Country Coordinator for Iraq, based in Erbil At IMPACT Initiatives

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian NGO, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation manages several initiatives, including the REACH Initiative. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in data collection, management and analysis and GIS. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO whose headquarter is based in Paris and is present in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, enabling IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support on its fields of intervention.

We are currently looking for a Country Coordinator to oversee our team in Iraq.

Position: Country Coordinator

Contract duration:12 months

Location: Erbil, Iraq

Start Date: ASAP

COUNTRY PROFILE

Following years of displacement and conflict, the Iraq context is increasingly transitioning to a post-conflict stabilisation and development phase. While reconstruction and development initiatives are underway – with significant international support – populations in Iraq continue to face problems stemming from widespread infrastructural damage, reduced access to public services, and economic decline.

To support humanitarian decision-making and evidence-based prioritization, since 2012 IMPACT has been coordinating with humanitarian clusters and other national and regional coordination mechanisms to address information gaps and implement assessments. More recently, as the context continues to shift, IMPACT has supported development actors to improve humanitarian and development interventions’ effectiveness, efficiency, and efficacy, and encourage an equitable and needs-based transition to stabilization and development initiatives.

Overall, IMPACT Iraq has led country-wide multi-sectoral assessments, informed cash programming across Iraq through monthly market monitoring exercises, extended technical support to CCCM and WASH partners, encouraged evidence-based approaches to durable solutions, and conducted thematic assessments and rapid needs assessments in response to contextual changes. More information can be found here.

POSITION PROFILE

Under the management of IMPACT’s Regional Coordinator, the Country Coordinator is responsible for representing IMPACT and managing and developing IMPACT’s programs in Iraq. The Country Coordinator leads the IMPACT team to achieve program excellence and ensure the highest level of impact and accountability, while ensuring compliance to IMPACT’s guidelines and standards. The Country Coordinator contributes to the development and implementation of IMPACT’s country strategy and promotes organizational vision and core values across the mission.

The Country Coordinator will be hosted by ACTED and will fall under the direct responsibility and management of ACTED’s Country Director and their delegates for all Administrative, Security, Logistics, HR and Finance issues. They will therefore fully abide by ACTED’s Security, HR, Administration and Logistics rules and regulations, and, in coordination with ACTED, will ensure IMPACT staff in their unit abide by them.
RESPONSIBILITIES

The Country Coordinator responsibilities include the following:

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION

• Ensure IMPACT has an up-to-date understanding of the country’s socio-economic situation, the impact of the crisis, as well as the aid/humanitarian coordination mechanisms;
• Develop and oversee the implementation of a Country Strategy for the mission, and take a lead role in identifying strategic opportunities for strengthening IMPACT’s work in the country, including identify funding opportunities to strengthen country programs;
• Ensure each Unit within the mission develops and pursues a Unit Strategy that is aligned with the Country Strategy objectives.

FUNDRAISING

• In close coordination with IMPACT HQ, approach donors to identify funding to support IMPACT’s programs in country;
• Oversee project proposal conceptualization, within the framework of the country, regional and global strategy, and budget design, in consultation with ACTED and IMPACT HQ, ensuring the application of IMPACT guidelines on proposal, budget and contract design;
• Negotiate proposal and/or contracts with donors, in close coordination with IMPACT HQ and in consultation with ACTED Country Director (when joint proposal/contract).

PROGRAMME PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION

• Ensure that all IMPACT programs contribute to supporting better aid planning and are aligned with IMPACT global and country strategies;
• Supervise all stages of program implementation, receiving regular updates from team members providing inputs when required, and conducting field visits to program sites for monitoring, quality control and program staff mentoring and coaching;
• Maintain regular link with ACTED (as relevant) to facilitate the provision of logistic, administrative and security support to facilitate program implementation, as well as ensuring that IMPACT teams comply to ACTED’s security and other relevant FLAT regulations during program implementation;

PROJECT CYCLE MANAGEMENT

• Grant and Project Management: ensure that contractual obligations are met in terms of deliverables as well as narrative and financial reporting requirements, provide ad-hoc support to project implementation through trouble shooting and eliminating blocking points and ensure adequate contribution to project and proposal follow up tools through the timely submission of monthly updated Reporting Follow Up (RFU) tool
• Finance Management: Control project budgets to avoid under/over spending, ensure accurate and timely financial tracking, forecasting and reporting and anticipate financial risks and gaps in funding;

