Summary
Date Posted: Friday, August 26, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Country Director
Description
DRS (DevelopmentAid Recruitment Solutions) is looking for a Country Director in Uganda and Rwanda for an INGO to work with the key stakeholders for setting the strategic direction of the office and overseeing multiple simultaneous impact evaluations in a range of sectors. The position requires close interaction with academic researchers, donors, local government agencies, and other NGOs. The Country Director is expected to provide overarching oversight of all project and office operations, including finance, human resources, operations, and research. The position requires experience in research, partner management, grants, and contract management.
Location: Uganda
Duration of contract: Open-ended contract
Starting date: As soon as possible
Traveling: Further traveling to Rwanda (estimative 4 times) is up to the CD once the specific context that might appear*
*Recently, NGO’s offices in Uganda and Rwanda merged into one unit on the operations and management side, but both maintained some autonomy.

About the organization:
The employer represents a research and policy NGO that brings together researchers and decision-makers to design, rigorously evaluate, and refine the solutions and applications related to poverty, ensuring that the evidence created is used to improve the lives of the world’s poor. This organization has a scope to bring together leading researchers and these decision-makers to ensure that the evidence created leads to a tangible impact on the world.

Key Responsibilities:
High-Quality Research
• Oversee project design and budgeting during the proposal stage to ensure evaluations meet NGO’s standards and costing structure;
• Manage relationships with and provide services to Principal Investigators (academic researchers);
• Ensure that organization’s research, including data collection, is implemented according to the company’s research protocols and data quality standards and the Principal Investigator’s direction;
• Provide research management for the project teams;
• Oversee the management of project budgets and donor reporting with the support of the Finance Manager, in coordinating with the company’s global Grants team on all ongoing research grants and studies;
• Build systems and structures to build staff capacity and ensure overall data quality, including spearheading skills training for staff;
• Work to incorporate best practices and lessons learned in research and operations by other organization’s offices and research affiliates;
• Ensure project audits are systematically carried out while ensuring remedial action is taken as required/proposed.

Policy Impact
• Responsible for leading the policy impact in Uganda and Rwanda, including evidence dialogue and dissemination and research collaborations for policy and oversight of the development of a policy engagement plan;
• Develop and maintain high-level relationships with partners in the Governments of Rwanda and Uganda, including the Ministries of Health, Education, Agriculture, and the Rwanda Development Authority;
• Cultivate relationships, studies, and new partnerships in sectors prioritized by the institution’s policy engagement;
• Engage government partners to identify research questions of interest and priority to key leadership and cultivate potential research projects in those areas.

Development and implementation of the NGO’s strategic plan
• Identify priority research questions and key concerns for policymakers and initiate and manage the development of corresponding new research proposals;
• Develop new relationships in order for the country office to maximize its impact;
• Lead and initiate project development with researchers, funders, and partner organizations;
• Ensure balanced country office structures that can be supported by incoming revenues.

Operations
• Oversee and manage a team of Research Managers (Senior) and Associate Research Managers whose responsibilities include project design and implementation, data collection, data management, analysis, and reports;
• Oversee and manage Finance Manager, Human Resources Manager, and Deputy Country Director;
• Coordinate office and country-wide meetings and training in coordination with the Research Managers;
• Develop and oversee office administration, including human resources, information technology, project budgets, and accounting; hire long-term staff in the country program.

Finances
• Ensure proper compliance with financial procedures, approve expenditures, make accurate projections and ensure overall compliance;
• Strengthen finance systems to ensure the systems are robust for country program growth and compliant with strict donor requirements (e.g., USAID, DFID);
• Ensure the organization’s Uganda/Rwanda unit complies with the Uganda/Rwanda Government and NGO board Statutory requirements.

Mitigate and Manage Risks
• Set security standards and parameters for work and ensure that staff follow security measures;
• Monitor security concerns for operations and act as the primary contact in crisis management;
• Take steps to mitigate risk and safeguard the organization’s reputation;
• Oversee safety and security and ensure organizationally, and legal compliance;
• Manage work permit applications and renewals for international staff.

Manage external relations
• Represent the NGO in national and local government agencies and partner organizations, including presentations on the institution’s work in Uganda/Rwanda and globally;
• Strengthen the local presence of the employer in Uganda/Rwanda;
• Manage relationships with current and potential partner organizations;
• Oversee capacity building of local development partners in evidence-based policymaking and rigorous impact evaluations;
• Work closely with the regional partner, J-PAL Africa, on research, policy, and capacity building;
• Oversee targeted dissemination, and encourage scale-up of successful projects. Qualification, Experience, and Skills:
Education: Master’s degree in international affairs, international public policy, development economics, or a field related to international economic development.
Experience:
• A minimum of 10 years of relevant work experience, out of which at least 4 years related to research and management;
• Successful experience leading teams of approx. 300 full-time employees;
• Ability to lead a large and complex country program and oversee rigorous impact evaluations;
• Quantitative research skills/ experience and familiarity with randomized controlled trials;
• Experience with budgeting and project planning;
• Knowledge of human resources and financial management;
• Previous experience living and working in Africa/Uganda/Rwanda is preferred;
• Passion for connecting rigorous research to policymakers and practitioners and communicating what works and what does not work in development;
• Commitment to leading a diverse team and building staff capacity;
• Ability to communicate effectively across cultures with multiple stakeholders, including international and local academic researchers, government officials, NGO partners, enumeration teams, and study participants;
• Excellent management and organizational skills and ability to work independently;
• Flexible, self-motivating, managing multiple tasks efficiently, and a team player.
Languages: Strong oral and written communication skills in English are required.

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 120

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Job application procedure
Applications and updated CVs should be submitted to d.senatorov@developmentaid.org , under the title: DRS 11349. Due to the high number of applications received via the DevelopmentAid website, we can reply to shortlisted candidates only. Please note that the above requirements can be modified during the recruitment process according to the client's procedures.

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