Country Director at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a non-governmental, humanitarian organization with 60 years of experience in helping to create a safer and more dignified life for refugees and internally displaced people. NRC advocates for the rights of displaced populations and offers assistance within the shelter, emergency food security, and water, sanitation and hygiene sectors.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Country Director

Job Identification: 9038
Location: Abuja
Job Schedule: Full time
Job Category: Top management

Context

• After more than a decade, the conflict in the Lake Chad Basin continues with new spikes in violence and military operations forcing thousands of people to flee with very limited protection in North East Nigeria, also impacting the Far North of Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
• In North East Nigeria alone, nearly 2.2 million people are internally displaced, with 8.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2022. Eighteen million people across the country are projected to be acutely food-insecure during the 2022 lean season. 
• Security conditions in northeastern Nigeria’s Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states remain volatile with many inaccessible locations, however there are important pockets where people are able to return and/or settle locally. Civilians, including aid workers, continue to be the target of deadly attacks by NSAGs and transport corridors are persistently insecure.
• The citizens of Plateau State, in North Central Nigeria, are also experiencing violence induced displacement, as herders and farmers compete over resources and criminality turns violent. North West Nigeria has also seen a significant increase in violent attacks leading to internal displacement as well as refugees fleeing to Niger.
• Nigeria is one of NRC’s largest operations in Central and West Africa, with programmes in Borno, Adamawa, and Plateau states and a team of over 350 dedicated humanitarian workers.
• In 2021, NRC’s teams assisted approximately 270,000 people through a multi-sectoral response across the displacement cycle. NRC runs an emergency response programme, in addition to a range of rights-based programmes to promote stability and pathways to durable solutions.
• Committed to humanitarian coordination, NRC co-leads the WASH and Protection sectors.  NRC also leads the HLP Working Group and is currently expanding its Protection from Violence portfolio.  NRC is also actively engaged in programming to promote climate change adaptation.

Role and Responsibilities
The Country Director will:

• Analyse the political and humanitarian context and adapt the NRC programme ensuring relevance to the evolving context in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin.
• Prioritize continuous improvement and innovation to ensure the highest quality of humanitarian and protection programming with a focus on timely delivery.
• Motivate and coach staff in order to create effective teams, with particular attention to ensuring an efficient and empowered Country Management Group
• Promote accountability, the highest standard of ethics, including safeguarding, and adherence to the Humanitarian Principles.
• Responsible for all NRC advocacy efforts in the country and ensure that contributions are made to NRC regional and global advocacy efforts.
• Develop and enforce policies to promote and maintain diverse staff at all levels.
• Provide vision, promote ideas, gain agreement and act as a role model.
• Serve as a proactive member the Extended Regional Management Group, promote collaboration with other Country Offices (COs) and the Regional office (RO) and contribute to the development of the Central and West Africa Region as a whole.
• Actively engage with other COs, engaged in the Nigerian refugee response to ensure holistic advocacy and programming.

Professional competencies

• Degree Level: Post Master's Degree.
• Minimum of 5 years experience from working as a Senior Manager/Country Director in humanitarian/recovery context.
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts.
• Documented/proven results related to the position’s responsibilities.
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile.
• Fluency and English, both written and verbal.
• Valid driver’s license.
• Knowledge of the context in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin.
• Experience from advocacy work.
• Experience with change management processes.

What We Offer

• 24-month contract duration with possibility of extension.
• Grade 12 in NRC’s Salary Scale. NRC offers a competitive compensation and benefits package.
• Family duty station with accompanied benefits
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. In the selection of our staff, 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.
• An opportunity to work in the largest country programme in the region.

Application Closing Date
20th January, 2023 (11:59 PM).

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note

• Female candidates are strongly encouraged to join our work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility: At NRC, we think outside the box. We encourage ideas and give responsibility to all employees at all levels, to help solve the complex issues that we face. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.
• Kindly send any questions that you may have in relation to the application process to: [email protected] with the position in the subject. Applications sent via email will not be accepted.
• Employment with NRC may lead to employment in or deployment to Regions, Countries, Areas or Offices that may be host to considerable health, safety and security risks. NRC takes this very seriously and we have procedures in place to reduce known risks, but will never be able to take away all risks.
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer and aims to have staffing diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, nationality and physical ability.