Country Director at Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

NRC is seeking for a Country Director with solid leadership experience, a proven track record in programming and fundraising, and the ability to position NRC as a trusted partner among donors.

In this role, you will provide strategic leadership and oversight of NRC’s country operations, ensuring effective programme delivery, strong representation—including active engagement in inter-agency coordination—and alignment with organizational priorities. You will also drive resource mobilization, advocacy, and the development of high-performing teams to deliver impactful, accountable humanitarian responses.

What you will do 

• Analyse the political and humanitarian context and adapt the NRC programme ensuring relevance to the evolving context in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin
• Prioritize continuous improvement and innovation to ensure the highest quality of humanitarian and protection programming with a focus on timely delivery
• Motivate and coach staff to create effective teams, with particular attention to ensuring an efficient and empowered Country Management Group
• Promote accountability, the highest standard of ethics, including safeguarding, and adherence to the Humanitarian Principles
• Responsible for all NRC advocacy efforts in the country and ensure that contributions are made to NRC regional and global advocacy efforts
• Develop and enforce policies to promote and maintain diverse staff at all levels
• Provide vision, promote ideas, gain agreement and act as a role model
• Serve as a proactive member of the Regional Management Group, promote collaboration with other COs and the Regional office and contribute to the development of the Central and West Africa Region as a whole
• Actively engage with other COs, engaged in the Nigerian refugee response to ensure holistic advocacy and programming
• Ensure that all staff retention and rotation is discussed with Regional Director.

What you will bring 

Professional Competencies

• Minimum 5 years’ experience from working as a Senior Manager/Country Director in humanitarian/recovery context
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts
• Documented/proven results related to the position’s responsibilities
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile
• Fluency in French and English, both written and verbal

Context/ Specific skills, knowledge and experience: 

• Knowledge of the context in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin
• Experience from advocacy work
• Experience with change management processes

Behavioural competencies 

• Handling insecure environment
• Planning and delivering results
• Working with people
• Analysing
• Communication with impact and respect
• Coping with change

Leadership Profile-

• Build meaningful relations
• Act with integrity
• Empower people
• Deliver results