Regional Director for Central African Borderlands Peacebuilding Programme

Job Title: Director of the Central African Region

Location: Negotiable but probablyinaregional capital (Bangui, Yaoundé or Ndjamena)with extensive travel

Reporting to: Chief Executive, based in the UK

Supervising: Line management of the Regional Head of MEAL, the Regional Office Manager, the Research Manager and the Country Managers for CAR, Chad and Cameroon. Responsible for teams in the three country offices in Bangui, Yaoundé and Ndjamena,and in at least six local offices in the borderlands

Duration: Full time, subject to probationary period and 3 months notice

Salary: €65,000 gross of tax. 33 days of annual leave

Peacebuilding charity Concordis International seeks an experienced Regional Director to lead a growing programme in the borderlands of Central African Republic, Cameroon and Chad. The Regional Director will be part of Concordis’ Senior Leadership Team.

After six years of impactful work, promoting peaceful transhumance to mutual economic benefit in the borderlands of the Central African Republic, Cameroon and Chad, the donor has invited Concordis to scale up this programme. The Regional Director will take on a high-performing team and invest in their growth, both numerically and developmentally, over the coming four years and beyond.

Applicants will only be considered if they have professional level verbal and written English and French, and have held senior leadership roles in similarly complex and conflict-affected environments.

Role Duties and Responsibilities:

Responsible for the strategic direction of Concordis in the region, both delivering the programme as currently funded and working with the team to design, develop and source funding for additional programming that will a deliver measurable change for peace

• Lead on delivering an ambitious but realistic regional programme to time and to budget, meeting all contractual requirements of the donor.
  • Develop opportunities to use the significant flexibility built into this contract to maximise impacts for peace, beyond pure contractual terms.
  • Inspire the team of staff and community volunteers to a vision that is deeper than delivery of activities, and translates into measurable attitudinal and behavioural change.
  • Visionary leadership with the staff team, key stakeholders and international donors to identify gaps in peacebuilding provision, and to develop and source funding for opportunities for future work that will meet identified needs, be locally owned and deliver measurable impact.
  • Build and maintain operational systems that ensure proper administrative support for programmes as well as segregation of duties between finance and operations.

Represent Concordis and be its primary focal point in the region, with high-level engagement with local, national, regional and international decision makers, using evidence from the programmes to influence policymaking .

• Build and maintain relationships with key decision makers, then use this access to amplify voices that are often ignored, engaging with:
  1. Government officials, supporting them with locally owned policy recommendations that will promote effective governance and address root causes of conflict.
     1. Diplomatic staff, supporting them with analysis and evidence-based programme design that will meet local needs.
     2. Regional bodies that support Central African countries (eg COMIFAC, ECCAS, CEMAC etc)
     3. UN and multilateral agencies
     4. Humanitarian and developmental staff, building consortia and promoting collaboration to yield multi-disciplinary approaches to complex problems.
  2. Participate actively in regional conferences and negotiations to ensure that the voices of people in the borderlands are heard at the highest level, and that locally-led and conflict sensitive solutions are reflected in strategic decision-making.

Leadership of the Central African Regional Leadership Team, investing in a staff team of over 100 people, as they invest in building sustainable peace

• Chair and line manage this Regional Leadership Team, made up of the Regional Head of MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning), the Research Manager, the Regional Office manager and the Country Managers. Accountable for their work and responsible for building a cohesive team working together effectively across departments.
  • Mentor, support, supervise and manage the wider staff team, including at least three Country Leadership Teams in the capital cities and at least six teams in local hubs in the borderlands, inspiring them in their roles and focusing their efforts to deliver rapid and sustainable results, whilst ensuring that staff development needs are met. Create and sustain an organisational culture of mutual respect and accountability, where team members strive to achieve excellence.
  • Promote clear lines of communication between staff members and offices, both across the Central African Regional programme and with other regional programmes (eg in Sudan and South Sudan) and with staff in the UK. Lead or participate in a system of team meetings, one-to-ones, appraisals and informal gatherings, avoiding silos, generating synergies and leading to 360 degree sharing of information, analysis and technical expertise.
  • Report directly to the Chief Executive and into Concordis’ Senior Leadership Team.

