Country Director in Afghanistan

Country: Afghanistan

Job Title: Country Director

Starting Date: asap

Contract Length: 12-24 months with possibility of extension

Job Location: Kabul Mazar-e Sharif and Kabul, with occasional travel to operational areas based on security clearance

Reports to: Regional Director for Asia

People in Need (PIN) is a Czech NGO that provides relief and development assistant in 22 countries around the world. In Afghanistan, PIN has been responding to humanitarian needs and implementing development programs since 2001. PIN implements projects focused on sustainable agriculture, livelihoods and employment, women’s economic empowerment, social integration, and humanitarian response.

PIN has a long-term strategic commitment to support the people of Afghanistan in withstanding and recovering from extreme negative impacts of both conflicts and natural disasters, by providing neutral and impartial relief together with longer-term development assistance.

PIN supports community-based approaches and maintains considerable field presence in Afghanistan. This approach is a core part of PIN, in order to ensure that our programming remains relevant and appropriate, and field exposure will form an important component of the work of all international staff.

Country Director (CD) is the main representative of PIN at provincial as well as country level and is responsible for strategic leadership of the country program. CD supervises the country programs, finances, human resources, logistics and security. The CD plays a fundamental role in representing the organization towards partners, networking and fundraising. Their responsibilities also consist of strategic planning, establishment and maintenance of managerial procedures, strengthening the program through lessons learned and capacity development. As the team leader, the CD also works with their staff to ensure that they are well supported, motivated, and empowered to perform at their best.

COVID 19 note: This position is designed to be performed in Afghanistan throughout its duration. however, due to the specific circumstances of the current pandemic and in the interest of ensuring the safety of our employees, a remote working modality may need to be implemented for specific time periods during the performance of this position. In such situation, contract amendments or minor changes to the Terms of Reference may be necessary.

Main Responsibilities:

Senior Management and Strategic Planning

• Plan development of the country program in accordance with local needs and PIN priorities in the form of a country strategy
• Lead the country management team and coordinate all its operations
• Supervise the program teams, finance, compliance and administration as well as human resources, logistics and security
• Ensure medium-term and long-term strategic planning, establishment and maintenance of managerial procedures, recording and utilizing lessons learned and capacity building

Finance & Administration

• Supervise the finance and administration unit of the mission. Together with Finance Manager prepares and supervises mission budget and overall economic situation

Project Management

• In cooperation with HoP (Head of Programs), support and supervise senior program staff, follow all phases of the Project cycle management (PCM), and actively participate in the design of new programs
• Actively contribute to development of new proposals, in line with PIN country strategy and PIN Relief and Development Department strategy
• Ensure timely and high-quality reporting to donors and HQ
• Actively monitor program implementation in their areas and provide feedback to program staff

Representation and Fundraising

• Network among donors and key stakeholders to actively seek funding opportunities, help increase the quality of proposals, understand donor priorities and ensure coordination
• Represent PIN at meetings with government partners, regional and local authorities, donors, local agencies, coordination bodies and other relevant stakeholders, at all levels of project implementation as required
• Ensure fundraising from institutional donors and financial stability of the mission, including preparation of project proposals in cooperation with program staff

Human Resource Management

• Plan HR needs of the mission and take part in the process of selection of new staff (expatriate and senior national)
• Supervise capacity building and ensure sufficient human resources for the projects to meet its objectives
• Ensure coherent policy towards recruitment, remuneration and bonuses across the country program

Security

• Supervise that all security and safety rules (SOPs) are set-up and followed, keeping security policy up to date and enforcing its implementation in cooperation with national Security Officer and international Security Advisor. Ensure the safest possible working conditions to minimize health risks and secure PIN assets.
• In cooperation with PIN security department ensure that security measures are adequate to a given situation
• Maintain awareness of political and security developments in the country, continuously analyse potential implications of these developments for PIN operations and adjust country program strategy accordingly
• Lead of supervise incident management as needed

Main requirements:

• Solid leadership and staff management skills, with a record of managing large, diverse teams and contributing to the capacity building of national and international staff
• Experience within the region and understanding of local dynamics highly preferred
• Proven experience in management, fundraising, project development, donor liaison
• Knowledge of institutional donor environment, proven experience with donor relations, proposal development and external communications
• Familiarity with conflicts settings, experience with working in insecure environments a significant advantage
• At least five years of relevant experience with excellent spoken and written English; knowledge of Dari/Pashto an advantage
• Proven experience in team management, security management, fundraising, project development and donor liaison
• Knowledge of institutional donor environment, proven experience with donor relations, proposal development and external communications
• Experience with strategic program planning, project cycle management, knowledge of the institutional donor environment
• Reliable and self-reliant personality
• Dynamic and result-oriented profile
• Ability to organize and plan effectively
• Critical analysis and problem-solving skills
• Ability to work in difficult conditions and under pressure
• Responsible and systematic
• Cultural sensitivity, experience with development projects/international work experience is strongly welcome
• Excellent communication skills
• Strong ability and willingness to transfer knowledge
• University degree in relevant field

PIN offers:

• Flexible and challenging working environment with room for personal growth
• Robust and thorough induction training at HQ (2 weeks)
• HEAT training (unless the candidate participated in one recently)
• Starting salary defined by PIN salary scale (approx. 4900 – 5300 USD) commensurate with experience; before taxation, including per diem)
• Reimbursement of flight ticket to the country of residence once every 6 months of work, 2 regional flights per year for R&R trips
• Reimbursement of costs of visas and vaccinations; assistance with visa application procedure,
• Medical helpdesk and psychological consultation available online,
• Travel insurance,
• 25 days of paid leave annually and 15 days of R&R leave
• Accommodation in PIN guesthouse