Job Description
Devex Talent Solutions (DTS) is currently assisting CARE in their search for a Country Director to based in Kenya.
JOB SUMMARY
CARE Kenya seeks a dynamic, visionary, and results-driven leader who will build on the country office’s strong foundation to deliver impactful, sustainable, and community-centered development programs.
The ideal candidate will possess a strategic mindset, a commitment to gender equality and social justice, and the ability to mobilize resources and inspire teams in a complex, fast-paced environment. This leader will leverage Kenya’s vibrant civil society and dynamic private sector to expand partnerships, advocate for systemic change, and ensure CARE Kenya continues to be a trusted and innovative partner in addressing poverty and inequality.
Key attributes include strategic vision, experience leading in development and/or humanitarian contexts, strong resource mobilization and financial management skills, and a collaborative leadership style that promotes inclusion, accountability, and staff empowerment. The ideal candidate must demonstrate resilience, adaptability, and a deep understanding of Kenya’s development landscape, including its socio-economic, political, and environmental challenges.
The Country Director (CD) is responsible for fulfilling the CI approved “Performance Standards of Country Offices”. They will oversee the development, funding and implementation of the Country Office (CO) program portfolio. S/he leads the CO’s fundraising strategy and ensures the CO’s financial viability. As an organizational citizen, the CD will contribute to CARE’s global strategy, shares knowledge and supports the generation of evidence to inform CARE’s global programming.
The CD is also accountable for competent operational and risk management, including the proper management, well being and safety of CARE staff and the proper stewardship of CARE’s resources. The CD models and ensures systematic practice of CARE core values - Respect, Integrity, Commitment and Excellence- S/he also promotes Gender Equality and Diversity among CO staff and in programming.
The CD models new ways of working and drives the teams toward the CARE 2030 vision, fostering innovation, holistic planning and programming and helping to build effective teams, coalitions and networks. they encourage on-going staff development to motivate and strengthen the teams’ resilience in the face of change.
RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS
STAFF MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES
- Foster a culture of collaboration, inclusion and accountability within the team.
- Provide inspirational leadership to a diverse multidisciplinary team, ensuring alignment with CARE’s values and strategic priorities.
- Identify and nurture talent within the organization, creating opportunities for professional growth and leadership development.
- Set clear goals and expectations for staff ensuring alignment with organizational objectives, and regular monitoring this whilst championing a results-oriented culture.
- Lead organizational change processes with sensitivity, ensuring staff engagement and buy -in. Prioritize succession planning and knowledge transfer to enhance team resilience and continuity.
STRATEGIC PLANNING & IMPLEMENTATION
- Lead the development, evolution and/or review and execution of CARE Kenya’s multi-year country strategy, ensuring alignment with CARE’s global and regional priorities and national development agenda.
- Conduct regular situational analysis to identify emerging opportunities and challenges and grow organizational capability for strategic foresight and scenario planning and adapting strategies to remain relevant and impactful.
- Foster cross-sectional collaboration to position CARE Kenya as a thought leader and trusted partners in areas such as climate resilience, gender equality and humanitarian response with a clear ambition for locally led approaches.
- Develop and oversee strategies for resource mobilization, targeting both traditional donors (institutional and multi-lateral donors and non traditional donors (e.g. private sector and philanthropies).
- Ensure integration of innovative approaches and technologies into programming to enhance effectiveness and scalability.
- Design and lead organizational change processes to leverage opportunities and evolve towards the CARE 2030 vision.
PROGRAM IMPACT AND RELEVANCE
- Ensure CARE Kenya’s programs are evidence based, locally driven and responsive to the needs of marginalized communities, particularly women and girls.
- Strengthen partnerships with civil society organizations to co-create solutions and promote local ownership of development initiatives.
- Leverage Kenya’s dynamic private sector to design and implement a shared-value partnerships that address development challenges while achieving mutual goals.
- Advocate for policies and systemic changes that address root causes of poverty and inequality, amplifying the voices of those CARE serves.
- Position CARE Kenya as a partner of choice for donors and stakeholders by demonstrating program excellence, transparency and sustainable results
- Drive the localization agenda by building capacity of local organizations and fostering inclusive partnerships that reflect CAREs commitment to equity and justice.
RESOURCE MOBILIZATION, STEWARDSHIP & OPERATIONS VIABILITY
- Develop and execute a comprehensive resource mobilization strategy to secure diversified funding from institutional donors, multilateral agencies, private sector and philanthropic organizations.
- Cultivate a relationship with traditional donors while exploring innovative funding models, including impact investments, corporate social responsibility (CSR) partnerships and local resource generation.
- Oversee operational systems, ensuring efficiency, effectiveness and alignment with CARE’s global standards.
- Ensure robust safety, security and safeguarding measures to protect staff, partners and program participants.
- Lead risk management efforts to safeguard organizational resources, mitigate fraud and ensure compliance with legal and regulatory standards.
- Strengthen & monitor the country office’s financial sustainability through sound budgeting, cost recovery mechanisms and financial planning and ensure the best use of available resources; this includes overseeing the development and review of CO annual budget, proper allocation of shared program costs (cost pools), development of unrestricted requests, review of financial transactions and reports, maximizing cost recovery from restricted grants and follow-up on audit recommendations.
- Ensure management structure of CO is proportional to CO income.
QUALIFICATIONS
EDUCATION/TRAINING
Required
- Bachelor’s Degree in related field
Desired
- Master’s Degree in related field
EXPERIENCE/TECHNICAL SKILLS
Required
- Deep understanding of Kenya’s development context
- Strategic and operational Management
- At least 10 years of senior leadership experience in international development or humanitarian work, including in the East Africa region
- Demonstrated experience in leading strategic and execution in complex, multi-stakeholder environments
- Extensive conceptual skills including strategic analysis
- Demonstrated management skills in a complex international setting
Private Sector collaboration & Partnership Management
- Experience building strategic partnerships with private sector actors to co-create development solutions and secure innovative funding streams
- advanced ability to build and sustain relationships with government, civil society and private sector stakeholders
Programmatic expertise:
- Strong understanding of key development and humanitarian challenges in Kenya, including gender inequality climate resilience and poverty alleviation
- Experience designing and scaling evidence based programs that deliver measurable impact.
Resource Mobilization:
- Demonstrated success in mobilizing significant resources from institutional doors and private sector partners, and philanthropic organizations.
- Track record of cultivating partnerships with government agencies, civil society organizations and the private sector
People/Relationship Management
- Demonstrated self-awareness, leadership and interpersonal skills
- Strong human resource management skills including capacity building, coaching and conflict management;
- Experience supervising and developing a multi-disciplinary team in a cross-cultural setting;
- Demonstrated interest and ability to give feedback, develop, motivate and lead a diverse team to achieve results;
- Demonstrated use of positive coping strategies in stressful environments
Financial & Operational Management
- Proven experience managing multi-million dollar budgets with a focus on accountability, transparency and value for money.
- Knowledge and experience with financial management as demonstrated by ability to:
- Manage a complex budget
- Effectively follow-up on internal and external audit recommendations
- Ensure donor compliance and reporting
- Strong operational mangement skills, including risk management, compliance and organisational agility
Information/Knowledge Management
- Ability to establish a learning culture within the CO and to facilitate knowledge sharing across CARE
Desired
- Skills in leveraging digital innovations to enhance program reach, efficiency and acountability
- Fluency in English is required; proficiency in Swahili or other local languages is an advantage
