Director Sub Region(DSR) Sahel

The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years, and are now active in more than 80 countries.

The Opportunity

The region covered by the Plan International West and Central Africa Hub (WACAH) stretches from the westernmost tip of Africa to the Republic of Congo in the south, on both sides of the equator and partly along the Atlantic Ocean. It brings together 22 countries that stretch from the semi-arid lands of the Sahel to the vast coastal areas of the Atlantic and the Gulf of Guinea, while the rainforest covers large territories, from Guinea to the Republic of Congo, via Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Gabon.

In addition to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which is “the largest economic and political union” on the African continent, and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the region also includes two monetary unions — the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC).

In West and Central Africa, Plan International is present in 15 countries, including 12 in West Africa, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea-Conakry, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and 3 in Central Africa: Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR).

Plan International’s approach in the region aims to multiply impact for children and youth, in particular girls, by leading, enabling and connecting key players with innovation. As such, WACAH is a reliable partner for girls’ rights issues at regional level and a facilitator of joint engagement with regional and sub-regional institutions and networks.

Plan International engages and partners with regional and sub-regional networks, bodies and movements to advance children’s rights and equality for girls using evidence from our own interventions and partners best practises. We empower youth and young women-led organisations through regional level networking, capacity building and support to children and youth/girls-led initiatives to promote gender equality in West and Central Africa.

The WACA Regional Hub promotes an enabling environment and supports our countries’ team to ensure excellence in our gender transformative programming and influencing.

The Director of Sub-Region will be accountable towards coherent and consistent implementation of Plan International’s purpose and ambition across the sub-region, in line with Plan’s values-based leadership, underpinned by feminist principles. She/he will ensure quality, aligned strategies are developed and resourced for all countries in the region and programmes delivered with the expected impact. As a member of the regional hub management team and of the regional leadership team, She/he will have specific accountabilities to drive elements of the regional hub plan.

The Director of Sub-Region will lead their respective sub region and work closely with Country Directors to ensure:

• Programmes are well funded and growing and our work is recognised locally and internationally and remains relevant to the needs of girls and vulnerable children across WACA Region.
• Teams across WACA Region are motivated and skilled and relevant and our organisation is effective and efficient, compliant with the policies, standards and expectations of PII, ready and able to respond to emergency and development needs of the most marginalised children, especially girls.  This includes effective and up to date safety, security and risk management practices relevant to complex operating environment.
• Accountable to ensure that the overall long-term workforce requirements for the sub region are defined, overall talent, in line with capabilities needed, is identified and actively managed in country and across the region.
• Our work is guided by effective operations, strong financial management of budgets and performance of workplans to create a positive change for children, youth and their communities.
• Safeguarding Children and Young People and Gender Equality and Inclusion are fully embedded
• Commitment to fulfilling our duty of care to our Staff, and where applicable to our Associates and Programme Participants, by providing a safe and secure environment so that we can better fulfil our Purpose of a just world that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Specifically, ensuring that five essential elements are in place at every level: Prepare (training and equipment), Assess (security risk assessments), Act (SOPs, local policies, etc.), Respond (incident and crisis management), and Learn (incident review and incorporating lessons learned).

The Director Sub Region will have strong strategic leadership, people, financial, organisational development and safety, security and risk management capabilities. Have strong background in business development and good programming and influencing experience to sustain the excellent growth dynamics of the programme and advance public policy in favour of girls.

As a member of West and Central Africa’s Regional Leadership team, the Director of Sub Region will have shared accountability, with CDs and the Regional Director to contribute to the overall learning and strategic direction of Plan International’s West and Central Africa Region (WACA) in 14 countries in the region.

Do you have what it takes?

This role will have overall accountabiluty for Plan International’s work in one of the three sub regions in WACA, a sub region that has 4 country offices and a total budget of approximatelt 64,409,000 million EUROS with approcimately 820 staff.

The DSR role will also liaise with the Plan International National organizations.

Country programmes within the Sub-Region are Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, and the Central Africa Republic.

For more information regarding the person and role specification please click the link below: DSR Sahel role profile dec 2024.docx

Location: Flexible withing Sahel Cluster WACA – Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger.

Type of Role: 3-year fixed term contract

Reports to: Regional Director

Salary: Competitive salary and re-location package available

Closing Date: 1stJan 2024

Anticipated 1st round interviews: 31st Jan and 2nd Feb 2024.

Red Sea search is exclusively retained by Plan International to undertake this assignment. If you wish to be considered for this position, please forward a copy of your CV, along with any relevant documentation, to  https://www.redseasearch.com/job/director-sub-region-sahel/ on or before 21st January 2024.

All information will be treated in the strictest confidence as we pride ourselves on our professional service. We will revert to you as soon as possible when we have reviewed your application.

 Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organisational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organisation, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.