Job Summary
The Country Director serves as FH’s chief representative in Burundi. Provides leadership to and manages all FH programs and staff in Burundi. Within the framework of the FH Heartbeat Values, is responsible for designing, developing and delivering catalytic solutions that enable children, families and communities to be resilient and flourish. S/he ensures that the delivery of our programs in Burundi is in line with FH’s organizational strategy and supports the government’s efforts to improve the quality of life for its people.
Principal Responsibilities
Leadership, Vision, and Staff Development
- Promotes and models a healthy and visionary organizational culture that promotes a harmonious and effective workforce.
- Champions our Heartbeat Values and exercises spiritual leadership, modeling and promoting the mindsets, skills, and behaviors that contribute to a rewarding, empowered organizational culture.
- Facilitates a learning environment that enables staff to develop professionally and spiritually.
- Attracts, acquires, retains, motivates, and promotes qualified talent.
- Coaches, develops, counsels, and ensures accountability of the senior leadership team.
- Provides leadership, direction, and vision in managing change initiatives within country, bridging different ways of working, and diverse working cultures within the teams.
- Articulates, promotes and advances FH global initiatives, priorities and systems that enable the organization to achieve its vision and mission, consistent with local context.
Strategy Realization
- Ensures that the Burundi office is always planning and executing strategically in alignment with FH’s organizational direction.
- In collaboration with senior leadership, and consistent with corporate strategic priorities, develops country operating plans and related goals, outcomes, and objectives.
- Identifies and secures the appropriate resources (personnel, funds, materials, and partnerships) needed to accomplish the country’s operating plan through field, Affiliates, and other donor contacts.
- Ensures that the development of annual work plans and associated project activities, objectives and key results are aligned with the organizational strategy and targets.
- Ensures FH makes strategic investments in time, resources and planning that will position FH for greater impact and effectiveness into future.
Business Development
- Oversee the ethical and sustainable growth of the funding portfolio, ensuring alignment with FH’s mission and operational capacity.
- Identify funding priorities, growth opportunities, and innovative approaches to enhance FH’s sustainability and impact.
- Ensure a strong value proposition to investors (donors) and partners.
- Lead post submission reviews to assess gaps, refine proposal strategies and strengthen future funding success.
Programmatic and Administrative Excellence
- Ensure FH keeps its promises and fulfills its vision and mission by executing projects and supportive functions with the highest level of excellence.
- Ensures FH projects are implemented effectively and with the highest quality standards in compliance with FH and donor requirements.
- Ensures FH achieves stated outcomes, objectives, and results of its projects and that they are delivered on time, on budget.
- Promote performance monitoring and evaluation, ensuring data and learning are maximized to assist in the achievement of stated objectives.
- Ensures the organization complies with all international, national, and local laws and labor regulations as well as the policies and requirements of the partnerships to which FH belongs and the best practices of our sector.
- Ensures close collaboration between business units and implementing partners through regular planning and performance meetings and reporting, especially focused on the link between program performance and financial compliance and accountability of the organization and program burn rate.
- Promotes innovative and breakthrough programming by facilitating the development, testing and growth of new approaches, effectively balancing incremental innovation with core program models.
Representation and Partnerships
- Encourages, promotes, and expands appropriate and value-added partnerships and collaboration with external organizations and groups.
- Keeps abreast of the trends and priorities of the relief and development community in Burundi, including environmental, economic, social, political, and religious conditions, by participating in working groups, tasks forces and other bodies.
- Promotes FH brand, abilities and programs to donors, partners, and the public.
- Identifies, cultivates, establishes, and maintains relationships with partners which may directly or indirectly contribute to the advancement of FH’s strategic priorities, funding opportunities or FH implementation objectives. These include but are not limited to bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, foundations, private businesses, churches, Affiliates, and alliances to which FH is a member.
- Serve as FH’s “chief of mission” at official functions, advocating its mission and priorities to enhance visibility and cultivate strategic partnerships that drive funding opportunities.
Safeguarding and Risk Management
- Ensures appropriate protection and well-being of FH staff, community partners, assets, and organizational reputation.
- Ensures that children and vulnerable adults are protected from safeguarding issues by all staff and FH representatives in the delivery of projects and programs in the country.
- Ensure that systems, policies, and procedures are properly developed and implemented to strengthen safety and security of all staff and FH resources.
- Actively identifies, mitigates, and monitors all risks to the organization and initiates corrective action where organizational gaps or weaknesses heighten risk.
