Country Director - Angola

The Organization

Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is an international non-profit organization that promotes peaceful resolution of conflict. With headquarters in Washington, DC and a European office in Brussels, Belgium, SFCG’s mission is to transform how individuals, organizations, and governments deal with conflict - away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. SFCG seeks to help conflicting parties understand their differences and act on their commonalities. With a total of approximately 480 staff and approximately 80 consultants and interns worldwide, SFCG implements projects in 35 countries, including in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. The organization is an exciting and rewarding place to work, with dedicated and enthusiastic staff who loves their work.  You will be joining a highly motivated staff with a good team spirit and there will be opportunities to grow in the role.

Project

Since 1996, SFCG-Angola has developed and implemented effective projects designed to build Angolan capacity to create and sustain peaceful development. SFCG-Angola’s approach focuses on opening space for dialogue and action between parties in conflict to engage them in cooperative problem-solving processes. To operationalize this approach, SFCG-Angola harnesses media and community-based activities to raise capacity and enable collaborative action across diverse sectors of society, including civil society leaders, women, journalists, and youth. SFCG-Angola’s program portfolio includes projects across several sectors in society with the aim of building sustainable peace and reconciliation.

Summary of Position

The Country Director manages the program in Angola with the aim of strengthening civil society, government, and community agents, and increasing their capacity to resolve local problems and create more stable and peaceful communities. This position reports to the West and Central Africa Director, collaborating closely with the Institutional Learning Team as well as SFCG thematic programming such as Common Ground Productions (CGP), as well as liaising with other programs in Africa. This position is based in Luanda with regular travel to the provinces.

Responsibilities

• Manage the strategic direction of the program, and establish new directions in response to the changing context, in consultation with the Africa Director and Senior Management
• Oversee the fundraising for SFCG Angola, including proposal writing and budgeting, with support from the Africa team
• Develop, manage, and evaluate new and existing projects and staff
• Build capacity of national staff members particularly in areas of program and budget management
• Monitor and evaluate the results achieved by the different projects and the program as a whole
• Develop and maintain relationships with institutions and organizations at all levels (i.e. government, opposition political parties, the private sector, media executives, traditional leaders, civil society and church representatives, etc.)
• Oversee the continuing development of radio programs produced by radio studio, Estudio N’jango¸ as well as continuing relationships with local radio stations to play N’jango programming
• Oversee the establishment and management of local conflict resolution structures
• Maintain effective relationships with international and local NGOs and agencies, the church, and other local institutions in Angola to enhance their programs that support the peace-building and peace processes
• Build the consensus-building, problem-solving and conflict resolution skills of the various actors in the country, including the military, politicians, media professionals, youth, women, and NGOs and other leadership
• Cultivate and manage donor relationships, including working with private corporations, in consultation with the West and Central Africa Director and Senior Management
• Budget setting, in consultation with the CFO, and budget management
• Engage directly in the continuing development of the organization, its mission and its staff, through the sharing of experience and knowledge, working in close collaboration with our Institutional Learning Team

As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key responsibilities.

Minimum Qualifications

Essential:

• At least five (5) years of experience in peace-building, development and/or related fields, including democracy and governance issues such as civil society strengthening
• Bachelor’s Degree in a related area required
• Demonstrated financial management and program administration experience
• Experience with budgeting, proposal writing, and grants management
• Successful experience managing a team and programs in the field of conflict or related fields
• Dynamic leader with creative problem-solving approach to challenging situations
• Knowledge of major donor rules and regulations, and the ability to manage multi-donor funding
• Excellent managerial skills, interpersonal and networking skills, as well as the ability to conduct professional working relationships
• Experience in setting up and managing monitoring systems and initiating regular evaluations of the program
• Cross-cultural experience and sensitivity, and experience of living and working in developing countries (preferably in Africa)
• Ability to work with people at all levels, ranging from high-level officials to community leaders
• Proficiency in both Portuguese and English languages
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills
• Entrepreneurial spirit

Highly Desirable:

• Experience in successfully using the media for social change
• Significant experience in project management
• Knowledge of Common Ground methodologies
• Knowledge of the Sub-Saharan region and current issues

Salary: Commensurate with experience and education, with excellent benefits

To Apply:  The application deadline is July 11, 2014. Please submit a cover letter and resume at https://sfcg.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=71. Please be sure to include minimum salary requirements (in currency figures) or current salary, projected start date, and to mention where you found this posting. No phone calls please. Only applicants invited for an interview will be contacted. Please see our web site www.sfcg.org for full details of our work.