Country Director, South Sudan Full Time

Background:

The humanitarian situation in South Sudan remains one of the most severe and complex crises driven by conflict, economic collapse, climate shocks, disease outbreaks, mass displacement, and shrinking humanitarian funding. An estimated 10 million people will experience critical needs in 2026.

The conflict in neighbouring Sudan continues to drive refugee inflows and returnee movements into South Sudan, placing additional pressure on already overstretched services and humanitarian systems. Over 1 million people have crossed into South Sudan since the Sudan conflict began. Access remains one of the most significant operational challenges due to active conflict, insecurity and bureaucratic impediments making it difficult for aid organizations to reach those in need.

NRC has been present in South Sudan since 2004. Today, it operates in Upper Nile State, Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, Warrap State, Western Bahr el Ghazal Sate, Jonglei State, Unity State and Central Equatoria State

NRC delivers programmes in the areas of Rapid Response to emergencies, Multipurpose Cash Assistance, Legal assistance and Protection, Education, Shelter, Water and hygiene promotion, and places a high importance upon advocacy. NRC co-leads different clusters and working groups (Protection, WASH, Shelter, Land, and Site Coordination Clusters, including HLP and Durable Solutions Working Groups).

What we are looking for:

As Country Director, you will provide overall leadership and responsibility for the country operation. This includes:

• provide strategic direction and management to the country programme
• drive effective programme delivery
• strong external representation, including active engagement in inter-agency coordination
• lead resource mobilisation and advocacy efforts
• building high-performing teams to deliver accountable, high-impact humanitarian response

What will you do:

The Country Director has overall responsibility for the country operation, providing both strategic direction and operational leadership. S/He leads the Country Management Group (CMG) and is a member of the Regional Management Team, under the leadership of the East and Southern Africa (ESA) Regional Director.

The Country Director provides vision, promotes ideas, gains agreement and acts as a role model. S/he ensures NRC’s continued relevance and position as a principled humanitarian actor in South Sudan.

• Analyse the political and humanitarian context and adapt the NRC programme ensuring relevance to the evolving context in South Sudan
• Prioritise continuous improvement and innovation to ensure the highest quality of humanitarian and protection programming with a focus on timely delivery
• Promote accountability, the highest standards of ethics, including safeguarding and adherence to humanitarian principles
• Drive forward the position and advocacy voice of NRC South Sudan within the changing humanitarian context and ensure that contributions are made to NRC regional and global advocacy efforts. Continue to foster strong relationships with key stakeholders from the government, international community, donors, local actors and the UN.
• In close collaboration with both the Regional Team and NRC CDs from neighbouring countries, jointly set the strategic direction of the regional displacement crisis and ensure close cooperation on developing response modalities.

Note: The above responsibilities are just a snapshot. Hence, please refer to the full job description for you to have a full understanding.

What you will bring

1. Professional competencies for this position:

• Minimum seven years of relevant managerial experience, including five years as a Senior Manager/Country Director in humanitarian/recovery context.
• Experience working in complex or volatile contexts.
• Experience leading diverse teams.
• Fluency in English, both written and verbal.
• Able to represent the organisation at a strategic level.

1. Context related skills, knowledge and experience:

• Knowledge of the context of the ESA region, in particular South Sudan.
• Experience in advocacy work.
• Strong representation skills, with the ability to engage and represent NRC at a strategic level
• Experience in protracted displacement settings.

What we offer:

• Duty station: Juba, South Sudan
• Salary/benefits: grade 12 on NRC’s international salary scale.
• Duration of Contract: 2 years
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Important information about the application process:

• For Internal candidates: To apply as an internal candidate, log in with your official email or click on Opportunity MarketPlace.
• When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
• Applicants who do not fill in the required information will not be considered for the role.
• Submit your application and CV in English, taking care to attach your latest CV.
• Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
• Mandatory to submit the below when applying:
  • Your most updated English CV and remove all previous outdated CVs.
  • English Cover Letter
  • Do not attach certificates or any other documents apart from the two mentioned above.
• Incomplete applications or the ones submitted in other languages than English will not be considered.
• This position is open for international candidates.
• We receive many applications for each vacant position and so only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
• If you have any questions about this role, please email esa.recruitment@nrc.nowith the job title as the subject line.

Why NRC?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• Do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• Join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• Be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.

Learn more about NRC

About Us

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a global humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee.

Join us in assisting millions of people in areas where others cannot, tackling some of the world’s most dangerous and difficult crises. Bring your skills and dedication to an organisation recognised for providing high quality aid and for defending the rights of refugees and internally displaced people.

At NRC, we give responsibility to employees at all levels and foster professional growth and innovative teams. You can expect a supportive culture and an open dialogue with management. We are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Together, we save lives and rebuild futures.

Safeguarding is central to NRC’s work. We expect all employees to:

• treat everyone with respect and dignity

• contribute to building a safe environment for all

• never engage in any form of exploitation, harassment and specifically sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH)

• always report. NRC has a zero-tolerance approach to inaction against exploitation, abuse and SEAH

Tagged as: Norwegian Refugee Council, South Sudan