Regional Coordinator – East Africa & Europe, based in Geneva, Switzerland

BACKGROUND ON IMPACT AND REACH

IMPACT Initiatives is a humanitarian NGO, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation manages several initiatives, including the REACH Initiative. The IMPACT team comprises specialists in data collection, management and analysis and GIS. IMPACT was launched at the initiative of ACTED, an international NGO whose headquarter is based in Paris and is present in thirty countries. The two organizations have a strong complementarity formalized in a global partnership, enabling IMPACT to benefit from ACTED’s operational support on its fields of intervention.

We are currently looking for a Regional Coordinator – East Africa and Europe to join our team in Geneva.

Position: Regional Coordinator – East Africa and Europe

Contract duration:Open-ended

Location: Geneva

Start Date: 1 January 2024

POSITION PROFILE

The Regional Coordinator – East Africa and Europe (RC) is part of the Country Programs and Operations Department (CPOD), and the first point of contact between HQ and country offices and operations. The RC leads a portfolio of IMPACT country teams to achieve program excellence and ensure the highest level of impact and accountability, while ensuring compliance to IMPACT guidelines, policies, and standards across the country offices. In doing so, the RC promotes a shared organizational vision and core values across the country offices and actively links with HQ to contribute to the implementation of IMPACT’s global strategies.

The RC Europe and East Africa will also be assigned oversight of global CPOD Strategy Result 4, which aims to ensure IMPACT increases its operational access and capacity to deliver impactful programming across countries and regions in a compliant, timely and efficient manner. On all matters, the RC will report to the Director of CPOD, keeping him/her regularly updated and flagging key concerns and opportunities as early as possible.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The responsibilities of the Regional Coordinator – East Africa and Europe are:

1. LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT: Provide leadership and line management to all Country Coordinators and Representatives in the country portfolio.
   • Supervise and monitor the coordination of IMPACT country offices in the designated region, ensuring the formulation of outcome-driven strategies and adherence to project schedules, financial constraints, and quality benchmarks.
   • Provide performance management and guidance to Country Coordinators / Representatives and Regional Office Representatives, ensuring their professional growth, staff welfare, and adherence to organizational policies.
   • Establish and facilitate efficient and effective communication systems between country- and regional offices and HQ counterparts on all relevant matters.
2. REPRESENTATION: Represent IMPACT in senior external meetings and bodies in the region(s) to promote the organization, influence policy discussions and to identify potential areas for IMPACT partnership and engagement[1]
   • Engage with regional UN and NGO partners, think-tanks, and colleagues to stay informed about emerging trends, stakeholders, and key policy discussions in the region.
   • Champion IMPACT services and establish regional partnerships/alliances to sustain and enhance IMPACT visibility within the realm of humanitarian and development cooperation – in alignment with global IMPACT policy priorities and messages.
   • Lead on regional external donor engagement and fundraising, in close collaboration with all HQ departments and country offices.
   • Attend and contribute to regional IASC evaluation and lessons learned exercises, including P2P visits, regional response evaluations, and assessments of Humanitarian Coordinators.
3. STRATEGY & PRIORITIZATION: Ensure regional- and country teams produce high-impact programs that are relevant to the local context and support IMPACT global objectives.
   • Ensure and help IMPACT country teams define and pursue a multi-year program and advocacy strategy at country- and unit-level to inform key decision-makers and advocacy windows in the response – in close collaboration with the Global Programs Department.
   • Identify and lead on new country openings across the regional portfolio, based on a prioritized and in-depth assessments of contextual needs, organizational capacity, funding opportunities, and operational access.
   • Develop regional programmatic approaches and operational strategies to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of Country Offices.
4. RISK & EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Identify and respond to emerging risks and emergencies at Country- and Regional level in an evidence-based, interdepartmental, and prioritized manner.
   • Institutionalize risk monitoring and mitigation systems to ensure organizational risks within IMPACT are identified, prioritized, monitored, and mitigated within and across countries.
   • Rapidly identify and deploy human resources to respond to prioritized HR gaps across country missions and ensure built-in HR surge reserves at regional level.
   • Ensure successful country program support to new emergencies inside existing and new country missions – in close coordination with the Global Emergencies Unit.
5. TEAM STRUCTURING: Ensure regional- and country teams are structured effectively and efficiently to deliver strategic objectives set at country, regional, and global level.
   • Ensure all regional- and country structures – including all Units and Teams – are reviewed, validated, and adjusted by CPOD in line with global guidelines to ensure their efficient and effective delivery of country, regional, and global strategic objectives.
   • Coordinate the oversight of the structure, development, and performance management of Senior Management Teams (SMT) at country level to ensure they are capable of prioritized, inclusive, effective, and efficient coordination and decision making.
   • Review, interview, and validate all senior coordination recruitment and internal mobility.
6. OPERATIONS: Increase the operational access and capacity to deliver impactful programming across countries and regions in a compliant, timely and efficient manner
   • Provide global leadership and oversight of the 2023-2030 CPOD Strategy Result 4 on IMPACT Country Operations, including the relevant guidance, pilots, and implementation support.
   • Where relevant, ensure close coordination between IMPACT and ACTED Senior Coordination staff on logistic, administrative and security support to facilitate regional- and country program implementation, as well as ensuring that IMPACT country teams comply to ACTED’s security and other relevant FLAT regulations.
   • Provide strategic coordination and oversight of autonomy and registration processes in relevant countries, including in regional hubs, in close coordination with the IMPACT Directorate and support departments.
   • Explore, pilot, and increase the number of country-level hosting and data collection partnerships, to improve overall operational access for IMPACT country teams.
7. LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT:
   • Drive and coordinate lessons learned and knowledge-sharing events after major regional- and country milestones or emergencies and institutionalize learning outcomes into future organizational workstreams, processes, and staff discussions.
   • Ensure all senior regional and country coordination staff receives and engages in regular training opportunities, increasing the overall management and leadership capacity in the organization.
   • Identify and fast-track talented staff for senior leadership and management training and senior coordination surge.

