Regional Director for West Africa – Interpeace – Ivory Coast

Interpeace is a non-profit international peacebuilding organisation that aims to strengthen the capacities of societies to manage conflict in non-violent, non-coercive ways by assisting national actors in their efforts to develop social and political cohesion. Interpeace also strives to assist the international community (and in particular the United Nations) to play a more effective role in supporting peacebuilding efforts around the world through better understanding and response to the challenges of creating local capacities that enhance social and political cohesion. In order to do so, Interpeace works in close partnership with national partner organizations and the UN. Headquartered in Geneva, Interpeace is supported by bilateral and multilateral donors as well as private funding. The organization is currently active in Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa, Central America and the Middle East, with regional offices in Abidjan, Nairobi and Guatemala City.
Overview
The Regional Director (RD) plays the central role in directing, positioning, developing and coordinating Interpeace’s programmes and activities in the West Africa region. The Regional Director’s position in the decentralized structure of Interpeace is responsible for ensuring coherence between the West Africa Office (WAO)’s strategy and the global Interpeace vision and its implementation. The RD provides leadership for the positioning of Interpeace as a legitimate and credible peacebuilding organisation in the region. In close coordination with the WAO Management Team, s/he leads the strategic development and support of all on-going and new programmes in the region through the establishment of a diverse, competent, integrated and supportive team.
Mirroring the Interpeace Strategic Management Team (SMT), the WAO Management Team (MT) serves as a participatory decision-making body on strategic issues which strives for consensus in decision-making.
The RD leads the fundraising efforts for the region and is responsible for enhancing and developing strong relations with Interpeace’s key external partners and stakeholders at the national and regional levels. S/he is responsible of positioning Interpeace at the regional level by drawing upon Interpeace’s practitioner perspective and/or Interpeace’s operational practice.
The Regional Director is the strategic link between Interpeace and the different engagement/ programmes within the region. As such, the RD will collaborate with the other senior members in the overall management of the programmes. S/he directs the programmatic functions of the regional office, collaborates with the CFO and Director of Administration in managing the administrative and financial functions of the regional office to ensure greatest support and accountability for the work of Interpeace in the region. The Regional Director, in coordination with the MT, is responsible for effectively monitoring the realization of the WAO vision and its related strategic targets plans and annual budgets of the programme of work in the region.
The Regional Director reports directly to the Deputy Director-General. The Regional Director serves as a member of Interpeace’s Strategic Management Team (SMT).
Duties and responsibilities:
Overall Responsibilities
• Create an enabling environment with strategically focused programming, which is founded and guided by the Values and Working Principles of Interpeace and consistent with the organization’s strategic position.
• Develop, in collaboration with the Deputy Director-General, the regional team and local/regional partners, the vision, goals, strategic plans, methodologies, and action plans necessary to effectively carry out Interpeace’s peacebuilding mandates.
• Guide the development of strategic programmes that are catalytic and have high impact in societies in which Interpeace has operations and seek regional approaches to some of the peacebuilding challenges that require transnational responses.
• Disseminate to staff, field partners and external interlocutors the vision, goals, strategic plans, methodologies, budget and action plans for each programme.
• Build a diverse, integrated and supportive team of competent staff who embraces Interpeace’s learning culture, values and working principles that focus on achieving concrete programme impact and recognizes the value of work-life balance.
• Monitor and evaluate the team’s performance on an ongoing basis, including conducting annual performance reviews.
• Provide guidance and ensure integrated approaches to human resources and staff development issues, including identifying development needs of staff under supervision and ensuring that activities are undertaken to promote staff development.
• Ensure the health, safety and security of the staff and the operations are given high priority and that necessary measures have been put in place to deal with the safety and security risks that are inherent in the peacebuilding efforts of Interpeace.
• Collaborate and coordinate with other like-minded peacebuilding organizations operating in the region and establish impact- oriented partnerships with strategically selected institutions/ agencies.
• Provide institutional support to Interpeace’s local partners, especially in areas of institutional governance, finance/administration and strategic position/direction.
• Strategically promote the peacebuilding activities in the region, especially those of local and regional partners, to ensure that peacebuilding remains in the consciousness of those engaged in post-conflict development.
• Follow the political, social and economic development of the region to lead the strategic peacebuilding analysis of the region.
• Ensure a strong and collaborative team spirit reigns between the members of the office across the region.
Policy engagement and strategic positioning
• Identify key areas of engagement for Interpeace both within the context of existing programmes and with new/ emerging opportunities in the region through trust-based relationships.
• Oversee the production and dissemination of regular briefing papers emanating from programmes’ lessons learned in the region to influence national, regional and international decision-makers.
• Pro-actively showcase strategy/ programme value and impacts into concise practical messages seeking to influence decision-makers.
• Ensure the development and implementation of systematic engagement strategies for each programme in the region.
• Represent Interpeace both regionally and internationally when opportunities arise or when called upon.
