Vacancy title:
Country Head – Rwanda

Jobs at:
Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Deadline of this Job:
Open Until filled

Duty Station:
Kigali, Rwanda

Summary
Date Posted: 12th September 2018 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed , Employment Type: Full-Time

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change we are dedicated to making globalisation work for the many, not the few. We do this by helping countries, their people and their governments, address some of the most difficult challenges in the world today – beginning with those where we think we can break new ground, offering leaders new thinking and new approaches. Our staff – over 200 of them, based all over the world – are working on some of the most intractable problems around issues of co-existence, governance, the peace process in the Middle East and renewing the centre

JOB DETAILS:
At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change we are dedicated to making globalisation work for the many, not the few. We do this by helping countries, their people and their governments, address some of the most difficult challenges in the world today – beginning with those where we think we can break new ground, offering leaders new thinking and new approaches. Our staff – over 200 of them, based all over the world – are working on some of the most intractable problems around issues of co-existence, governance, the peace process in the Middle East and renewing the centre.

Focus of the Role:
Our Governance work supports the governments and leaders of fragile, developing, and emerging states to enhance their effectiveness. We are focused on helping governments and leaders make their vision for the development of their country a reality. We work in the centre of government and key line ministries and our work is shaped by national priorities.

Rwanda is a country on the move. For the past 20 years, it has focused on economic development and improving the well-being of its citizens. The results can be seen in the ever-growing skyline of central Kigali, in the rapidly lengthening average life expectancy of the population and the growing volume of exports. The government continues to set itself ambitious targets for development in its “Vision 2050”, currently being drafted to replace Vision 2020, which has been successfully achieved in the main part. These results and ambitions are not achieved without effort and the country is still among the 25 poorest in the world.

The Institute has been supporting Rwanda for 10 years and has established a unique trusted relationship with the government. The current project strategy is focused on supporting the government’s agenda for economic transformation through a network of 10 advisors based at the centre of government and in key economic ministries and institutions.

The Country Head role is one of the most important in the TBI Governance pillar: it provides leadership and management to the respective Project, sets and delivers project goals, maintains relations with top counterparts in partner governments, up to and including the President’s office, manages the project budget and impact of work, drives in-country fundraising, and provides the link between the Rwanda Project team and the rest of the organisation. The key competencies that we look for in our leaders are set out below within the duties:

The Duties
Understand and engage with principal stakeholders

• Build a clear understanding of wider context, including the role of development partners, the private sector and other players;
  
• Build relationships with the President’s office, their direct team, and other senior stakeholders to understand the country’s priorities, build TBI’s credibility, and spot and exploit opportunities;
  
• Deploy resources outside of the team – wider TBI colleagues, including Mr. Blair’s office, the TBI sector practices and strategic partnerships within TBI’s network etc – to support partner governments where appropriate.
  Set the strategic direction of the project and, together with executive management, lead the annual project strategy setting, quarterly performance reviews, and measurement of impact
  
• Develop a strategic direction for the project based on TBI’s mission and approach within the particular country context;
  
• Lead the annual strategy setting process for the country project and the quarterly review process;
  
• Using the Organizational Theory of Change and impact tools ensure the project has a clear measurement framework.
  

Contribute to wider leadership and development of TBI

• Contribute to the wider leadership and development of TBI as an organization by contributing to corporate decisions both within the Governance pillar and the wider organization;
  
• Contribute to organizational learning by identifying innovations and factors which contribute to or inhibit success and impact.
  

Maintain a license to operate

• Ensure that risks to the project and staff are spotted and managed adequately and emergency protocols are in place to maximize the safety and well-being of their team;
  
• Set and manage the project budget, including putting in place appropriate financial controls;
  
• Ensure policies, procedures and the Code of Conduct are adhered to at all times.
  Delivering through your team
  
• Recruit and lead a team that is bought into the shared strategy, is aligned across workstreams, solves problems together and holds each other accountable for impact;
  
• Performance manage staff effectively, including building a culture of feedback and nurturing the next generation of TBI leaders;
  
• Put in place a planning and evaluation cycle to regularly assess whether the strategy is ‘working’, and adapt rapidly in response to new challenges and opportunities;
  
• Be the interface between the Project team and the rest of the organization by representing the team’s views and communicating issues and priorities from the rest of the organization to the team.
  Fundraising
  
• Understand the project country’s fundraising and business development market by mapping donor opportunities amongst a wide group of stakeholders (predominantly: Foundation offices; bilateral and multilateral donor agency offices and staff; development contractors and INGOs – both not-for profit and for-profit);
  
• Build and maintain intelligence and relationships to inform project and/or pillar-wide fundraising strategies and ultimately to secure project funding;
  
• Input to the development of marketing materials, presentations and bids as required.Input to the development and implementation of donor trips/meetings etc as required.
  

What We Look For in Our People:

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:
We are looking for outstanding individuals with a proven track record of leadership and delivery in the public or private sectors. All candidates will be required ideally to have 10 years of experience in a leadership role, managing teams and project budgets. Above all, we are looking for individuals with high levels of enthusiasm, resilience, and a can-do attitude. We seek to create international and multi-disciplinary teams and are looking for individuals with a solid background in public/civil services worldwide; strategy consulting; private equity and finance or international development.

The requirements are:

• The ability to work and interact at the highest levels of public life; have strong political acumen; being able to develop an understanding of the needs of senior officials;
  
• An ability to work independently, think strategically and translate strategies into concrete and implementable plans; an acute attention to detail with excellent analytical, organizational, and communication skills;
  
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work both independently and as part of a wider team;
  
• Ability to liaise with partner governments, the private sector, and key stakeholders (e.g. donors) to deliver the requirements of the role;
  
• Willingness to travel, sometimes at short notice;
  
• Experience in identifying and resolving project implementation bottlenecks;
  
• Strong sense of ethics, discretion and perseverance required;
  
• Experience of living and working in developing countries is strongly desirable;
  
• Fluency in English is required; knowledge of French and Kinyarwanda is desirable
  

VALUES WE LOOK FOR:

• COURAGE… because to tackle global challenges, we must innovate and take smart risks
  
• COLLABORATION… because when we work together and with external partners, we can overcome even the largest problems
  
• COMPASSION … because our work is ultimately about improving people’s lives