Country Director

Position description

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Background/IRC Summary:

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has worked across the Middle East, North Africa, and Ukraine (MENAU) region for more than forty years, responding to some of the world’s most complex and protracted humanitarian crises.

Today, more than 75 million people across the MENAU are in need of humanitarian assistance, as conflict, displacement, climate change, and economic instability continue to disrupt lives and limit access to essential services. Vulnerable groups—especially women, children, and people on the move—remain most at risk.

With more than 1,500 staff working across Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine, the IRC delivers integrated programs that meet both immediate and long-term needs improving access to health, safety, education, and economic wellbeing, and helping those affected by crisis to survive, recover, and rebuild their lives.

In response to the influx of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, in 2012, the IRC has launched a multi-sectoral relief program in Lebanon. The program provides assistance to refugees and host communities in Beirut, Mount Lebanon, the North, the South and Bekaa Valley in the fields of child protection, education, women’s protection and empowerment, protection, and economic recovery and development. IRC’s work in these challenging settings gives rise to some of the most pressing issues facing contemporary humanitarian action, including questions of access, security, funding and coordination.

SCOPE OF WORK

The Country Director (CD) sets the strategic direction, leads all programs, leads emergency response, financial and operational matters and supervises humanitarian access and adherence and Application of security measures, and relationships in the country including partnerships with Lebanese civil society organizations. As lead of the Senior Management Team (SMT), the CD ensures accountability of the SMT for overall leadership and supervisory management of approximately 150 IRC staff, programming, and operations, including program quality and accountability, stewardship of resources, staff safety and security, performance management and external representation, for which the CD remains accountable.

Success in this position requires an individual with exemplary, demonstrated leadership abilities who deploys strong communications and interpersonal skills effectively, both internally and externally. The successful candidate will enjoy contextual analytical skills with an ability to translate the impact of geopolitical events to our day-to-day operations. They will build a network of partnerships and diversify program resources. They will be directly responsible for the overall coordination and strategic direction of the country program; providing oversight and coaching for directly supervised senior managers; leading country program teams to identify, design and deliver responsive, high-quality programs; ensuring efficient management of public grants and private funds for results, compliance, and focused, timely reporting; and oversight of financial management and compliance systems.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership and Representation

• Lead the country program by establishing and maintaining open and professional relations with colleagues, promoting a strong team spirit throughout the country program, and providing guidance, oversight, and resources to enable staff to perform successfully.
• Lead strategic representation and positioning with Lebanese government authorities, major institutional donors, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, and coordination fora, ensuring IRC remains a partner of choice. Develop and maintain a high level of understanding of donor priorities and planned funding.
• Provide leadership for strong, mutually beneficial, and effective partnerships with Lebanese and local organizations.
• Seek out and pursue opportunities to raise the profile of the work of IRC and its partners in Lebanon, as well as the lives and the needs of the people IRC seeks to serve.
• Play a leadership role in efforts to improve humanitarian response coordination in Lebanon.
• Lead country program collaboration with colleagues in the IRC’s MENAU region to deliver regional programming and advocacy.
• Ensure leadership and management processes enable the IRC to effectively adapt to contextual changes and fully leverage opportunities to expand humanitarian access and assistance.
• Collaborate closely with regional leadership and neighboring country programs to address cross-border and regional issues coherently and effectively.
Strategic Direction, Program Quality and Growth

• Ensure the strategic vision and direction of the country program is aligned with IRC’s strategy to serve people with responsive, high-quality, and accountable programming, and secure the resources necessary for realization.
• Ensure the strategy action plan is of quality, implemented and guides decision making, to achieve IRC’s ambitions in Lebanon and contribute to IRC’s strategic objectives globally.
• Ensure program quality through consistent use throughout the country program of rigorous assessment, design, and proposal development and review processes; comprehensive monitoring & evaluation, accountability and learning systems; staff development investments; and partner organization capacity strengthening.
• Actively seek out and pursue opportunities to expand, in line with the IRC’s mission, humanitarian, resilience and development programming in Lebanon, in terms of populations and areas served.
• Ensure timely submission of competitive, responsive, and high-quality proposals, and support colleagues in negotiations with donors.
• Lead implementation of IRC’s objective of expanding partnerships with Lebanese civil society organizations, and ensuring strong collaborative, principled partnerships that deliver effective and efficient program outcomes.
• Remain current on national and regional issues impacting the country program and partners and develop responsive strategies to changing contexts.
• Ensure the SMT delivers the leadership, management structures, staffing skills and approaches, and operational systems required to ensure a coherent “one IRC” approach to achieve Lebanon and regional objectives.
• Identify opportunities for appropriate expansion and growth of programs, supported by the acquisition and investment of human resources.
Emergency Response Management

