Country Director, Mexico

The border between the U.S. and Mexico spans 1,969 miles and has more than 20 checkpoints along its route.  The border fence between the two countries covers much of the area between Tijuana/San Diego in the east, and Juarez/El Paso in the center. The border fence has driven many people east towards the more porous border in Texas.  All along the border, but particularly in the east, organized crime controls the majority of the border areas which are plagued by crime and violence including trafficking of drugs, weapons, money, and people. Recent changes in U.S. policy have  resulted in long waiting times to present at a port-of-entry along the border, which are most extreme in Tijuana. This, coupled with the insecurity in the east, is resulting in a ‘funneling’ of more migrants and asylum-seekers into the central areas of the country, such as Nogales and Ciudad Juarez.

While waiting to cross the border, migrants and asylum-seekers stay in shelters, in rented rooms, or on the street. The services that are available to them are almost entirely from the civil society, and they vary dramatically in both quality and availability, and between locations and service providers. The one constant is that service providers are overwhelmed. Changes in US policy, under the Migrant Protection Protocol has had a significant impact on migrant and asylum-seeker population in Ciudad Juarez and service providers.

Since May 2019, the IRC has been providing financial and technical support to local civil society organizations and NGOs in Ciudad Juarez to implement GBV prevention and response services – facilitating the provision of life-saving case management services, psychosocial support activities, and information sessions to migrant, asylum seeker, and returnee women and girls. Success in this position requires an individual with demonstrated team leadership abilities; representational (including media relations), communications and risk management skills; and a facility for developing networks to build partnerships and diversify program resources. S/he will be directly responsible for the overall coordination and strategic direction of the country program; providing supervision and coaching for directly supervised senior staff; 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 high-quality, timely reporting; and oversight of financial management systems.

SCOPE OF WORK:

 The Country Director’s core responsibilities will be to: support the management of all IRC activities in Mexico including guiding the office and activities in Ciudad Juarez; representing the IRC to external stakeholders at all levels (particularly in Mexico City); develop strategic relationships and engage in the national and regional dialogue related to migration, humanitarian response and IRC areas of programming both in Mexico and contributing to cross border cross organization work.

The Country Director 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.

Languages: Fluency in both Spanish & English

Length of assignment: 12 months, potential to extend

CVs to be submitted in English.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES:

Program Management and Development

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; 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 IRC’s 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 El Salvador/Northern Central America 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.
• 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 the Mexico 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.