Iraq: Country Director, Iraq

Transform the lives of the most marginalized and vulnerable communities and be at the forefront of social change.

About YOU: A driven and passionate mid to late-career professional hoping to manage an inspiring, dynamic team of leading human rights workers. Collaborative, hard-working, and visionary, the candidate will have exceptional leadership skills, and the ability to manage responsible growth of an office, and take HAI’s successful programming to the next level. This person has experience living and working in hardship countries and has management experience in diverse and challenging environments.

Description

Position Summary: Heartland Alliance International (HAI) is looking for qualified candidates for the position of Country Director based in its Sulaymaniyah, Iraq office, located in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (KRI). HAI is a leading non-profit organization providing human rights protection and support to some of Iraq’s most vulnerable populations. The Iraq program approaches its work through three pillars: access to justice/rule of law, access to mental health care, and advocacy. The Country Director of HAI’s Iraq program is responsible for management, implementation and oversight of a range of programming throughout Iraq. Current program areas include juvenile justice; anti-trafficking in persons; gender-based violence; and legal protection for religious and ethnic minorities, torture survivors, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returning refugees. The incumbent will grow HAI’s regional presence with the strategic vision, expertise and passion necessary to execute an ambitious work plan and solidify HAI’s reputation as the United States’ largest service-based human rights organization and an innovative leader in social justice programming globally. The incumbent will also assume responsibility for the overall security and safety of the HAI office through monitoring the current operating environment in federal Iraq and the KRI. The applicant will be responsible for ensuring effective coordination and implementation of all Iraq projects, and make a lasting impact at a local, national, and regional level by supporting all program staff and maintaining a positive and energetic work environment. Individual accountabilities and work volume will be established through the development of annual Success Objectives, within the framework outlined below.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

This is not an exhaustive list of duties. The need for flexibility is required and the incumbent is expected to carry out any other related duties that are within the employee’s skills and capabilities whenever reasonably instructed.

Program Development and Senior Leadership

• Collaborate with HQ senior management to develop a medium-term regional strategy to guide and inform future program development initiatives
• Assist in preparation of project proposals for external donors, conceptualizing and developing new project concepts in close co-operation with HQ and senior field staff
• Promote the work of HAI and provide HAI program briefings to donors and other stakeholders, as needed
• Identify, evaluate, and cultivate new partnership opportunities with other international, national and local non-profits and civil society organizations by participating in regional and local coordination meetings
• Engage in background research and monitoring of country and regional developments
• Monitor changes in the external operating environment, especially in regard to government and donor policy changes and security in the region
• Represent HAI to local authorities, government and donor representatives, international organizations, and NGOs in the area of operation
• Maintain close and positive collaboration with major donors and partners in the area of operation
• Negotiate and/or approve contracts and agreements with suppliers, distributors, federal and state agencies, and other organizational entities in accordance with HAI signing authority policies
• Oversee staff supervision and support training opportunities for Iraq office staff, including, applying all related security measures for their safety in adherence with HAI’s training and staff supervision principles and security policies
• In collaboration with HQ Human Resources department and Iraq office Director of Administration, develop and ensure compliance with human resources best practices, including the approval of local human resource policies and procedures; recruitment, selection, and on-boarding of in-country international or national staff
• Provide regular updates to HQ regarding service issues, strategic planning, new opportunities, management issues, security and safety concerns, and program successes
• Serve as senior leader of HAI by participating in annual planning and implementation of our strategic plan, including leading planning processes with all Iraq staff