• Take primary responsibility for overall strategic and operational emergency response readiness and action for the country program.
• Lead Country Context Analysis, Emergency Response Planning and Strategy Development as well as In-Country Emergency Response Teams
• Ensure the country program maintains robust emergency preparedness and response capacity, including crisis management structures, clear decision-making protocols, and surge readiness to enable rapid operational scale-up or adaptation in volatile contexts.
• Lead and oversee the management timely, well-coordinated, and principled responses to emergencies, including conflict escalation, displacements, critical incidents, and program disruptions.
• Engage with Regional and Global Emergency Response Teams prior to, during and post emergency response, in line with organizational Emergency Guidelines.
• Represent IRC with peer organizations, the UN and other emergency response agencies operating in Lebanon.
• Ensure coordinated emergency response in the event of cross-border/regional emergencies.
Safety and Security

• Take primary responsibility for overall management of safety and security for the country program.
• Lead and oversee the management of all security risks and incidents, ensure timely, well-coordinated, and ensure primacy of the wellbeing and security of our clients, staff and partners.
• Create and maintain a culture of safety and security awareness throughout the country program, including training and briefings that prepare all country program staff for security incident prevention and response.
• Keep security, evacuation, and contingency plans current and accessible to country program staff.
• Maintain close coordination and communication with the Regional Safety and Security Director on safety and security concerns and evolving issues that could adversely affect IRC staff or operations.
• Liaise with the regional office, with peer agencies and use the tools and information portals available to keep abreast of all security-related matters; In case of necessity, ensure adequate roll-out of emergency procedures.
Staff Management and Development

• Supervise and mentor direct-report staff, including communicating clear expectations, setting performance objectives, providing regular and timely performance feedback, and leading documented semi-annual performance reviews.
• Provide direct oversight and guidance to multi-disciplinary teams across cross-cultural settings, ensuring performance excellence and alignment with strategic objectives.
• Effectively manage staff across various functions and locations, including setting clear expectations, performance monitoring, and accountability frameworks.
• Lead sensitive and complex staff-related conversations (e.g., performance issues, conflict resolution) with professionalism, empathy, and respect.
• Mentor and coach high-potential staff to support career progression and leadership development within the organization.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing across teams and departments.
Stewardship and Operational Management

• Drive operational excellence to achieve optimal efficiency and cost-effectiveness in all functions and operations of the country program.
• Oversee the development, deployment and utilization of financial and operational policies, procedures, and systems to deliver compliance with IRC and donor requirements.
• Ensure responsiveness and appropriate levels of in-person and remote support to all offices, especially in the areas of People & Culture, Finance, Compliance and Risk Management and Supply chain.
• Provide timely and effective oversight of the Syria country program’s financial position.
• Maintain effective and coordinated budget monitoring processes for grant funds and discretionary funds.
• Ensure a country-wide culture of safeguarding, grounded in accountability, transparency, and survivor-centered response. Provide strategic leadership to mainstream safeguarding across all country program operations and partnerships, in line with IRC’s Safeguarding Policy.
Key Working Relationships:

Position Reports to: Regional Vice President – MENAU

Position directly Supervises: A senior management team responsible for Programs, Field Management and Operations, Finance, People and Culture, Policy, Advocacy and Communications, Security, Compliance and Risk Management.

Key Internal Contacts: Country Program: All staff, Region: MENAU Regional Team, Head Office: Crisis Response and Recovery Department (CRRD), Ethics & Compliance, Operations and Strategy, Finance, Global Philanthropy & Partnerships, Technical Excellence and General Counsel.

Qualifications

Strong leadership abilities and interpersonal skills, and ability to deploy strong communications effectively, both internally and externally, and in emergency operational contexts. Ability to build networks, partnerships and diversify program resources.

• Graduate degree in a relevant field preferred.
• At least 12 years of dynamically responsible international work experience, including leadership at the Country Director level of multi-site, multi-sectoral operations in a complex operating environment, with demonstrated responsibility for emergency preparedness, crisis management, and operational response. Preference for experience in the MENAU Region.
• Prior experience working within organizational structures in transition.
• Experience working in conflict/post-conflict or disaster response situation.
• Professional fluency in written and spoken English. Arabic is a preferred asset.
Demonstrated Technical and Leadership Competencies

• Proven leadership in managing diverse, cross-cultural teams with a strong focus on staff development and mentorship.
• Skilled in navigating complex ethical, security, and operational challenges in dynamic contexts.
• Strong communicator with experience representing organizations to donors, partners, media, and senior stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success in program oversight, donor compliance, and strategic fundraising, particularly with US and European donors.
• Effective in partnership management, budget oversight, and responding to shifting priorities with agility.
• Deep understanding of the MENAU region complexities and ability to lead in politically sensitive environments.
Ability to Travel: approximately 30% within and outside the region for workshops, representation, and conferences.

Note: Preference will be given to qualified candidates with the unrestricted right to work in Lebanon.

Application instructions

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