Search for Common Ground (SFCG) Vacancy in Abuja for a Country Director
Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is an international non-profit
organization that promotes peaceful resolution of conflict. With
headquarters in Washington, DC, SFCG’s mission is to
transform how
individuals, organizations, and governments deal with conflict - away
from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. SFCG seeks
to help conflicting parties understand their differences and act on
their commonalities. With a total of approximately 750 staff worldwide,
SFCG implements projects from 56 offices in 35 countries, including in
Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.
Search for Common Ground has been in Nigeria since 2004 and currently
has approximately 50 staff located in four offices (Abuja, Port
Harcourt, Jos and Maiduguri) as well as many large local partners. SFCG
in Nigeria uses a range of tools to transform conflict and build peace,
including radio, television, participatory theatre, mobile cinema, comic
books, joint action projects, research, training, public forums, and
arts and culture events, among others. The program tackles a wide range
of conflict-related thematic areas, including democracy, governance,
elections, natural resource conflicts, land conflict, inter-religious
conflict, countering violent extremism, security sector reform, youth
and women’s engagement, and others.
The program portfolio currently has 9 active projects with 4 different
donors operating across 10 states. SFCG is also part of a nationwide
democracy and elections consortium with NDI. A Deputy Director, based in
Jos, oversees the operations and programs for the Jos and Maiduguri
offices while a Project Manager oversees a large multi-pronged program
in the Niger Delta.
Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is recruiting to fill the position of:
Job Title: Country Director
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Summary of Position
- The Country Director manages the overall program in Nigeria from
a programmatic and operational perspective, as well as leading on
fundraising and donor relations.
- He/she leads the Leadership and Management Team (comprised of key senior staff) and leads the team in ongoing improvements.
- This position reports to the Regional Director for West Africa
and collaborates closely with various Washington and Brussels-based
divisions of SFCG, including the Africa Team, the Institutional Learning
Team, Communications, Finance and Operations.
- The position is located in Abuja, with substantial travel to the other field offices as well as other states around the country.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Program Development and Implementation:
- Define programme priorities, plans and long-term strategy (in close collaboration with the SFCG Regional Director)
- Oversee implementation of funded projects, collaborating with donors, partners, and other staff
- Manage the country program with the highest quality standards and with well-documented results
- Ensure sharing of results across different offices of SFCG Nigeria, across SFCG and with external stakeholders.
- Stay abreast of the international conflict transformation field
to ensure that the program’s work remains innovative and professional
- Be directly engaged in the continuing development of the
organization, its mission and its staff, through the sharing of
experience and knowledge, particularly contributing to its Institutional
Learning efforts
- Strengthen existing funding relationships and identify and
pursue new potential donors in collaboration with headquarters in
Washington, DC and Brussels, Belgium
- Responsible for ensuring lessons are learned and applied to future programming
- Ensure that program planning and management effectively utilize
available resources, and respond to gaps with fundraising and/or
operational adjustments as needed
- Report to donors according to contractual deadlines with quality narrative and financial data
- Contribute analysis and programmatic capacities to the
implementation of programming in Nigeria and other countries in the
region as appropriate
Financial Management:
- Directly oversee and manage the country Finance Directors,
ensuring financial compliance both with Nigerian laws, donor
requirements and SFCG procedures across the organization.
- Maintain regular communication with regional and HQ finance
focal points on finance issues and ensure that the organization is
ongoingly audit-ready
- Identify potential shortfalls and strategize with the
organization’s senior management as necessary to ensure the program’s
financial sustainability.
Staff Management and Development:
- Develop and manage a team of diverse senior staff members
(expatriate, national and third country nationals) modelling effective
communication and collaboration
- Participate in the recruitment and selection of highly qualified
staff, onboarding and ensuring ongoing staff opportunities for capacity
development
- Ensure compliance with SFCG Operations Manual policies and procedures
- Ensure that country policies, contracts, and disciplinary procedures and processes conform to local labor laws
- Ensure an updated security and evacuation plan is in place for all offices
- Ensure adequate mechanisms for staff appraisals, staff feedback, and review of HR/operational issues
- Strengthen the capacity of national staff and partners,
contributing to SFCG’s legacy strategy of conflict transformation in
Nigeria
Organizational Representation:
- Serve as SFCG's country representative
- Maintain regular written and oral reporting to Washington and
Brussels on key country, regional, program, security and staff issues
- Establish a direct line of communication with other African
Country Directors in the region for program guidance toward strategic
initiatives and staff cross-fertilization opportunities
- Develop and maintain proactive, positive and professional
relationships with partner organizations, other NGOS, donors, clients,
key government officials, civil society groups, etc.
- Maintain responsible media coverage of program events and issues related to SFCG mission
As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be
required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the
above key duties.
Minimum skills and Experience
- Degree in relevant field (e.g. conflict transformation, security
studies, media and communications, sociology, political science, or
related fields)
- Experience in managing large projects of at least $5 million, with multiple grants and donors
- At least five years' experience working overseas, preferably in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Experience with compliance to US government and EU donor rules and regulations
- Experience in capturing results and overseeing reporting, monitoring and evaluation systems
- Experience in managing multi-cultural teams, preferably in Africa
- Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills
- A problem-solving approach to challenging situations
- Ability to multi-task while leading a complex team
- Fluent spoken and written English
- Understanding of the conflict dynamics of Nigeria
- At least ten years’ experience in program management, both
programmatically and operationally, preferably on media and/or conflict
transformation-related issues
- Experience in managing diverse inter-cultural teams
- Track record in successful fundraising
Salary
Commensurate with experience and education, with excellent benefits
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply
Application Deadline 2nd January, 2016.