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Position: Country Director, BRAC Afghanistan

Job Location: Kabul, Afghanistan

About the Role:

The Country Director position involves providing strategic leadership, developing and implementing country strategy and Annual Strategic Plan (ASP), managing quality programming, mobilizing resources, and overseeing finance and human resource management. The director will represent BRAC International in the country, build strong relationships with stakeholders, and collaborate with local, national, international, and regional partners. The Country Director will report to the Regional Director of Asia and work closely with regional and head office teams to fulfil the duties of the position.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership and People Management

• Lead the development and implementation of BRAC Afghanistan’s strategy aligned with BRAC International’s strategy, mission and vision.
• Ensure that all programmes are relevant, impactful, and scalable, contributing to the overarching mission and goals
• Promote innovation and adaptation within programmes to respond to the changing context in Afghanistan.
• Provide guidance and training to all staff on community engagement strategies and quality implementation practices, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Build, manage, and mentor a high-performing team, fostering a culture of strong collaboration, respect, and accountability within the team and with technical teams at the head office.

Operational Management

• Oversee the implementation of programmes, ensuring they are delivered on time with high quality.
• Establish robust Monitoring and Learning systems to assess the effectiveness and impact of programmes.
• Regularly visit fields to engage with communities, understand their needs, and gather insights directly from the programme participants.
• Implement robust feedback systems to capture and respond to community inputs and concerns, ensuring that programs remain responsive to the needs of the people they serve
• Identify and mitigate operational, financial, and security risks, and develop contingency plans as necessary.
• Review and implement security protocols to protect employees and assets in a challenging environment, lead the country team through crisis situations, ensure the safety of personnel and the continuity of operations.

Financial and Grant Management and Partnership

• Ensure effective financial management, including budgeting, forecasting, and reporting.
• Oversee the financial management of grants, ensuring that funds are utilised efficiently, effectively, and transparently according to the approved budget.
• Develop and submit high-quality, accurate, and timely narrative and financial reports to donors, reflecting the progress, challenges, and impact of funded programmes
• Represent BRAC Afghanistan to government authorities, donors, partners, and other stakeholders, advocate for BRAC’s mission and programmes within Afghanistan, and influence policy and funding decisions.
• Develop and nurture strong relationships with key stakeholders involved in operations within Afghanistan, identify and secure funding opportunities in line with BRAC International’s strategy.

Compliance and Governance

• Ensure all financial and non-financial activities are compliant with BRAC International’s policies and the legal frameworks of Afghanistan.
• Ensure all projects are executed in strict compliance with donor requirements, including budget allocations, timelines, and reporting standards.
• Coordinate with finance and programme teams to prepare for internal and external audits, ensuring that all documentation is accurate and readily available.
• Provide regular updates to the Regional Director and relevant teams at the head office on country operations, challenges, and successes.
• Uphold BRAC’s values and ethical standards in all operations.

Safeguarding Responsibilities

• Establish a safeguarding culture across all levels by implementing the safeguarding policy.
• Act as a key source of support, guidance, and expertise on safeguarding for establishing a safe working environment.
• Ensure team members are appropriately trained, supported, and have access to resources regarding issues identified and actioned in accordance with the safeguarding policy and procedure.
• Follow the safeguarding reporting procedure in case any reportable incident takes place, and encourage others to do so.

Academic Qualifications:

• Master’s/Post Graduation in Social Science, Management Studies, Development Studies, International Relations, Economics, Public Administration, Political Science or other relevant social science disciplines from a reputed university.

Required Skills, Competencies & Knowledge:

• Demonstrated leadership ability, with a track record of building and leading high-performing teams capable of navigating dynamic and high-pressure work environments.
• Knowledge and engagement in social protection programming and policy advocacy
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Strong sense of BRAC’s core values of Integrity, Innovation, Inclusiveness, and
• Effectiveness, and demonstrated ability to work effectively with a multicultural team
• with respect and sensitivity.
• Flexibility to work across global time zones and willingness to travel to BI’s regional offices and country operations, as well as engage with other parts of the BRAC ecosystem leadership, managerial and communication skills.

Experience Requirements:

• 15+ years of proven strategic leadership, programme management and development experience in a developing country setting, preferably in the Afghanistan or, East Asia region.
• Solid experience in programme development, resource mobilisation and networking
• 10-15 years’ experience in managing, leading a Country Office of National or International NGO in a diverse culture and socio-economic context.
• Preferred to have experience as Country Director/equivalent role or Deputy Country Director/ equivalent role in the INGOs.

Employment type: Contractual

Salary: Negotiable