Country Representative, Uganda – International Hire

Job Description

Position Title: Country Representative

Reports To: Regional Representative for Africa

Division: Immigration & Refugee Program+ (IRP+)

Department: Leadership

Job Location: Kampala, Uganda

Grade Level: Grade 10, Country Representative, International

Introduction: Church World Service (CWS) is a not-for-profit, faith-based organization transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable solutions to hunger, poverty, displacement, and disaster. CWS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, genetic information, age, disability or veteran status in employment or in the provision of services.

Primary Purpose:

The Country Representative oversees and provides technical and strategic direction to CWS country program. This includes formulation of the country strategy, program development and administration, and development of the annual plan in collaboration with CWS Regional Office in Nairobi Kenya. Other key areas of responsibility include stakeholder management, resource mobilization, finance, human resources, and development of new, and nurturing of existing, CWS partnerships, and identification of opportunities for CWS program growth and expansion.

The Country Representative directly supervises the Program Coordinator, IT officer, Program Integrity Specialist, the Safety and Security Officer, and Administration Manager.

Essential Duties:

Program Management

1. Oversees long-range strategic planning, programmatic direction and growth.
2. Develops a country program plan with the Regional Office in Nairobi Kenya and in coordination with relevant CWS HQ units, defines the programmatic and fundraising efforts and develops proposals and concept notes for the Uganda country program.
3. Provides strategic leadership and direct oversight to CWS Africa activities in Uganda.
4. Develops annual/monthly projections that inform CWS priorities and plays a key role in annual strategy review of the Ugandan country program.
5. Leads, guides and supervises the program managers and project officers on planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the projects to ensure the effective and efficient execution of project deliverables.
6. Manages human resources activities.
7. Oversees the use of the budget and monitors effective and appropriate use of resources across departments.
8. Develops, coordinates, and manages stakeholder engagement to ensure quality implementation and expansion of CWS programs.

Administration and Finance

1. In coordination with the Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya, develops, proposes and monitors the annual budget for all CWS activities in Uganda
2. Provides leadership to ensure good stewardship of financial resources and CWS assets in and participates in annual financial audits.
3. Ensures that administrative policies support the accountability, transparency, and efficiency of CWS and comply with all donor requirements and CWS policies.
4. Works with the Regional Human Resources Manager to identify and implement innovative and effective approaches that ensure high performance and well-being among the staff.

Compliance

1. Ensure CWS complies with laws and regulations of Uganda and that all program and administrative functions strictly adhere to the programmatic and administrative policies, guidelines and procedures and national and regional government and donor requirements.

Representation and External Relations

1. Represents CWS with government, intergovernmental, civil society and faith-based partners, stakeholders and forums and cultivates new relationships relevant to CWS programs and strategies.
2. Develops the country program communication strategy, establishes and maintains effective communication systems with the Regional Office in Nairobi Kenya, Uganda country program staff, donors, partners and all other internal and external stakeholders.
3. Ensures CWS staff are professional when representing CWS to beneficiaries, partners, funders, colleagues and the community.

Performance Management

1. Oversees the supervision, mentoring and leadership of the staff including yearly performance evaluations, monitoring professional development, training needs and coordinating leave.
2. Ensures establishment and communication of performance expectations and performance management systems and oversees on-boarding and training.
3. Maintains accurate and current job descriptions for the Ugandan country program.

Staff Care

1. Serves as the primary point of contact for all responses regarding security or emergency health crises that may arise, in conjunction with the CWS Staff Safety and Security Coordinator, Regional Representative, RSC Africa Director, RDP Director and the CWS Headquarters.
2. Ensures the well-being of staff is maintained at all times by providing a safe, healthy and professional work environment and upholding open door and escalation policies.
3. Establishes and communicates clear expectations of staff to foster a predictable, safe and consistent work environment.

Qualifications:

Experience:

• 10 years’ work experience is required.
• 5 years of direct supervisory experience with responsibility for hiring, evaluating performance, administering corrective action and directing day to day work is required.
• Demonstrated management experience with an International Non-Governmental Organization required, community development and or refugee affairs preferred
• Experience developing and implementing country level strategies and ability to develop successful proposals for donors
• Previous experience working with Church World Service and WRAPS knowledge is preferred.

Skills:

• Thorough knowledge and comprehensive understanding of the US funding and US funded programs.
• Ability to lead projects to completion on time, in compliance with donor requirements, within budget, and with the anticipated results.
• Advanced computer knowledge, specifically with MS Access, MS Outlook, MS Excel and other statistical analysis programs.
• Strong English communication skills, both oral and written fluency in the local national language will be an advantage.
• Strong analytical skills and excellent report-generation skills with the ability to understand, process and document information for a variety of audiences.
• Strong supervisory skills and understanding of performance management systems.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Knowledge of budgeting and budget processes.

Education & Certifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a related field required.
• Master’s Degree preferred.

Abilities:

• work and make decisions independently and contribute to overall operations at management levels
• exercise good judgment and seek guidance as appropriate when confronted with unanticipated problems in the field;
• maintain a high performance standard with attention to detail, completing tasks within set timeframes;
• exercise good judgement and seek guidance as appropriate when confronted with unanticipated problems;
• deal effectively and courteously with a large number of associates, outside agencies, refugees and members of the general public;
• Manage large and diverse workload under pressure with competing priorities.
• Maintain the integrity of official records;
• Analyse and solve complex problems and make sound decisions;
• Work with minimal supervision
• Maintain a high-performance standard with attention to detail;
• Work independently and contribute to overall operations of RSC Africa;
• Actively participate in the implementation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).
  • Be flexible with changing of daily duties as needed.

Important Requirements:

• Strong English communication skills, both written and oral.
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment required.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and willingness to support CWS’ Platform on Racial Justice as a CWS employee required

Special Requirements:

• COVID Vaccination is required for all successful candidates
• The candidate should be of good health, willing and able to travel extensively in often difficult conditions, and have a high degree of flexibility. Must have proof of Yellow Fever vaccination before traveling for RSC Africa.
• This position is based in Kampala, Uganda.
• This position requires use of laptops at all time, competence in Microsoft office packages is required.
• This position may require travel in sub-Saharan Africa on short notice and under sometimes difficult conditions to meet demands of a dynamic operational program
• Background check which includes references and an educational and criminal check is required before the start of employment for International applicants.
• A valid passport and the ability to maintain a valid passport throughout the entire appointment is required, which includes having enough passport pages for travel.
• International applicants must be legally eligible to work and obtain a work permit in Uganda OR A valid U.S. passport and the ability to maintain a valid U.S. passport throughout the entire appointment is required, which includes having enough passport pages for travel
• Physical: This position requires bending, squatting, crawling, climbing, kneeling, sitting, standing, walking, pushing/pulling, handling objects (manual dexterity), reaching above shoulder level, using fine finger movements and lifting/carrying heavy loads.
• Environmental: Incumbents in this position will be exposed to excessive noise, marked changes in temperature and/or humidity, dust and infectious diseases, harsh weather climates, long work hours, bumpy roads, extended travel, excessive sun exposure, and non-ventilated spaces.
• Full Time
• All employees should be prepared to work from the CWS office within their location of hire. Remote work arrangements may vary depending on location and the governing rulings regarding the COVID-19 pandemic