Country Director DR Congo

The Country Director provides strategic leadership to the Danish Refugee Council's DR Congo operations, ensuring responsiveness to humanitarian needs, programme quality, operational effectiveness, and accountability. The role requires managing complex humanitarian operations, leading during emergencies, and engaging with donors, authorities, and coordination mechanisms.

Responsibilities

• Provide visionary and inclusive leadership across DRC DR Congo operations.
• Lead the implementation and development of DRC’s country strategy in alignment with DRC’s global strategic priorities.
• Foster a collaborative organizational culture that promotes accountability, innovation, and principled humanitarian action.
• Ensure effective senior management teamwork and decision-making.
• Lead, coach, and support senior managers and promote staff wellbeing and professional development.
• Ensure performance management systems are effectively implemented.
• Promote safeguarding, diversity, inclusion, and adherence to DRC’s Code of Conduct.
• Represent DRC with national authorities, donors, UN agencies, NGOs, clusters, and coordination forums.
• Strengthen DRC’s positioning and visibility nationally and within the EAGL region.
• Maintain constructive relationships with key stakeholders, including communities, local authorities, humanitarian actors, and donors.
• Lead strategic advocacy efforts on displacement-related issues and humanitarian access.
• Ensure quality, compliant, and impactful programme implementation.
• In collaboration with the Head of Programme, support programme development, proposal design, fundraising, and donor engagement.
• Promote evidence-based programming, accountability to affected populations, and impact measurement.
• Support diversified and sustainable funding strategies.
• Maintain overall accountability for safety and security management.
• Ensure that operations are conducted in accordance with DRC security policies and procedures.
• Monitor contextual developments and support informed operational decision-making in volatile environments.
• Oversee financial management, budget monitoring, and compliance with donor and DRC requirements.
• Ensure efficient resource allocation and accountable operational systems.
• Strengthen organizational resilience and risk management practices across all functions.

Requirements

• Minimum of 7 years of senior management experience in humanitarian and/or development settings, including experience as Country Director or equivalent senior leadership role.
• Master’s degree in Political Science, International Development, Economics, Humanitarian Affairs, or another relevant field.
• Demonstrated experience leading operations in complex and insecure environments.
• Strong experience representing organizations with donors, authorities, and coordination mechanisms.
• Proven experience in donor engagement, fundraising, and managing multi-donor portfolios.
• Experience managing large and diverse teams in high-stress contexts.
• Experience working on displacement-related issues, including with IDPs and conflict-affected populations.
• Full professional proficiency in English and French.
• Previous experience in East Africa and/or the Horn of Africa is strongly preferred.

Skills

• Senior Management
• Humanitarian Operations Liaison
• Development Programs
• Strategic Leadership
• Operations Management
• Donor Engagement Strategies
• Fundraising
• Donor Portfolio Management
• Team Management
• Displacement Issues
• IDP Support
• Conflict-Affected Populations
• Emergency Response
• Stakeholder Representation
• Coordination Mechanisms
• Political Science
• International Development
• Humanitarian Affairs
• Economic Development
• Bilingual: English/French

Languages

English, French