Country Director- Cameroon At International NGO Safety Organisation

Organisation Background

The International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO) is an international charity that supports the safety of aid workers by establishing safety coordination platforms in insecure contexts. INSO provides registered NGOs with a range of free services including real-time incident tracking, analytical reports, safety related data and mapping, crisis management support, staff orientations and training.

INSO services help NGOs with their day-to-day risk management responsibilities and improve their overall situational awareness to support evidence-based humanitarian access decisions.

The strong focus on humanitarian principles and exclusive NGO-only membership criteria have meant that INSO is now accepted as a standard component of modern humanitarian response offering independent frontline reporting and coordination services that save lives, strengthen operational practice and enable humanitarian access.

Today the organisation provides daily support to more than 1000 NGOs in 17 of the world’s most insecure countries and has earned a strong reputation for performance, principles & professionalism.

INSO Cameroon

INSO has been covering the Far North region of the country under INSO’s Lake Chad Basin regional platform that supports more than 121 NGOs to deliver vital aid and assistance to 8 million people across the region. INSO Cameroon will now become a stand-alone platform and continue to cover the Far North region from Maroua and extend the operation to the north-west and south-west regions with a field office in Buea and the country office in Yaounde.

INSO is now seeking an experienced professional to join our team as Country Director for Cameroon.

Job Summary

The INSO Country Director sets the overall strategic framework within which all other program elements occur and provides leadership, coordination, representation, supervision and management in relation to all staff and services. The Country Director will be an experienced and emotionally mature individual with advanced understanding of humanitarian operations at the leadership level. The Country Director will also be a confirmed analyst with experience in delivering written and oral analysis on impact of conflicts on humanitarian safety.

The Country Director will possess solid program and human resources management skills and will be a natural and confident communicator, consensus-builder and networker. Successful candidates will combine keen intellect and analytical skills with pragmatism, patience and a good sense of humour. They will enjoy the challenge of translating strategic concepts into workable practices in difficult environments. Ideal candidates will come from an NGO/humanitarian background (senior management and programs) and are not required to have military/police backgrounds.

This position is a particularly challenging and rewarding role with a high level of external representation and regional liaison with other INSO offices. You will have the opportunity to see the positive impact INSO products and services have on our partners while working with a dedicated regional and global team of humanitarians who love their jobs.

The main challenges during 2021/2022 will consist in stabilising the quality of services as achieved by the initial development team, and to keep developing INSO’s networking especially in NOSO and external coordination (including relations with the Government, active support to other coordination structures such as the SHINGO platforms, the donor group, etc). Coordination with INSO country offices in the region (Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso) and ensuring compliance with INSO policies and guidelines will also be an important part of this stabilisation phase.

Major Responsibilities:

* Responsible for the stabilisation phase of the program.

* Coordination of all staff and resources in Cameroon country office including, internal coordination of the country management team, grants management, host government regulatory, donor reporting and representation of INSO towards stakeholders.

* Programme management, including annual funding strategy, budget management, and contractual compliance. Direct grant and contract management responsibilities.

* Compliance with INSO’s global policy in operational and administrative areas.

* Quality control and direct contributions to the delivery of INSO services including; production of information and analysis (written biweekly and situational reports, expert use of INSO Conflict and Humanitarian Data Center – CHDC – incident database), high-level engagement and briefings, surveys, training and capacity building, and emergency support as needed.

* Coordination with INSO offices in Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina for coherence of analysis and approach.

Mandatory Requirements:

* Previous experience as an NGO Country Director or equivalent management experience in conflict/post-conflict contexts (at least 3-5 years).

* Experience with management of multi-donor projects. Knowledge of donor policies and procedures (DG ECHO, FCDO, SDC, USAID-BHA,Etc). This includes PCM, budget management and monitoring, donor liaison and reporting.

* French fluency (written and spoken), English Fluency (written and spoken)

* Master’s Degree-level of education or equivalent work experience in a relevant field

* Proven analytical skills

* Solid understanding of principles and practices in broad humanitarian action, NGO safety and risk management, humanitarian access, and civil-military coordination.

Preferred Characteristics

* A year’s (recent) experience working in LCB/Central Africa response with a humanitarian NGO and demonstrable understanding of the context.

* Experience in staff capacity development and training.

* First-hand experience of crisis management.

* Prior experience in an inter-agency role.

* Existing information networks and/or local language skills.

* Detailed understanding of INSO mandate & services.

Key Personal Competencies

* A good listener

* An effective communicator

* Excellent analyst

* Team player

* Excellent interpersonal skills

* A people manager

INSO’s Safeguarding Policy:

INSO is fully committed to safe recruitment, selection and vetting of all potential new staff, trustees and volunteers and we will ensure rigorous compliance with our Code of Conduct and Safeguarding policy throughout the recruitment process. As such, the following safe recruitment practices will be applied:

* All offers of employment will be conditional on receiving at least two satisfactory professional references;

* INSO will ask candidates about significant gaps in employment history or frequent changes of employer and address;

* All essential qualifications and relevant professional accreditations and memberships will be verified;

* The successful candidate will be required to provide a valid proof of identity (passport, ID card);

* All new hires will receive an orientation in INSO’s safeguarding policy and procedures and associated documents (Code of Conduct, Whistleblowing etc.);

* All new hires will be required to sign and abide by the Code of Conduct as a condition of employment.

Terms & Conditions: 12-month contract, €5500 per month salary, 4 days annual leave per month and 3 days of R&R every 3 months with €750 allowance each R&R cycle, global medical coverage (excluding USA) and USD $200,000 AD&D coverage.