Country Director – Central African Republic

International NGO Safety Organisation

Organisation Background

Founded in 2011, the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO) is an international NGO that supports humanitarian aid workers by establishing safety coordination platforms in insecure contexts. INSO provides registered NGOs with a range of free services, including real-time incident tracking, analytical reports, safety-related data and mapping, crisis management support, staff orientations and training.

INSO provides daily support to more than 1000 NGOs operating in 16 of the world’s most insecure countries and has earned a strong reputation for its performance, principles and professionalism.

INSO is headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands- the international city of peace and justice.

INSO Central African Republic

INSO CAR operations were launched in 2014 and currently assist around 95 NGO partners. The operations are managed from the country office in Bangui, and two sub-regional offices in Bossangoa (North) and Bambari (East). INSO services are essential in the Central African context where NGOs are exposed to high criminality rates, continued activities of armed groups. Our services are highly rated by registered NGO users.

We are currently seeking an experienced humanitarian professional to lead our team as Country Director of the INSO CAR programme.

If you are captivated by the challenge translating strategic concepts into workable practices in difficult environments, this position is for you. This position is an exciting and rewarding role with a high level of external representation and direct involvement in analytical and coordination services on humanitarian safety and access.

Job Summary

As INSO CAR Country Director you will provide direct leadership, coordination, representation, supervision, and management in relation to all staff and services of the Country Office and set the overall strategic framework within which all other program elements of the Country Office occur. You will possess solid programme and human resources managements skills and will be a natural and confident leader, communicator, consensus-builder and networker. You will combine keen intellect and analytical skills.

The CAR program is well established, and your main challenges will consist of maintaining the continuity and quality of services while ensuring long-term development of the project.

Ideal candidates will come from an NGO/humanitarian background (senior management and programs). French is the working language of the INSO CAR programme, but you must also be comfortable in writing analytical reports in English.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Programme strategy and management

    • Manage the Country Office team, including direct supervision of senior management staff (Deputy Director, Finance Manager and Operations Manager), and general oversight of the program, operations, and finance teams.
    • Provide dedicated, effective leadership across the programme, and ensure cohesion across all functions – programme delivery, finance, operations, HR – in compliance with INSO SOPs.
    • Develop overall strategy and deliver annual programme planning, aligning programme development strategy with realistic assumptions of future funding.
    • Steward INSO resources effectively and transparently in full compliance with internal and donor policies.
    • Liaise with Regional Director and HQ technical referents of each department (Finance, HR, Operations, Programs, IT, Communications, Grants Management, etc) on all aspects of programme management.
    • Responsible for the safety and security of the staff, programme, and assets, including ensuring safety and security policies are updated and implemented correctly.
    • Ensure implementation of INSO’s Code of Conduct and application of Duty of Care.
  • Representation and synergies

    • Maintain and build the reputation of the organisation, both internally and externally.
    • Effectively represent and protect INSO’s principles of independence, impartiality and neutrality and actively promote INSO as an integral member of the humanitarian community.
    • Maintain donor engagement and actively track country-specific funding opportunities.
    • Ensure compliance with donor regulations and requirements and produce high-quality, compelling donor proposals and progress reports that underscore INSO’s impact.
    • Engage with third parties, including local government, the UN, diplomatic missions, and international military forces.
    • Constructively participate in external coordination activities related to safety and security coordination and access issues ad generate learning from INSO’s partners safety and access challenges or specific needs to ensure that these are coherently reflected into all services.
    • Share relevant experience and lessons learned with other country offices in the region.
  • Programme support and monitoring

    • Oversee the overall delivery of INSO services, ensuring that programme targets and objectives are met, quality is maintained throughout and that services remain relevant and responsive to the evolving context and needs of NGO partners.
    • Deliver strategic analysis to senior humanitarian leadership, including through monthly directors’ briefings and quarterly analytical reports.
    • Lead crisis management support to individual NGO partners or the NGO community at large during critical incidents.

Mandatory Requirements

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential:

  • Master’s Degree-level of education or equivalent work experience in a relevant field
  • Fluency in English language, both written and verbal. Fluency in French for French-speaking countries.
  • 3-5 years of relevant work experience as an NGO Country Director or equivalent senior management experience in conflict/post-conflict contexts.
  • Experience with management of multi-donor projects. Knowledge of donor policies and procedures (DG ECHO, SDC, USAID-BHA).
  • Experience with budget management and monitoring, donor liaison and reporting.
  • Proven analytical skills.
  • Solid understanding of principles and practices in broad humanitarian action, NGO safety and risk management, humanitarian access, and civil-military coordination.
  • Excellent Networking, diplomatic, and representative communication skills.

Nice to Have:

  • Minimum of one year of recent experience in the relevant region.
  • Direct experience and involvement in a crisis management role.
  • Experience in a highly visible interagency role.
  • Detailed understanding of INSO mandate and services.
  • Previous INSO experience (as a team member, a member of INSO’s country advisory board or as a beneficiary).

Personal Attributes

  • Ability to identify issues, analyse and participate in the resolution of issues/problems.
  • Excellent communication, organizational and managerial skills.
  • Demonstrated understanding of humanitarian principles and practices.
  • Ability to work effectively and efficiently unsupervised.
  • Strong work ethic and capacity to take responsibility for his/her own actions.
  • Be able to work under pressure.
  • Confidentiality, integrity, and a sense of conflict-of-interest prevention.
  • Self-motivation, courtesy, and humility.
  • Capacity to work in multicultural environments.

INSO’s Safeguarding Policy

INSO is fully committed to safe recruitment, selection and vetting of all potential new staff, trustees and volunteers and we will ensure rigorous compliance with our Code of Conduct and Safeguarding policy throughout the recruitment process.

How to apply

Interested applicants are requested to send the following documents to [email protected] with the reference “CD Central African Republic” in the subject line of the email:

  • Cover letter specifying how you meet the mandatory requirements, your motivation in applying and what you hope to bring to INSO (1-page maximum).
  • Up to date CV (2-page maximum).
  • One relevant and substantive writing sample in French, which demonstrates your analytical and reporting abilities (10 page maximum).

Please do not send any additional information (such as copies of certificates, copies of diplomas, other writing samples, etc.) and keep the total size of your application under 2MB if possible. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.