Country Director - Yemen, Sana'a

The Country Director provides strategic leadership to DRC's Yemen operation, overseeing programme quality, safety, financial stewardship, and external relations. This senior role requires visionary leadership, effective advocacy, and management of a complex humanitarian operation in a challenging context.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership, strategic direction, and management of DRC's country operation.
• Lead, support, and develop the Senior Management Team to ensure effective collaboration and achievement of objectives.
• Establish clear objectives, expectations, and accountability across the country operation.
• Exercise delegated budget and management authority in accordance with DRC policies and procedures.
• Ensure recruitment, performance management, staff development, succession planning, and disciplinary processes are implemented effectively.
• Foster staff wellbeing, engagement, and professional development while ensuring duty of care obligations are met.
• Address performance, conduct, and Code of Conduct matters in line with DRC policies.
• Represent DRC at national, regional, and international levels with key stakeholders.
• Strengthen DRC's strategic positioning, reputation, and influence in Yemen.
• Maintain effective relationships with displacement-affected communities, authorities, donors, partners, and humanitarian community.
• Promote DRC's integrated and solutions-oriented approach to displacement and contribute to humanitarian coordination and policy dialogue.
• Provide overall management oversight of the country programme ensuring strategic coherence.
• Directly line manage designated senior staff and ensure effective leadership body.
• Ensure organizational structures, systems, and resources support programme delivery and operational effectiveness.
• Maintain regular engagement with field operations through frequent visits.
• Ensure compliance with internal governance, risk management, and reporting requirements.
• Lead donor engagement, strategic partnerships, and resource mobilization efforts.
• Ensure strong donor relations and high-quality donor engagement throughout the programme cycle.
• Lead implementation of DRC's advocacy priorities informed by operational evidence and protection concerns.
• Promote principled humanitarian action and amplify voices of displacement-affected populations.
• Hold overall accountability for safety, security, and duty of care across the country operation.
• Ensure effective security management systems and procedures are maintained and adapted.
• Oversee security analysis, risk management, preparedness, and crisis response mechanisms.
• Hold overall accountability for financial health, sustainability, and compliance of the country operation.
• Work closely with Head of Support Services to ensure effective financial planning, budget management, internal controls, and risk management.
• Ensure resources are managed effectively, responsibly, and in compliance with policies and donor requirements.
• Ensure support functions provide timely, efficient, and compliant services enabling high-quality programme implementation.
• Promote capacity development and continuous improvement across support functions.
• Lead development, implementation, and review of country strategy aligned with global and regional frameworks.
• Ensure programmes are evidence-based, responsive to context and needs, and contribute to strategic objectives.
• Promote innovation, learning, and adaptive management to maximize programme quality and impact.
• Support development of integrated, multi-sectoral programming strengthening protection outcomes and durable solutions.
• Ensure adherence to DRC policies, standards, and procedures including Code of Conduct and safeguarding commitments.
• Promote accountability to affected populations ensuring community input in programme design and implementation.
• Ensure consistent application of Programme Cycle Management framework to strengthen quality, accountability, monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
• Foster culture of accountability, compliance, learning, and continuous improvement across country operation.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in relevant field.
• Minimum five years’ management experience in emergency/development contexts as country director/senior manager of a humanitarian or development organization or similar.
• Experience as a people manager.
• Experience representing a large and leading organization to donors, external partners and authorities.
• Experience with networking, advocacy and coordination.
• Experience in managing staff in insecure/stressful locations.
• Experience with conflict related displacement issues.
• Experience of managing budgets and multiple donor contracts.
• Experience in donor contact, fundraising and networking.
• Experience of Humanitarian Mine Action (preferred).
• Experience working in the Middle East region and Yemen (preferred).
• Proven leadership skills and competence in people management.
• Proven communicator with all types of stakeholders.
• Proven commitment to accountable practices and knowledge of quality assurance systems.
• English is required.
• Arabic is desirable.

Skills

• Emergency Management
• Development Management
• People Management
• Donor Relations
• Advocacy
• Coordination
• Budget Management
• Donor Agreement Management
• Fundraising
• Humanitarian Mine Action
• Middle East Experience
• Leadership
• Stakeholder Communication
• Quality Assurance Systems
• Financial Stewardship
• Strategic Leadership
• Programme Management
• Conflict-driven Displacement

Languages

English, Arabic