stages of program cycle management and quality standards in humanitarian programming, including safeguarding and accountability mechanisms;
• Strong organizational, critical analysis and problem-solving skills;
• Previous experience with managing large teams and budgets;
• Previous working experience from the Middle East;
• Arabic language skills are a value added but not essential

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions:

• This position is an unaccompanied and it is based in Erbil. Erbil accommodation is in a PIN Guesthouse with individual guestrooms and shared bathroom, living room and kitchen. All sites have internet;
• Security situation in Erbil is generally good with a potential for a good social life with restaurants, bars and gyms and a large expat community;
• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and PIN’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

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People in Need offers:

• Salary as per PIN salary scale (per diems included): 3.400 – 3.600 EUR, depending on the seniority grade
• Opportunities for learning, training and capacity development;
• 25 days of paid leave annually;
• Reimbursement of travel expenses with travel to the country of residence once per every 6 months of completed work, plus regional flights according to PIN’s policy;
• Reimbursement of costs of visas and vaccinations; assistance with visa application procedure;
• Free medical helpdesk and psychological consultation available online;
• Travel health insurance and 24/7 medical helpdesk
• Housing in PIN guesthouse covered by PIN;