The starting salary package for this position is £63,024 GBP / approx. $119,789 AUD including all allowances.

About MAG:

MAG (Mines Advisory Group) is an international humanitarian organisation based in Manchester, UK, and working in 32 countries. We remove landmines and unexploded ordnance to release safe and productive land for communities, and work to reduce the threat of armed violence by supporting governments to safely manage weapons and ammunition. In 1997, MAG was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for our work campaigning for the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention.

About the role:

Subject to confirmation of donor funding, MAG is looking for a Country Director to provide strategic leadership and representation for MAG in Papua New Guinea. Reporting to the Regional Director, you will be responsible for the effective integration of strategic, programmatic and operational management, ensuring compliance with contractual obligations and MAG’s mission and mandate. You will have a wide variety of strategic responsibilities including contract management, donor liaison, people management, security management, capacity building and risk management.

This senior role will provide you with the opportunity to use your people management skills, leading a small team of international and national staff. You will also have the opportunity to use your skills in stakeholder management, to take a leading role in donor development, and working with a range of national and international actors.

About you:

To lead the work on the ground MAG will be looking for candidates with experience at a senior level of establishing operations, demonstrating ability to problem solve in a new working environment where there are no existing programme structures, ideally with experience leading on NGO registration processes.

It is essential that you have a demonstrable understanding of the contextual factors relevant to the wider Pacific Islands region, based on previous relevant experience or broader overarching knowledge and understanding.

Experience in Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) programming and the wider arms control/disarmament sector including mine action as well as a demonstrable understanding and knowledge of the contextual factors relevant to Papua New Guinea is strongly preferred but not essential.

You should have high level planning, organisational and diplomatic skills to negotiate with various political and military stakeholders as well as the ability to network with potential donors to further develop and extend MAG’s programme of work. You will also need excellent people management skills and the ability to manage support functions including HR, administration, logistics and finance.

Finally, the successful candidate will have demonstrable experience of working in complex political and volatile security contexts and the tact, diplomacy and tenacity needed to lead this programme.

About the Papua New Guinea programme:

Subject to confirmation of donor funding, MAG’s programme in Papua New Guinea will seek to assist the national government and security forces to better secure and account for their stocks of firearms and SALW. MAG will conduct technical assessments to prioritise Physical Stockpile and Security Management (PSSM) needs and respond to the measures identified within the assessments. Our team will be based out of Port Moresby.

Further information and how to apply:

For the further information on the role, the application pack is available here. 

To submit your application, please click Apply Now.

MAG will support the successful applicant with any visa or work permit required, including application, administration and costs, however applicants will need to be able to obtain these within a reasonable time period to be considered for the role, due to programme needs.

Please note that as part of MAG's commitment to safeguarding, this post is subject to background checks before an offer of employment is confirmed. For more information on MAG’s approach to safeguarding here and background checks here. You can also find more information in the candidate information pack, available on our website via the Apply Now link.

MAG is committed to the principles of diversity, equality and inclusion. If you think you would be suited to one of our roles we would welcome your application regardless of your background. We strive to provide an inclusive and supportive working environment where all employees feel respected and supported in fulfilling their potential.