COUNTRY DIRECTOR - AFGHANISTAN

Job Description

Lead bold change in one of the world’s most complex and resilient contexts.

Are you a visionary, courageous, and values-driven leader ready to drive impact for women, girls, and vulnerable communities in Afghanistan?

CARE is seeking a Country Director (CD) to lead our mission in Afghanistan—where the need for strong, principled leadership has never been greater. This is a unique opportunity to influence lasting change, advance humanitarian and development outcomes, and strengthen one of CARE’s most critical country programs.

About CARE Afghanistan

CARE has worked in Afghanistan since 1961, delivering emergency relief, development programs, and advocacy for social justice and equality. Today, amid conflict, climate shocks, and a rapidly evolving humanitarian landscape, CARE remains one of the most trusted and recognized organizations in the country. We maintain strong relationships with communities, authorities, and partners and are deeply committed to meeting the urgent and long-term needs of women, girls, and marginalized populations.

About the Role

As Country Director, you will serve as CARE’s legal representative and lead our operations in Afghanistan. You will oversee strategic direction, program quality, operations, and the safety and well-being of a diverse and committed team. You will drive the country office’s impact, sustainability, and influence while upholding CARE’s core values and safeguarding our reputation.

Your key responsibilities will include but is not limited to:

1. Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Lead the development and execution of a bold, contextually relevant country strategy aligned with CARE’s global Vision 2030 and humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
• Ensure the strategy is grounded in thorough contextual analysis and stakeholder consultation, reflecting the needs and aspirations of the communities we serve.
• Anticipate and adapt to shifts in the operating environment—conflict, policy, and humanitarian dynamics—ensuring CARE maintains relevance, agility, and impact.

2. Program Impact, Quality & Relevance

• Provide oversight to ensure CARE’s programs are rights-based, gender-transformative, and driven by evidence and accountability.
• Ensure integration of humanitarian response, resilience, and long-term development programming to maximize impact at scale.
• Promote innovation and continuous learning, leveraging data and feedback to improve program design and delivery.
• Uphold compliance with CARE’s Program Quality Standards, donor regulations, and sector best practices.

3. Emergency Preparedness & Response

• Lead CARE Afghanistan’s humanitarian response strategy, ensuring readiness for rapid-onset crises and protracted emergencies.
• Champion early warning, contingency planning, and risk mitigation across all teams and sectors.
• Oversee crisis coordination, ensuring high-quality, principled response efforts that safeguard the dignity and safety of affected populations.

4. Financial Sustainability & Risk Management

• Lead the development and execution of a robust fundraising and donor engagement strategy to ensure the country office’s financial health.
• Oversee financial planning, budgeting, and monitoring to ensure alignment with strategic priorities and donor requirements.
• Ensure strong internal controls, compliance systems, and risk mitigation practices are in place to safeguard resources and organizational reputation.

5. Team Leadership, Culture & Talent Development

• Foster a strong, inclusive, and high-performing team culture that reflects CARE’s values of respect, integrity, commitment, and excellence.
• Build a resilient and accountable leadership team, supporting performance management, succession planning, and professional growth.
• Ensure strong people management systems, well-being mechanisms, and a safe working environment for all staff, especially in a high-risk operational context.
• Promote a culture of feedback, collaboration, learning, and innovation across the organization.

6. External Engagement, Partnerships & Advocacy

• Position CARE as a leader and trusted partner within national, regional, and global platforms focused on humanitarian and development outcomes.
• Cultivate and maintain strategic relationships with government actors, donors, UN agencies, INGOs, local civil society, and media to advance CARE’s mission.
• Represent CARE in high-level forums, advocating for the rights of women and girls, and influencing policy and practice in alignment with our programming.
• Champion partnership approaches that build local capacity, shift power, and amplify the role of national actors in sustainable development.

7. Governance, Compliance & Representation

• Serve as CARE’s legal representative in Afghanistan, ensuring full compliance with host country laws, regulations, and CARE International policies.
• Uphold organizational policies on ethics, safeguarding, diversity, and accountability to affected populations.
• Ensure the safety, security, and well-being of staff, assets, and operations through effective risk analysis, mitigation, and compliance with CARE’s global safety and security protocols.
• Contribute actively to CARE’s global and regional leadership bodies, sharing lessons and shaping collective impact.

Why Join CARE in Afghanistan?

This is more than a job, it’s a calling. As Country Director, you will:

• Shape one of CARE’s most strategically significant country programs.
• Amplify the voices of women and girls and advocate for their rights at the highest levels.
• Work alongside dedicated, talented staff and partners who believe in dignity, equality, and justice.
• Lead in a context where your decisions directly impact lives—and where your leadership truly matters.

Ready to Make a Difference?

Join us in advancing CARE’s mission and vision for a more just and equitable world. Apply today to be part of a legacy of impact in Afghanistan.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in related field
• 6-8 years in senior management position in development field
• Strategic and operational Management
• Demonstrated experience in leading strategic and operational planning
• Extensive conceptual skills including strategic analysis
• Demonstrated management skills in a complex international setting
• 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;
• Experience in establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships with donors and government counterparts;
• Strong representation, influencing and negotiation skills;
• Demonstrated use of positive coping strategies in stressful environments
• Financial Management
• 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
• Information/Knowledge Management
• Ability to establish a learning culture within the CO and to facilitate knowledge sharing across CARE

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in related field
• 8+ years in a senior management position in development field
• Demonstrated experience in program design, implementation and evaluation
• Experience managing emergencies
• Demonstrated experience in proposal development with a range of international donors (i.e USAID, BHA, EU, FCDO,CIDA, ECHO, OCHA Pooled Funding and UN)

About the Organization

There are individuals who may use CARE’s name and trademark in emails and on websites in an attempt to solicit fees from interested job-seekers. Some examples of these fees are placement fees or immigration processing fees. CARE does not use recruiting or placement agencies that charge candidates an up-front fee of any kind. Occasionally, CARE does employ recruiting or placement agencies to help us identify candidates for specific employment within CARE. If you’re contacted by a legitimate recruiting or placement agency, there should be no charge to you. If you suspect that you have been a victim of fraud from someone purporting to be CARE, please contact us at legal@care.org. Please do not email legal@care.org to apply for this position. Instead, click "apply now" below in order to submit your interest.

CARE is an Equal Opportunity employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, disability, marital status, or veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

Starting salaries are based on internal equity, candidate experience, and the cost of labor where the job is based. Salaries listed only apply to jobs based in the US.