Country Director for Iraq At Caritas Czech Republic

I. Information about the position

Name of position: Country Director for Iraq

Expected length of employment: at least 12 months with possibility of extension (long-term cooperation preferred)**

Type of position: Full-time

Place of employment: Erbil, Iraq (with frequent travel to Baghdad and other governorates of Iraq)

Start date: September or October 2022

Country Programme Budget 2022: 6 M USD

II. Organizational context

Caritas Czech Republic (CCR) is a non-profit non-governmental organization with field activities in 27 countries (Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa) and an extensive social services program in the Czech Republic assisting more than 100,000 clients. CCR is a member of the international network of the Caritas Internationalis and cooperates with a number of international and local partners.

In Iraq, we have been engaged in emergency response and reconstruction since 2017. We focus on livelihoods reconstruction and development, infrastructural rehabilitation, shelter and non-food items provision and assist most vulnerable communities to cope with climate change.

III. Responsibilities

Country Director is responsible for the overall mission management and strategic development and for direct management of one of the ongoing projects.

Strategic development of CCR country program

• Identify potential operational directions (technical areas, geographical coverage, partnerships) in developing the mission’s country programme and help re-formulate the existing CCR country strategy;
• In close coordination with the HQ, take initiative in strengthening the mission’s technical capacities and its profile.
• Pro-actively seek opportunities for participating in events allowing to present CCR’s national and organisational portfolio and its expertise leading to new partnerships with demonstrated added value;
• Keep abreast of donors’ strategies, develop strategic partnerships with donors and present CCR country strategy and achievements;
• Monitor socio-economic, political and security situation in the country leading to the identification of existing and emerging needs;
• Provide strong leadership and management in developing new project proposals, in particular in collecting timely and relevant data, formulating high-quality logic frameworks and operational budgets in line with the country context, the CCR organisational mission and as per programmatic direction of the supervisor.

General management and coordination

• Provide overall management of the mission in line with the CCR internal regulations;
• Ensure quality controls are in place in all CCR country projects;
• Coordinate with the country and HQ teams to ensure the mission fulfills all in-country legal requirements;
• Participate in regular visits of field activities;
• Provide support to and oversight of local partnerships in line with technical and ethical regulations of CCR (including but not limited to regular meetings with partners and provision of feedback to HQ team);
• Provide regular and needs-based update on the progress of the mission to both the mission team and the CCR HQ.

Human resources management

• Provide administrative oversight of human resource management in the country team;
• Ensure all mission-level documents are updated, staff are aware of them and all relevant soft and hard copies of key documents are stored securely;
• Support professional development of the CCR country team;
• Ensure performance reviews are carried out by line-managers in the country team;
• Adopt and encourage a pro-active approach to addressing and resolving any HR-related issues in a transparent and positive approach;
• Plan and provide oversight of the recruitment of new mission level personnel, including permanent staff, volunteers and technical consultants.

Financial supervision

• Regularly review country mission cash flow and develop expenditure forecasts together with project-level staff and HQ Financial Coordinator;
• Ensure regular monthly follow-ups are duly prepared at the project level and analyzed at the mission level by the mission Financial Manager / Chief Accountant leading to prompt resolution of identified challenges and problems;
• Ensure procurement policies are followed at all times as per the CCR Procurement Manual.

External relations

• Participate in relevant coordination meetings and update all relevant stakeholder on the CCR mission and country program;
• Update the Embassy of the Czech Republic about current and planned activities;
• Coordinate with the supervisor and the Head Office team to develop and distribute updated and engaging communication material;
• Ensure visibility of CCR country program and mission.

IV. Requirements

• Minimum of seven years of experience in international development and humanitarian assistance;
• At least two years of successful experience at the senior management level in overseas postings, in the Middle East (experience in Iraq is preferred);
• Master’s degree in a relevant field or Bachelor’s degree with commensurate work experience;
• Proven experience in managing diverse, multinational and multicultural team;
• Experience of working in humanitarian and / or development setting in a leadership position;
• Track record of managing relations with a variety of donors;
• Experience in project proposal development;
• Excellent communication skills in English (oral and written); Working knowledge of Arabic and / or Kurdish language is desired;
• Strong leadership, analytical/critical thinking and problem-solving skills;

V. What we offer

• Career development in a value-driven professional organization, suitable especially for dynamic professionals;
• Opportunity to apply and further develop creative and independent working approach;
• Gross monthly remuneration is negotiable with potential future increase in case of significant results;
• 25 days of paid leave / year, in addition to official public holidays;

In case of expatriate staff:

• Per diem/ living allowance equal to 1,400 USD/ month
• Shared living space or Housing allowance equal to 400 USD/ month
• R&R break every 3 month (5 working days) with financial contribution equal to 500 USD
• Travel health insurance (Provided by SIGNA)
• 2 return flights per year to home country
• Access to training opportunities