Title: Deputy Country Director - Kenya

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Grade: 11

Starting salary (Gross): Kshs. 444,000

Supervisor: Country Director - Kenya (Administrative) and Chief Program Officer (Technical)

Supervision given: Urban Refugee Program Coordinator, Third Country Solutions Coordinator, Deployment Coordinator, Training Manager, and Senior Officer Communications.
 

Agency overview
RefugePoint was founded in 2005 to provide lasting solutions for at-risk refugees. We work to fill the critical and unmet needs of people affected by war and conflict that have fallen through the net of humanitarian assistance, in particular women, children, and urban refugees.

Position overview
RefugePoint is recruiting an experienced Deputy Country Director (D-CD). As the D-CD you will be responsible for ensuring that RefugePoint’s (RP) programs in Kenya contribute to RPs vision of an inclusive world where refugees are supported to rebuild their lives, reach their full potential, and contribute to their communities.

Along with the Country Director (CD) - Kenya, the D-CD plays a major role in furthering the mission of the organization and helping to set and reach its operational goals. This position oversees all of RefugePoint's programming in Kenya, including the Urban Refugee Protection Program (URPP), programs related to Third Country Solutions (e.g. Resettlement, Labor Mobility, Family Reunification), and engagement with refugee-led organizations (RLOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs), and works closely with senior management in determining the organization’s strategic direction, priorities and approaches. In addition, the D-CD oversees training and communications activities in the Nairobi office.

Key responsibilities

Overall Program Management and Leadership

• Assume primary responsibility for overseeing all program activities and supervising associated staff in the Kenya office, including:
  • The Urban Refugee Protection Program (URPP), in conjunction with the Urban Program Coordinator
  • Third country solutions (3CS) in conjunction with the Director, 3CS
  • Deployment program in conjunction with the Director, Deployment Program
  • Training & Field building work to support partner organizations including CBOs and RLOs in conjunction with the Chief Program Officer
• In addition to program-related responsibilities, the D-CD supervises staff and provides oversight for communications-related activities in the Nairobi office.
• Liaises closely with the Chief Program Officer and Country Director to provide programmatic oversight and guidance by supervising and supporting program functions to ensure objectives are met and are within the required time frames and budgets.
• Maintain close coordination and communication with all of the organization’s Nairobi program staff, with particular attention to achieving outcomes, professional development, and staff morale.
• Coordinate closely with the organization’s Nairobi operations staff to ensure programs are properly resourced and supported to achieve outcomes.
• Provide technical support and oversight on field building activities.
• With the Country Director, ensure the overall high quality and ethical standards of the organization’s Nairobi programs. This includes support for quality assurance processes to ensure that Nairobi programs are consistently improving to serve beneficiaries.
• With the Country Director, ensure resources are in place and used effectively to carry out the organization’s strategy and planned activities.
• Support MER activities, coordinating with the Country Director and the MER Manager
• Coordinate and collaborate with finance and administration colleagues to ensure necessary staffing, budgeting, and financial soundness of programs.
• In the absence of the Country Director, provide overall management to the entire RefugePoint office in Kenya including assuming all of the CDs management roles.

Communications

• In conjunction with the Associate Director of Communications, supervise the Communications Senior Officer.
• Ensure the communications team in the Nairobi office has the resources necessary to collect and cultivate client and staff stories to support the organization's communications efforts.
• Review quarterly and annual report content related to the URPP for accuracy and content
• Provide guidance and support to the communications team in developing and implementing plans for internal and external communications efforts.

Training

• In conjunction with the Chief Programs Officer, supervise the Training Manager.
• Work with the Training Manager to ensure the Nairobi office has the resources necessary to promote and maintain a centre of learning for refugee self-reliance programming.
• Work with the Training Manager to support the field-building efforts aimed at strengthening the capacity of RLOs and CBOs.

Strategic Leadership

• Serve as a member of the Senior Management Team in Kenya & liaise with the organizations Executive Management Team when required
• Partner with the Country Director, the Chief Program Officer, and relevant management to shape RefugePoint’s (RP) Kenya strategy and develop operational work plans in line with RPs’ agency-wide strategy, mission and values.
• Assist in providing strategic leadership for the organization and in setting both long and short-range programmatic goals.
• Ensure team activities are aligned to achieve the strategic objectives of Kenya-based program teams.

Representation

• Represent RefugePoint Kenya in the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative community of practice
• Ensure Nairobi programs are represented at relevant working group meetings in Kenya.
• In the absence of the Country Director, serve as the secondary representative and designee for the Kenya-based programs with external partners, vendors, legal counsel, local authorities, financial institutions, and any other partners as necessary.
• Represent the organization as appropriate at meetings and conferences.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of refugee self-reliance and third country solutions (3CS) programming.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a large and diverse operational program, and to balance the competing needs and demands of different partner agencies.
• Demonstrated ability to analyse budget data and financial reports, and to ensure cost-effective program implementation
• Experience in managing a large and diverse staff, and the ability to lead teams in a multicultural environment.
• Experience with staff performance management and conflict resolution.
• Proven leadership and decision-making skills; sound judgment, initiative, flexibility, and collegiality.
• Superior verbal and written communication skills; ability to effectively present information to senior management, the Board of Directors, operational partners, and other audiences.
• Demonstrated organizational skills, as well as strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to maintain confidential information.
• Ability to maintain high-performance standards and attention to detail.
• Ability to conduct oneself in a professional manner and to represent the best interests of the agency.
• Ability to travel internationally including to locations in Africa.

Qualifications

• University Degree in a relevant field (e.g. international affairs, law, human rights, migration studies, public health, anthropology, etc.). Advanced degree preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years previous work experience in the field of refugee protection and assistance, with at least 3 of those years at a senior management level.