About us

Christian Aid is an international development charity that insists the world can and must be swiftly changed to one where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty, and for this to happen unequal power relations need to be challenged and changed.

We work in partnership to eradicate extreme poverty ; dismantle its root causes across the world ; and enable the voice and agency of the poor and marginalised to be fully realised. We deliver humanitarian assistance, in the wake of disasters and conflict, development programmes and policy, advocacy and campaigns so that poor and marginalised children, women and men, of all faiths and non, can achieve equality, dignity and justice.

About the role

An exciting opportunity has arisen to lead on the delivery of a new strategy for the Burkina Faso programme, which is line with Christian Aid global strategy ‘Standing Together’. This role brings dynamic and accountable leadership to Christian Aid’s programme in Burkina Faso, enabling us to work in partnership with others to contribute significantly to the change we want to see : individuals and communities living in dignity, free from poverty and need ; economic, political and social systems transformed to remove power imbalances and other root causes of poverty and inequality ; and movements of individuals and communities speaking out against poverty and injustice so that everyone can experience life in all its fullness.

The role also champions the operational excellence of Christian Aid’s Burkina Faso programme ensuring that staff capabilities, the quality of our programmes, our financial resilience and digital capability all work effectively together to realise Christian Aid’s vision, goals and ambition. This is a senior management role which focusses on strategic analysis and choice and the intelligent resourcing for Christian Aid’s contribution in a complex, dynamic and global context. Christian Aid currently has an office and programme in Burkina and maintains a watching brief with non-funded relationships with partners in Senegal.

You will represent Christian Aid in the Sahel region, in particular keeping a watching brief on developments in Mali and managing our non-funded partnerships there. You will manage relationships with key allies and stakeholder internally and externally. This includes relationships with current and potential local partners, international donors and with our ACT sister agencies. You will line manage the senior managers in the team in Burkina Faso You will work in close collaboration with our teams in the UK and Ireland, with our senior management spread across Africa and other teams across Africa.

About you

You will have 5 - 10 years’ experience of leadership or senior management in the non - profit context, in particular the INGO sector during which you have led the implementation of a new programme strategy, including review from time to time. You will have a proven record in thinking strategically, developing new resourcing and business models, planning, building relationships, collaborating across different audiences, negotiating and influencing. You are skilled and experienced in donor funding, contract management and fundraising. You will have in depth experience in managing people, including working through conflict. You will be able to reflect on yourself and shift your own thoughts in the service of progressing a situation positively. You will be able to work with uncertainty, assessing a situation afresh at each step along the way.
You will be fluent in French and English.

Further information

You will be based in Ouagadougou.
We value diversity and aspire to reflect this in its workforce. We welcome applications from people from all sections of the community, irrespective of race, colour, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief.

You can expect a wide range of rewards and benefits, including a generous holiday allowance and flexibility that will ensure you enjoy a good work/life balance.
Please show your suitability for this post by giving answers to the following questions. Using the guidance notes may help you formulate your answers
Please click the link below to apply :
https://jobs.christianaid.org.uk/vacancy/3101/description

Competency Questions

Building Partnerships : Please give us an example of a time when you took an initiative to promote collaborative team working to break down barriers to effective cross-organisational collaboration.

Communicate effectively : Please tell us about a time when you had to negotiate for existing resources and identify new resources in a cost-effective way to achieve your work objectives.

Deliver Result – Tell us about a time when you ensured that all of the objectives for your own unit, team or department were achieved on time and within budget.