Head of Country Office, Ukraine

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, with a network of 192-member National Societies (NSs). The overall aim of the IFRC is “to inspire, encourage, facilitate, and promote at all times all forms of humanitarian activities by NSs with a view to preventing and alleviating human suffering and thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of human dignity and peace in the world.”  The IFRC works to meet the needs and improve the lives of vulnerable people before, during and after disasters, health emergencies and other crises.

IFRC is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement), together with its member NSs and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The work of the IFRC is guided by the following fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

IFRC is led by its Secretary General, and has its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Headquarters are organized into three main Divisions: (i) National Society Development and Operations Coordination; (ii) Global Relations, Humanitarian Diplomacy and Digitalization; and (iii) Management Policy, Strategy and Corporate Services.

IFRC has five regional offices in Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Europe, and the Americas.  IFRC also has country cluster delegation and country delegations throughout the world. Together, the Geneva Headquarters and the field structure (regional, cluster and country) comprise the IFRC Secretariat.

In late February a new phase in the armed conflict in Ukraine started with the intensification and spread of hostilities affecting many parts of the country and causing major concern for the protection of civilians and essential civilian infrastructure. This intensification started after months of rising political and military tensions – and eight years of conflict in and around Eastern Ukraine where an estimated 2,9 million people were already in need of humanitarian assistance and 1,4 million were internally displaced. Within two weeks of the intensification, more than 2,5 million people from Ukraine had fled and been evacuated to seven neighboring countries and beyond and several million are estimated to be displaced inside the country.

The evolution of the war inside Ukraine and massive population movement forces the humanitarian community to adapt operational approaches and implementation in accordance with the developing situation, both inside and outside Ukraine. However, the needs are massive and have been described as the largest European humanitarian operations since World War II.

IFRC has launched an Emergency Appeal for Ukraine and impacted countries in March 2022 that is coordinated on a European regional level and was supported in the initial months by a large number of Surge delegates in the impacted countries and in the European Regional Office. ICRC, IFRC and numerous Partner National Societies (PNSs) are integrating their capacities to provide coordinated crisis response in Ukraine and the neighboring countries. Operations are led and coordinated on country-level whenever possible, integrated under existing Country and Cluster delegations, through Operations Managers reporting to Heads of Country or Cluster Delegation. Where no Country or Cluster delegation exists, Operations Managers report directly to the Regional Office. Resources to support all or several impacted countries from a regional level will be fully integrated into existing structures at the Regional Office.

The Head of Country Office (HoCO) is based in Kyiv and provides strategic leadership to the IFRC team in country. This includes supporting the Ukraine Red Cross Society (URCS) in addressing the many consequences of the armed conflict, providing an enabling environment to PNSs in Ukraine, leading humanitarian diplomacy efforts in country and ensuring the safety of the Red Cross staff in country.

 The HoCO:

• Provides strategic leadership support to ensure implementation of the IFRC Agenda for Renewal in Ukraine and upon request from the HoCCD to other locations within the Country Cluster Delegation.
• Ensures to the delivery and constant evolution of activities in Ukraine around National Society Development, strategic and operational coordination and representing the collective work of the Federation through Humanitarian Diplomacy.
• Represents the IFRC with stakeholders and partners in Ukraine, including government agencies and institutions, diplomatic missions and international organizations and actors and supports the URCS in reinforcing its auxiliary role in the country.
• Ensures effective membership coordination to increase the readiness of URCS capacity to quickly respond to disasters and crises and support for greater community and institutional resilience and promotes Movement cooperation whenever relevant.
• Provides leadership support to URCS by convening a country coordination platform for the membership operating in Ukraine and for those NSs supporting through multilateral means, the development of a single country support plan for Ukraine, aligned with the URCS development plan.
• Acts as a focal point to support the URCS, managing programmes and coordinating interdisciplinary projects. The HoCO has oversight of all initiatives and is accountable for the delivery of activities by the programme staff in Ukraine, or in the broader Cluster as identified by the HoCCD.
• Manages a multidisciplinary team of national and international staff and works closely with the URCS and other Federation members.
• Mobilizes resources and raises funds including coordination, cooperation, and collaboration with partners to strengthen (and scale up) the capacity of NSs. The HoCO is responsible for all non-project-specific duties, including reporting, quality, risk and benefit realization management.
• Is a key member of the CCD leadership team and contributes though leadership to issues affecting the Cluster. The role holder may also be called upon to act as HoCCD or perform other duties assigned by the HoCCD at the Cluster level.
• Acts as the Deputy Head of Country Cluster Delegation in Ukraine vis-a-vis the public authorities in line with the status agreement between Ukraine and the IFRC.

Programme and Project Management and Coordination  

• Is responsible and accountable for planning, implementing, monitoring, reporting, and evaluating programmes and projects, including oversight of budgets and budget management.
• Checks projects on consistency and compliance, especially with policies, procedures, standards, methodologies, instruments, theories, and practices.
• Is rresponsible for approving expenses related to the project and budget for which is responsible for, including the approval of advances to URCS as well as their reports on expenditures.
• Checks projects on effectiveness, especially for meeting (and adapting to) the needs of people, expectations and capacities of national societies and partners.
• Identifyies, analyses, accepts, or mitigates uncertainty in decisions and act (or not) given the benefit realization and risk tolerance.
• Supports the HoCCD with membership coordination, to include PNSs and ICRC programming interests in Ukraine.

Non-project-specific duties, especially synergies, capacity building and learning responsibilities.