[1] Either directly, or indirectly through supervision of the Regional Office Representatives.

REQUIREMENTS

• Years of work experience At least 4 years of proven experience and progressive managerial responsibilities in senior country- or regional coordination, of which at least 3 years in hardship positions. Prior work experience in the Ukraine and South Sudan responses essential, and broader experience in Europe and East Africa preferred. Previous experience in senior positions within IMPACT Initiatives highly desirable.
• Management experience Previous successful senior management experience in international not-for-profit research entity. Preferred to have overseen both small and large-scale research portfolios (5m+ annual budget).
• Research experience: Excellent research and analytical skills an asset. Experience in assessments. M&E, field research, evaluations an asset.
• External engagement Proven experience in nurturing, coordinating and operationalizing partnerships with other actors.
• Experience in managing organizational change Proven experience in leading cross cutting organizational change dossiers. Proven experience in risk identification and mitigation, and in problem resolution.
• Travel Ability to travel regularly, including to challenging contexts.
• Level of independence A self-starter with a proven ability to work independently.
• Cross-cultural work environment Ability to operate in a cross-cultural environment requiring flexibility.
• Academic qualifications Excellent academic qualifications, preferably including a University degree in International Development or Humanitarian Action.
• Language skills Fluency in English required. Proficiency in Russian preferred.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

• For this position, gross salary between 6’890 CHF and 7’170 CHF monthly (before income tax). NB – IMPACT salaries are strictly determined by our salary grid depending on the grade of the position and the level of education and experience of staff. A contribution to medical insurance of 450 CHF per month is already included in the salary figure.
• Insurance covering professional and non-professional accidents throughout the period of employment with IMPACT
• Health insurance, life insurance and repatriation assistance in case of field visits/temporary deployments
• Enrolment in IMPACT Initiatives Research Foundational Learning Programme within the first 3 months from the start of contract.
• Up to 40% of remote work on a weekly basis