Country Representative

About Us

GOAL has responded to the world’s major humanitarian crises since its founding in 1977, working with vulnerable communities in 14 countries across the globe with a dedicated team of personnel. While GOAL continues to be an agile first-responder to humanitarian crises, it is also committed to working with vulnerable communities to help them survive crises and support them on the road to recovery.

About Our Programme 
GOAL has supported vulnerable populations across Niger since 2005, when we first responded to the regional food security crisis. Led from our head office in Niamey, our team manages programmes across emergency response, resilient health, food and nutrition and livelihoods, these programmes help build community resilience and well-being through the delivery of integrated emergency response, humanitarian and development initiatives.

Job Purpose 
We are seeking an experienced, Country Representative to provide strategic and operational leadership for a complex, multi‑sector country programme based in Zinder, Niger. As Country Representative, you will have overall responsibility for the leadership, performance and strategic direction of GOAL’s country programme.
You will work closely with the Senior Management Team to ensure programmes are well designed, effectively delivered and aligned with organisational strategy, donor priorities and community needs. You will play a central role in guiding programme quality, supporting business development, strengthening systems and ways of working, and positioning GOAL as a trusted and credible partner.

**Please note this role will be based in Zinder, Niger and will involve some regular travel to Niamey – candidates must be fluent in French and English and have the legal right to work in Niger**

Key Responsibilities

Programme Leadership and Quality

• Provide oversight across a diverse portfolio of programmes, ensuring coherent, timely and high‑quality delivery.
• strengthen integration across sectors such as health, WASH, resilience, food systems and economic empowerment.
• promote strong monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning practices, ensuring that evidence and learning are actively used to improve programme design and delivery.
• Regular field engagement enabling you to stay connected to programme realities, support teams and ensure that programmes remain responsive to community priorities.

Strategic Direction and Business Development

• lead the development and ongoing review of the country programme strategy, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities and the national context.
• Identify new funding opportunities and guide the design of high‑quality concepts and proposals
• Supporting assessments and analysis, strengthening donor engagement, and contributing to positioning and partnership strategies.

Grant, Financial and Compliance Oversight

• Overall oversight of programme budgets and grants, ensuring strong financial management, donor compliance and value for money.
• Support programme and finance teams to monitor expenditure, forecasting and performance, and to maintain high standards of reporting.
• Strengthening financial discipline, supporting audit readiness and ensuring that partner‑implemented activities are well monitored and aligned with programme objectives.

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead and support a senior management team, fostering a collaborative, inclusive and supportive working culture.
• invest in the development of national staff leadership, using coaching, delegation and clear performance management to strengthen capacity across teams.
• Promote ways of working that value learning, accountability, participation and shared leadership, and that create space for diverse voices and perspectives.

Representation and External Engagement

• Represent GOAL with donors, government counterparts, coordination forums and peer organisations.
• Communicate programme approaches and results clearly and confidently, strengthening GOAL’s profile as a credible, collaborative and principled organisation.

Experience and Skills

• Degree in a relevant field such as international development, social sciences, economics, public policy or gender studies
• Significant progressive experience in programme leadership, programme quality or portfolio oversight roles
• Strong experience in programme design, proposal development and donor reporting
• Demonstrated ability to strengthen programme quality, learning and adaptive management
• Experience in resilience programming, including food security, livelihoods or economic opportunity approaches
• Proven people management and leadership experience, including supporting senior staff
• Strong understanding of gender equality and social inclusion, with practical application in programming
• Solid experience in grant compliance, financial oversight and working with donor requirements
• Confidence representing an organisation with donors, authorities and coordination platforms
• Fluent written and spoken English and French (essential)
• Experience working in Francophone West Africa or similar contexts is an advantage

Why Join GOAL?

This is an opportunity to lead a meaningful and ambitious country programme with strong potential for impact and learning.
You will work with committed colleagues and partners, contribute to strategic growth and innovation, and play a key role in shaping programmes that are practical, inclusive and locally grounded.

We strongly encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every single requirement listed.  At GOAL we welcome people of all abilities and want to ensure that our hiring and interview process meets the needs of all applicants. If you require a reasonable accommodation to make your application or interview experience a great one, please just contact our Recruitment Team at recruitment.hq@goal.ie  

GOAL commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:
GOAL is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all employees. We foster an inclusive culture where all voices are heard and valued, we are particularly eager to receive applications from women (and other underrepresented groups). We know that the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.

All employees share in the responsibility for fulfilling GOAL’s commitment to equal employment opportunity and equal treatment. GOAL does not discriminate against any employee or volunteer; or any applicant for employment or volunteering on the basis of age, gender identity, ancestry, political opinion, civil status, medical condition, ethnic background, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.

Accountability within GOAL
A commitment to GOAL values and GOAL’s integrity framework is critical to working with GOAL. Any candidate offered a job with GOAL will be expected to adhere to the following key areas of accountability: 1) Comply with GOAL’s policies and procedures with respect to safeguarding, code of conduct, health and safety, confidentiality, do no harm principles and unacceptable behaviour protocols; 2) Report any concerns about the welfare of a child or vulnerable adult or any wrongdoings within our programming area; 3) Report any concerns about inappropriate behaviour of a GOAL staff or partner.

Safeguarding
Children and vulnerable adults who come into contact with GOAL as a result of our activities must be safeguarded to the maximum possible extent from deliberate or inadvertent actions and failings that place them at risk of abuse, sexual exploitation, injury and any other harm. One of the ways that GOAL shows this on-going commitment to safeguarding is to include rigorous background and reference checks in the selection process for all candidates.

General Terms and Conditions
This Job Description only serves as a guide for the position available. GOAL reserves the right to change this document.