Burkina Faso Country Representative

Fixed-term contract – 1 year renewable subject to funding and performance

Background

Interpeace is an international organisation for peacebuilding that strengthens the ability of societies to manage conflict themselves in sustainable and non-violent ways. Interpeace designs and delivers its work tailored to each situation in partnership with local partners and communities, based on extensive consultation and research. Interpeace also ensures that the processes of conflict management and change that it supports are integrated at all levels of society including local communities, civil society, government and the international community (we call it a ‘Track 6’ approach).

Interpeace was originally established by the United Nations and remains its strategic partner. Beyond field-based peacebuilding, Interpeace also assists the international community – particularly the UN – to be more effective in supporting peacebuilding efforts worldwide. This includes contributing innovative thought leadership on peacebuilding policies and practices.

Interpeace is headquartered in Geneva and has offices around the world.

For more information about Interpeace, please visit www.interpeace.org

Position within the Organization

The Country Representative is a member of the Programme Management Unit which manages and implements all of Interpeace’s active and ongoing programmes around the world. The Programme Management Unit is led from the Headquarters office in Geneva, although team members are based in various locations including in East and Central Africa, West Africa, Europe and the MENA region.

The Country Representative reports to the Sr Regional Representative and leads and supervises all programme staff in Burkina Faso. The Country Representative also contributes at a senior level to developing and maintaining Interpeace’s institutional relationships in country.

In collaboration with the Programme Development and Innovation Unit, the Country Representative is responsible for identifying and creating new programmes, projects and initiatives to advance Interpeace’s mandate and goals in Burkina Faso, ensuring that new projects have the potential to produce enduring and positive impact, meet the organization’s high-quality standards, and are guided by internal strategic thinking as well as a deep connection to the local context.

As such, the Country Representative maintains relationships with and draws regularly on support from colleagues in the Programme Management, Programme Development, and Global Operations teams in particular as well as others, such as the Policy team for learning and support of monitoring and evaluation.

Purpose and General Overview

The Country Representative provides unity of mission, policy and programme coherence, and optimized programme management – including budget transparency and accountability – across Interpeace programmes in Burkina Faso. More specifically, s/he:

1. Provides leadership and coordination of programme management staff, and supports implementation of the strategic direction and delivery of programmes in Burkina Faso as necessary to enable Interpeace to implement its mandate
2. In line with organizational priorities, develops the country portfolio in size and scope to ensure the relevance of Interpeace and its work to the contemporary context of the country
3. Coordinates and manages existing programmes ensuring high quality delivery of all agreed outputs on schedule and within agreed budgetary and financial management parameters
4. Develops and maintains relationships at both leadership and programmatic/working levels with partners, donors, government and national authorities and others necessary for the development and management of Interpeace programmes in Burkina Faso

Duties and responsibilities

The duties of the Country Representative cover 5 areas:

1. Strategic engagement
2. Programme management & development
3. Management – institutional coherence
4. Representation
5. Management of personnel and resources

Strategic Engagement

• Identifies and proposes country-level dimensions of Interpeace programme strategy
• Proceeds with horizon scanning for identifying new partnerships
• Identifies ways to grow the country portfolio and to maximize its impact
• Coordinates and supports in providing regular reporting to Interpeace colleagues and management on relevant factors and changes in the country context and programme
• Contributes to the drafting, monitoring, review and delivery of the Interpeace country programme strategy in line with the overall Interpeace Strategic Plan
• Provides leadership according to Interpeace’s values, vision and mission at the country level
• Identifies, develops proposals, secures management agreement, and leads Interpeace’s engagement with strategic partners in order to strengthen the size, relevance, value and impact of Interpeace work in Burkina Faso
• Contributes to developing and maintaining a strategic framework for Interpeace’s institutional relationships

Programme Management and Development

• Identifies and advises on refreshing/renewing existing programme work at country level and at the regional level in terms of its impact on the country context
• Ensures timely forward-looking consideration and delivery of options to secure funding for extended programme work where relevant
• Supports formulation of new proposals in coordination with the Programme Management Unit and the country team, including contributing to the drafting of proposals
• Leads on the preparation of actor mapping aimed at improving Interpeace’s ability to develop new and innovative relationships and programming.
• Monitors openings for funding, in particular from new and diverse sources, advises Interpeace colleagues of relevant opportunities and coordinates engagement efforts at country level
• Oversees and coordinates the programme portfolio to ensure the highest level of project quality and accountability
• Oversee development and implementation of programmes at national and regional level; identify potential and existing obstacles to programmes delivery, through continuous monitoring of new programme areas that reflects changes in host countries and donor priorities.

