Country Director - Kenya

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. The International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Kenya country program provides life-saving and developmental services that empower vulnerable local and refugee communities, enabling them to lead secure, productive, and healthy lives. Collaborating closely with national and county governments, community organizations, and partner NGOs, the IRC operates across health, nutrition, protection, livelihood and education sectors, in Turkana, Garissa, West Pokot and Nairobi counties. The IRC responds to emergencies such as drought in Garissa and Turkana counties, supports refugees in Hagadera and Kakuma Refugee Camps, and implements urban programming for livelihoods in Nairobi's informal settlements. Working with the Ministry of Health, UNHCR, donors, and other partners, the IRC ensures comprehensive health, nutrition, protection, women's empowerment, economic recovery, and systems strengthening services to foster community resilience and self-reliance. Scope of Work The Country Director, Kenya is responsible for the strategic vision and overall leadership for the Kenya country program. S/he is responsible for ensuring the design and delivery of quality programs, donor and government relations, fundraising and budget management, security and operations management, and developing a motivated and professional team. Reporting to the Regional Vice President, the Country Director will work closely with and receive support from regional and headquarters program technical units, safety and security, regional finance and operations staff. The Country Director will have proven ability to oversee programs with a portfolio exceeding USD 25 million, involving diverse implementation modalities (direct and partner-based). As IRC's principal representative for the Kenya program, the Country Director engages with government authorities, donors, international organizations, civil society, other NGOs, and the media. They are expected to oversee and manage a portfolio of responsive and effective humanitarian, recovery, and development programs, both direct and in collaboration with partner organizations. The Country Director will lead the country program staff in achieving the goals outlined in IRC’s strategy for Kenya, bringing the team together to deliver high-quality, cost-effective programming results while maintaining high levels of accountability. Major Responsibilities Strategic Leadership & Representation • Provide visionary leadership to shape and execute strategies that deliver high-impact, client-centered programs aligned with IRC’s global mission and Kenya’s evolving humanitarian context. • Serve as IRC’s principal representative in Kenya, articulating the organization’s vision and priorities at national, regional, and global platforms—including donor briefings, inter-agency coordination bodies, and high-level policy forums. • Lead the development and delivery of a country strategy aligned with IRC’s Strategy100 and Kenya’s evolving context while providing strategic leadership to develop and implement high-quality programs that meet client needs. • Forge and sustain strategic partnerships with national NGOs, civil society actors, and community-based organizations to enhance program reach, local ownership, and sustainability. • Lead IRC’s engagement in humanitarian coordination mechanisms, proactively shaping collective responses and advocating for principled, needs-based action. • Maintain constructive relationships with government counterparts to facilitate operational continuity, including timely registration renewals, access permissions, and policy dialogue. • Cultivate a culture of collaboration, inclusivity, and accountability across the country team, fostering high staff morale and enabling peak performance. • Lead IRC-hosted events and strategic dialogues in-country, positioning IRC as a thought leader and convener on critical humanitarian and development issues. • Represent IRC to diverse audiences—including media, diplomatic missions, UN agencies, and global stakeholders—in close coordination with the Regional Vice President (RVP), ensuring consistent messaging and strategic alignment. Strategic Direction & Program Quality • Collaborate with the Regional Vice President (RVP) and senior management team to implement the country program's strategic vision, ensuring high-quality programming tailored to the Kenya context and aligned with IRC’s Strategy 100. • Drive program innovation and excellence, ensuring interventions are evidence-based, contextually relevant, and client-centered and high program quality is consistent throughout the country program. • Actively seek out and pursue opportunities to expand humanitarian programming in Kenya to reach underserved and hard-to-reach areas. • Foster learning, accountability, and adaptive management to strengthen program quality • Integrate GEDI principles into all IRC operations and programming to enhance inclusivity and foster a positive impact. • Establish strong communication and working relationships with key internal stakeholders at the regional and HQ level to support country program operations and delivery. Fundraising & Donor Relations • Lead the design and execution of a diversified funding strategy, proactively engaging donors, cultivating strategic partnerships, and driving proposal development and negotiations to secure a broad range of sustainable funding streams. • Proactively monitor donor priorities and position IRC for emerging opportunities, and stay updated on issues the program and partners and develop strategies to adapt to changing donor priorities. • Maintain strong relationships with donors, government bodies, and coordination mechanisms by demonstrating program excellence, operational integrity and strategic alignment with donors and different stakeholders • Oversee the production of high-quality proposals and reports, ensuring timely submissions and compliance with donor requirements. Operational & Financial Management • Ensure compliance with IRC’s global policies and standards for finance, supply chain, and operational systems. • Oversee the Kenya country program budgets, ensuring financial sustainability through accurate forecasting, funding gap analysis, and cost-effectiveness measures. • Drive operational excellence for cost-effective and timely program delivery, while strengthening systems for transparency, accountability, and operational agility. Governance and Compliance • Champion a proactive risk management agenda that safeguards the organization’s people, assets, reputation, and operational capacity in Kenya’s complex and evolving context. • Shape and embed a risk-informed strategy that aligns with organizational priorities, donor expectations, and the geopolitical landscape, ensuring resilience and adaptability. • Integrate risk management into strategic planning and operational culture, fostering shared ownership across all teams and levels. • Guide crisis preparedness and response frameworks, ensuring that contingency measures protect staff, beneficiaries, and program delivery under adverse conditions. • Influence and engage key stakeholders — including government, donors, and peer agencies, to strengthen collective risk mitigation and advocacy efforts. Safety & Security • Take primary responsibility for the overall management of safety and security for the country program, including appropriate