Country Director

Duration: 1-year (TBC)
Start Date: ASAP

The MENTOR Initiative is the world’s leading non-profit organisation dedicated to the control of malaria and other vector borne diseases (VBDs) in emergency settings, operating across countries in west, central, and eastern Africa, the Middle East and South America. The organisation directly delivers large scale disease control interventions to the most vulnerable communities caught up in emergencies, and in parallel, also works to build the technical and operational capacity of local and international partners on the ground, to incorporate medium- and long-term disease control systems into their operations and country strategy.

The MENTOR Initiative seeks dynamic and highly motivated candidates with a strong interest in disease control to lead and develop some of its country programmes, partnering with a strong headquarters team.

The successful candidate will be trained in our systems and approaches, and will then take on the leadership of one of our country programmes in an emergency setting.

Specific responsibilities include, but not limited to, the following:

Strategic programme & grant management:

• Help develop MENTOR’s Nigeria country strategy.
• Ensure the development, and timely and efficient implementation, of all VBD case management and VBD control activities in line with donor and local government requirements, to meet the needs of the most vulnerable communities in Nigeria.
• Promoting effective external relations with strategic national and international partners such as government institutions, donor organisations, diplomatic embassies, NGOs, UN agencies and community-based organisations and private sector partners.
• Fundraising for existing and new activities and expansion of the VBD control programme portfolio in Nigeria.
• Developing and stewarding annual and specific project budgets consistent with both the organization and donor requirements.
• Meeting financial and other reporting as required by donors and HQ.
• Development and enforcement of field office administrative, security, operational and logistics policies.
• Supervision of evidenced-based operational research activities in addition to ensuring routine VBD control monitoring and evaluation.

Personnel management:

• Management of international personnel (technical and operational support)
• Coordination of team capacity building.
• Oversight of in-country personnel recruitment, development, training, and supervision.

Job requirements:

– At least five years’ experience managing programmes related to international health in emergency or developing country settings.

– Previous experience as a Country Representative preferable.

– Previous experience of working in West Africa preferable.

– Relevant post-graduate degree or equivalent experience.

– A strong interest in innovative disease control at health system and community level.

– Solid experience in proposal development, HR and financial management experience.

– Understanding of international donors’ processes and procedures.

– Excellent communication, analytical, organizational, interpersonal and cross-cultural skills.

– Creative, innovative and strategic thinker.

– Good working capacity in English.