Country Director for Myanmar At People in Need

Contract Length: 1 year with the possibility of extension

Country Programme: Myanmar

Starting date: July 2023

Base: Bangkok, Thailand (or Myanmar – dependent on visa availability)

Line Manager: Regional Director for Asia

Deadline for application: end of March (please note that we will contact candidates after this date)

About the Myanmar Programme of People in Need:

People in Need (PIN) is an international, non-profit organization providing humanitarian and development assistance around the world. In Myanmar, People in Need started to work in 2002, when it launched the financial assistance to civil society groups and independent media. After 2008, PIN provided humanitarian and relief aid to people affected by typhoon Nargis. Since 2012, PIN has been operating directly from Myanmar, our programs focus primarily on knowledge transfer, capacity building and support of local initiatives in remote areas. In areas affected by armed conflicts (such as in Rakhine and Kachin State) we provide humanitarian assistance.

About the role:

The Country Director (CD), a main representative of People in Need (PIN) at the country level, is responsible for strategic leadership. The CD ensures compliance with PIN values, policies and the strategy of the Relief and Development Department (RDD). The CD manages risks, ensures compliance with environmental and social standards, and supervises the quality of programmes and all support functions. The CD oversees management of human resources (HR) and staff development.

Main Duties & Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

As a strategic leader, the CD:

• Is responsible for fulfilling the strategy, vision and mission of the RDD in compliance with the core values of PIN;
• gives strategic direction related to PIN’s presence in the country; the CD is responsible for the formulation of a country’s strategy in line with the RDD strategy, as well as its implementation and communication within the team;
• follows country development, politics and trends within the donor environment;
• ensures the relevance of PIN programmes to the local as well as global context, ensures programmes are built on local capacities and considering policy and governance, markets and the private sector, climate change and other global trends;
• in consultation with the RD, the CD initiates new programmes and interventions in new sectors;
• with support from the HQ, ensures that the required human, financial and other necessary resources are available and used for their intended purpose;
• supervises the economy of the country programme and ensures that the CP is covering country-born costs and generating adequate funds to cover HQ-born costs;
• strives for financial stability and the diversification of financial resources;
• strengthens “a local identity” of the country programme and ensures compliance with local rules and regulations;
• is responsible for contingency planning and emergency preparedness; with support from the HQ, manages/supervises new emergency responses;
• ensures that medium-term and short-term plans, as agreed with headquarters (HQ), are implemented;
• reports on the country’s performance to HQ;
• contributes to the organisational development and strategy of PIN, provides HQ with feedback to established procedures, and dedicates time to and participates in the relevant global/regional strategic meetings.

Human Resources & Capacity Development

As a leader of the team, the CD:

• Promotes team spirit, a culture of respect, personal responsibility, transparency and openness;
• makes sure there is no place for any form of discrimination within PIN teams;
• ensures all staff are aware, understand and comply with relevant PIN policies and rules, the Code of Conduct and key policies, including the PSEA and Safeguarding Policy;
• makes sure any reported suspicions of breaches of PIN policies are properly investigated and reported to donors;
• ensures that all staff understand the PIN mission and objectives and can communicate these if needed;
• ensures that HR related roles and responsibilities are assigned to staff with an adequate level of seniority and that their performance and capacity needed is regularly evaluated;
• together with RD, ensures that current and future human resource needs are identified and correspondingly budgeted reflecting the current and forecasted scope of the country programme;
• together with HR, ensures main HR procedures are in place, followed, and well-documented including: transparent recruitment based on clear job descriptions, new staff induction and onboarding, regular performance evaluation, mapping of training needs against core competencies, planning of capacity development, employment termination, duty of care, HR administration and regular revision of salary scale and national staff handbook;
• is responsible for the recruitment of key positions at the national level and contributes to the recruitment done at the HQ level (international staff); makes sure that key programme staff have relevant technical capacities and experience;
• ensures that the capacity development of national staff is properly managed and financed and that PIN internal resources (e-learning, webinars) are utilized;
• provides the senior staff under her/his direct supervision with regular feedback and support;
• creates opportunities and an environment conducive for learning for less experienced staff, volunteers and interns, including both national as well as international staff;
• plans and supports exchange and exposure visits of national staff;
• uses the Emergency Roster and shares with HQ suitable national candidates for international deployment;
• together with HR, monitors employee retention and turnover;
• strives for balanced and diverse teams in terms of gender, ethnicity, age, etc.;
• allocates time for the annual staff retreat and other team building activities;
• cooperates with the HR HQ department in recruitment of international staff and in agendas related to HR management including resolving interpersonal problems;
• sets time for one’s own capacity building, including people management skills.

