Country Director, Mexico

Job Description

The Latin America Region: IRC’s Latin America Region is comprised of three population-based responses to regional crisis: 1) the Venezuela Crisis including Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; 2) Northern of Central America (NCA - El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) and 3) Mexico & Cross Border (including coordination with IRC-US programming). Additionally, the Latin America region coordinates with the Emergency and Humanitarian Action Unit to respond to the current humanitarian crisis in Haiti through a partnership-based approach. The Latin America region began formally in 2019 with a portfolio of $4.2m and 150 staff in the region and closed FY21 at $36.4 and with over 500 staff regionally. The pace of growth means that there is an ongoing need for strengthening IRC systems, ensuring program quality, and positioning for growth and development.

Mexico: Mexico is a country of origin, transit, and—increasingly—a country of asylum. Some areas, including many regions along the northern border, have been devastated by insecurity and levels of violence akin to conflict zones, with migrants often the target of violence. At the same time, other regions of the country show promise as welcoming communities that can successfully promote the integration of newcomers. IRC’s growing and diverse portfolio of work that looks at both Crisis Response Recovery and Development as well as Resettlement Integration and Asylum in Mexico is at the heart of the organization’s efforts to play a distinctive and impactful role in providing both crisis response and integration solutions across the arc of displacement that ensure the best outcomes for marginalized and vulnerable populations.

Scope of work

The Mexico Country Director (CD) core responsibility is to manage all IRC activities in Mexico, as IRC’s principal representative to the government, donors, international organizations, other NGOs and the media as it pertains to the response; developing strategic relationships; engaging in the national and regional dialogue related to humanitarian response and IRC areas of programming both in Mexico and contributing to cross border cross organization work that involves collaboration across multiple IRC departments and technical units. The CD is expected to respond effectively to a constantly changing environment with effective humanitarian programs. S/he will be directly responsible for the overall coordination and strategic direction of the response; providing oversight and coaching for directly supervised staff; leading teams to identify, design and deliver responsive, high-quality programs; ensuring efficient management of public grants and private funds for results, compliance, and focused, timely reporting; and oversight of financial management and compliance systems

The Country Director is directly responsible for the program's overall coordination and strategic direction; providing oversight and coaching for directly supervised senior managers; leading country program teams to identify, design and deliver responsive, high-quality programs; ensuring efficient management of public grants and private funds for results, compliance, and focused, timely reporting; and oversight of financial management and compliance systems. The CD will maintain continuity of humanitarian support in current operational areas, while, in collaboration with the regional team, exploring the possibility of expanding the geographic scope as needs warrant and conditions allow.

Success in this position requires an individual with demonstrated team leadership abilities; representational (including media relations), communications and risk management skills; and a facility for developing networks to build partnerships and diversify program resources. S/he will be directly responsible for the overall coordination and strategic direction of the country program; providing supervision and coaching for directly supervised senior staff; leading country program teams to identify, design and deliver responsive, high-quality programs; ensuring efficient management of public grants and private funds for results, compliance and high-quality, timely reporting; and oversight of financial management systems.

Major responsibilities:

Leadership and Representation

• Model and drive active practice of the principles of the ‘IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct’ throughout the response team including maintaining open and professional relations with colleagues, promoting a positive work environment at all levels, and ensuring oversight and resources to enable staff to perform successfully.

• Develop and maintain a high level of understanding of donor priorities and planned funding streams, seeking to establish IRC as a partner of choice for major international donors.

• Advocate with and/or advise peer agencies, local governments, donors and other stakeholders to influence responses to promote delivery of inclusive and high quality humanitarian services.

• Maintain strong, mutually beneficial and authentic partnerships with local organizations.

• Seek out and pursue opportunities to raise the profile of the work of IRC and its partners, as well as the lives and the needs of the people IRC seeks to serve.

• Lead country program through collaboration with colleagues, including collaboration related to critical cross-border programming at the Mexico-US border, to deliver country programming and advocacy.

• Ensure leadership and management processes enable the IRC to effectively adapt to contextual changes and fully make use of opportunities to expand humanitarian access and assistance.

Strategic Direction, Quality, and Growth

• Ensure the strategic vision and direction of the country program is aligned with IRC’s strategy to serve people with responsive, high-quality, and accountable programming, and secure the resources necessary for successful implementation

• Ensure the strategy action plan (SAP) promotes quality programming, is implemented and guides decision-making.