Person Specification:

Essential:

• 10 years of relevant peacebuilding / international development experience working in more than three different fragile and conflict affected country contexts.

• 5 years in senior leadership, managing programmes and budgets in excess of $1m per year.

• 5 years of leading, managing and inspiring culturally diverse teams in complex and challenging environments.

• Proven track record of leading on securing and successfully delivering grants from institutional donors such as the EU, USAID etc.
• Proven experience of leading a high performing and growing team.
• Demonstrable knowledge of the Central African context, including history, geography, legal frameworks etc.
• Professional level written and spoken English and French, with experience of making presentations and drafting technical documents in both languages.
• Willing, able and available to spend extended periods of time in the region, both in the capitals and in towns and villages in the borderlands.
• Strong diplomatic and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and negotiate patiently and effectively with potentially suspicious / hostile actors.
• Excellent IT skills.
• Resourceful, proactive, flexible and kind, able to manage and prioritise competing tasks.
• Commitment to Concordis’ mission, principles, values (available at http://concordis.international/our-mission-and-values/.

Desirable:

• Fluency in Arabic, Sango, Fulfulde etc.
• Demonstrable personal experience of peacebuilding, facilitation of complex dialogues and conflict analysis.
• Experience of monitoring and evaluation of peacebuilding processes.
• Practical experience and/or training in NGO Security Management.
• Masters degree in international relations, development studies, conflict resolution or a related discipline.

About Concordis International

Concordis works alongside those involved in or affected by armed conflict, helping them find solutions that address the root causes of conflict and contribute to lasting peace and economic development.

Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

Our vision is for every community affected by armed conflict to have the resources it needs to manage conflict peacefully.

Mission

• To build trusting relationships with people involved in or affected by armed conflict.
• To facilitate challenging conversations between people from opposing factions.
• To enable people to find workable solutions that address the root causes of conflict and contribute to lasting peace and economic development to mutual benefit.
• To include women as well as men, national governments as well as civil society, those in armed groups as well as those who chose not to take up arms.
• To leave a legacy of sustainable mechanisms that enable future conflict to be managed peacefully.

Values

We are committed to transformational justice and peacebuilding, underpinned by Concordis’ values of:

• Humility – we recognise that we do not have all the answers, that there are different ways of dealing with and resolving conflict, and that our contribution should be part of a broad engagement by a number of people and organisations.
• Impartiality – we act in a consciously non-partisan manner.
• Inclusivity – we promote active participation in our dialogues from people representing as many strands of opinion or interest as are appropriate. We work creatively to give voice to people and groups who might otherwise be marginalised by reason of gender, age or ethnicity.

In carrying out its work, in dealings with its staff and in relation to governance and funding, Concordis:

• Acts with honesty, integrity and transparency and encourages accountability.
• Has proper regard for the welfare of all involved in its operations, both staff and beneficiaries.
• Consciously engages with women as well as men, values diversity and recognises the gendered dynamics of conflict.
• Is professional and respectful of others, acknowledging the importance of building relationships.
• Is reflective, responsive and nimble in its approach.

A Note from the Chief Executive, introducing the role:

Thank you for your interest in this exciting new role within the growing Concordis’ team.

This programme exists because we were invited to act. Communities and authorities affected by conflict across this borderlands region recognised the impact of our longstanding work in CAR, Sudan and South Sudan, and invited us to set up mirrored programmes across the borders in Cameroon and Chad.

The donor also recognised the impact of this work and approached us unilaterally with an offer of a significant, four-year grant to implement this programme.

At Concordis, it’s not good enough for us merely to deliver programme activities; we aim for sustainable impact for peace, addressing root causes of conflict and measuring attitudinal and behavioural change attributable to our work. Inclusivity is one of our core values, and we’re looking to see transformation of conflict that’s experienced by women as well as men, herders and farmers, people in rural settings as well as those in urban centres.

