ZOA supports people who have lost everything due to armed conflict or natural disaster. With 900 employees and (local) partners ZOA is active in Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Asia. When a disaster of crisis occurs Dorcas provides humanitarian assistance and supports communities to rebuild themselves. Simultaneously Dorcas invests in sustainable solutions for poverty and social exclusion. With a staff of 400 and with (local) partners Dorcas is active in Eastern Europe, Eastern Africa, and the Middle East.

As of 2022, ZOA and Dorcas have established a partnership in South Sudan, integrating operations into a joint working organisation: ZOA Dorcas South Sudan. The purpose is to achieve greater impact for people in need.

Watch this video message from Agnes Kroese, CEO Dorcas

Are you a seasoned senior professional and are you looking for an opportunity to work with a faith-based organisation in South Sudan? We are recruiting a Country Director (fulltime, Juba, South Sudan).

Our work in South Sudan

Our programmes focus on FSL, WASH, Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Entrepreneurship, and Peacebuilding. Inclusion (gender and disability) is a crosscutting theme. When possible we aim for an holistic approach by integrated programming. We work in Jonglei, Western Bahr El Ghazal, Warrap States, and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area, and plan to expand to more geographical areas. The current annual budget approximates USD 6 million.

Your position

As Country Director you are responsible for leading our programmes and activities. Your focus is on a well-functioning team (about 100 employees), a shared organisational culture, as well as realising our ambition for continued growth. You report to Edwin Visser, the Chief Programme Officer of ZOA and have a reporting line to the Board of the ZOA Dorcas Cooperation in the Netherlands. You frequently visit the field and are able to travel internationally.

As Country Director you are responsible for:

• Providing leadership to the team, including chairing the country management team (CMT);
• Developing new partnerships with local organisations, establishing and maintaining successful strategic relations with embassies, international donors, INGOs, local government bodies and UN coordination structures;
• Designing a 5-year strategy in collaboration with the CMT and implementing the subsequent country annual plan (including the annual country budget);
• Developing, implementing, and supervising high-quality programmes;
• Ensuring excellent project cycle management, formulating concept papers and proposals, budgeting, monitoring and reporting;
• Supervising the administrative and financial organisation, HRM and security management;
• Driving our vision on localisation, ensuring local capacity is strengthened and local knowledge and expertise are seen as valuable resources to drive programmatic choices and decisions;
• Promoting a culture that reflects our shared values;
• Ensuring the portfolio meets all compliance standards and donor requirements; stimulating a drive for quality and impact;
• Ensuring high-quality collaboration with local partners and strengthening their capacity.

Your profile

Do you have senior programme management experience in a fragile context? Are you motivated by your expertise, personal faith and heart for people in South Sudan to take on this new role?

Becoming successful as Country Director means you:

• Have a relevant Master’s degree and experience working as Country Director or have multi-year senior programme management experience;
• Preferably have experience working in South Sudan or a similar context;
• Have proven success in identifying, creating, and capitalising on institutional funding opportunities;
• Are experienced representing an INGO and are able to build professional networks;
• Are well-versed in programme, financial and operational (including security) management;
• Understand the key trends in international and humanitarian development;
• Are able to build, lead, and develop staff with diverse backgrounds and expertise, empowering them to elevate their level of responsibility, span-of-control and performance;
• Promote and model a Christian, people focused, and participative leadership style and culture;
• Cast vision, think strategically, and have strong networking skills;
• Have analytical and writing skills and excellent command of English, both verbally and written;
• Are a Christian and fully support our vision, mission and core values.

Working with ZOA Dorcas South Sudan

We offer the exciting opportunity to lead our joint organisation in South Sudan. You will:

• Become part of a reliable and well-established organisation;
• Work with expats and national professionals and a dedicated team in the Netherlands;
• Be provided with leadership training and other professional trainings;
• Receive a 3-year contract, a decent salary and good fringe benefits, such as coverage for housing costs, insurance, pension, holiday allowance, 29 leave days, R&R, etc.

In the appointment details you will find more information on our programmes, organisation, profile and remuneration.

ZOA Dorcas South Sudan operates under the registration of ZOA. Therefore, this position is contractually with ZOA. This posting is open for candidates accompanied by a partner, but not suitable for families with children.

Interested and ready to apply?

You are kindly invited to send a cover letter and resume no later than 22 March 2023.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. An assessment will be part of the recruitment process. It is our aim to inform all other candidates of their status in the recruitment process within 4 weeks after the vacancy has closed.

Please note that we carry out background and reference checks (including COTER – Counter Terrorism check) for all candidates as part of the recruitment process. As ZOA and Dorcas participate in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, all reference checks include a written questionnaire: the “Statement of Conduct”, which will be sent to past employers regarding Misconduct (such as sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment).