Country Director – Poland, Moldova & Romania At Danish Refugee Council

Danish Refugee Council, one of the world’s leading humanitarian NGOs, is currently looking for a highly qualified Country Director for the operations in Poland, Moldova, and Romania

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is a leading protection agency with a mandate is to promote and protect durable solutions to conflict and displacement affected populations based on humanitarian principles and human rights.DRC is implementing a multi-sector response to support Ukraine refugees, IDPs and host populations both within Ukraine and in the neighboring countries of Poland, Romania and Moldova and wider Europe.

DRC has been operating in Ukraine since 2014, following previous operations in the 1990’s and between 2007-2013. Over the years, DRC successfully maintained its presence in the government-controlled areas (GCA) and adapted its programmes to provide early recovery and durable solutions to people affected by the conflict including IDPs and communities living along the contact line, as well as reduce the threats of explosive ordnance with a growing humanitarian mine action programme.

Due to the ongoing conflict that began in Feb 22, DRC opened offices in Poland, Moldova, and Romania to provide support to displaced populations through partnership with civil society organizations and national NGOs, duty bearers and other actors. DRC continues to implement in these three countries through partnerships, technical assistance and capacity exchange, and direct implementation in some cases.

About the job

The Country Director’s prime objectives will be to provide leadership and strategic management to implement DRC’s emergency response with a view to position DRC as the leading INGO in Poland, Moldova and Romania (PMR) on protection and support of displaced populations and the promotion of Durable Solutions, oversee the strengthening of DRC’s programme development, quality and accountability framework and be a proactive partner in the wider regional strategic and programme development processes.

Your main duties and responsibilities will be:

Direct managerial oversight and support: Ensure that the SMT and PMs have clear and realistic performance-based management goals. Tasks include:

• Direct line management of SMT, Response Managers, and country wide programme support team
• Support RMs to establish good management support for their teams
• Provide on-going support and coaching, and ensure that staff has the necessary capacity to fulfil their responsibilities

Programme Strategy: To develop and update the Poland, Moldova and Romania programme strategies and linkages with Ukrainian refugee hosting countries within DRC overall regional and global strategic frameworks. Tasks include:

• Keeping abreast key conflict and displacement trends in the region impacting the country.
• Identifying key developments and trends in refugee response in countries and position the organisation to best deal with these
• Leading a consultative process for local strategy development,
• Leading the PMR annual programme portfolio analyses and review process
• Playing a key role in fundraising and donor contract management.

Quality and Accountability: To be responsible for ensuring that programmes comply with the organisational quality and accountability commitments. Tasks include:

• Ensure that the Operations and Programme Handbooks are utilized throughout all offices,
• Lead process of developing and updating the local Humanitarian Accountability Framework and Quality Management System,
• Promote accountability concepts and practices.

Safety and Security: To hold overall responsibility for ensuring that PMR operation are delivered in a safe and secure manner. Tasks include:

• Working with DRC’s Regional Security Advisor and Europe RO safety team to ensure that all security management protocols and procedures are updated, made locally relevant and applied consistently,
• To be overall responsible for ensuring security analyses is being done collectively and regularly,
• Ensuring compliance with risk mitigation against corruption, fraud and diversion.

Representation, Coordination and Stakeholder management: To ensure that DRC maintains excellent and productive relations with all key stakeholders, especially beneficiaries, local authorities, the humanitarian community and donors. Tasks include:

• Representing DRC at relevant and senior forums/ meetings,
• Ensuring other staff are appropriately representing DRC at relevant forums/ meetings,
• Maintaining agreed profile of DRC at country level,
• Conducting regular stakeholder analyses to ensure that DRC has good understanding of dynamics/ relationships,
• Engaging in and leading coordination processes amongst key stakeholders where needed

Advocacy and communication: To lead the PMR Advocacy in all DRC key messages. Tasks include:

• In collaboration with Country and Regional Advocacy experts, prepare and implement an advocacy and communication strategy,
• Guiding staff to advocate clearly, appropriately and strategically.

Financial accountability: Ensure that the different programmes deliver financial accountability. Tasks include:

• Playing an active and coordinating role in linking finance teams with the regional finance teams, and financial management itself,
• Ensuring that financial systems are followed by FOs and that financial reports submitted are accurate,
• Ensuring the finance and programme teams have a productive engagement.

About you

To be successful in this role we expect you to possess the following:

Required

• University degree in relevant field; master’s degree preferred
• At least 5 years’ management experience, as head or senior member of humanitarian programme/organisation.
• Demonstrated experienced with conflict related displacement issues
• Good communicator and proven diplomacy with all types of stakeholders
• Proven commitment to accountable practices and knowledgeable of quality assurance systems
• Hands on experience in managing staff in insecure and remote locations with strong human resource management skills in general.
• Experience of managing budgets and multiple donor contracts
• Demonstrated experience in donor contact, fundraising and networking
• Fluency in English (speaking, writing, reading) is essential

Desirable

• Demonstrated experience in complex crisis, and experience in Europe is beneficial
• Prior Country Director (CD) experience is preferred; CD experience with DRC is beneficial
• Fluency in relevant national languages beneficial (Polish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian)

In this position, you are expected to demonstrate DRC’ five core competencies:

Striving for excellence: You focus on reaching results while ensuring an efficient process.

Collaborating: You involve relevant parties and encourage feedback.

Taking the lead: You take ownership and initiative while aiming for innovation.

Communicating: You listen and speak effectively and honestly.

Demonstrating integrity: You uphold and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in relation to our values and Code of Conduct, including safeguarding against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

We offer

Contract length: 12 months (possibility of 24 months subject to funding approval)

Band: D

Start date: September 2022

Please note that the contract type for the Country Director role is a national cotract, therefore, salary and conditions will be in accordance with DRC National Staff salary scale.