Country Director, BRAC Philippines At BRAC

BRAC International is Hiring! Join BRAC International to create opportunities for people to realise their potential.

Position: Country Director

Job Location: Manila, Philippines

About the Role:

BRAC International (BI) is seeking a Country Director in the Philippines who is aligned with it’s ethos of working in partnership with communities to create impact for scale. The Country Director will be providing leadership and overseeing all BI Programmes and its staff in the Philippines. S/he will be responsible for providing strategic guidance and planning, resource mobilisation and quality programming. S/he will also ensure that the core Values and Mission of BI are upheld, promoted, followed, and applied across all operations in the Philippines.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership and Management of BRAC Philippines

• Provide strong and inclusive leadership across all the functions of the BRAC Philippines.
• Strong focus on leadership and people management, ensuring the most capable and qualified staff members are in place to implement office strategy and operational plans.
• Lead the development and implementation of a high-quality country strategic plan relevant to the local context and the organisational priorities.
• Lead and manage the team in a way that facilitates a high-performance culture, open trustworthy relationships and integrity.
• Promote a culture of learning and development, employee engagement and good stewardship of human capital in the country.
• Serve as the Chairperson of the Country Management Team (CMT).
• Uphold, promote, follow and apply the Core Values and Mission of BRAC in the Philippines.
• Overall oversight of all Philippines Country Operations.
  • Ensure that local administrative, financial, HR, logistics, procurement and IT areas function in line with both global BI principles and relevant local laws.
  • Ensure transparent and accurate financial management of the country office and work in collaboration with the Finance team to ensure monthly reporting and financial management of all funding.
  • Ensure all programmes and operations adhere to Philippine laws and statutory requirements.
  • Ensure the security of staff and assets of the country programme by having Security Management Plans and SOPs and regular security updates in place and orient teams and visitors to the Philippines country programme as appropriate.
  • Work with the Country Head of Finance in the annual statutory audit and other donor compliance project audits for the country programme.
  • Ensure periodic verification of inventory and management of assets in line with relevant policies.

Programme Development and Management

• Work with the BI regional and global teams, ensure that the BRAC Philippines team has the right resources, tools, and support to deliver projects and programmes to a high standard, as and when funding is secured.
• Oversee the programme portfolio and ensure new programmes meet contractual obligations.
• Lead, guide and supervise the programme managers on planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the projects to ensure the effective and efficient execution of project deliverables.
• Ensure adequate systems are in place and followed, regarding programme procurements, management and maintenance of project assets, regular inventories and similar activities.
• Ensure that health and safety are embedded into all projects and programmes and that risk management strategies are in place to protect staff, participants, and partners.
• Provide guidance and support to the team to implement project activities, hold regular project team meetings to review progress, identify and resolve challenges and course-correct where necessary.
• Ensure compliance and quality for all projects to ensure they are delivered on target, on time, on budget and that project tracking mechanisms are utilised to identify and mitigate risk.
• Visit projects to encourage, advise, build relationships, evaluate and inspect the funded projects. Accordingly, follow-up with the programme managers on the findings of the audit, risk register and monitoring report
• Drive, develop, and ensure the adaption, integration, and learning around key areas including safeguarding, gender equity and diversity, monitoring and evaluation framework, and risk management registrar in place and updated regularly.

Grants and Financial Management, Budgeting and Operational Compliance

• Strengthen the financial sustainability of programmes and operations through effective and efficient resource development efforts, outstanding healthy financial ratios, and effective budget administration.
• Ensure strong financial compliance through timeliness and completeness of financial reports.
• Ensure strong operational compliance through timeliness and completeness of programme reports.
• Oversee all BRAC Philippines projects’ income and finances and deliver regular, transparent, and accurate reports to ensure that finances are spent in alignment with donor and organisational budgets.
• Lead and oversee the grants acquisition and management effort in the country ensuring long-term health of the portfolio and achievement of annual targets.

Resource Mobilization and Management

• Develop, implement and monitor a country-specific resource mobilisation and fundraising strategy.
• Lead in fundraising efforts for the country and ensure targeted fundraising from institutional, private and corporate donors.
• In liaison with Global and Regional resource mobilisation teams, identify fundraising opportunities and guide in the development of quality proposals to build and diversify the country’s resource base.
• Ensure strong external engagement and visibility of BI to help promote its work to key donors and acquire greater levels of resources for the ministry from a diverse set of donors.

Safeguarding Responsibilities

• Establish a safeguarding culture across all levels of the programme by implementing the safeguarding policy. Act as a key source of support, guidance and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment.
• Responsible for ensuring team members are appropriately trained, supported and have access to resources regarding issues that are identified and actioned in accordance with the safeguarding policy and procedure.
• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, encourage others to do so.

Academic Qualifications:

• Bachelor/Master’s/Post Graduation in Social Science & Management Studies in relevant discipline from reputed Universities. Development Studies, International Relations, Economics, Public Administration, Political Science or other relevant social science disciplines will be considered as an added advantage.

Required Skills, Competencies & Knowledge:

• Excellent writing and facilitation skills.
• Ability to prioritise tasks and manage time efficiently.
• Strong interpersonal communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Highly mobile & flexible to work from distant location.
• Overseeing and travel to project site when required.
• Possess high ethical and moral standards.
• Sensible and adaptive to diverse work culture.
• Ability to take strategic decisions, critical analytical thinking & conceptualise new ideas, and present coherent work plan or implementation plan.
• Project Management experience with appraisal, assessment, monitoring, & evaluation methodologies.
• Knowledge and engagement in social protection programming and policy advocacy will be considered added advantage.
• Proven experience in establishing networks with government bodies, private and public sector entities as well as development agencies.
• Demonstrates experience in preparing funding proposals for a range of donors.
• Professional knowledge in diverse development approaches with proven organizational leadership, managerial and communication skills.

Experience Requirements:

• 15+ years of proven strategic programme management and development experience in a developing country setting, preferably in the Philippines or, East Asia region.
• Valid experience in programme development, resource mobilisation and networking
• At least 7-10 years’ experience in managing & leading a Country Office in a National or International NGO in a diverse culture and socio-economic context.
• Preferred to have experience as Country Director/equivalent role or Deputy Country Director/ equivalent role in the INGOs.

About BRAC International:

BRAC International (BI), a leading non-profit organization, is on a mission to empower people and communities facing poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. Our vision is to create a world free from exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has the opportunity to realise their potential. We design proven, scalable solutions that equip people with the support and confidence they need to achieve their potential.

BRAC was founded in Bangladesh in 1972 and over the last five decades has grown to become one of the world’s largest non-governmental organisations (NGOs), reaching over 100 million people. We started our first international operation by venturing into Afghanistan in 2002, building on lessons from our work in Bangladesh to support a nation devastated by war. Currently operating in 16 countries across Asia and Africa. Born, proven and led in the Global South, BRAC International brings a unique Southern perspective and commitment to continuous learning, providing a depth of insight, experience and evidence to meet the needs of diverse communities with humility and courage across Asia and Africa. To learn more about BRAC International, please visit (www.bracinternational.org.com)

Our Core Values:

Integrity: We approach our work with honesty and integrity.

Innovation: We innovate and iterate to improve our impact.

Inclusiveness: We foster inclusion to reach those who need it most

Effectiveness: We strive for effectiveness to better serve people in poverty