Country Director Kenya & Tanzania

Nairobi

Organization: NRC - Norwegian Refugee Council
Location: Nairobi
Grade: Senior level - Senior
Occupational Groups:
- Project and Programme Management
- Managerial positions
Closing Date: Closed

The Norwegian Refugee Council is recruiting a Country Director to lead its combined operations in Kenya and Tanzania. These contexts represent some of our most stable and yet most dynamic programme environments, with unique opportunities to work with national partners, government, with new technology and in leading research in the service of refugees and host communities. We seek candidates with a passion for learning and innovation and a vision of putting their organization at the forefront of ending aid dependency for the people we serve.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. We work in crises across 31 countries, providing emergencies and long-term assistance to millions of people every year. We stand up for people forced to flee, advocating their rights.

Context

The Country Director position manages NRC’s programmes in both Kenya and Tanzania.

Kenya hosts some of the largest and oldest refugee populations in East Africa. The country offers great potential for social and economic integration but long term political instability in neighbouring countries and limited visible dividends for host communities is increasing pressure to find durable solutions for refugees.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been implementing projects for refugees in Dadaab and Kakuma since 2007. NRC has a new global strategy and the Kenya programme seeks to refine and grow its work in the country in support of and learning from Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) approaches.

Tanzania has long been a safe haven for those fleeing neighbouring countries. NRC has been providing services to Burundian and Congolese refugees in North West Tanzania since 2016 and is now predominantly focused on the delivery Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) and Shelter to all camps. The new country strategy also includes supporting the implementation of cross border programming with Burundi, Education and the diversification of services to better benefit host communities. Country management and technical support to the Tanzania programme is provided from Nairobi. Tanzania will also undergo a review of its longer term strategy and structure in 2022.

In delivering its humanitarian response and seeking new routes to greater impact, NRC’s programmes aim to build strengths in innovation, humanitarian analysis, advocacy and systems change and the country programme has a particular focus on the use of technology as a tool for programme delivery and impact. NRC is also engaging with local government to strengthen the deliberate planning holistic host community-refugee economic development and integration.

NRC is seeking to recruit an experienced leader to further strengthen its Kenya and Tanzania programmes and structures in some of the most enabling environments in the region.

Role and responsibilities

General Responsibilities

National representation and coordination
Development and execution of country strategy
All in-country activities, personnel and the Country Management Group (CMG)
Safety and security of all staff
Country level advocacy
Resource allocation and mobilization

Specific Responsibilities

Ensure effective collaboration with government and donors at national and sub-national level to ensure mutual learning and influencing for greater impact of programme investments.
Oversee the development of appropriate new strategies that will ensure new routes to impact at scale, including the incorporation of technology, media and institution building.
Development of partnerships and collaborations with external actors, including National NGOs, the private sector and academic institutions.
Develop and share learning on the implementation of the CRRF for the country programme and the wider organization/sector.
Lead teams in ensuring programmes are designed and able to deliver in Hard to Reach areas
Liaise with NRC’s bordering COs programmes to optimise cross border collaboration.

Critical interfaces

By interfaces, NRC means processes and projects that are interlinked with other departments/units or persons. Relevant interfaces for this position are:

Regional programme and support teams in the East Africa and Yemen regional office
Country Directors in the region, both as part of the Regional Management Team as well as in the development of cross border context analysis and programme collaboration.
National level collaborators from Government, Civil Society, Donors and Private Sector.
Policy and Partnerships team in Oslo, as part of the priority country advocacy initiative.
Other Country Directors in the region to help ensure learning and resources are shared and NRC speaks with one voice.

Professional Competencies

Minimum 5 years’ experience of working as a Senior Manager/Country Director in humanitarian /recovery context
Experience of leading teams to deliver obligations whilst developing innovative routes to impact
Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts
Sound understanding of both programme and business support practices
Fluency in English, both written and verbal
Experience of working with displaced populations and/or large scale humanitarian responses.
Knowledge of the Kenyan or Tanzanian contexts and/or region.
Proven results in improving the working context of an organisation or the wider sector through deliberate influencing strategies.
Experience of representing an organisation or humanitarian context with the press and/or media as well as incorporating the use of new and traditional media in delivering impact.
Experience of promoting innovation, with a clear understanding of how cash/market based programming and the exploitation of digital tools can maximise efficiency and impact.