Rwanda Country Representative – Expat

Position description

Imagine waking up every morning with the chance to change someone’s life. Imagine knowing your efforts will benefit both your career and our neighbors around the world. At CWS, our team knows they are making a difference every day. Whether you’re in our U.S.-based offices supporting refugees, asylees or unaccompanied children implementing hygiene initiatives in Cambodia or rebuilding projects in Central America or even connecting remotely from your home on fundraising campaigns, grant reports, or critical communications: you have the opportunity to work towards a world where everyone has food, a voice and a safe place to call home. 

Purpose

The Country Representative will oversee and provide technical and strategic direction to CWS Rwanda country program and to commence laying ground for setting footprint in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This includes formulation of the country strategic plan, program development and administration as well as 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 Senior Program Manager, Security Risk Manager, Human Resource Manager, Program Integrity Specialist, Procurement Manager, Finance and Administration Manager.

Key Relationships

Internal to CWS

• CWS Staff Safety and Security Coordinator
• Deputy Director, RSC Program Implementation
• RSC Program Development and Quality
• Regional Representative
• RSC Africa Director
• RDP Director
• CWS Headquarter Relevant Units
• Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya
• RSC Africa Senior Management Team,
• Associate Directors,
• Direct Reports

External

• Service providers, PRM and other agencies.

Working Environment 

• Office environment. Periodic travel to the field as may be required.

Responsibilities

Core Job Responsibilities:

Leadership and Management (40%)

• Provides leadership, vision and strategy alignment/review to include development of annual/monthly projections that inform CWS priorities.
• Provides strategic leadership and direct oversight to CWS Africa activities in Rwanda.
• Responsible for oversight of Programs, Finance, Administration, Human Resources, Security, Procurement and Program Integrity functions in Rwanda.
• Provide direct leadership and management to the programs and administrationteams to include team organization, staffing, training and development, performance management, employee engagement, conflict resolution, coaching and mentorship as well as day to day supervision of direct reports.
• Oversee the development and implementation of annual plans for the Country Office and prioritize activities relating to staffing, team organization, training and development.
• As part of the Senior Leadership Team, participate in the development and execution of CWS RSC strategic plan and support RSC operational plans and budget development, execution and monitoring.
• Identify both short term and long-term resource needs and translate these into objectives and priorities.
• 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, CWS Regional HR Director, RDP Director, and the CWS Headquarters.
• Work with CWS Regional HR Director and Regional RSC Human Resources Director to identify and implement innovative and effective approaches that ensure high performance of the Rwanda country office staff.
• Ensures the well-being of staff is maintained at all times by providing a safe, healthy and professional work environment as well as upholding open door and escalation policies.
• Establishes and communicates clear expectations to staff to foster a predictable, safe and consistent work environment.
• Develop a country program plan with the Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya and in coordination with the relevant CWS HQ units, defines the programmatic and fundraising efforts and develop proposals and concept notes for the Rwanda country program.
• 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.

Oversight of Finance and Administration Function (25%)

• Lead in the development of short term, long-term plans and budgets based on organization’s broad goals/objectives as well as monitoring the annual budget implementation for all CWS activities in Rwanda.
• Provides leadership to ensure good stewardship of financial resources and CWS assets and take part in annual financial audits.
• Oversee provision of high-quality administrative support/services related to Property, Office Management, Travel & Logistics to various stakeholders/departments.
• Oversee technical and administrative services related to Information Technology (ICT) to various clients/departments.
• Oversee proper utilization of resources and management of risks to minimize misuse or loss.
• Ensure that all organizational contractual obligations are fulfilled, safeguard CWS RSC reputation and ensure that RSC receives value for money.
• Ensure that all necessary agreements, permits and licenses necessary for CWS RSC Rwanda operations are in place.
• Ensures that existing policies support accountability, transparency, and efficiency of CWS and comply with all donor requirements and CWS policies.
• Oversee proper utilization of resources and management of risks to minimize misuse or loss. 
• Ensures that all organizational contractual obligations are fulfilled, safeguard CWS RSC reputation and ensure that RSC receives value for money.
• Provide oversight of all procurement related issues, while ensuring compliance and adherence to organizational policies, donor rules and regulations, contractual terms and other applicable rules and regulations.
• Provide oversight of the Finance function ensuring financial health of the organization, timely annual budgeting, accurate reporting working closely with the Finance lead.

Engagement and External Relations (20%)

• Strengthen and build strategic partnerships with RSC Africa/USRAP partners, including PRM, USCIS, IOM, UNHCR and RPC ensuring that relevant communication is professional and accurate.
• Represent CWS in forums/meetings with government, intergovernmental, civil society and faith-based partners and other stakeholders to cultivate new relationships that are beneficial to CWS programs and strategies.
• Develop country program communication strategy, establish and maintain effective communication systems with the Regional Office in Nairobi Kenya, Rwanda country program staff, donors, partners and all other internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure CWS staff are professional when representing CWS to beneficiaries, partners, funders, colleagues and the community.
• Develop, coordinate and manage stakeholder engagement to ensure quality implementation and expansion of CWS programs.

Risk Management and Compliance (20%)

• Ensure CWS complies with laws and regulations of Rwanda 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.
• Oversee the development and implementation of systems, policies and standard operating procedures to ensure accountability, transparency and efficiency of RSC Africa and ensure compliance with the Cooperative Agreement, relevant OMB Circulars, PRM and CWS policies.
• In collaboration with Internal Audit and CWS leadership, identify and assess areas of significant compliance risk within CWS Rwanda and work with leadership to design and implement corrective action plans.
• Ensure all activities and operations are performed in accordance with the laid down standard operations procedures, government regulations and any federal laws and regulations governing business operations.
• Follow-up and resolve audit findings as well as oversee implementation of audit recommendations.
• Oversee development of internal compliance, monitoring and reporting tools.

Additional Responsibilities (5%)

• Other duties that may be assigned to enhance the quality and efficiency of support services to attain set objectives and maintain high professional standards of RSC Africa.
• Execute special projects and other duties as assigned by CWS/RSC Africa Leadership.

Qualifications

Experience:

• A minimum of ten (10) years’ work experience in the successful implementation of international development activities, with demonstrable experience in refugee processing, community development, humanitarian work or related field.
• A minimum of five (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.
• Experience developing and implementing country level strategies with the ability to develop successful proposals for donors.

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 international development, social work, community development or a related field. 
• 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 timeframe. 
• 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. 
• Analyze 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.
• 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

• 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 Kigali, Rwanda.
• 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 checks which includes references, 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 Rwanda OR A valid U.S. passport and the ability to maintain a valid U.S. passport throughout the entire.
• 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 Position.
• 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 regulations based on prevailing context.

 

Application instructions

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