INSO Director - Syria

Employer: International NGO Safety Organisation
Location: Syria
Applications Close: 31 Jul 2014

INSO is seeking an experienced individual to join their team as the INSO Director who will be based in the region and will have countrywide (Syria) responsibilities and oversight. The Director provides the strategic and management framework within which INSO activities take place providing leadership, guidance and oversight to all aspects of the organization. They will be an experienced and committed humanitarian leader with an exemplary understanding of the country; strong intellectual and analytical capacities; excellent diplomacy and networking skills and will be an articulate and

confident communicator. The post will suit an individual at the NGO Country Director level who possesses significant motivation to develop and lead a new initiative. This position is being offered on a 1 year (renewable) term with an anticipated starting date of the 1st of August 2014.

Key Areas of Responsibility:

• Maintain the physical, legal and administrative presence of INSO in the country including liaison with, and reporting to, all relevant national authorities.
• To maintain the Advisory Board and integrate its recommendations into the program.
• In close co-operation with that Board, to lead the development, implementation and maintenance of all aspects of the required INSO services countrywide.
• In close cooperation with the Board, to monitor and review service quality, relevance and value and where necessary to undertake the amendment, removal or addition of services.
• To oversee and coordinate all staff and resources in the delivery of all mandated services including 24/7 flash reporting, analysis, meetings, orientations etc.
• To maintain a status as a recognized ‘country expert’ in order to be able to provide the highest level of strategic analysis, advice and information to beneficiaries.
• To lead all aspects of grant management including annual funding strategy, proposals, reports, budget management, forecasts and maintaining contractual compliance in all areas at all times.
• To oversee the recruitment, orientation, management and professional development of all INSO Syria employees.
• To ensure the application all INSO global policy in both administrative and operational areas including HR, Finance, Logistics, Security and Service Delivery Standards.
• To provide high level representation and liaison for INSO towards all third parties such as NGOs, UN, Government, Embassies, Media or any other actor.
• To actively manage the public perception of INSO in order to establish and maintain recognition of its mandate for independence, impartiality and neutrality.

Mandatory Requirements:

This is a high profile, dynamic and multi-faceted post and will become a key node in the humanitarian architecture of the Syrian context. Only those applicants that fulfill all of the minimum requirements will be considered.

• Exemplary command of the English language (written and spoken).
• Masters level education in a relevant field (please specify).
• Minimum of one (1) full year in NGO management at CD or DD level (or equivalent) anywhere.
• Minimum two (2) recent years of experience related to the Syrian context and demonstrable familiarity with both the security dynamics of that context and of the INSO mandate and services.
• Minimum of five (5) years in post conflict/emergency environments in the humanitarian sector.
• Donor/contract management experience (incl. DFID, OFDA & ECHO) & policy knowledge.
• Solid and up to date understanding NGO security principles and practices.
• Outgoing and confidant personality.
• Excellent networking and diplomacy skills.

Preferred Characteristics:

The following are not required but will give applicants an advantage over others. Please specify in your cover letter.

• Experience in a high visibility inter-agency role.
• Existing (relevant) local information networks and contacts.
• Local language ability.
• Advanced political, social or historical knowledge of the country.

How to apply:

Interested persons are requested to send the following to jobs@ngosafety.org no later than 17:00GMT on the 31st of July 2014 and ensure to reference ‘INSO Director-Syria’ in the subject line of your email. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted after the closing date.

• Cover Letter specifying how you meet the mandatory requirements, your motivation in applying and what you hope to bring to INSO (2 page maximum).
• Up to date CV (5 page maximum).
• One relevant and substantive writing sample in English which demonstrates your analytical and reporting ability (maximum 10 pages).

Please do not send any additional information (certificates, other writing samples, etc.) and keep the total size of your application under 2MB if possible.