Country Director – Niger & Burkina Faso At International Alert

International Alert is looking for an exceptional manager and fundraiser to establish International Alert’s (Alert) operational presence and deepen our peacebuilding engagement and impact in Niger and Burkina Faso. Based in Niamey, you will lead the establishment of country operations in Niger and explore opportunities for Burkina Faso. You will develop Alert’s fundraising strategy and peacebuilding work in Niger and Burkina Faso, including outreach and relationship development with key strategic partners and donors, mapping and pursuing areas of strategic growth, and ensuring programming quality in existing initiatives. You will oversee the implementation of contracts and consultancies, including research.

You will have strong operational management and strategic leadership experience to anchor and expand our programming in Niger and Burkina Faso. You will bring detailed knowledge of living and working in Niger and/or the broader Sahel and an understanding of the conflict context and peacebuilding opportunities. You will demonstrate strong fundraising experience, with the ability to develop and implement strategies, target key stakeholders with appropriate messaging, and maintain strong relationships with donors and implementing partners. You must be a fluent French speaker and ideally be comfortable in English.

You will practice principles of fairness and equity in your professional career and you will be able to bring together your colleagues around common objectives.

Role duties and responsibilities:

Establishment of country office operations

• Establish country office presence in Niamey, managing country operational budget to secure appropriate office space and resources, including service providers (e.g. banks, lawyers, etc.).
• Recruit and line manage a senior finance and operations officer (SFOO) to support with operational management.
• With support from HQ operations department and SFOO, ensure relevant policy and procedure documents are in place for the Niger country office (e.g. Finance & Administration, Human Resources, and security manuals).
• Ensure compliance with Nigerien statutory requirements (including timely renewal of current registration) and liaison with appropriate government actors.
• Evaluate processes for establishing registration in Burkina Faso. If a sufficient funding pipeline is secured, lead on establishment of office in Burkina Faso, ensuring appropriate statutory compliance and internal procedure documents.

Strategic leadership

• Develop Alert’s strategic approach for Niger and Burkina Faso, and work with counterparts in Mali and Nigeria on regional approaches. Ensure the programming strategy is aligned to organisational priorities, adapted to local and regional dynamics, and informs strategic decisions.
• Keep informed of up-to-date analysis and changes in the context, as well as key events and opportunities within the policy community.
• Nurture collaborative relationships with a wide array of stakeholders, including with government and political leaders, private sector, international agencies and institutions, civil society, national and international NGOs, and key bilateral and multilateral donors.
• Ensure visibility of Alert in various peacebuilding and NGO platforms, and work with the Advocacy and Communications team to enhance domestic and international profile. Actively engage with new platforms (i.e. conferences, academic fora, etc.) where Alert can share its expertise and contribute towards and learn from peacebuilding debates on the region.

Fundraising

• Develop and implement a fundraising plan, identifying Alert’s peacebuilding niche in Niger and Burkina Faso and key donors and partners to engage.
• With support from the Africa regional and global Resource Development teams, lead on programme design and fundraising for Niger and Burkina Faso, including developing relationships with donors, pitching ideas, and writing funding proposals and budgets.
• Proactively search for growth opportunities in the region, including cross-border and multi-country opportunities in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.
• Represent International Alert and liaise regularly with donors and strategic implementing partners in country and the region.
• Support fundraising processes for Mali and Nigeria which involve implementation in Burkina Faso and/or Niger.

Programme implementation

• Ensure Alert’s current programming in Niger and Burkina Faso (and cross-border programme including other countries, such as Chad) delivers impactful peacebuilding. Directly support project implementation and grant management where needed, including conducting field scoping and monitoring visits.
• Support project teams to coordinate and communicate effectively with implementing partners.
• Manage relationships with donors and consultants for the delivery of contracts.
• Ensure the programme has effective monitoring and evaluation plans.
• Create the space for learning lessons and ensure effective knowledge management within the team and communication of impact and results to various audiences.
• Ensure a thorough process for identifying new local partners and invest strategically in partner accompaniment.
• Review and contribute to internal and external reports in a timely manner, highlighting programme impact and lessons learned.

Human resources management

• Line manage staff and consultants delivering contracts, ensuring all staff have clear roles and responsibilities. Ensure diversity and equity in recruitment processes.
• Ensure appropriate structuring of team for efficiency as new projects come onboard. Lead on recruitment of new positions in the team, including identification of appropriate technical staff for delivery of consultancy contracts.
• Provide opportunities for staff to learn and develop, and monitor staff’s progress in capacity, knowledge, and insight.
• Promote coordination and cross learning within the team, regionally and organisationally. Hold relevant staff accountable for responding to the requirements and demands of functional leaders in regional and HQ teams and mediate these relationships.
• Ensure respect for Alert recruitment, retention, and staff performance management policies. Ensure HR and administrative procedures comply with relevant laws, Alert global policy, and donor-specific requirements.

Financial and operational management

• Ensure compliance of finance, procurement and administrative procedures with local legislation and procedures as well as donor regulations.
• Oversee the programme budget and take corrective measures to minimise and/or fill identified gaps. Ensure realistic planning and effective implementation by project managers and teams to achieve budget expenditure targets, monitoring for variances to avoid overspending or underspending. Ensure that budgets and forecasts are realistic and accurate.
• Ensure submission of timely accurate monthly financial reports and other data to HQ, donors, and local authorities.
• Ensure that programme finance management policies and practices are in line with Alert’s global finance manual, ensure efficient use of financial resources by staff and partners, and minimize the risk of fraud.
• Following Alert’s security procedures, manage staff and consultant security, ensuring all staff and consultants are informed about and respect Alert’s security procedures. Ensure continuous evaluation of risks and oversee updating of standard operating procedures and policy documents.

Contribute to Alert’s organisational development

• As a member of Alert’s Global Leadership Team, contribute to organisational development, raising and engaging on organisational issues, policy development and staff development, regional strategic workshops, and organisation-wide discussions.
• Play an active role in the generation and dissemination of knowledge throughout the team and Alert as a whole, including engagement on thematic and regional discussions. Provide information to the Africa Regional Director and others as necessary on the programme progress and contextual updates.
• Take proactive steps to ensure that effective relationships are created and maintained with staff across the organisation.

Kindly note the above are some of the requirements for the job. For the full job requirements, please click here to view the job description.