As Regional Director, you will take on a high-performing team and invest in their growth, both numerically and developmentally, over the coming four years and beyond. You will be responsible for the strategic direction of Concordis in the region, both delivering the programme as currently funded and working with the team to design, develop and source funding for additional programming that will deliver a measurable change for peace.

This work can demand a lot from all of us, and we have high expectations for the person in this post, but you’ll be part of a supportive team, leading an exciting programme, helping to make a measurable change for peace.

Best of luck with your application and do please keep an eye out for additional roles, forwarding them on to folks you think might be interested and a good fit.

Go well!

Peter Marsden

Information about the Central African Borderlands Programme:

The objective of the programme is to prevent and mitigate the impact of local conflicts in the border areas of the Central African Republic (CAR), Cameroon, Chad and Darfur, Sudan. The four countries depend heavily on agro- pastoral activities including cross-border transhumance: the seasonal movement of livestock across borders in search of good pasture for grazing.

The four year programme aims to address the root causes of instability and conflict in central Africa, particularly those associated with the practice of transhumance, by improving the resilience of cross border communities, strengthening local and border security and promoting local dialogue, conflict resolution and cross-border cooperation.

The programme builds on work Concordis has been doing with local communities in CAR and Sudan for over ten years and which it has recently been invited by local representatives to expand into the borderlands of Chad and Cameroon.

The programme has three specific objectives:

1. Manage border area agro-pastoral conflicts by setting up and / or supporting local community mechanisms for conflict prevention and management, with the active participation of women and youth.
2. Reduce illegal actions and agro-pastoral conflicts in and around protected areas (including national parks) near the border by establishing effective working partnerships between the manager of these areas and local stakeholders.
3. Strengthen cross-border local governance and contribute to local and high-level dialogues around conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

Programme activities are likely to include:

1. Consultation studies to understand the needs of local communities and identify drivers of conflict.
2. Strengthening or establishing local Advisory Groups for the prevention and management of conflict and to build resilience in local communities.
3. Workshops to address root causes of conflict and identify ways to transform conflict.
4. Training of managers of protected areas including national parks and of local communities who use the areas in conflict resolution and mediation to enable them to identify and address tensions and conflicts around the use of the parks.
5. The facilitation of cross-border agreements, building on the success of existing agreements including the Engagement Acts between local authorities in CAR and Chad.

The nature of this regional programme is that the approach will vary according to the local nuances of conflict. This flexibility will be essential in Darfur, Sudan where activities may need to be adapted with agility in response to a rapidly changing context.

How to apply

How to Apply:

Applications will only be considered if they are submitted as follows:

Submit your CV and a covering letter as two separate documents. The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain:

• Why you are interested in the post and why you’d like to work for Concordis
• How your skills and experience make you a good fit for the person specification
• What languages you can use to a professional level, including verbally and in writing.
• Your relevant peacebuilding / international development experience working in different fragile and conflict affected country contexts
• Your track record of leading on securing and successfully delivering grants from institutional donors such as the EU, USAID etc.
• Your experience of leading a high performing and growing team.

The document should be saved in PDF in the following format:

Your First Name-Your Last Name–Document Name–Date(mmyy) eg, John-Smith-CV-0524

Please send both documents to hr@concordis.international

Timeline:

Closing Date: We will fill this role when we find an ideal candidate and recommend early application.

Selection Process:

All submitted applications will receive an automatic response acknowledging receipt but we regret that we will not be able to enter into individual correspondence with unsuccessful applicants.

Interviews are expected to take place online.

Equality Statement:

Concordis International is committed to treating all people equally and with respect irrespective of their age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. We actively encourage equality and diversity and we look to recruit across age, gender, ethnicity and background to support our peacebuilding mission.

Queries:

If you have any queries or you would like an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact the HR team by email on hr@concordis.international and we’d be happy to help.

We will keep your personal data carefully and within the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations.

All offers of employment will be subject to pre-employment checks including satisfactory references and appropriate screening. This includes criminal records checks, review of sanctions and proscribed groups lists. Concordis also participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.