The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
Fluency in both written and spoken English & Spanish required.
Within the Latin America region, IRC's Mexico and Central America response – known as CAMEX – covers Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. These countries continue to see high levels of violence, migration and instability. Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, sometimes referred to together as the Northern Triangle, have recorded homicide rates among the highest ever documented, as deadly as many contemporary armed conflicts such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Disappearances, forced recruitment into gangs, and the sexual exploitation of women and girls also form part of the pattern of violence. The overwhelming majority of survivors of sexual violence are between the ages of 10 and 19 years. Mexico is simultaneously a country of origin, transit and destination for people on the move, hosting growing numbers of asylum seekers, returnees and internally displaced people while confronting its own patterns of violence and insecurity in several states. The scale and severity of the epidemic of violence across these countries has caused people to flee their homes and seek international protection in record numbers. According to IDMC, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced last year across these countries due to high levels of violence, targeted threats, and instability.
As part of a needs assessment conducted in 2017, the IRC found that families and individuals affected by violence and displacement were unaware of and unable to access quality support services and meet their basic needs. Even where services were available, the lack of knowledge about and fear of seeking help was widespread, and many weren’t seeking services at all, rather fleeing internally and increasingly externally. In response, the IRC is implementing an integrated protection serving individuals and families who are highly vulnerable including those internally displaced, returned asylum seekers and refugees, women, girls, youth, members of the LGBTQ community and others who have been victimized due to targeted, threatened and generalized violence in the region.
SCOPE OF WORK
The Country Director’s core responsibilities will be to: support the management of IRC's CAMEX response (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador), including guiding the office and activities in El Salvador while driving growth and expansion in Mexico, Honduras & Guatemala; represent the IRC to external stakeholders at all levels; develop strategic relationships and engage in national and CAMEX dialogue related to humanitarian and IRC areas of programming.
The CD is directly responsible for the program's overall coordination and strategic direction; providing oversight and coaching for directly supervised senior managers; leading country program teams to identify, design and deliver responsive, high-quality programs; ensuring efficient management of public grants and private funds for results, compliance, and focused, timely reporting; and oversight of financial management and compliance systems. The CD will maintain continuity of humanitarian support in current operational areas, while, in collaboration with the regional office, exploring the possibility of expanding the geographic scope as needs warrant and conditions allow.
Locations: Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala
Major Responsibilities:
Leadership and Representation
Lead the country program by maintaining open and professional relations with colleagues, promoting a positive work environment at all levels, and ensuring oversight and resources to enable staff to perform successfully.
Develop and maintain a high level of understanding of donor priorities and planned funding streams, seeking to establish IRC as a partner of choice for major international donors.
Maintain strong, mutually beneficial and authentic partnerships with local organizations.
Seek out and pursue opportunities to raise the profile of the work of IRC and its partners, as well as the lives and the needs of the people IRC seeks to serve.
Lead country program through collaboration with colleagues to deliver country programming and advocacy.
Ensure leadership and management processes enable the IRC to effectively adapt to contextual changes and fully make use of opportunities to expand humanitarian access and assistance.
Develop and carry out strategies that result in strong representation with: government ministries; UNOCHA; humanitarian coordination; donors and other international organizations; international and local NGOs; and networks.
Strategic Direction, Quality, and Growth
Ensure the strategic vision and direction of the country program is aligned with IRC2020 strategy to serve people with responsive, high-quality and accountable programming, and secure the resources necessary for successful implementation
Ensure the strategy action plan promotes quality programming, is implemented and guides decision-making.
Ensure quality program implementation through consistent use throughout the country program of: rigorous assessment, design, and proposal development and review processes; comprehensive monitoring & evaluation, accountability and learning systems; staff development investments; and partner organization capacity strengthening.
Remain current on national and regional issues impacting the country program and partners, and develop responsive strategies to changing contexts.
Ensure the SMT delivers the leadership, management structures, staffing skills and approaches, and operational systems required to ensure a coherent ‘one IRC’ approach to achieve programming objectives.
Find opportunities for appropriate expansion and growth of programs, supported by the appropriate investment in human resources.
Safety and Security Management
Take primary responsibility for overall management for the country program.
Oversee the management of all security issues, including appropriate response to emergency situations as they arise.
Maintain a culture of safety throughout the country program, including trainings and briefings that prepare all country program staff for security incident prevention and response.
Maintain close coordination and communication with the Regional Safety and Security Advisor on relevant concerns and evolving issues that could adversely affect IRC staff or operations.
Staff Management, Learning and Development
Oversee the management, coaching and development of IRC CAMEX staff to build a team of skilled, committed and motivated staff. Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting quarterly performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews and promoting professional development
Hold high-quality 1:1 meetings with each direct report on a regular and predictable basis, at least bi-weekly.
Approve and manage all time, attendance and leave requests of direct reports to ensure adequate departmental coverage.
Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs of IRC CAMEX staff.
Offer leadership support for successful adherence by all staff to IRC’s country, regional and Global HR Operating Policies and Procedures.
Work with regional HR staff to identify and implement recruitment and retention strategies.
Stewardship and Operational Management
Drive operational excellence to achieve optimal efficiency and cost-effectiveness in all functions and operations of the country program.
Oversee the development, deployment and utilization of financial and operational policies, procedures, and systems to deliver compliance with IRC and donor requirements.
Ensure responsiveness and appropriate levels of in-person and remote support to all offices, especially in the areas of HR, finance and supply chain.
Provide timely and effective oversight of the country program’s financial position.
Maintain effective and coordinated budget monitoring processes for grant funds and discretionary funds.
Seek opportunities to introduce efficiencies and eliminate redundancies in existing business processes.
Communications
Model and encourage active practice of the principles of the “IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct” throughout the CAMEX country program.
Maintain a healthy and empowering office environment that encourages open, honest and productive communication among IRC staff and with partner organizations.
Maintain open communications with regional management staff, regional technical advisors, and HQ departmental staff.
Job Requirements:
Strong leadership abilities and interpersonal skills, and be able to deploy strong communications effectively, both internally and externally; enjoy developing networks to build partnerships and diversify program resources.
Graduate degree in a relevant field, preferred.
At least 10+ years of dynamically responsible international work experience, including leadership at the Country Director level of multi-site, multi-sectoral operations in a complex operating environment, supervising diverse teams.
Experience working in conflict/post-conflict or disaster response situation.
Professional fluency in written and spoken Spanish and English.
Demonstrated Technical Skills:
Experience managing security in a complex and rapidly changing security context.
Confirmed ability to negotiate and work with partner organizations. Experience with organizational capacity strengthening and partnership building is helpful.
Strong budget and fiscal oversight capacities.
Demonstraated representation and fundraising success, including prior experience with European, US, private and other international donors.
Established capacity to handle stressful situations in a healthy, constructive manner.
Ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes.
Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
Experience using technology for response in humanitarian or development context a plus.
Demonstrated Managerial/Leadership Competencies:
Experience building personal networks at a senior level, resulting in securing new opportunities for the organization.
Demonstrated successful leadership and management experience with a multi-disciplinary teams in cross-cultural settings, including active mentoring and coaching.
Effective in developing high-potential staff to achieve career growth and maximum contribution.
Confirmed experience delivering suitable levels of oversight of a portfolio consisting of a variety of complex, high-value donor-funded projects.
Opportunity-awareness. A successful innovative approach to unpredictable programming, operational, and funding contexts.
Ability to represent program context, constraints, and successes to media, government, and other senior audiences.
Working Environment
IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability.
Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.
Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.
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