Director of Central African region (CAR/Cameroon/Chad)

Peacebuilding charity Concordis International seeks an experienced Regional Director to lead a growing programme in the borderlands of Central African Republic, Cameroon and Chad. The Regional Director will be part of Concordis’ Senior Leadership Team, and we will shortly be recruiting for a Regional Director for Sudan and South Sudan.

After six years of impactful work, promoting peaceful transhumance to mutual economic benefit in the borderlands of the Central African Republic, Cameroon and Chad, the donor has invited Concordis to scale up this programme. The Regional Director will take on a high-performing team and invest in their growth, both numerically and developmentally, over the coming four years and beyond.

Job Title: Director of the Central African Region

Location: Probablyinaregional capital (Bangui, Yaoundé or Ndjamena)with extensive travel

Duration: Full time, subject to probationary period and 3 months’ notice

Reporting to: Chief Executive, based in the UK

Supervising: Line management of the Regional Head of Peacebuilding, the Regional Head of MEAL, the Regional Head of Operations and the Research Manager

Responsible for teams in the three country offices in Bangui, Yaoundé and Ndjamena,and in at least six local offices in the borderlands

Hours: Full time. Official working days and hours vary between countries. This is a professional role that requires flexibility, commitment and willingness and ability to work longer hours when necessary.

Salary: €65,000

Primary Objectives

1. Responsible for the strategic direction of Concordis in the region, both delivering the programme as currently funded and working with the team to design, develop and source funding for additional programming that will a deliver measurable change for peace.
2. Represent Concordis in the region, with high-level engagement with local, national, regional and international decision makers, using evidence from the programmes to influence policymaking.
3. Collaborative leadership of the Central African Regional Leadership Team, investing in a staff team of over 100 people, as they invest in building sustainable peace.

Sub-objectives

1. Responsible for the strategic direction of Concordis in the region, both delivering the programme as currently funded and working with the team to design and source funding for additional programming that will a deliver measurable change for peace.
   1. Lead on delivering an ambitious but realistic regional programme to time and to budget, meeting all contractual requirements of the donor.
   2. Develop opportunities to use the significant flexibility built into this contract to maximise impacts for peace, beyond pure contractual terms.
   3. Inspire the team of staff and community volunteers to a vision that is deeper than delivery of activities, and translates into measurable attitudinal and behavioural change.
   4. Visionary leadership with the staff team, key stakeholders and international donors to identify gaps in peacebuilding provision and to develop opportunities for future work that will meet identified needs, be locally owned and deliver measurable impact.
   5. Build and maintain operational systems that ensure proper administrative support for programmes as well as segregation of duties between finance and operations.
2. Represent Concordis in the region, with high-level engagement with local, national, regional and international decision makers, using evidence from the programmes to influence policymaking.
   1. Build and maintain relationships with key decision makers, then use this access to amplify voices that are often ignored, engaging with:
   2. Government officials, supporting them with locally owned policy recommendations that will promote effective governance and address root causes of conflict.
   3. Diplomatic staff, supporting them with analysis and evidence-based programme design that will meet local needs.
   4. Regional bodies that support Central African countries (eg COMIFAC, ECCAS, CEMAC, OFAC etc)
   5. UN and multilateral agencies
   6. Humanitarian and developmental staff, building consortia and promoting collaboration to yield multi-disciplinary approaches to complex problems.
   7. Participate actively in regional conferences and negotiations to ensure that the voices of people in the borderlands are heard at the highest level, and that locally-led and conflict sensitive solutions are reflected in strategic decision-making.
3. Collaborative leadership of the Central African Regional Leadership Team, investing in a staff team of over 100 people, as they invest in building sustainable peace.
   1. Chair and line manage the Central Africa Regional Leadership Team, made up of the Head of Peacebuilding, the Head of Operations, Head of MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning) and the Research Manager. Accountable for their work and responsible for building a cohesive team working together effectively across departments.
   2. Mentor, support, supervise and manage the wider staff team, including at least three Country Leadership Teams in the capital cities and six teams in local hubs in the borderlands, inspiring them in their roles and focusing their efforts to deliver rapid and sustainable results, whilst ensuring that staff development needs are met. Create and sustain an organisational culture of mutual respect and accountability, where team members strive to achieve excellence.
   3. Promote clear lines of communication between staff members and offices, both across the Central African Regional programme and with other regional programmes (eg in Sudan and South Sudan) and with staff in the UK. Lead or participate in a system of team meetings, one-to-ones, appraisals and informal gatherings, avoiding silos, generating synergies and leading to 360 degree sharing of information, analysis and technical expertise.
   4. Report directly to the Chief Executive and into Concordis’ Senior Leadership Team.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential:

1. 10 years of relevant international development experience working in more than three different fragile and conflict affected country contexts.
2. 5 years in senior leadership, managing programmes and budgets in excess of $1m per year.
3. 5 years of leading, managing and inspiring culturally diverse teams in complex and challenging environments.
4. Proven track record of leading on securing and successfully delivering grants from institutional donors such as the EU, USAID etc.
5. Demonstrable knowledge of the Central African context, including history, geography, legal frameworks etc.
6. Professional level written and spoken English and French, with experience of making presentations and drafting technical documents in both languages.
7. Willing, able and available to spend extended periods of time in the region, both in the capitals and in towns and villages in the borderlands.
8. Strong diplomatic and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and negotiate patiently and effectively with potentially suspicious / hostile actors.
9. Excellent IT skills.
10. Resourceful, proactive, flexible and kind, able to manage and prioritise competing tasks.
11. Commitment to Concordis’ mission, principles, values (available at https://concordis.international/mission-and-values

Desirable:

1. Fluency in Arabic, Sango, Fulfulde etc.
2. Demonstrable personal experience of peacebuilding, facilitation of complex dialogues and conflict analysis.
3. Experience of monitoring and evaluation of peacebuilding processes.
4. Practical experience and/or training in NGO Security Management.
5. Masters degree in international relations, development studies, conflict resolution or a related discipline.