• Ensure quality program implementation through consistent use throughout the country program of: rigorous assessment, design, and proposal development and review processes; comprehensive monitoring & evaluation, accountability and learning systems; staff development investments; and partner organization capacity strengthening.

• Remain current on national and regional issues impacting the country program and partners and develop responsive strategies to changing contexts.

• Ensure the SMT delivers the leadership, management structures, staffing skills and approaches, and operational systems required to ensure a coherent ‘one IRC’ approach to achieve programming objectives.

• Find opportunities for appropriate expansion and growth of programs, supported by the appropriate investment in human resources.

Safety and Security Management

• Take primary responsibility for overall management for the country program.

• Oversee the management of all security issues, including appropriate response to emergency situations as they arise.

• Maintain a culture of safety throughout the country program, including trainings and briefings that prepare all country program staff for security incident prevention and response.

• Maintain close coordination and communication with the Regional Safety and Security Advisor on relevant concerns and evolving issues that could adversely affect IRC staff or operations.

Staff Management, Learning and Development

• Oversee the management, coaching and development of IRC Mexico staff to build a team of skilled, committed, and motivated staff.

• Coach, train, supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting quarterly performance objectives, providing regular and timely positive and constructive performance feedback, and providing documented semi-annual performance reviews and promoting professional development

• Promote and monitor staff care and well-being. Model healthy work-life balance practices. Support appropriate interventions in response to identified staff care needs.

• Offer leadership support for successful adherence by all staff to IRC’s country, regional and Global HR Operating Policies and Procedures.

• Work with regional HR staff to identify and implement recruitment and retention strategies.

Stewardship and Operational Management

• Drive operational excellence and seek opportunities to achieve optimal efficiency and cost-effectiveness in all functions and operations of the country program.

• Oversee the development, deployment and utilization of financial and operational policies, procedures, and systems to deliver compliance with IRC and donor requirements.

• Ensure responsiveness and appropriate levels of in-person and remote support to all offices, especially in the areas of HR, finance, and supply chain.

• Maintain effective and coordinated budget monitoring processes for grant funds and discretionary funds with timely and effective oversight of the country program’s financial position

• Lead and ensure compliance with IRC policy, procedures, and practices across the response.

Communications

• Model and encourage active practice of the principles of the Mexico country program.

• Maintain a healthy and empowering office environment that encourages open, honest and productive communication among IRC staff and with partner organizations.

• Maintain open communications with regional management staff, regional technical advisors, and HQ departmental staff.

Qualifications

• Strong leadership abilities and interpersonal skills, ability to deploy strong communications effectively, both internally and externally; enjoy developing networks to build partnerships and diversify program resources.

• At least 10 years of dynamically responsible international work experience, including leadership at the Country Director level of multi-site, multi-sectoral operations in a complex operating environment, supervising diverse teams.

• Deep experience working with migrant, asylum seeking, and refugee populations

• Intimate, first-hand knowledge and understanding of the policy and civil society landscapes at Mexico’s borders, in the interior, as well as across the broader region from Northern Central America to the US that impact people on the move.

• Experience managing security in a complex and rapidly changing security context.

• Confirmed ability to negotiate and work with partner organizations. Experience with organizational capacity strengthening and partnership building is helpful.

• Demonstrated successful leadership and people management experience with a multi-disciplinary, diverse team in cross-cultural settings, including active mentoring and coaching and active championing of gender equality, diversity and inclusion at all levels.

• Strong budget and fiscal oversight capacities.

• Demonstrated representation and fundraising success, including prior experience with diverse European, US, private and other international donors.

• Opportunity-awareness. A successful innovative approach to unpredictable programming, operational, and funding contexts.

• Ability to represent program context, constraints, and successes to media, government, and other senior audiences.

• Established capacity to handle stressful situations in a healthy, constructive manner.

• Ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes.

• Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

• Experience using technology for response in humanitarian or development context a plus.

• Professional fluency in written and spoken Spanish and English.

Languages: Fluency in both Spanish & English

CVs to be submitted in English.

Professional Conduct:

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Equality, Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Mexican Nationals will be given preference in application, Local and regional candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Qualifications