Country Director (Bujumbura, Burundi)

Organization

Help a Child is a Christian international NGO specialized in community development with its headquarters in the Netherlands and it has been operating in Burundi since 2009. Founded in 1968, Help a Child’s mission is to improve the wellbeing of children living in poverty and crisis through supportive communities.

Together with local and international organizations, Help a Child Burundi is active in different programs: Since our entry in 2009, Help a Child’s visibility in the country is increasing and we are becoming recognized as one of key players in both development and emergency relief sectors. Seeing the first results of the Building Bridges in Burundi, we feel encouraged to empower and restore vulnerable communities, with a focus on youth and employment in Burundi. This is closely linked to our ambition to reinforce top down accountability by local and good governance. In emergency relief, we see new opportunities, working together with many other partners, testing new methods such as cash transfer. It is inspiring to bring together lessons learnt in both programs and see how we can bridge the gap.

Help a Child Burundi saw its flags raised in 2 refugee camps and 3 returnees’ transit centers in Burundi in November 2021. Help a Child Burundi has started a new partnership with UNHCR and WFP to support refugees, returnees’ families including unaccompanied children. Together with UNHCR and WFP, Help a Child is ensuring the provision of food items and Non-Food items respectively to Refugees and Returnees as well as cash-based interventions to unaccompanied children, ensuring secure and proper orientation of the usage.

Position

The Country Director (CD) will be responsible for the long term and overall success of Help a Child’s country program in Burundi. The CD will manage the country office, the Help a Child Burundi Program and the country team. (S)he is responsible for successful fundraising, the development and implementation of the Help a Child Burundi country strategy, delivering high quality projects, sound financial management and strategic stakeholder management. Furthermore, the CD will be end responsible for quality control & evaluation, including adherence to donor standards and quality reporting. The CD will, with the support of managers and team leaders, manage a team that currently consists of 50 professionals.

Main tasks and responsibilities

• Identify, create and capitalize on funding opportunities for further growth of the Help a Child portfolio.
• Represent Help a Child at key events.
• Successfully invest in and expand networks of relevant stakeholders, including Dutch and other foreign embassies, donor representatives and Burundi national/ local government entities and like-minded INGO’s in order to develop partnerships.
• Ensure strategic growth, development and delivery of the Help a Child Burundi Country Program, in line with the Help a Child mandate, strategy and Theory of Change.
• Ensure that existing and new projects are in line with strategy, operational plans and budgets.
• Responsible for timely and high quality reporting to back donors and Help a Child’s International Office.
• Responsible for ensuring strong and outstanding collaborative relations with Help a Child’s International office.
• End-responsible for sound financial management and control of the administrative and financial organization.
• End-responsible for the Country Program and ensuring the partner’s quality in implementation standards, guidelines and reporting.
• Responsible for development and maintenance of efficient and effective operating systems, and ensuring compliance with all Help a Child Management Operating Standards and Standard Operating Procedures.
• Responsible for the overall HR cycle of staff, including the development of an organizational culture that reflects HaC’s values, promotes accountability and high performance and frees up staff to deliver outstanding results for beneficiaries and donors.

Qualifications & Desired Skills

• This is an extraordinary opportunity for an ambitious, entrepreneurial and high energy professional with significant experience in (Program) Management and Fundraising to be part of a growing country office. Specific requirements include:
• Minimum of an Advanced Degree in a relevant field.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in a relief or early recovery setting, preferably in a similar position.
• Proven track record in identifying, creating and capitalizing on funding opportunities.
• Demonstrated experience in building personal and professional networks at a senior level.
• Good knowledge of Protection, FSL, Education and Community empowerment.
• Preferably experience working in consortia and with implementing partner organizations.
• Good understanding of program, financial and operational management processes.
• Good understanding of key trends in international and humanitarian development.
• Experience managing a growing team of staff.
• Experience working in a post conflict, transitional and cross cultural context, preferably in Burundi.
• Preferably experience in working with a Theory of Change as frame work.
• Experience in managing safety & security needs.
• Results driven and motivated by a sense of performance excellence and urgency.
• Fluent in English and French strong communication skills, both verbally and written (including presentation skills).
• Know how to drive a car and having a valid driver’s licence at least category B (for small cars and 4*4)
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, interpersonal and cross cultural sensitivity.
• Being a Christian, adhering to the Christian identity of Help a Child and experienced communicating the Christian identity of Help a Child to team members.
• Full support for the vision and mission of Help a Child.

Value Proposition

Help a Child offers the opportunity to become part of an ambitious, Child centred and Christian International NGO with a dedicated team of professionals motivated to maximize impact. Help a Child offers a fair pay and benefits package that is justifiable to our donors. Furthermore, you will be offered a fixed term two (2) year contract. Depending on funding, your performance and fit with the staff, the contract will be extended.

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates are kindly invited to apply before 09^th of December 2022 at 05PM through this link: https://cvselection.net/help-a-child-burundi/7657/

In your cover letter, please reflect on your motivation for wanting to become part of the Help a Child organization. This includes a reflection on Help a Child being a child centred and Christian organization.

For more information about the position or the recruitment process, please contact us at angelique.schuurman@redeenkind.nl. Due to the urgency to fill this role, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We reserve the right to close this advert before the confirmed closing date when we are in receipt of sufficient applications. Should you wish to apply for this post you are kindly advised to submit your application as soon as possible. A DISC assessment will be part of the selection process.

First interviews will be at our office in Bujumbura and partly online in Microsoft Teams. The second interviews are all in our office.

Help a Child is committed to keep children safe. All staff are required to sign and adhere to the Help a Child’s Integrity Policy. Recruitment is subject to successful completion of all applicable background checks, including criminal record checks. In this recruitment process we ask the candidate for consent for obtaining the Statement of Conduct. Hereby we inform you that we participate in the SCHR Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.