Country Director - Iraq

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a non-governmental, humanitarian organization with 60 years of experience in helping to create a safer and more dignified life for refugees and internally displaced people. NRC advocates for the rights of displaced populations and offers assistance within the shelter, education, emergency food security, legal assistance, and water,sanitation and hygiene sectors.

The Norwegian Refugee Council has approximately 5000 committed and competent employees involved in projects across four continents. In addition, NRC runs one of the world’s largest standby rosters -NORCAP, with 650 professionals, ready to be deployed on 72 hours notice when a crisis occurs

Are you our next Country Director in Iraq? Our compensation and benefits include a competitive salary, leave and R&R, pension and family benefits.

We believe in Rights Respected & People Protected

About NRC

We work to protect the rights of displaced and vulnerable people during crisis. Through our programmes we provide assistance to meet immediate humanitarian needs, prevent further displacement and contribute to durable solutions. Through our stand-by rosters we provide expertise as a strategic partner to the UN, as well as to national and international actors. Through our advocacy we strive for rights to be upheld and for lasting solutions to be achieved.

Want to learn more about NRC? please visit our website  https://www.nrc.no/who-we-are/about-us/ , also you can read our policy paper attached below.

NRC in Iraq

The unfolding crisis in Iraq is one of the most complex humanitarian emergencies in the world today, with millions of uprooted Iraqis, and hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. For the past several years, millions of people have been displaced from and within Iraq as a result of military operations. At the end of 2015, the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) began a military operation to enter and retake control of parts of the country under the control of armed opposition groups, especially in the Anbar governorate. Civilians have been caught in the crossfire. 

NRC has been present in Iraq since 2010, with offices located in Anbar province, Baghdad, Erbil, Dohuk and Kirkuk.  We have scaled up our response across Iraq to meet the large-scale crisis facing the country, reaching Iraqis with emergency assistance and supporting Syrian refugees as they live in exile.  Our goal is to always be prepared to work in new settings, so we are establishing more local partnerships in Iraq.  Additionally, NRC is part of the UNICEF and WFP-led Rapid response mechanism (RRM), which enables us to reach newly displaced populations with the most urgent life-saving assistance.

We are looking for an experienced Country Director to manage our country operations in Iraq. You will be the highest ranking manager in the Country Office and will be responsible for the overall success of our operations.

The ideal candidate will be a strategist and a leader who is able to steer the organization towards achieving NRC Vision while implementing its mission and goals. Very strong crisis management skills will also be essential since the Country director is the one expected to keep the wheel moving in times of need.

If you are looking for new thrilling challenges, in a complex and dynamic environment then this position is for you. In this position you’ll get the chance to work innovatively and leave an impact over vulnerable people’s lives.

Key responsibilities:

1. National representation
2. Development and execution of country strategy
3. Overall responsible for all activities, personnel and the country management team (CMT)
4. Safety and security of all staff
5. Country level advocacy
6. Responsible for overall resource allocation, mobilization and control
7. Responsible for cost efficiency
8. Ensure adequate country structures and systems
9. Learning, training and development for all staff, including a strategy for national staff development
10. Adherence to NRC policies

More details you can find in the attached job description below.

We offer:

• Contract period: Negotiable.
• Salary/benefits: According to NRC’s salary scale and terms and conditions
• Duty station: Erbil, potential family accompanied contract in Amman
• Approved health certificate will be requested before contract start
• NB: Please enter the geographical location in the "Company name" field for both company and location on your application.