• Collaborate and coordinate with other like-minded peacebuilding organizations operating in the region and establish impact-oriented partnerships with strategically selected institutions/ agencies.
• Develop positive working relationship with the Ivoirian host government as well as with other regional authorities and bodies.
• Coordinate closely with the Head of Policy and Learning to ensure coherent and strategic institution-wide policy engagement which is anchored in learning from programmes.
External Relations and Fundraising
• Build and maintain a network of donor organizations committed to supporting the work of Interpeace in the region.
• Assume primary responsibility for the definition and implementation of the regional fundraising strategy including fundraising for programmes in the region.
• Engage existing and new donors and explore new types of funding sources leading to increased and sustainable funding for the region.
• Generate confidence and trust with donors through an inclusive engagement of the donors as stakeholders (actors) and the maintenance of a donor management system that ensures effective and timely reporting.
• Coordinate closely with the Head of Global Engagement to ensure coherent and strategic institution-wide approaches to each stakeholder.
• Develop positive working relationship with the host government as well as with other regional authorities and bodies.
Programming
• In coordination with the MA and each programme team, set strategic goals and effectively manage programme delivery, accepting responsibility of outcomes.
• In collaboration with the Deputy Director-General, lead the development of new programmes consistent with Interpeace’s commitment locally-owned, locally-driven peacebuilding initiatives and its focus on social and political cohesion.
• Ensure the effective implementation of Interpeace’s communication strategy and guideline at WAO level.
• In collaboration with Head of Policy and Learning, ensure that learning is a transversal aspect of all areas of work of the regional office and contributes to the institutional learning goal on the global level.
HR, IT and Finance Management Administration
• Supervise the effective implementation of Interpeace’s policies, procedures and guidelines within the region. Supervise, through the Regional Finance and Administration Manager in the region, Interpeace’s institutional policies, procedures and guidelines related to Finance, Hr, IT and administration.
• Oversee all aspects of administration, financial management (including funding coverage), data processing, personnel, legal and general services functions in the regional office for West Africa in coordination with the CFO and Director of Administration and the Regional Finance and Administration Manager
• Provide timely input to Interpeace management reports on programmes in the region.
• In collaboration with the Regional Finance and Administration Manager, oversee the implementation of Interpeace’s (and donors’) policies for outsourcing services, such as auditors, suppliers, legal advisors, information technology services, etc.
• Represent the organization and maintain appropriate functional linkages vis-à-vis Ivoirians authorities on administrative and financial issues.
• Ascertain training needs of regional and partner staff on the organization’s administrative and financial systems and procedures. Ensure compatibility of regional and partners’ administration and systems with Interpeace global administrative systems and procedures.
Strategic Management Team
As a member of the SMT, the Regional Director with contribute input and participate in deliberations related to:
• the Draft Programme of Work and Budget and targets
• The development of draft Strategic Plans
• New opportunities for engagement and special initiatives
• Institutional partnerships
• The development of draft institutional policies, strategies and positions
• The overall financial situation in the organization and possible new areas of investment
• Fundraising plans
• The Risk Matrix for the organization
Requirements
• Advanced university degree in social or political science, international relations, development studies or other relevant field..
• 10-15 years of experience, including seven years of relevant progressive management experience required; preferably in the related field (i.e. Country or Regional director role), including demonstrated experience in policy engagement, donor engagement, programme development, strategic planning, programme implementation and evaluation.
• An inspiral leader and savvy manager, thinking strategically, regularly exercising sound judgment and servant leadership.
• Thorough and nuanced political analysis skills; published policy work desirable.
• Proven experience in successful fundraising and grant management, including proposal development.
• Demonstrated understanding of the critical development and peacebuilding assistance issues and experience with the challenges of operating programmes in developing countries.
• Experience in conflict sensitive programming
• Experience in institutional development.
• Demonstrated proficiency and experience with EC, UN, USAID and other public and private donors, government grant and financial management requirements.
• Successful proven negotiation, communication, organization and prioritization skills and experience are necessary.
• Demonstrated successful mentoring of staff.
• Demonstrated capacity of putting in place knowledge management, reflective practice and/ or personal development systems.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in French and English are required. Portuguese considered a plus.
• Ability to work under pressure to complete multiple tasks and meet demands and deadlines with a positive, constructive attitude under minimal supervision.
• Strong sense of responsibility.
Success factors
• Creative leader with an entrepreneurial spirit that is both innovative and flexible.
• Hands-on manager who values and holds her/himself accountable to the importance of the work-life balance and encourages prioritization of work.
• Commitment to inclusiveness, consensus-building, and horizontal team structure / development.
• Confident, tactful, participatory leadership skills with servant leadership attitude.
• Ability to problem solve, prioritize and follow up (execution).
• Solid understanding of current political, economic, social conditions and historical context of West Africa.
• Ability to obtain, analyze and act on large amounts of programme and security information from diverse range of sources.
• Strong situational awareness and commitment to decision-making through the establishment of criteria rooted in a sense of shared purpose.
• Excellent listening skills and eagerness to understand others.