Job Title: Country Representative, Iraq

Department: EMECA

Reports To: Regional Director

Country/Location: Iraq/Erbil

About CRS: 

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding.

Background:

CRS’ Program in Iraq aims to deliver outcomes at scale with a facilitative approach that focuses on partnerships, capacity building and a commitment to local leadership. In collaboration with partners in Iraq, including Caritas Iraq, civil society, local communities and government, CRS supports conflict-affected people to live in dignity through the provision of educational support for children, livelihoods restoration and development, and social cohesion programs. CRS implements also a capacity strengthening activities for Iraqi CSOs. With ateam of over 70 professionals and offices in Erbil, Duhok, Kirkuk, and Mosul, CRS Iraq manages roughly USD 10M yearly, including funding from USAID and other public and private donors. CRS/Iraq hass transitioned from emergency relief to recovery and sustainable development programs, responding to the evolving needs and change in the context both in the country and around the region. The funding environment in Iraq is increasingly competitive and challenging, but CRS has a solid base of partnerships, private funding, and quality programs to build on.

Primary Job Responsibilities: 

Responsible for overall leadership of CRS Iraq, including management of personnel, programs, financial and material resources, as well as relationships with NGO partners, government and donors.  Duties also include guiding the development of new programs, building staff and partner capacity, and representing CRS to a wide variety of stakeholders. You will strategically advance CRS’ reputation and impact while proactively manage security and mitigate security risks and liabilities.

Specific Duties:

Strategic and Program Management 

• Champion and lead the vision, mission and strategy. Lead the design of medium and long-term goals. Ensure program and operations leads coordinate their objectives in alignment with the strategy.
• Lead CRS/Iraq country program team, holding ultimate accountability for the success and reputation of CRS Iraq.
• Provide vision and guidance for annual programming, staff development, resource acquisition, and advocacy plans.
• Oversee the implementation of ongoing programs and guide the development and design of new programs in the areas of humanitarian relief, return and resettlement, social cohesion and partner capacity building, in line with CRS’ Regional and Agency strategies.
• Ensure coherence of country program activities and investments with strategy through regular communication and close collaboration with the Regional Director, regional staff, and colleagues in other country programs in the EMECA region.
• Ensure program quality through consistent implementation of project review systems, comprehensive M&E systems, and staff/partner development.
• Remain well-informed about national and regional issues affecting CRS’ presence and operations, programs and partners.
• Ensure active country program involvement in pursuing and contributing to the objectives of CRS’ strategy for Europe, Middle East, and Central Asia region.
• Lead the development of strategic partnerships with national and international organizations that leverages resources, reputation, and expertise in line with CRS partnership principles. Ensure strong representation to key stakeholders, including Church partners, local and national government, US government and international donors.

Personnel Management 

• Lead and directly supervise the senior management team, including the Head of Programs, Head of Operations, Head of Risk Management, and Heads of CRS offices in Iraq.
• Ensure full implementation of CRS performance management system for direct reports and their subordinates, including annual performance planning, regular coaching, annual performance assessment, and timely recognition of unique achievements and interventions for struggling staff.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and professional development, including utilization of CRS professional development plans, emphasis on CRS’s education policy, and frequent in-country learning and dissemination events.
• Recruit, develop, coach, and retain a diverse team of national and international staff to build cadre of skilled and committed personnel.
• Demonstrate, maintain and encourage the principles of a just workplace.

Financial/Administrative Management 

• Work closely with the Head of Operations, Head of Programs, and Finance Manager to develop and monitor annual and multi-year program budgets.
• Ensure compliance with all CRS and donor regulations and requirements, as well as local laws.
• Identify areas of risk and take steps to reduce vulnerabilities.

Representation and Growth 

• Represent CRS and share information regularly with local authorities, the Church, Caritas institutional and private donors, and other humanitarian actors.
• Pursue collaboration with Caritas Internationalis and CI member organizations for the effective support of Caritas Iraq.
• Identify and negotiate funding opportunities from institutional and non-traditional donors for on-going and new programs.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Head of Programs, Head of Operations, Head of Risk Management, Heads of Office of Kirkuk and Dohuk/Mosul.

Key Working Relationships: 

Internal: Regional Director and regional staff; other EMECA country representatives; EVP Overseas Operations; Chief Financial Officer; colleagues in Overseas Support Department, US Operations, Program Quality & Support Department, Charitable Giving, and Global People Resources.

External: Caritas Iraq, Catholic Church, host country government agencies, donor agencies, international and national non-governmental organizations, UN agencies.

Basic Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in International Development, International Relations or a related field.
• 10 or more years’ experience managing complex programs.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Eight years of relevant, progressively responsible management experience in a politically sensitive operating environment, including personnel, program and financial management
• Demonstrated record of effective leadership at the CR level
• Demonstrated ability to represent effectively the Catholic, American identity of CRS
• Effective interpersonal and communications skills in an inter-cultural setting
• Demonstrated accomplishments in strategic visioning and new programming development
• Proven success in resource acquisition, including cultivation of new donors and partnerships
• Experience in and affinity for institutional strengthening and partnership building
• Familiarity with the Middle East is a plus

Required languages:

• Fluency in English; Arabic is a plus

Physical Requirements/Environment:

• Normal conditions for an office environment
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively within Iraq and occasionally to attend other regional or global events.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

Agency competencies clarify expected behaviors and attitudes for all staff. When demonstrated, they create an engaging workplace, help staff achieve their best, and help CRS achieve agency goals. These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Personal Accountability – Consistently takes responsibility for one’s own actions.
• Acts with Integrity – Consistently models values aligned with CRS Guiding Principles and mission. Is considered honest.
• Builds and Maintains Trust – Shows consistency between words and actions.
• Collaborates with Others – Works effectively in intercultural and diverse teams.
• Open to Learn – Seeks out experiences that may change perspective or provide an opportunity to learn new things.

Agency Leadership Competencies:

• Lead Change – Continually looks for ways to improve the agency through a culture of agility, openness, and innovation.
• Develops and Recognizes Others – Builds the capacity of staff to reach their full potential and enhance team and agency performance.
• Strategic Mindset – Understands role in translating, communicating, and implementing agency strategy and team priorities.

Country Representative Competencies:

Each CR is expected to demonstrate the following competencies to fulfill her/his duties and responsibilities.

• Leads toward Strategic Results
• Manages Risk and Complexity
• Represents and Partners Strategically
• Champions Learning and Performance

Disclaimer:  This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skills, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position. 

CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to safeguarding the rights and dignity of all people – especially children and vulnerable adults – to live free from abuse and harm.

EOE/M/F/D/V – CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.