Location: Monrovia, Liberia with frequent travel to field sites
Contract Duration: Two years
Starting Date: ASAP
Responsible To: Regional Manager (RM) – in London
Responsible For: Country Health Director (CHD), Operations Manager, Country Finance Director (CFD), Logistics Manager, and HR Manager
Salary: £40,450 – £42,700 per annum dependant on relevant experience and inclusive of annual Cost of
Living Allowance.
Benefits: Insurance cover, accommodation, annual leave entitlement of 24 days per annum rising to 30 days at the completion of 12 months of continuous employment with Merlin.
This position is offered as an accompanied post.
Only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Due to the urgency of this position, applications will be short listed on a regular basis and we may offer this post before the closing date.
Merlin International Profile Merlin is a UK charity that specialises in health, saving lives in times of crisis and helping to rebuild shattered health services. Merlin works within existing health systems to realise everyone’s right to accessible, appropriate, affordable health care.
Context and Background Merlin has been operational in various counties throughout Liberia since 1997. Initially the focus was on emergency response and service provision. Recently the emphasis has shifted towards institutional capacity building using the ‘partnership for health systems strengthening’ (or ‘counterpart’) approach, geared towards supporting the decentralisation process of the MOH&SW.; but we are also still instrumental in service delivery at primary and secondary health care services.
Merlin retains the ability to carry out emergency response within its existing area of operations or further afield if necessary – as demonstrated by the 2011 Ivorian refugee crisis.
Merlin has developed a good reputation as a key partner of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOH&SW) in Liberia. and has a key role in influencing health policy at the national level. Merlin actively collaborates with the MoH&SW, UN Agencies, local partner NGOs, and other INGOs and agencies.
Merlin’s activities include technical, capacity building and logistical support to the County Health and Social Welfare Teams (CH&SWTs) as well as capacity building health facility staff through training, mentoring and/or supervision to ensure improved quality of care in the supported facilities. In 2011 Merlin is working with the County Health and Social Welfare Teams (CH&SWTs) in six of Liberia’s 15 counties: Montserrado, Maryland, Grand Bassa, Sinoe, Grand Kru and Grand Gedeh counties. We support 76 primary health care facilities directly, and a further 20 through local partners; and five hospitals (Buchanan, Zwedru, Greenville, Barclayville and Harper). Merlin also has a Reproductive Health/Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) team to mainstream maternal health promotion and HIV/AIDS prevention into all Merlin projects as a cross-cutting theme; and starting in late 2011 will be implementing a major EU/MOHSW project to install solar lighting in all health facilities nationwide.
The Country Office is in Monrovia; with a base in each of the other counties.
Main purpose of the role
The Country Director will provide overall leadership, strategic direction and operational management in line with Merlin’s vision and objectives. The Country Director will also assume responsibility for the smooth running, consolidation and development of Merlin programmes through analysis of the humanitarian and development context, needs assessments and appropriate responses. The post also includes responsibility at country level for identifying and securing donor funding and an expectation to increase Merlin’s profile through representation to external actors and advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations.
Specific Responsibilities
Leadership
• Develop and maintain a coherent country programme strategy that contributes to Merlin’s global objectives.
• Coordinate and manage the overall planning and direction of Merlin’s operations at country level.
• Ensure that programme management tools are in place and used appropriately at all field sites.
• Create a shared vision, among all staff, of Merlin’s programme’s aims and their role in achieving these.
Programme Development
• Develop and secure funding for new programmes based on identified needs.
• Ensure that donor proposals and budgets are prepared and submitted on time, and that technical inputs (e.g. health, logistics, etc.) are effectively coordinated.
• Maintain Merlin’s emergency preparedness capacity and be prepared to plan and lead an emergency response anywhere in Liberia if necessary.
• Organise and/or undertake needs assessments as and when required.
• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with donors and undertake all in-country negotiation related to programming and contracts.
• Ensure continued roll out of the ‘counterpart and work closely with MOHSW at the national level.
Programme Management
• Ensure that projects remain within the remit of their initial design, budget and proposal and prepare any amendments when necessary.
• Visit field sites regularly and ensure that projects are being implemented to a high quality and in line with Merlin policies.
• Establish systems and standards for assessment and monitoring/evaluation of programmes against their strategic aims.
