Country Director - Search for Common Ground - Lebanon

The Organization Search for Common Ground (SFCG) is an international non-profit organization that promotes peaceful resolution of conflict. With headquarters in Washington, DC and a European office in Brussels, Belgium, SFCG's mission is to transform how individuals, organizations, and governments deal with conflict - away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions. SFCG seeks to help conflicting parties understand their differences and act on their commonalities. With a total of approximately 400 staff worldwide, SFCG implements projects from 47 offices in 28 countries, including in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. The organization is an exciting and rewarding place to work, with a dedicated and enthusiastic staff who love their work. You will be joining a highly motivated staff with a good team spirit and there will be opportunities to grow in the role.

Summary of Position The Country Director (CD) of SFCG in Lebanon has the overall responsibility for the program development, management and successful operations in Lebanon. The Country Director will report directly to the Director of Muslim-Western Relations and Middle East and North Africa Programs, based in Washington, D.C.

Responsibilities
- Manage the implementation of the conflict transformation programme in Lebanon within the overall vision and goals of the organisation
- Oversee the management of SFCG-Lebanon's projects while managing project priorities, developing plans and long-term strategies in Lebanon
- Take full responsibility for the financial management and health of the SFCG-Lebanon programme, including budget management, financial reporting, and budget monitoring
- Recruit, manage, and evaluate SFCG's programme and project staff in Lebanon
- Oversee ongoing capacity-building efforts of staff members, particularly in areas of programme and budget management
- Monitor and evaluate the results achieved by the different projects and the programme as a whole, supported in part by the Design Monitoring and Evaluation team in Washington, DC
- Serve as SFCG's representative in Lebanon
- Work with public and private actors, non-governmental organisations, the media and disadvantaged communities on institutionalising a culture of conflict transformation and mediation
- Develop and maintain relationships with international and local trainers, partner organisations, other NGOs, media, donors, clients, key government officials, and others
- Ensure compliance with donor regulations
- Oversee the management of grants and budgets and report regularly to supervisor
- Raise additional support for the Lebanon programme through proposal and report writing and other channels, as necessary
- Identify new opportunities for SFCG involvement in Lebanon
- Stay informed of the international conflict resolution field to ensure that the programme's work remains innovative and professional
- Maintain local administrative policies and procedures, ensuring that they comply with SFCG policies
- Be directly engaged in the continuing development of the organisation, its mission and its staff, through the sharing of experience and knowledge, particularly contributing to its Institutional Learning efforts
- Contribute to SFCG growth and development in other countries, as may be appropriate

Safety and Security Responsibilities
- The Country Director shall hold primary responsibility for ensuring the Country Office is in full compliance with all SFCG Safety & Security Policies and Procedures, including but not limited to:
- Develop and maintain field office safety & security plan, including evacuation.
- Ensure the Country Office maintains a healthy and productive work environment in line with SFCG's policies and procedures.
- Set security alert level for country program via regular risk assessments and ensuring all staff and visitors are informed of the current security alert level, threats in the area, and their respective responsibilities.
- Ensure all staff receives Safety & Security training as appropriate to the context.
- Provide incident reports to Regional Director and Director of Operations, for review by SFCG Management Team; this should include all security, safety and serious health incidents.
- Where appropriate, lead or coordinate investigations.
- Ensure that SFCG is participating in local NGO security networks and maintaining other key relationships for maintaining good staff safety & security.
- Establish safe communication protocols for country program staff for reporting "all ok" status during emergencies and for sharing important security information.
- Ensure good data security, including the protection of sensitive information and sufficient off-site back-ups (such as within HQ) to prevent major losses in key data.
- Identify and train at least one senior staff manager who would act on behalf of Country Director in event Country Director is not available.
- Ensure that other related practices are in compliance with SFCG policies: hiring & management; employee relations, developing partnerships, procurement and cash management.

As job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, the position holder may be required to undertake other duties that are broadly in line with the above key duties.

Minimum Qualifications
- At least five (5) years of experience in international relations, peace-building, development, journalism and/or related fields, including democracy and governance issues and civil society strengthening
- Bachelor's Degree in a related area required (Master's degree preferred)
- Extensive experience working in and/or knowledge of Lebanon and the political, social and cultural issues affecting the region
- Knowledge of and experience in conflict resolution, negotiation, and mediation
- Significant experience in project management at a high level in a non-profit environment
- Demonstrated experience with budgeting, project development, fundraising, proposal and report writing, and grants management
- Demonstrated financial management and programme administration experience
- Ability to successfully manage and inspire a team in the field of conflict resolution, international development or related fields
- Excellent managerial skills, interpersonal and networking skills, as well as the ability to conduct professional working relationships
- Dynamic leader with creative problem-solving skills
- Knowledge of major donor rules and regulations, and the ability to manage and prioritize multi-donor funding
- Proven ability in convening and facilitating multi-party meetings and ongoing dialogues
- Demonstrated experience in setting up and managing monitoring systems and initiating regular evaluations of the programme
- Ability to work with people at all levels, ranging from high-level officials to community leaders
- Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills
- Written and oral fluency in English, Arabic highly desired
- Ability to function as a social entrepreneur
- A team spirit

Apply
Please send a cover letter and resume to employment@sfcg.org or fax to +1 (202) 232-6718 with the subject heading: Country Director – Lebanon. Please be sure to include minimum salary requirements (in currency figures) or current salary, projected start date, and to mention where you found this posting. No phone calls please. Only applicants invited for an interview will be contacted. Please see our web site www.sfcg.org for full details of our work.