response to emergencies and crises. • Maintain a culture of safety and security throughout the country program and keep security, evacuation, and contingency plans current and accessible to country program staff. • Coordinate closely with the Regional Safety and Security Director on emerging threats and access issues. People & Culture • Foster a high-performance, inclusive culture by ensuring a professional, forward-looking People & Culture function that aligns talent management with organizational strategy. • Champion leadership accountability for creating and sustaining development pathways, ensuring every manager actively nurtures and advances their teams. • Partner with regional and HQ P&C teams to design and execute innovative talent acquisition, retention, and succession strategies that anticipate future skills needs. • Lead strategic implementation of People & Culture practices, embedding them into decision-making, operations, and organizational culture. • Embed staff care and resilience into organizational systems, actively monitoring well-being indicators and modeling healthy work-life integration. Communications & Advocacy • Model and encourage active practice of the “IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct” principles throughout the Kenya country program. • Maintain a healthy and empowering office environment that encourages open, honest, and productive communication among IRC staff and with partner organizations. • Model a culture where constructive feedback is actively given and received. • Maintain open communication with regional management staff, technical advisors, and HQ departmental staff. • Advance IRC’s advocacy agenda to influence policies and practices that benefit the people we serve. Emergency Preparedness and Response • Lead Country Emergency Responses: Serve as the designated Response Lead for country-led emergencies, ensuring the timely activation of IRC emergency protocols, clear internal coordination and communication, and effective decision-making. • Develop and Operationalize Emergency Preparedness Plans (EPPs): Ensure that country teams maintain fit-for-purpose EPPs (if country is on the WatchList). • Mobilize Support and Resources: Coordinate with regional and HQ teams to secure rapid technical, operational, staffing, and financial support during crises, and proactively engage with donors in emergency contexts. • Safeguard Staff Safety and Duty of Care: Uphold the IRC’s duty of care commitments by ensuring holistic and contextually feasible measures are in place to support the physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing of staff during an emergency. Key working relationship • Position Reports to Regional Vice President – East Africa • Position directly supervises: Country Leads –Deputy Director Finance, Deputy Director P & C, Deputy Director Operations , Deputy Director Programs & Deputy Director Grants & Accountability Key Internal Contacts: • Country Program: All staff • Region: East Africa Regional Team • HQ: Crisis Response and Recovery Department (CRRD), Ethics & Compliance, Safeguarding, GEDI, External Relations, Policy and Advocacy, Operations and Strategy, Finance, Global Philanthropy & Partnerships, Technical Excellence and General Counsel Key External Contacts: • Partner organizations • Host country government officials • Public and private donor agencies • International and national NGOs • UN agencies • Foreign governments Job Requirements: You should have strong leadership abilities and interpersonal skills, and be able to deploy strong communications effectively, both internally and externally. You should enjoy developing networks to build partnerships and diversify program resources. • Graduate degree in a relevant field. • At least 10 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, supervising large teams. • Experience working in conflict/post-conflict or disaster response situation. • Professional fluency in written and spoken English. Demonstrated Technical Skills: • Experience managing security in a complex and rapidly changing security context. • Confirmed ability to negotiate and work with partner organizations. Experience with organizational capacity strengthening and partnership building is helpful. • Strong budget and fiscal oversight capacities. • Extensive representation and fundraising success, including prior experience with European, US, private and other international donors. • Established capacity to handle stressful situations in a healthy, constructive manner. • Ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes. • Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. • Working knowledge of file sharing protocols such as Dropbox, SharePoint, etc., an advantage. Demonstrated Managerial/Leadership Competencies: • Experience building personal networks at a senior level, resulting in securing new opportunities for the organization. • Demonstrated successful leadership and management experience with a multi-disciplinary teams in cross-cultural settings, including active mentoring and coaching. • Effective in developing high-potential staff to achieve career growth and maximum contribution. • Confirmed experience delivering suitable levels of oversight of a portfolio consisting of a variety of complex, high-value donor-funded projects. • Opportunity-awareness. A successful innovative approach to unpredictable programming, operational, and funding contexts. • Ability to dispassionately represent program context, constraints, and successes to media, government, and other senior audiences. Core Competencies • Visionary Leadership: Inspires and aligns teams toward a shared mission. • Strategic Agility: Anticipates change and adapts effectively. • Results Focus: Delivers measurable, lasting impact. • Partnership & Influence: Builds trust and leverages networks for shared success. • Integrity & Accountability: Upholds the highest ethical and professional standards. Languages Required/Preferred: • Professional fluency in written and spoken English. • Arabic and local language skills are an advantage. Computer/Other Tech Requirements: • Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. • Working knowledge of file sharing protocols such as Dropbox, SharePoint, etc., an advantage. •Working knowledge of Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) systems is an advantage Ability to Travel: approximately 50% within and outside the region for workshops, meetings, representation, and conferences & Kenya Field offices PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients. Cookies: https://careers.rescue.org/us/en/cookiesettings #li-1 The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives have been shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and rebuild. We are trusted for our ability to reach people in the toughest places, put our clients at the center of everything we do, and - as an evidence-based organization - to relentlessly improve the impact we deliver for those we serve. If you’re ready to be part of a team that brings ingenuity, fortitude and optimism to making a lasting impact, we want to hear from you. The IRC Way, our code of conduct, is founded upon our core values of Integrity, Accountability, Service and Equality. These values unite IRC staff around the world and keep our programs firmly directed towards the well-being of our clients while meeting the expectations of our donors as responsible stewards of their resources.