TEAM MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

• Provide leadership across the mission, as well as within the country Senior Management Team, transmitting IMPACT’s values and vision
• Staff Management: Ensure that all staff have clear and regularly updated TORs, workplans and Key performance Indicators against which their performance will be appraised, promote the growth and development of staff within the organisation and manage interpersonal conflicts (internal and external);
• Administration and HR management: Ensure transparent and timely recruitment of national staff and contribute to international staff recruitment upon HQ identification, proactively adapt the staffing structure to needs and funding and ensure regular performance appraisal and career management

INTERNAL COORDINATION AND COMMUNICATION

• Facilitate internal communication within the team and information sharing, ensure regular reporting to IMPACT HQ through the Monthly Coordination Report, as well as direct reporting to HQ grants management, finance, HR and program departments. Ensure that any risk to IMPACT programming, projects or staff is as soon as possible communicated to and understood by IMPACT director of country programmes and relevant HQ head of departments
• Ensure regular coordination with ACTED’s Country Director, Project Development, Finance and other FLAT departments at all stages of project development and implementation, including consultations for donor discussions, participation in project kick off and lessons learnt meetings, joint drafting of monthly internal updates and drafting of donor reports or amendment requests. Ensure that all IMPACT staff is aware and fully abide by ACTED’s regulations in terms of administration, logistics and security.

EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT

• Establish, maintain and improve active and regular working relationships with coordination platforms (clusters, sectors, working groups, NGO forum, HCT, etc), UN agencies, donors, NGOs, consortia, academia, and key decision-making forums;
• Identify potential opportunities and develop donor relationships, as relevant.

REQUIREMENTS

• Years of work experience At least 5 years of relevant working experience in the humanitarian field or proven progression within IMPACT;
• Management experience Previous experience in a senior management role in an INGO at field level. Proven track record in successful management of international and national teams in humanitarian contexts;
• Familiarity with aid system Good understanding of the aid system and the research community;
• Research skills Excellent research and analytical skills an asset. Experience in assessments. M&E, field research, evaluations an asset;
• Communication/reporting skills Excellent communication and drafting skills for effective reporting, including proven experience in contributing to high level presentations/briefings;
• Experience in geographical region Past experience in the region/supporting is desirable;
• Academic qualifications Excellent academic qualifications, including a Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (International Relations, Political Sciences, Social Research, Economics, Development Studies, or similar);
• Software skills Proven knowledge of the Microsoft Office Suite, to include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Familiarity with R, SPSS and/or STATA or other statistical analysis software an asset;
• Multi-tasking skills Ability to multitask with tight deadlines, on numerous research cycles in complex environment;
• Level of independence A self-starter with a proven ability to work independently;
• Cross-cultural work environment Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility;
• Language skills Fluency in English required, competency in Arabic is an asset.

CONDITIONS

• For this position, salary between 3’450 CHF and 3’720 CHF monthly (before income tax), etc as well as a monthly living allowance of 500 USD NB – IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education of staff. A location-dependent security and/or isolation adjustment is then applied as a recognition that some staff are required to work in difficult places where living and working conditions are much more difficult than elsewhere.
• Accommodation and food provided in a guesthouse.
• On a case-by-case basis, accompanied status and relevant benefits can apply (health insurance and flight tickets for dependents, education allowance for children)
• Enrolment in Swiss private pension fund (Swisslife – approx. 9.975% of staff gross salary), health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance.
• Flight tickets every 6 months & visa fees covered (in-country travel costs and professional expenses are fully covered).
• Contribution to the luggage transportation: between 20 and 100 kgs, depending on the length of the contract (+ luggage and personal property insurance)
• Annual leave of 36 days per year. Public holidays of the country of assignment. Family/compassionate leave when applicable.
• Predeparture induction – 3 days at IMPACT Initiatives’s HQ in Geneva + one week pre-departure training in ACTED HQ in Paris, including a 4-days in situ security training;
• IMPACT prioritizes the psychological safety of its staff and the health insurance provided covers, among others, up to 1000 € per year of psychosocial counselling fees.