Lebanon: Country Director Lebanon

War Child Holland’s programme in Lebanon
War Child Holland (WCH) is active in Lebanon since January 2008. Currently we have a vacancy for the role of Country Director Lebanon. The Country Director (CD) bears the overall responsibility of the country programme and team. As such, the CD is responsible for the implementation of the Lebanon programme, which is partly implemented by War Child staff and partly by local partners.

War Child is considering a regional approach for our programmes in the Middle East to eventually evolve our operations that are now distributed over various countries and offices into a Regional Hub. After consolidating and strengthening the Lebanon programme, we expect the ideal incumbent to support the organisation with a feasibility study whereby evaluating the need, structure and eventual location of a Regional Hub for War Child’s programmes in the Middle East. If and once decided for such a new regional approach, the ideal candidate could then be considered for the role of Regional Manager and lead War Child Holland’s programmes in the Middle East.

The Country Director (CD) is based in the office in Beirut and bears the overall responsibility for the country programme in Lebanon, which is implemented through local partners and implemented by War Child directly. The CD directly manages a team of local staff. The CD reports to the Director of Programmes based at our head office in Amsterdam. Essential functional relations are with the Response Coordinator for Syria Crisis, Country Coordinator Iraq/Afghanistan, Country Representatives, Programme Development Manager (PDM), Operations Support Manager (OSM), Project Manager (Proj M), Programme Manager(s) (PM), Institutional Fundraising Officer, HQ sub-ordinate managers and support departments at Head Quarters e.g. Finance, Logistics and HR.

Your challenge
You are responsible for the realisation of War Child’s country programme in Lebanon. This includes and is not limited to developing and updating the country strategy, planning and reporting (annually and quarterly), monitoring & evaluation and effectively supervising the country team. Capacity building of staff and local partners is part of your challenge. As the Country Director you play an important role in fundraising of institutional donors (in-country). You develop and maintain donor relations. Next to this you will represent War Child in meetings and coordination platforms. You will have the final responsibility for Security Management. You will ensure to be well informed on security developments at all times. You will ensure that the country security plan is updated on a regular basis and ensure implementation by all staff. You have the final responsibility for finance, office and logistics management (to a large extend delegated to the Operation Support Manager). You authorize investments and manage supplies. You maintain efficient financial control (of cash flows, local payment, etc.) accountability standards, procedures and records. You prepare budgets and budget control. You take action by imminent deficiencies or surpluses. You will take the lead to develop a regional approach for the Middle-East and you will also look at the setup of a regional hub.

Profile

You are a seasoned and inspiring leader. You have at least 20 years relevant experience in an international/ humanitarian context of which a minimum of 10 years in a senior management position (e.g. as Representative or Country director). Proven experience in the Middle-East is a must. You will have a relevant academic background e.g. social sciences, international relations, Business Administration. You have excellent communication skills in English. Fluency in Arabic is a plus. You have experience in working with local partners and knowledge of psychosocial, protection and education programmes for children affected by conflict. You have proven experience in financial management (including management of multiple grants). You are diplomatic with strong problem solving and social skills. You are result oriented and stress-resilient, able to cope with deadlines and complex problems. You are a team player and able to work independently. You have affinity with War Child’s mandate. You have proven experience in growing the operations and funding of an organization. Ideally you have experience in developing a regional approach for the Middle-East in a similar organization.

The organisation
War Child Holland offers a challenging job, within an inspiring and motivated team of people and the backup of a strong and professional organisation in The Netherlands. War Child Holland offers its international staff a fair salary and comprehensive secondary benefits that includes housing, good insurances (including health, travel and disability) and opportunities to develop and learn professionally. Please visit our website www.warchildholland.org for more information on the organisation and the programmes.

Job Location: Beirut, Lebanon. Eventually, the location may possibly change depending on the location of the Regional Hub
Contract: War Child Holland is looking for someone committed to invest at least 3 years in this position, starting with a 1 year contract with the intention to prolong
Starting date: as soon as possible

Interested and qualified candidates are invited to apply with a CV and cover letter before 19 November 2015. Make sure to use the following hyperlink to apply: http://warchild.onlinevacatures.nl/en/Vacancy/Apply/55536
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The safety of children is essential to War Child. War Child does not tolerate or accept any form of abuse. This subject is addressed in our recruitment and selection procedures.