Chief of Mission (P)

The Chief of Mission (CoM) is responsible and accountable for the activities of IOM in Sierra Leone, overseeing policy, administrative, programme, and financial management support to the Country Office. The role involves strategic planning, programme development, resource mobilization, UN inter-agency engagement, and representation of IOM at national and international levels.

Responsibilities

• Develop, clarify and contribute to IOM's overall mandate and strategy and spearhead strategic planning, results orientation and operational excellence, project development and implementation following appropriate consultation with the COCF and RO within the overall regional framework, Headquarters, Member States and other relevant stakeholders.
• Stimulate, catalyse and support project development through a comprehensive resource mobilization strategy which includes multilateral and bilateral donors, national and local government and public/private partnerships.
• Ensure appropriateness and effectiveness of programmes in line with IOM’s Strategic Plan and Strategic results framework, as well as the Common Country Analysis (CCA) and the UNSDCF.
• Advise the COCF, RO and HQ, as well as the Office of the RC on national policy and migration trends in the country and in the region as well as governments' migration policies affecting the activities of IOM and prepare proposals for appropriate action.
• Advocate and support the authorities and key stakeholders on development of appropriate policies and strategies on migration management including mainstreaming into the national plan and budget, as well as into the joint UNSDCF.
• Advocate for and promote risk management plans aligned with IOM’s framework and policy.
• Take full responsibility for the successful execution of ongoing operational programmes and the development of new ones, including a strategy for identifying new opportunities.
• Supervise the implementation and ensure high-quality performance of a large variety of migration-related projects, also as part of increasing their impact within the UNSDCF.
• Participate actively within the UNCT under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator (RC), with a view to ensuring full consideration of all relevant migration-related issues in the CCA and UNSDCF processes and the coordination of the UN Migration Network.
• Play an integral role in policy discussions with internal and external stakeholders, participating in UN Country Team (UNCT) meetings, and ensure approved policies are appropriately integrated into and represented by IOM’s activities.
• Actively pursue opportunities for joint programming, where relevant to IOM’s role within the UNSDCF and IOM’s country and regional strategy and the IOM Strategic Plan.
• Report to the RC on issues linked to the implementation of programmes stemming from the UNSDCF and led by IOM, the individual IOM activities as relevant to CF results, and the collective UNCT results based on the UNSDCF.
• Where a Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) exists, participate in the HCT once established, contributing actively and providing support to the inter-agency planning process and the overall humanitarian strategy.
• Proactively engage with the UN/HCT on issues related to the prevention of and response to Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Sexual Harassment (PSEA/SH), as well as xenophobia and discrimination.
• Direct the operational, human resources, administrative, budgetary and financial activities of the Country Office and oversee those of the Project Offices in accordance with the Organization's rules and procedures.
• Report regularly to the CoM (COCF), Regional Director and other interested partners on progress achieved and developments.
• Prepare regular and special reports including narrative, impact, policy, financial, evaluation and statistics covering IOM activities, including as part of the interagency platform UNINFO.
• Facilitate knowledge generation and management through the identification of best practices and lessons learned to ensure more comprehensive and efficient delivery.
• Coordinate the Country Office's intra-programmatic knowledge products development and knowledge service delivery, and contribute to UN interagency knowledge management platforms as relevant.
• Facilitate learning through organization of competency advancement training initiatives.
• Develop partnerships within and beyond the UNCT, and promote liaison with governmental authorities and diplomatic missions, international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, the private sector, and public media in the country.
• Identify needs and priorities for cooperation and project development as well as for fundraising purposes.
• Support the COCF, Regional Office and, when relevant, HQ in the preparation and implementation of high-level meetings, with a view to ensuring high-level participation of the Government.
• Represent the Organization at national and international conferences, events and meetings.
• Develop public relations and media activities to promote IOM's image and programmes.
• Ensure that safety and security management of IOM personnel, facilities and assets are addressed, in coordination with the Regional Field Security Officer.
• Ensure establishment and regular maintenance of Business Continuity Plans (BCP) and risk mitigation and management mechanisms are in place.
• Lead the PSEA/SH Strategy for IOM at the country level, ensuring that PSEA/SH is mainstreamed in all operations and programming and is a part of the organizational culture.
• Perform such other duties that may be assigned.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in Political or Social Science, International Relations, Business Administration, or a related field from an accredited academic institution with seven years of relevant professional experience; or, University degree in the above fields with nine years of relevant professional experience.
• Accredited Universities are those listed in the UNESCO World Higher Education Database.
• Experience in general management as well as project and resources management.
• Experience in diplomacy, fundraising and public relations, as well as in liaising with governmental and diplomatic authorities and international institutions.
• Experience in managing a range of migration programming, both in the context of emergency and development programming.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• Ability to prepare and deliver speeches on various activities of the Organization.
• Demonstrated liaison and negotiation skills.
• In-depth knowledge of the broad range of migration-related subject areas dealt with by the Organization.
• Knowledge of UN and bilateral donor programming.
• Knowledge of Monitoring and Evaluation procedures and Frameworks.
• Effective resources management skills, sound knowledge of financial and business administration and of the principles and practices of management.
• Ability to deliver during crisis response.
• Good level of computer literacy.
• Fluency in English is required (oral and written).
• Working knowledge of another official UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) is an advantage.
• Proficiency of language(s) required will be specifically evaluated during the selection process, which may include written and/or oral assessments.

Skills

• General Management
• Project Management
• Resource Management
• Diplomacy
• Fundraising
• Public Relations
• Government Liaison
• Diplomatic Liaison
• International Organization Liaison
• Migration Programming
• Emergency Programming
• Development Programs
• Oral Communication
• Written Communication
• Speech Preparation
• Negotiation
• Migration Knowledge
• UN Programming Knowledge
• Bilateral Donor Programming
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Finance Administration
• Business Administration
• Crisis Response
• Computer Literacy

Languages

English