Security and Safety Management

• Maintain an overview of the political and security context in both federal Iraq and the KRI, monitoring and understanding how developments may affect program work and the security and safety of international and national staff
• Ensure that effective security and evacuation plans and procedures are in place, regularly reviewing and updating based on the current and evolving security situation in Iraq in order to ensure the security of staff at all times
• Ensure all staff are aware of, adhere to security and safety policies and guidelines, regularly review these policies, and take disciplinary action, if required, when policies are violated
• Communicate with external security advisors to monitor and evaluate the evolving security environment and determine if, when, and what action needs to be take, when appropriate
• Establish, maintain and enhance professional relationships with government ministries and Assayash (KRI security forces) to ensure an open line of communication
• Oversee all information gathering and reporting requirements to the GOI and KRI, including Assayash, consulting with HQ and in-country support organizations (NCCI) regarding such requirements when needed
• Keep HQ informed of major security concerns and action being take, if appropriate
• Ensure that safety policies are updated and comprehensive for office operations and staff, including physical plant safety (e.g. fire, evacuation, etc.), transportation/driving, and other relevant policies as required
• Oversee IT security and coordinate closely with HQ to ensure Iraq office IT security policies and procedures are current and adhered to across all staff and partner channels

Project Supervision and Coordination

• Provide leadership to the Iraq Office and provide oversight to ensure all expatriate, third-country national and national staff receive regular supervision
• Supervise implementation of projects to ensure that activities are implemented in accordance with agreed strategies, principles, implementation and M&E plans, and donor requirements
• Ensure all monthly, quarterly and bi-annual updates/reports are prepared and submitted, in accordance with donor and HQ requirements
• Provide project planning documents and recommendations to HQ, as requested
• Oversee compliance with all relevant external and internal standards and associated reporting across all projects
• Direct, plan, and implement policies, objectives, and activities of the organization to ensure continuing operations and to increase productivity
• Cultivate a positive, inclusive, and creative work environment by fostering a mission driven learning environment
• Oversee and provide senior leadership guidance to the Iraq senior team, including the deputy country director, director of finance, and director of administration in their daily interactions with managers and staff as they answer questions, ensure appropriate services are delivered, and address unanticipated issues
• Supervise Director of Finance to assure the production of timely, accurate financial reports, budget tracking, allocations, forecasting and funding needs

Supervisory Responsibilities: Manages and directly supervises staff, subaward recipients, and volunteers in the Iraqi program including, but not limited to, the Deputy Country Director, the Director of Administration, and the Director of Finance and Administration.

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Education and Experience: Master's degree (M.A.) or equivalent and at least five years of relevant senior leadership experience preferred; or, eight to 10 years related experience and/or training; a Bachelor’s degree with eight years of senior leadership experience may be considered; Past experience must demonstrate expertise in: project planning and project management, implementation and grant writing staff supervision, project design, and donor cultivation and program development. The ideal candidate should also have:
  • Experience in working in different cultural and linguistic settings. Demonstrated direct experience relative to Middle Eastern cultures.
  • Prior experience in international settings working on human rights programming.
• Preferred Qualifications:** Research experience; experience with HAI’s core programmatic areas, including mental health, access to justice, women’s empowerment, and counter-trafficking; Demonstrated knowledge of Iraq’s contemporary social political environment. Experience with USAID and/or State Department funding; at least one year of senior leadership experience within this environment desired.
• Language Skills:** Must be fluent in English; knowledge of Kurdish and/or Arabic a plus. Excellent writing skills are required. Ability to read, analyze and interpret complex documents. Ability to respond effectively to the most sensitive inquiries or complaints. Ability to make effective and persuasive speeches and presentations on controversial or complex topics to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors.
• Reasoning Ability: Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
• Personal attributes: Passionate about and personally engaged with human rights and social justice; Leads by example and possesses a high degree of integrity; personally credible, with a professional demeanor that generates the trust and confidence of staff, partners and donors.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Ability to be based in Sulaymaniyah and to make frequent trips to Erbil, and to live and work in situations of conflict with modest physical amenities.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear.
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds for purposes of carrying in-kind gifts that need to be lifted, stored or delivered for the program. Also to carry laptop computer, materials for presentations, and documents.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Work full-time in areas that might be considered instable, insecure, and dangerous

TO APPLY

To learn more about this position and to apply, please visit:

http://chk.tbe.taleo.net/chk01/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=HEARTLANDALLIANCE&cws=1&rid=3383

OR

http://www.heartlandalliance.org/whoweare/careers/

*Please note that we do not consider resumes sent by email, fax or postal mail.