• Ensure there is a regular, documented forum / meeting for all key staff to discuss and plan programme objectives and plans.
Representation
• Represent Merlin to Local & National Authorities, international donors, & (I)NGOs.
• Strengthen links with other members of the Health Consortium (IRC, SCF and AHA).
• Decide which coordination networks Merlin should invest time in, and commit time to those where participation will yield best results for Merlin.
• Contribute towards the dissemination of Merlin’s health work through publications (general, health sector, academic) in consultation with Merlin HQ Health and Policy department.
• Manage external communications in collaboration with the Marketing & Communications Department in London.
Staff Management / HR
• Co-ordinate, support and team-build national and international staff teams, ensuring that the individuals work effectively together to achieve the programme objectives.
• Set clear objectives for the country management team (CMT) and carry out reviews and appraisal in line with Merlin performance management procedures; and ensure that all other international staff are properly performance managed in the same way. Take prompt steps to address any poor performance that might affect the programme in collaboration with the Regional HR Advisor.
• Ensure that all staff both national and international are managed in line with Merlin policies and guidelines and national employment law.
• Ensure that staff recruitment is properly planned to minimise staffing gaps, in coordination with the London HR department and in line with funding opportunities.
Administration and Logistics
• Ensure that appropriate logistic, administrative and financial structures and procedures are maintained in accordance with the Merlin, donor and national government guidelines and policies.
• Ensure that all procurement is planned in good time, and in line with Merlin logistical procedures, in conjunction with London logistics department.
• Maintain regular communications with HQ using established reporting procedures.
Security
• Ensure that appropriate security guidelines and procedures are established, updated six-monthly, and adhered to by the team.
• Maintain an overall understanding of the security situation nationally and in Merlin areas of operation.
• Ensure that all significant incidents or developments are reported to the RM, and manage any major incident or evacuation.
Financial Management
• Oversee budget preparation ensuring compliance to Merlin, donor and national requirements.
• Ensure that country programmes are implemented within their budgets; if an overspend or underspend appears likely take prompt action to address this, in discussion with the RM and if necessary the donor.
• Ensure that all financial reports are prepared and submitted on time.
• Oversee the completion and return to London of the monthly field accounts within the agreed deadlines.
• Establish and / or maintain the Merlin field accounting system.
Other
• Carry out any other responsibilities as requested by the Regional Manager or International Director.
Person Specification Essential Qualifications, experience and competences
• Substantial experience in a senior management position in an international role in challenging country contexts.
• Ability to represent, negotiate and influence on behalf of Merlin to a broad range of people and organisations.
• Extensive experience of budget planning, budget management and corporate governance and/or donor compliance.
• Ability to identify and analyse opportunities that contribute to strategic aims, and translate them into practical plans and action.
• Experience of leading large teams situated in multiple geographic locations.
• Previous experience of using a range of management and monitoring & evaluation tools to ensure effective running of multiple large projects and the performance management and development of staff.
• A flexible approach to managing and prioritising a high workload and multiple tasks in a fast paced environment with tight deadlines.
• An ability to reflect on and learn from own performance and the performance of multiple large projects and act upon that learning.
• Experience of establishing strong working relationships with colleagues from different functions and cultures.
• Proactive approach to identifying issues and strong problem solving skills in day to day and crisis situations.
• An ability to analyse information quickly and accurately.
• A good understanding of security management with some experience of working within an insecure environment.
• Strong communication skills, with excellent written and spoken English.
• Confident and proficient in the use of MS Office.
• An understanding of and commitment to Merlin’s mission and values.
Desirable Qualifications, experience and competences
• Substantial experience in a senior management position in an NGO.
• Experience of both emergency response and development programming.
• Knowledge and experience of the health sector in a developing country.
• Previous experience within the region.
How to apply:
To apply for this position
To apply for this job, please go to www.merlin.org.uk/jobs and apply using our online recruitment system. In order to apply for a job with Merlin online you will need to complete a short registration process and create an account – the online recruitment system explains how to do this. Once your account has been created, you will be able to save the information that you have entered in your application and re-visit it at any time before you submit it.
If you are unable to apply online please download and complete an application form and email it to: applications@merlin.org.uk.
Please note that we do not accept CVs and any application must therefore be made online or by completing our application form. Unfortunately due to the number of applications we receive, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
Closing Date: Thursday, 23 February 2012