Country Manager-Rwanda

SUMMARY:
Purpose of the Position:
The Country Manager (CM) is responsible for the strategic leadership, design, and implementation of all country programmes, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, accountable programming that aligns with ForAfrika’s mission and strategic objectives. The CM will lead revenue generation, external partnerships, and programmatic development while ensuring financial and operational excellence across the country office. This role requires a results-driven leader with strong analytical skills to drive growth, oversee programme execution, and enhance organisational impact through robust monitoring and evaluation systems.
As the primary representative of ForAfrika in Rwanda, the CM will lead cross-functional teams, ensuring seamless collaboration between programme and revenue teams to meet donor requirements and sector standards. Additionally, the CM will coordinate disaster preparedness and response efforts, ensuring the organization’s readiness to address humanitarian crises swiftly and effectively.
This role is open to both Rwandan nationals and expatriates, with the successful candidate expected to thrive in a multicultural environment and demonstrate a deep commitment to quality humanitarian and development action, embodying ForAfrika’s core values.

POSITION INFO:
Roles and responsibilities
Leadership, Accountability, and Growth Strategy

• Establish and maintain a culture of accountability by setting clear expectations, performance standards, and cascading ForAfrika’s core values (Deep Love for Africa, Dependability, Compassion, Initiative, Discipline) through all levels of the country office. Provide leadership through the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) and other organisational platforms.
• Develop and execute a multi-year strategic revenue plan aligned with organisational goals to support the country office’s growth, ensuring that key financial and operational targets are met.
• Lead and manage direct reports through regular mentorship, ensure team member’s roles and responsibilities, quarterly objectives (Rocks), and measurables are developed, understood and agreed upon. Ensure continuous staff development through quarterly conversations, performance evaluations, and training and development plans.
• Foster a collaborative and open communication environment across teams to enhance efficiency and alignment with the ForAfrika strategic plan. Ensure alignment and coordination with other divisions and offices, particularly on key proposals.
• Serve as the primary country focal point for Revenue and Programme Teams, collaborating with other units to ensure contextually appropriate programme design and successful implementation.

• Drive external partnerships and revenue generation, identifying and cultivating relationships with key donors (USAID, FCDO, EU, etc.) and local and international partners. Lead the exploration of new business opportunities and innovative growth strategies to expand ForAfrika’s influence.
• Lead the development and implementation of the country’s strategic plan, ensuring alignment with ForAfrika’s core focus, vision, programming frameworks, and long-term growth targets.
• Oversee programme management and implementation, establishing a Programme Management Team (PMT) and ensuring effective coordination of all programmes in line with the strategic plan and annual work plans.
• Ensure programmes align with ForAfrika’s Theory of Change and meet donor and sector standards, while regularly reviewing programme progress through quarterly and annual sessions to assess achievements and future plans.
• Enhance operational support systems, ensuring best practices in IT, Finance, HR, Operations, and Procurement are applied to promote transparency and accountability to both stakeholders and donors.
• Identify and address humanitarian and development needs in-country, making strategic representations on behalf of ForAfrika and collaborating with partners to deepen impact.

• Oversee the country’s financial management, ensuring cost-effective spending, budget accuracy, and timely reporting. Monitor financial performance against budgetary objectives, conducting variance analysis and reviews for transparent financial management.
• Lead the development of annual country budgets, ensuring comprehensive coverage of programme costs and financial resources. Approve purchase orders and ensure compliance with organisational guidelines and financial best practices.

• Coordinate and lead the country’s response to emergencies, overseeing all aspects of relief efforts including WASH services and emergency shelter/NFIs, ensuring ForAfrika’s preparedness and ability to respond swiftly to humanitarian crises.
• Collaborate with the Disaster Response Director to design and implement evidence-based emergency interventions, representing ForAfrika in national and international humanitarian coordination forums and maintaining strong visibility in the humanitarian sector.
• Track ongoing emergencies and collaborate with technical leads to ensure proactive response across all relevant sectors.

• Work closely with MEAL teams to ensure rigorous monitoring, evaluation, and accountability of programme outputs and outcomes. Implement results-based tracking systems, standardised reporting, and clear documentation of all projects to measure impact against strategic objectives.
• Ensure accountability mechanisms are embedded in all programmes, with feedback loops and complaint mechanisms established to enhance community engagement and responsiveness.
• Lead field visits and reviews to ensure programme quality, verify data, and provide hands-on support for M&E activities, generating reports and documenting the success and challenges of programme activities.

• A Master’s degree, or equivalent, in a relevant field (International Development, Programme Management or one of ForAfrika’s programming areas – Public health, Disaster management, Food security livelihoods, WASH, Education), Economic Empowerment;
• Proven experience and strong knowledge of the Project/Programme Management Cycle with thorough understanding of project/programme quality benchmarks/frameworks; experience designing programme M&E plans and Logical Frameworks and monitoring their implementation according to industry standards;
• Leadership capabilities that includes coaching staff to high level of performance and engaging in effective cross-cultural and cross-functional working to achieve shared goals and effective indirect line management;
• Good interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to train others, harness cross-functional contributions from colleagues in other locations, being able to effectively employ face-to-face, telephone, Teams, email and other electronic communication with internal and external colleagues;
• Excellent presentation and communication skills, experienced networker with ability to develop strategic partnerships with field-based donor representatives and government authorities at various levels;
• Familiarity with SPHERE standards, Durable Solutions Framework, Code of Conduct for Red Cross/ Red Crescent, Humanitarian Accountability Partnerships (HAP); other international humanitarian standards;
• Capacity and willingness to be extremely flexible and accommodating in sometimes difficult working locations.
• Must be fully conversant in English and French, both written and oral as the position requires fluency in English/French and Kinyarwanda in interacting at various levels of engagement with the community/government/donors and other stakeholders.