• In coordination with the HoCCD, leads a collaborative and cooperative approach across all the aspects of the support, assistance and advice provided, including using resources of the membership and external partners, to minimizing project and team silos and maximizing synergies and efficiencies.
• Supports, assists and advises NSs’ leadership and management in the entire programming cycle. For assessing the needs and capacities, plans, monitors, evaluates and puts in place stronger reporting capacities to increase quality in the reporting and learnings.
• Leads, instils, and implants integration, synergy and learning across projects and project teams minimizing project and team silos and maximizing synergies and efficiencies.
• Plans, executes, and oversees all activities and tasks needed to maintain the desired level of excellence and the highest standards of work, service, and evidence.
• Makes more efficient, effective, and consistent standard operating procedures, protocols, and practices, including those related to requirements (such as but not limited to reports) of the membership and external partners.

Mobilization of resources and raising of funds including coordination, cooperation and collaboration with partners

• Identifies and promotes initiatives to increase the financial sustainability of the NS through the delivery of quality services that generate income for the URCS.
• Mobilizes resources to expand and scale-up activities, projects and programmes in close collaboration, coordination, and cooperation with relevant colleagues and always ensure that projects will include elements to increase NS’s financial sustainability.
• Maintains coordination, cooperation and collaboration with country, country cluster support, regional and global technical teams to ensure consistency with approaches, policies, methodologies, instruments, theories and practices and greater efficiencies.
• Maintains open, accessible, and transparent communication with the URCS, the IFRC membership, ICRC, external partners, and, with teams in country, country cluster support and regional offices, and headquarters.

Management of IFRC Secretariat resources in the country

Finance and Risk Management

• Ensures sound financial management of the IFRC Secretariat's programming in the country, that effective budget planning is in place, and that programmes operate within approved budgets.

Reporting

• Ensures the quality and timeliness of the reporting of the IFRC Secretariat's programming.
• Maintains regular management reporting to the Regional Director.
• Ensures the highest standards of accountability through preventive measures and firmed actions on issues raising concerns of no compliance on integrity, reputation, and transparency along with the IFRC policies and procedures.
• Ensures sound risk management culture within the Office and in the support of the URCS digital transformation to advance on a common agenda to address greater accountability and institutional operational efficiencies.

Staff and Security Management

• As the senior member of the IFRC in Ukraine, provides leadership, guidance, and support to all IFRC staff in the country.
• Ensures all IFRC staff in Ukraine have clear roles and responsibilities and that performance feedback mechanisms are in place.
• In close collaboration with the HoCCD and the Regional Security Manager, ensures that security policies and procedures are established and adhered to.
• Constantly monitosr the security and risk environment and recommend changes to IFRC’s policies and procedures as required.
• Ensures all IFRC (and other RCRC) personnel, assets, and operations under IFRC responsibility are adequately protected under comprehensive and effective 24/7 security management, and that identified security risks are mitigated as much as possible, including regular training, coordination, and advice with security-sensitive situations.
• Undertakes a security risk assessment of Federation operations according to the needs to ensure compliance with the Federation's Minimum-Security Requirements (MSR) and develop/update appropriate security plans and procedures in accordance with MSR. This includes Office, Residential and Site security coordination.
• Monitors and analyses security, political and socio-economic situation, identify security-related trends and issues that affect the Federation and RC/RC Movement and establish and maintain coordination with external stakeholders and ensures country-specific security briefings and debriefings as appropriate.

Duties applicable to all staff

• Work actively  towards the achievement of IFRCSecretariat’s goals. 
• Abide by and work in accordance with the Red Cross and Red Crescent principles.
• Perform any other work-related duties and responsibilities that may be assigned by the line manager.

Required: 

• Post-graduate (i.e., Master’s degree or equivalent) in social sciences/development studies, strategic/programme management, management studies or other relevant discipline
• IMPACT course or equivalent knowledge
• Certification in Project Management

Required: 

• 10+ years of work experience in managing operations for a humanitarian aid organisation and or development cooperation organisation
• 5+ years of experience at a senior management level
• 5+ years of work experience including management in a Red Cross/Red Crescent National Society, IFRC or ICRC
• 5+ years of experience of proven high-level communication skills backed by proven track record in programmes management
• Proven results-based experience on relationship management and resource mobilisation
• Proven experience in people management
• Proven record of security regulations implementation
• Proven experience of working in the region
• Proven experience in governance and leadership support
• Proven experience of acting in a representational role and maintaining donor and partner relations

Required: 

• Strong management and organizational skills, including ability to delegate authority and responsibility
• Good intercultural communication skills
• Ability to work in a cross cultural and cross functional environment
• Strong financial management skills
• Computer literate and proficient in Microsoft Office
• Excellent interpersonal negotiations skills, including ability to effectively communicate a vision, solve problems and manage conflict
• Proven people management skills in a multi-cultural environment and strong track record of developing people
• Demonstrated ability to undertake high-level representational and advocacy role
• Drive change and improvements and ability to deliver strategies in a challenging environment
• Understanding of and commitment to the IFRC’s mission and values
• Demonstrated initiative and creativity, and substantial experience of strategic thinking, including identifying, analysing, problem solving and responding to opportunities and challenges and the ability to translate these into practical plans of action
• Fluent spoken and written English

Preferred: 

• Good command of another IFRC official language (French, Spanish or Arabic)

Values: Respect for diversity; Integrity; Professionalism; Accountability

Core competencies: Communication; Collaboration and teamwork; Judgement and decision making; National Society and customer relations; Creativity and innovation; Building trust

Functional competencies: Strategic orientation; Building alliances; Leadership; Empowering others

Managerial competencies: Managing staff performance; Managing staff development