Gambia – Head of Mission

COOPI is looking for a Head of Mission in the Gambia

The Head of Mission (HoM):

• provides leadership and strategic direction of COOPI’s operations in The Gambia;
• is responsible for the implementation and development of the country programme in line with COOPI’s organisational and country strategy, policies and procedures;
• is also responsible for the management and capacity building of the staff, securing donor funding and to represent the organisation to the government, donors, and other appropriate bodies – including clusters, UN agencies and the media;
• reports directly to the Area Manager at the HQ.

We encourage international staff already in the country to apply.

Responsabilities

Institutional relations

• Manage relations with the main institutional donors and with potential ones;
• Represent COOPI in the country/area by engaging in relations with institutions, NGOs, local and international organizations and partners;
• Is responsible of the organization’s reputation in the country.

Strategy and planning

• Verifie and propose to the Area Manager the intervention priorities to consolidate the organization’s opportunity to be more involved in the country;
• Contribute to the definition of the Country Strategy and proposes the country planning (projects and coordination).

Projects’ management

• Coordinate and directly monitor projects, guaranteeing the correct implementation in conformity with the contractual obligations and donors’ procedures, and in line with COOPI’s procedures and management standards;
• Coordinate the elaboration, writing and documents’ preparation for presenting new projects, referring to the Area Manager and the headquarters support offices;
• Is responsible for the preparation of projects reports and all the monitoring documents requested by the central headquarters;
• Ensure the transmission of all official and administrative project documents to the central headquarters.

Country office management

• Is responsible for all different aspects related to the country office management: economic and financial situation, local regulations, office organization charts, logistics, local and expatriate personnel management, in conformity with the organization’s guidelines;
• Guarantee the respect of the country’s legislation and administrative regulation.

Staff management

• Is responsible for the local staff management;
• Participate and support the Area Manager and the Human Resources office in the selection of the expatriate staff;
• Coordinate and monitor the country’s expatriate staff management.

Safety

• Is responsible for the expatriate staff security, for the correct implementation and respect of the general security rules.

Economic and financial management

• Is responsible for the country’s economic result;
• Supervise the financial management and ensures – through the administrative function – that all financial reporting deadlines and donor/COOPI’s procedures are respected;
• Participate to the projects/coordination budget preparation;
• Has the signature for all COOPI’s bank accounts in the country.

Visibility

• Cooperate with the Communication and Fundraising office for all communication, awareness and fund raising activities implemented in and for the country.

Requirements

Essentials

• Advanced degree in International Education, International Development, Health and Nutrition or a related field or equivalent work.
• Minimum 3 years experience in the humanitarian field and in a similar position, with a track record of success and results achieved;
• Proficiency in written and spoken English;
• Computer literacy, with high proficiency in the use of standard office software applications (e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint);
• Valid driving license.

Soft skills

• Strong analytical and practical problem-solving skills;
• Strong supervisory abilities, and demonstrated capacity of teamwork and of coordination with the relevant actors;
• Very good inter-personal and writing communication skills;
• Ability to organize work efficiently and deliver assignments in a timely manner often under time constraints.

Advantage

• Previous experience with an international humanitarian NGO;
• Desirable experience of working on EU/ECHO, USAID/OFDA and UN projects.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the application closing date, once a sufficient number of applications have been received.