Regional Director Africa

Do you want to change the world by leading and developing Diakonia’s work in Africa? We offer you an exciting job in an international organization that makes a difference!

Diakonia is a Swedish non-profit organization for international development cooperation and humanitarian assistance. Diakonia collaborates with over 350 partner organisations in 25 countries – in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Diakonia works for a just, equal and sustainable future. We operate on feminist principles and a human rights-based approach, and our focus areas are human rights, democracy and gender equity. Since the beginning of 2021, Diakonia has a new global strategy which entails an exciting development for operations, working methods and organization.

In Africa, Diakonia works in 9 countries as well as regionally, with an annual budget of 230-250 MSEK. 

 

Role and responsibilities

As Regional Director you contribute to Diakonia’s strategic development and you lead and develop operations in the Africa region, in line with feminist and human-rights based principles and our core values of solidarity, justice, courage, commitment and accountability. You head the regional management team, including two Deputy Regional Directors and a Director for Finance and Administration. You report to the International Director at Head Office and you are part of Diakonia’s Extended Management Team, led by the Secretary General. Your responsibilities include:

• Lead and develop operations in the region, building on continuous context analysis, partner dialogue and learning. Monitor the effectiveness of the programmes, making adjustments as needed. Prepare and follow up operational plans and budgets, adapting to relevant changes and trends. 
• Raise and manage funds in line with Diakonia’s guidelines, donor requirements and external regulations. 
• Overall responsibility for human resources, work environment and security in the region, including direct line management of country directors and regional office staff.
• Promote strategic communication and build networks within Diakonia and externally. 

 

Experience and qualifications

We are looking for an experienced leader that knows how to create and promote trust in the organization. You lead with strong integrity and commitment, and truly believe in teamwork while you are very clear on mandate and decision making. You are pro-active and well organized and have excellent communication skills both speaking and writing, including using digital tools. You have very good analytical skills and a solution-oriented mindset. We also want you to have the following qualifications:

• University degree or equivalent in relevant area
• Experience from international development cooperation, working with a rights-based approach in partnership with civil society organisations
• Cultural and contextual competence relevant to Diakonia’s countries of operation in the Africa region
• Knowledge in Diakonia’s thematic focus areas
• Management of donor relations and resource mobilization, including specific experience of working with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and Swedish Embassies
• Financial management including budgeting
• Proficiency in English

 

This is a plus

• Experience of humanitarian assistance
• Knowledge of Human Resource Management
• Language skills in Swedish, French or Portuguese

 

We offer

We offer you an exciting job in an international environment, where you become part of a culture that characterized by our core values: solidarity, justice, courage, commitment and accountability. We also offer a package with conditions for expatriate staff.

Location: Nairobi, Kenya 

Start date: 1st August 2022 or per agreement 

Employment type: Two-year contract with possible extension. 

Interviews may start before the end of the application period. We use tests as part of the selection process and background checks will be made for the final candidate.

We believe in the power of diversity and strive to recruit staff with different perspectives, experiences and competences. 

Diakonia is committed to provide a safe environment for all employees and the rights holders that we work with and support, with zero tolerance against breaches of this commitment.

Diakonia is certified against the Core Humanitarian Standard on quality, accountability and transparency. 

Contact information:

If you have questions about the position or the recruitment process, please contact: Anna Eggelind, International Director, anna.eggelind@diakonia.se or +46-8-4536967. 

Union representatives (Sweden only):

Unionen: Magnus Walan, +46-8-4536916, magnus.walan@diakonia.se

Akademikerföreningen: Julle Bergenholtz-Foglander, +46-76-5011744, julle.bergenholtzfoglander@diakonia.se