Management – institutional coherence

• Accountable for compliance of Interpeace programmatic work in-country with Interpeace internal controls including decision-making processes and other institutional requirements
• Supervise and promote fluid information-sharing and coordination among programmatic, resource management and programme support teams
• Provides weekly information briefs about the country work to the Sr. Regional Representative and as required to HQ
• Analyse political, social and economic trends and lead formulation, strategic analysis, planning and evaluation of programmes activities and provide policy advice for project management in a changing context of conflict.
• Facilitate knowledge generation and management through the identification of best practices and lessons learned to ensure more comprehensive and efficient delivery. Coordinate the Country Office’s intra-programmatic knowledge products development and knowledge service delivery.
• Collaborates with the Global Policy, Learning and IPAT Unit to contribute to Interpeace’s learning processes at global level; to Interpeace’s work towards bridging policy and practice in the field of peacebuilding and to any other global initiative led by the Unit.
• Develops the Programme’s visibility and external communication, in collaboration with the Strategic partnerships and communication unit.

Representation

• Regularly engages at Track One with Government and national authorities as appropriate in pursuance of Interpeace’s strategy in the country and to maximise the country programme’s impact
• Represents as required the Organization and strengthen high level relations with government authorities at ministerial and vice-presidential level, diplomatic missions, Donors, International Organizations, non — governmental organizations, the UN Country Team, private sector and public media.
• Manages and contributes to occasional media engagement when required and in-line with Interpeace communication policy
• Provide advice to high level authorities as well as donors on policies and approaches that make part of Interpeace Burkina Faso’s portfolio
• Engages and supports relationships with implementing partners, while also providing strategic guidance, capacity building, and programmatic support to ensure high level of coordination and convergence across the country programme

Management of Personnel and Resources

• Operationalize the development and supervise IP Country Office Programmatic Strategy and Operational Plans including technical, budgetary, administrative, and security issues.
• Creates an enabling work environment that fosters learning and innovation, where staff members can achieve their potential, demonstrating gender-responsive and non-discriminatory behavior and attitudes
• Supervise and build capacity among programme staff. Oversee personnel management including improvements to staff structures, improving lines of communication and accountabilitysupporting opportunities for staff development
• Accountable for an overall budget of around US$1 million per annum, and responsible for the financial health of the country programme portfolio

Qualifications:

This is a national post open only to Burkinabe candidates with relevant qualifications, experience, a tertiary degree, and fluent in English and French. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Relevant experience and qualifications may include:

Education

• Tertiary degree in peace-related studies, social or political science or other relevant fields

Experience

• At least seven years of extensive experience in peacebuilding, political and/or developmental work with increasing management responsibility
• At least 5 years of progressive professional experience in Burkina Faso and Sahel
• Demonstrated effectiveness and substantial experience with short and long-term planning; financial, personnel and program management in cross-cultural, international organisations
• Demonstrated experience in conflict resolution/peacebuilding, advocacy, partnership management, proposal writing and programme management
• Demonstrated experience in high level stakeholder engagement, in political mediation and negotiation.

Competencies

• Developed ability of raising the profile of an organization, strategically networking with government agencies, donors and other international agencies, and using the media to generate profile
• Advanced knowledge of current thinking on peacebuilding issues and methods; and demonstrable ability to anticipate emerging needs and integrate them swiftly into priority programme setting
• Well established and practiced organisational and planning skills; and extensive knowledge and experience of project cycle management including using project planning and management tools
• Excellent writing and communications skills in English and French is required
• Excellent knowledge of management principles as they relate to multi-cultural and complex organizations
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-responsive and non-discriminatory behavior and attitudes
• Sound negotiation and diplomatic skills
• Excellent knowledge of the current political and security context in Burkina Faso and the wider Sahel region.

Interpeace Competencies

• Collaboration and Weaving
• Communication
• Drive for results
• Adaptability and Continuous Learning
• Respect for Diversity