All NRC employees are expected to work in accordance with the organization’s core values: dedication, innovation, inclusivity, and accountability. These attitudes and beliefs shall guide our actions and relationships.

What we are looking for

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is looking for an experienced, dynamic, and highly strategical individual to take up the role of Regional Programme Director for Latin America who will be responsible for leading and coordinating programme support to NRC operations in the region. This includes overall responsibility for programme development and strategic vision in the region promoting learning and cost-conscious culture. The Regional Programme Director has the overall responsibility to develop and ensure good partnership relations.

What you will do

1. Capitalise on regional opportunities and experiences to further strengthen and develop NRC’s programmes in the region.
2. Ensure donor relations are well managed and utilized to a maximum and further explore potential new donor opportunities within the region.
3. Serve as the focal point for input of relevant content to the Region’s annual and triannual reports.
4. Serve as the Region’s focal point to the Head Office (HO) Global Programme Section, and the HO Partnership and Policy Department on Programme related issues.
5. Oversee the timely recruitment of Programme Department staff. 
6. Liaise with Country Directors and Country Offices (CO)’ Heads of Programme to ensure effective and constructive communication between related functions and Cos.

Please download the detailed job description to learn more about the position.

What you will bring

• Minimum 7 years of relevant leadership/management experience within the humanitarian field.
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts.
• Experience in Programme management.
• Broad network within the international humanitarian community and proven ability to represent an organisation at different levels.
• Documented results related to the position’s responsibilities.
• Insight and awareness own leadership profile, strengths, and weaknesses
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in English and Spanish, both written and verbal
• Knowledge of the context in the Latin America region 
• Experience with country office start-up, exit and emergency response.
• Experience in change management is desirable.

What we offer

• Duty station: Bogotá, Colombia
• Contract: national or international, 2 years
• Travel: up to 30%
• Salary/benefits: grade 12 on NRC’s regional salary scale, with accompanying terms and conditions for international contracts
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to diversity without distinction to age, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.

Find out more about the benefits of working for NRC

Important information about the application process

• Internal candidates only: please click on the suitcase icon labelled “I am an employee” to be redirected to NRC’s internal careers site.
• When creating your profile, include your full name as given on your passport. Complete all the system-required fields for experience, employment history and education.
• Submit your application and CV in English, taking care to attach your latest CV.
• Applications that do not meet the minimum standards in terms of experience or qualifications will generally not be considered. Unsolicited applications not related to this specific job advertisement will not be considered.
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. We receive many applicants for each vacant position.
• If you have any questions about this role, please email [email protected], [email protected] with the job title as the subject line.

Why NRC?

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is an independent humanitarian organization helping people forced to flee. Our 15,000 staff work in crises across 40 countries, providing life-saving and long-term assistance to millions of people every year.

Watch this short video to see NRC in action.

NRC’s Latin America region covers a total of eight countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panamá, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and México. The region has an overall budget of approximately 60 million USD and 1,100 dedicated colleagues across the continent.

The region faces multiple complex emergencies, including the internal and regional impact of the crisis in Venezuela, the humanitarian consequences of the armed conflict in Colombia, and the pervasive high levels of generalised violence in the North of Central America and in Mexico. These conditions produce some of the highest forced displacement numbers in the world. According to UNHCR, there are over 15 million displacement-affected people, including 7,4 million Internally Displaced Persons across NRC’s programmes in the region. The region also witnesses record numbers of transcontinental population movements generating significant protection risks as people are obliged to cross borders often through routes where conditions are dramatic. Restrictive asylum and migration policies also create flows of deportees and returnees, who struggle to re-integrate into their communities and often face violence, retaliation, discrimination, and exclusion. Those phenomena are accelerating across the region.

Given the increasing number of displaced people in need of humanitarian assistance in the region, NRC will establish a Regional Office in Bogota, Colombia from early 2024. This will ensure a centralized structure in proximity to the country operations and provide strategic guidance and oversight, coordinated support and management.

We are looking for people who are passionate about helping refugees and people forced to flee. Are you one of those people? If you are, NRC offers you the opportunity to:

• do demanding and professional work, often in challenging contexts.
• join a work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.
• be part of a welcoming and supportive community committed to human dignity.

Learn more about NRC

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Geneva leads NRC’s representation with the IASC and UN agencies, and coordinates donor engagement with the UN and Swiss donors. NRC strives to assist and protect vulnerable and displaced people during crises, especially in situations of conflict. Established in 1946, NRC is an independent, humanitarian, non-profit, non-governmental organisation working in around 31 countries with approximately 14’000 staff. NRC employs a rights based approach, challenging those with responsibility to uphold the rights of displaced people set out within national and International Laws. NRC endeavors to secure the acceptance of local stakeholders for activities and is committed to the principles of humanity, neutrality, independence and impartiality.

NRC seeks to engage with all relevant actors in order to promote the full respect for the rights of displaced and vulnerable people; secure and maintain access for humanitarian operations and promote the achievement of durable solutions. NRC Geneva, with the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC), are NRC’s primary presence in Geneva.