The political context in the DRC has remained unstable for several decades as the country continues to occupy the last place in the human development rankings. Poverty affects the entire Congolese population. The DRC ranks second to last in the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) published in 2014. About 70% of the population lives below the poverty line, earning US$1.25 per day.
Christian Aid has worked in the DRC since the 1970s. They contribute to the Congolese people’s efforts to build a prosperous and democratic nation in the heart of Africa.
In DRC, they work for profound change that eradicates the causes of poverty, striving to achieve equality, dignity, and freedom for all, regardless of faith or nationality.
The country programme focuses its geographic footprint on Maniema, Kasai, South Kivu, and North Kivu. Thematic changes include adding a Development Programming component to work hand-in-hand with governance programming. They are also currently revising their multi-year strategy.
Role Purpose
The Country Director leads the team in delivering an impactful programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). They set and communicate its vision, ensure the programme is well-resourced and lead in its development and implementation, managing for results and developing a culture of reflection and learning. They ensure that staff understand their responsibilities, perform at a high level, manage financial resources efficiently, and champion operational excellence. They build relationships with key external stakeholders to represent and position Christian Aid in the country effectively and with local partners to build capacity and ensure excellent delivery. The Country Director also has solid internal partnerships with teams across Christian Aid in Africa and globally.
Applied skills/knowledge and expertise:
Essential
• 8-10 years of solid field-based experience, including managing large and complex multi-partner development programmes and donor-funded projects at a senior level with at least six years in a senior management position.
Strategic and operational Management
• Demonstrated experience in leading strategic and operational planning.
• Extensive conceptual skills, including strategic analysis.
• Demonstrated management skills in a complex international setting.
People/relationship management
• Have high levels of personal integrity.
• Demonstrated self-awareness, leadership, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong human resource management skills, including capacity building, coaching and conflict management.
• Experience supervising and developing a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural setting.
• Demonstrated interest and ability to give feedback, develop, motivate, and lead a diverse team to achieve results.
• Demonstrated use of positive coping strategies in stressful environments.
Financial management
• Knowledge and experience with financial management as demonstrated by the ability to:
• Manage a complex budget.
• Effectively follow-up on internal and external audit recommendations.
• Ensure donor compliance and reporting.
Information/Knowledge Management
• Ability to establish a learning culture within the CO and facilitate knowledge sharing across CA.
Language Skills
• French and English language proficiency.
Desirable
• Experience working with UN, donor agencies, and INGOs in Africa, including local civil society and faith-based partners.
• Good understanding of fundraising strategy and practice.
• The post holder must hold a minimum of a tertiary degree or equivalent, ideally in a field related to international development and relevant certification in management.
• A strong understanding of the drivers of poverty and its eradication.
• A first-hand understanding of the country within which this post is based.
Christian Aid is committed to actively working towards eradicating poverty by tackling its root causes and enabling the voice and agency of the poor and marginalised to be fully realised. CA DRC uses a risk-based approach to address the underlying causes of poverty for marginalised groups and works in collaboration with national and provincial governments, communities, faith actors and development partners to implement programmes and influence policies that reduce poverty and social injustice. Our country programme strategy facilitates and enables collaborative work with key institutions and our ACT Alliance partners.
This strategy is aligned with Christian Aid’s three pillars of Poverty, Power, and Prophetic voice (3Ps), which work in a symbiotic manner, to ensure that we stand together with and recognise the voice and agency of communities in bringing about the social, economic and policy changes necessary to peace, prosperity, life with dignity, and sustainable development.
Our five thematic areas of work summarise how we translate this into action and contribute to addressing the complex issues communities face in DRC: Humanitarian Assistance, Peace Building (FVTP), Gender Justice, Resilience-Building and Accountable Governance.
With our operational base in Goma, North Kivu province, our geographic footprint spans from the Eastern part of DRC to the Western province of Kasai. Our current country portfolio includes unrestricted income and institutional donors such as Irish Aid, WFP, and UN OCHA. This role brings dynamic leadership to Christian Aid’s programme and team in DRC, enabling the organisation in partnership with others to contribute significantly to the change we want to see: Individuals and communities living in dignity, free from poverty and need; economic, political and social systems transformed to remove the power imbalances and other root causes of poverty and inequality; and movements of individuals and communities speaking out against poverty and injustice and securing their eradication.
The role also champions the operational excellence of Christian Aid’s DRC programme, ensuring that the team’s skillsets, the quality of our programmes, our financial resilience and digital capability all work together to realise the organisation’s goals and ambitions.
For more information or to apply, please follow this link:
