We are looking for an excellent candidate to further International Alert’s (Alert) presence and deepen our peacebuilding engagement and impact in Democratic Republic of Congo. Based in Goma, you will further develop Alert’s fundraising strategy and peacebuilding work in DRC, including outreach and relationship development with key strategic partners and donors, mapping and pursuing areas of strategic growth, and ensuring programming quality in existing initiatives.

You will supervise the implementation of contracts and consultancies, including research. You will engage closely with Alert’s Rwanda country office to develop and implement appropriate regional or cross-border initiatives for the Great Lakes.

You will have strong operational management and strategic leadership experience to anchor and expand our programming in DRC. You will bring detailed knowledge of the conflict context and peacebuilding opportunities in country and in the regional. You will demonstrate strong fundraising experience, with the ability to develop and implement strategies, target key stakeholders with appropriate messaging, and maintain strong relationships with donors and implementing partners.

You must be a fluent in English and French.

You will practice principles of fairness and equity in your professional career, and you will be able to bring together your colleagues around common objectives.

Role duties and responsibilities:

Strategic Planning

• Update and implement Alert’s strategic vision and plan activities in the DRC, aligning with the organisation's overall mission and objectives which is adapted to local and regional dynamics.
• In tandem with the Director of Programmes, conduct assessments and analysis of conflict dynamics, peacebuilding opportunities, and risks in the country. Identify key areas for intervention and prioritize programmatic activities accordingly.
• Ensure that the country programme is in line with Alert's global strategies and thematic priorities.
• Ensure that the country programme is properly resourced including the necessary expertise and that the minimum structure is adapted to the changes and needs of the country programme.

Leadership and Management

• Lead Alert’s work and team in the DRC, working to ensure ownership of our mission and effective staff collaboration to achieve common objectives.
• Provide effective leadership, mentorship, and support to a diverse team of staff, ensuring their professional development and well-being.
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment, promoting teamwork, creativity, and innovation.
• Conduct performance evaluations, identify capacity-building needs, and facilitate training opportunities for staff members.
• Ensure the team is well staffed with the appropriate mix of talents, knowledge and skills.
• Line manage four staff directly, providing support and encouragement (including staff development as necessary) and ensuring efficiency and accountability.
• Lead and develop DRC country management and coordination mechanisms and work to ensure strategic coherence within and across the DRC team.

Financial and operational oversight

• Ensure that DRC programmes are delivered effectively, efficiently and in compliance with Alert, donor and legal requirements.
• Oversee strong financial and administrative management and accountability in support of the Director of Finance and Operations.
• Oversee and support the Director of Finance in managing the DRC team’s annual budget of approximately £8m, ensuring effective budgeting, forecasting and spend.
• Ensure that project budgets cover the full costs of project activity, including recovering DRC and organisational shared costs.
• Oversee that effective systems for financial and narrative reporting on grants and contracts are in use, and that donor reports provide a clear narrative of activities, impact and lessons learned, and are submitted on time.
• Oversee responses to concerns raised by DRC staff, partners or participants (whistleblowing, fraud, safeguarding, other concerns) in coordination with the Director of Global Delivery.

Stakeholder Engagement and Representation

• Maintain and build strategic relationships with government officials, civil society organizations, local communities, donors, and other key stakeholders in the DRC.
• Collaborate and coordinate with relevant actors, including the different and relevant ministries, government offices and programmes (i.e., the new community-based DDR programme), the UN mission and agencies, (i)NGOs, diverse experts including in universities and research institutions, peacebuilding networks, to enhance synergies and maximize impact.
• Represent Alert at various forums, conferences, and meetings to advocate for peacebuilding and conflict resolution in the country. For example, ensure that Alert is part of the discussion on the future of the internationally supported stabilisation programme in DRC, on the Nexus and Conflict Sensitivity, on localisation in the context of DRC, etc.
• Position Alert in the different coordination and collaboration platforms and working groups.
• Ensure that Alert’s good reputation and acceptance based on its close to 20 years of work in DRC and the GL region are maintained.

Advocacy, Political Engagement and Communication

• Give strategic and quality support to the programme’s advocacy and communication activities.
• Liaise with Alert’s HQ on advocacy and communication priorities to connect local voices with the global level.
• Responsible for Alert’s political engagement and influencing with provincial, national, and regional actors and collaborates with platforms such as the Community of Practice of Peacebuilding organisations (CPP) in eastern DRC on joint advocacy and lobby.

Resource Mobilisation

• Lead efforts to secure funding for Alert's programmes in the DRC through proposal development, donor engagement, and partnership building in collaboration with the Director of Programmes and the GLR Senior Regional Programme Officer.
• Identify new funding opportunities, diversify funding sources, and ensure the sustainability of the country programme in collaboration with the senior management team.
• Cultivate strong relationships with donors (including the Peace and Security Working Group in Kinshasa, the Nexus donor group and others) and funding agencies, providing regular updates on programme achievements and impact.

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

• Support the Programme and MEAL teams to develop and implement robust monitoring and evaluation systems to measure the impact and effectiveness of International Alert's programme in the DRC.
• Ensure that programme activities are evidence-based, learning-oriented, and responsive to changing conflict dynamics.
• In collaboration with the Director of Programmes, review and analyse programme data to identify lessons learned and best practices and use this information to inform programmatic decisions and strategic directions.

Security, Safeguarding and Safety

• Lead responsibility for the safety and security of Alert staff and assets in the DRC in support of the Director of Operations and the Security Manager.
• Develop and enforce security protocols and procedures, ensuring compliance with organisational and donor requirements.
• Ensure procedures and training are in place to ensure staff, partner, and participant wellbeing, including safeguarding risk assessments, procedures and survivor-centred support.
• Stay informed about the security situation in the country and provide timely updates and guidance to staff.

Contribute to Alert’s organisational development.

• As a member of Alert’s Global Leadership Team, contribute to organisational development, raising and engaging on organisational issues, policy development and staff development, regional strategic workshops, and organisation-wide discussions.
• Play an active role in the generation and dissemination of knowledge throughout the team and Alert as a whole, including engagement on thematic and regional discussions. Provide information to the Africa Regional Director and others as necessary on the programme progress and contextual updates.
• Take proactive steps to ensure that effective relationships are created and maintained with staff across the organisation.

Please note that the above are just some of the requirements for this role. Please click here to view the job description.

How to apply

Please follow this link to apply.

All applicants must have existing right to work in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

International Alert prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer and particularly welcomes applications from underrepresented people.

While International Alert will endeavour to contact all candidates within a reasonable time, this may not always be possible due to limited resources. Therefore, if you have not heard from us within two weeks of the closing date, you can assume that your application has, on this occasion, been unsuccessful.