Representation & External Relations

As a representative of PIN, the CD:

• Is the legal representative of the organisation in the country;
• builds strategic relationships and formally represents PIN towards local authorities, partners, the Czech embassy and donors;
• is formally as well as informally networking and developing partnerships with all relevant stakeholders in the country;
• maintains a good partnership within Alliance 2015 (if PIN is a leading agency of the Alliance 2015, ensures Alliance coordination mechanisms are in place);
• is responsible for the PIN brand at the country level, visibility and external communication;
• builds partnerships with relevant organisations or entities and seeks for a synergy effect with relevant stakeholders;
• represents PIN towards media;
• takes initiatives in joint programming or advocacy efforts;
• ensures a strategic approach in advocacy and personally advocates for the interests of our beneficiaries.

Quality & Risk Management

As a responsible manager, the CD:

• Ensures that procedures described in PIN policies, including the Safeguarding Policy, are in place and functional;
• ensures that all support departments and functions are in place;
• sets up effective internal coordination and communication;
• ensures information sharing, communication and coordination between project teams and between the country programme and HQ;
• promotes a culture of learning, ensures PIN programmes are based on existing internal and external know-how, and utilizes PIN technical expertise, resources and quality standards;
• ensures MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning) related procedures and functions are in place;
• ensures all programmes are regularly reviewed, and recommendations for improvements are followed;
• promotes participation and accountability towards beneficiaries, local authorities, local partners and donors;
• ensures that the Emergency preparedness planning (EPP) is conducted and the action plan is fulfilled;
• ensures the high quality of submitted proposals; according to the size and structure of the country programme, contributes to project development and proposal writing;
• ensures a correct and timely reporting to donors;
• approves project proposals, contracts and payments according to given thresholds;
• manages the most important risks and coordinates risk mitigation measure;
• ensures PIN works in line with international Social and Environmental standards;
• ensures compliance with PIN Data Protection Policy;
• protects PIN from any reputational risks.

Safety & Security

The CD is ultimately responsible for:

• Adhering to the PIN Safety and Security Policy and country-relevant procedures;
• strives for the maximum safety and security of PIN’s staff and assets and ensures an awareness of risks and mitigation strategies;
• ensures a balance between the accepted level of risk and the urgency of programmes (as per the Risk Management Policy);
• ensures that the Do-no-harm approach and maximum protection of PIN’s beneficiaries is applied;
• executes crisis management; leads the Incident Management Team (IMT).

A suitable candidate shall have:

• Solid strategic leadership and staff management skills, with a record of managing large, diverse teams and contributing to staff capacity building;
• Proven international experience of at least five years in team management, project development and management in relevant positions;
• Sound understanding of principles of humanitarian and development work
• Working experience within Myanmar/ SE Asia and an understanding of local dynamics is preferable;
• Knowledge of institutional donor environment and experience with donor relations, and strategic programme planning;
• Reliable and self-reliant personality with a responsible and systematic approach to work;
• Excellent communication skills and cultural sensitivity
• Be a dynamic and result-oriented profile;
• Ability to organize and plan effectively; and
• Critical analysis and problem-solving skills.

PIN Offers:

• Work experience with professional and flexible INGO, the largest in Central and Eastern Europe;
• Starting salary as per PIN salary scale (subsistence allowance of 1 350 EUR is already included): between 4400 – 4650 EUR super gross depending on previous experience;
• Housing allowance;
• 25 days of paid holiday per year;
• Reimbursement of travel expenses with travel to the country of residence once every 6 months of work
• Reimbursement of costs of visas and vaccinations; assistance with the visa application procedure
• Reimbursement of the medical check-up before and after the deployment;
• Free 24/7 medical helpdesk and psychological consultation available online;
• A supportive HQ that provides expertise and guidance on everything from finance and procurement to proposal development and strategic positioning;
• Personal and professional growth as a leader in the highly competitive development sector;
• Extensive Capacity Building program – global PIN Induction Training, internal e-learnings, Knowledge and Learning Department onboarding, and individually tailored capacity-building opportunities
• Participation in enriching annual meetings of all senior field staff in Prague

People in Need is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct and committed to promoting the welfare of children and adults with whom People in Need involves. People in Need expects all staff to perform job duties and responsibilities in accordance with People in Need code of conduct and key policies (available at: https://www.peopleinneed.net/key-policies-4142gp). People in Need Staff will undertake the appropriate level of training.

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks.

We are committed to ensuring diversity and gender equality within our organisation and encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply.