Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is looking for an exceptional Country Director to lead on the strategic development and management of our programmes in The Gambia.
Salary: £19,128- £20,084 per annum.
Location: Banjul.
Contract details: 1 Year**** Fixed Term contract for services – From April 2024 – March 2025. Full time.
Benefits: 4 wellbeing days per calendar year, plus annual leave and public holidays entitlement.
Occasional overseas travel to support activity implementation and oversee activities as directed is required with this position.
Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is the UK public body dedicated to supporting democracy around the world. WFD is sponsored by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
During the last 30 years WFD has helped democracies grow stronger so that more people benefit from freedom and prosperity. Today our talented team of around 180 colleagues design and deliver programmes in over 40 countries and territories around the world.
Country Director – The Gambia
The Country Director leads on the overall operational and programme functioning of the country office in The Gambia.
The Country Director (CD) is in charge for the overall work operational and programme functioning of the country office in The Gambia. This is the top-level position in the country, likely to be held by someone who brings exceptional understanding of the country’s governance challenges, political dynamics and political economy. They will bring experience as a practitioner and implementer, with the ability to support the work of the country team delivering high quality, adaptive, and politically informed programming, while also contributing to regionally led initiatives.
Reporting to the Senior Programme Manager (SPM) for West Africa who is based in the UK, the CD will be accountable for high quality programme delivery and quality assurance in compliance with WFD and donor requirements. They will have a sound understanding of the donor landscape in The Gambia and a proven ability to attract new in-country funding and support.
The CD will use and develop their wide-ranging contacts across different groups of stakeholders to support organisation-wide understanding of the country context, and the ways in which WFD can contribute to positive outcomes. They will provide team leadership, management of the country’s Programme Administrative and Finance Assistant (PAFA), oversee office operations, guide WFD’s strategic direction in The Gambia, lead business development, and build WFD’s reputation and professional networks. The CD will provide senior-level representation for WFD in The Gambia, engaging with external stakeholders including senior officials in National Assembly, the British High Commission, and other donors, partners and peer organisations, amongst others.
About You
This top-level position, will likely be held by someone who brings exceptional understanding of The Gambia’s governance challenges, political dynamics and political economy. We are looking for someone with the following:
- Educated to degree level with minimum 7 years’ relevant working experience.
- Thorough knowledge of the political environment in The Gambia including recent developments in political party, CSO and parliamentary matters
- Direct demonstrable experience of implementing programmes engaging The Gambian national assembly and/or working knowledge of The Gambian national assembly dynamics and ways of working.
- Experience implementing large-scale UK- or EU-funded and/or other institutional donor funded programmes, and knowledge of donor compliance requirements.
- Proven ability to lead, inspire, manage, and develop teams.
- Strong programme management experience, particularly relating to governance and democracy programmes
- Experience in the identification and management of risk.
- Previous experience managing significant financial resources and budgets.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills and demonstrable experience of cultivating productive working relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.
- Experience of representing and promoting an organisation amongst high-level external stakeholders, including strong public speaking skills.
- Flexibility to work in a fast-changing environment with the ability to manage and prioritise a range of strategic and operational responsibilities and risks.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
How to apply
To Apply by 18th February 2024 visit our website Careers | Westminster Foundation for Democracy (wfd.org)