Country Director, Uganda

International Justice Mission is a dynamic, highly professional organisation, ambitious to achieve their vision.  They are the global leader in protecting people in poverty from violence and they are working with governments to bring protection to half a billion vulnerable people by 2030.

Their global teams of lawyers, social workers, investigators, communications and community engagement professionals partner with governments and local authorities in 12 countries to help identify and rescue survivors of violence and exploitation, and ensure they receive the support and assistance they require, whilst also working with law enforcement and prosecutors to tackle impunity by making sure laws are enforced.  They have spent more than 20 years on the front lines, fighting some of the worst forms of violence: slavery, police abuse of power, child sexual assault and intimate partner violence.  To date they have supported local duty bearers to rescue over 50,000 people from slavery and violent oppression and seen local justice systems where they are working begin to proactively rescue and support survivors and hold perpetrators to account.

Job brief

The Country Director will provide strategic vision and leadership for all IJM activities and operations across Uganda, including offices in Kampala, Gulu and Fort Portal, and satellite teams in Kasese and Tororo District (future expansion likely). The primary focus is on ensuring that IJM Uganda contributes to IJM’s global vision of protecting 500 million people by 2030.

S/he is responsible for: maintaining and further developing a strong relationship with local and national government to enable delivery of a high quality program; maintaining/expanding donor relations; working closely with IJM fundraisers to provide resource for IJM Uganda; budget setting and budget management; security and operations; developing a motivated and professional team; and ensuring IJM Uganda operates within Ugandan laws and regulations and IJM global values, standards and policies. The Country Director is responsible for advancing IJMs brand and reputation and leading IJM culture, particularly by prioritizing spiritual formation and promoting the spiritual growth of all staff in their walk with Christ.

Success in this position requires an individual with exemplary leadership abilities who deploys strong communications and interpersonal skills effectively, both internally and externally. S/he will be comfortable in international settings, with survivors, with local and national government personnel and liaising with Ugandans in all walks of life. The successful candidate will enjoy developing networks and building partnerships motivated to protecting women and girls from violence. S/he will be a person of unquestionable integrity, fully committed to IJM’s global vision.

Reporting to the Regional President, this position will also receive support from a wider international team of regional and global staff, particularly in areas of program quality, governance and legal compliance, new business development, grant acquisition and compliance, safety and security management, finance, and advocacy and communications.

The success of this role is measured by key result areas which are listed below:

• Owning, casting, and promoting IJMs organizational vision and translating its theory of change into a coherent and responsive country strategy.
• Building strong relationships of trust with local and national government to set the context for working closely with government partners to bring protection to vulnerable women and girls across Uganda.
• Leading the Uganda team in collaborating with government duty bearers and other partners to ensure an effective, measurable response to VAWG crimes, including perpetrator restraint and accountability; tangible relief and restoration to survivors of violence; and a strengthened public justice system capable of effectively and sustainably protecting women and girls from violence.
• Effectively delivering on all programmatic and grant-funded project goals and KPIs, whilst ensuring grant/financial compliance and overall management of IJM Uganda’s national budget.

• Providing leadership in the areas of staff safety/security, care/resilience, spiritual formation and professional development, resulting in increased employee satisfaction and overall team performance.

• Managing pre-existing relationships with government stakeholders and external partners and building new holistic partnerships capable of furthering IJM’s regional advancement and activation strategies and catalyzing a movement towards complete government ownership of its citizen security in the area of VAWG.
• Ensuring compliance by IJM Uganda with all relevant laws and regulations in Uganda and with IJM global values, standards, and policies.

Supervisory Responsibility

This position reports to the Regional President for Africa and Europe.

All senior leaders in country, specialist staff and consultants report to the CD.

Education & Experience

• Minimum eight years’ experience successfully leading cross-cultural teams to achieve ambitious objectives in challenging environments with excellent outcomes.
• Experience in Sub-Saharan contexts preferred.
• Degree in law, international development, or other related field (Master’s or Doctorate level preferred).
• Minimum five years’ experience in international development, with demonstrated rigor and success.
• Experience of working with international donors and intergovernmental organizations, engaging at a senior level to secure and successfully manage international donor funded programs.
• Proven ability to negotiate and work with partner organizations and key stakeholders towards achieving specific objectives.  Demonstrated experience with organizational capacity strengthening and partnership building.
• Advocacy and/or policy experience with key stakeholders including governments, cultural and religious leaders, institutional donors, civil society organizations and other partners.
• In-depth understanding of programming to combat violence against women and girls.  Broader experience in access to justice, Rule of Law and human rights issues in Sub-Saharan contexts is preferred.

Technical Competencies

• Ability to serve as a spiritual leader and mentor.
• Demonstrated successful leadership and management experience with a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural setting, including active mentoring and coaching.
• Proven ability to set and achieve significant outcomes and impact.
• Excellent communications writing and professional speaking skills.
• Proven ability to develop and manage key relationships within the highest levels of government and the development sector.
• Strong programmatic understanding, including of harnessing monitoring, evaluation, research and learning to successfully reset strategic interventions.

 Non-Technical Competencies

• Mature orthodox Christian faith as defined by the Apostles’ Creed.
• Demonstrated ability to appropriately handle stress and conflict.
• Courageous, confident, servant leadership.
• Sound and disciplined in judgement and problem solving.
• Rigorously result-oriented.
• Resilient, persevering in joy through challenge and failure.

How to Apply

To apply for this role, kindly send through a Microsoft Word version of your CV and a cover letter detailing why you are suited to this role. Please mark it for the attention of Tim Wingrove, email address: [email protected].  Please subject your email with the following reference: IJM_CDU

Please note that the interview dates for this role will be confirmed with you should your application be successful.

Red Sea is committed to meeting the standards set out in their Equality and Diversity recruitment policy; this includes not discriminating under the Equality Act 2010 and building an accurate picture of the make-up of the workforce in encouraging equality and diversity.