Executive Director November 2023 1
About CIVIC (Centre for Civilians in Conflict) Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) is an international organization dedicated to promoting the protection of civilians caught in conflict. CIVIC’s mission is to work with armed actors and civilians in conflict to develop and implement solutions to prevent, mitigate, and respond to civilian harm. CIVIC’s vision is a world in which no civilian is harmed in conflict. CIVIC supports communities affected by conflict in their quest for protection and strengthens the resolve and capacity of armed actors to prevent and respond to civilian harm. CIVIC was established in 2003 by Marla Ruzicka, a young American activist and humanitarian who advocated on behalf of civilian war victims and their families in Iraq and Afghanistan. Building on her extraordinary legacy, CIVIC now operates in conflict zones throughout the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and South Asia to advance a higher standard of protection for civilians.
CIVIC Principles
• Civilians are not “collateral damage” and civilian harm is not an unavoidable consequence of conflict — civilian harm can and must be prevented. • Civilians are not merely victims of conflict but have agency and influence in ensuring that their protection needs are met. • Civilians experience conflict differently based on several aspects of their identities, including gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, ethnicity, and language and therefore have different protection needs. • Armed actors are responsible and must be held accountable for preventing and addressing civilian harm. • Direct engagement with armed actors and civilians is necessary to significantly reduce harm and improve protection outcomes for conflict-affected communities. • Working collaboratively with a wide range of partners and in coalitions is critical to accelerating global action on the protection of civilians and reducing public tolerance for civilian harm.
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The Role Role:
Executive Director
Location:
Netherlands (The Hague, preferred) or the U.S. (Washington, DC, preferred)
Salary:
EUR 165,000 – 185,000 or USD 190,000 – 210,000, per annum, plus competitive benefits
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Role Summary Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) makes concrete progress in conflict zones through research, advocacy, and community engagement. Success is measured in the short term by the improved well-being of civilians caught in conflict and in the long-term by shifts in how parties to conflict conduct themselves, with increased effort to avoid civilian harm. In the long term, CIVIC is changing mindsets. High level officials are using CIVIC language to describe the need for civilian protection in armed conflict. The United Nations is including CIVIC’s specific recommendations into force mandates, resolutions, and high-level reports, where they would not have without CIVIC’s advocacy. Partner human rights and humanitarian organizations have adopted CIVIC’s key concepts for minimizing civilian harm and seek collaboration. CIVIC is a proven leader in this sector. Current trends in warfare point to an even more perilous future for civilians. The lines between war and peace are blurred and hybrid warfare is tearing at the fabric of societies. CIVIC has demonstrated that there is nothing inevitable about civilian casualties in war. Civilian harm can be prevented, minimized, and remedied. It is within these complex and evolving times and with a vision that solutions are possible, that CIVIC invites applications for the appointment of its next Executive Director. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director (ED) provides strategic and visionary leadership of CIVIC. As the main spokesperson of the organization, the ED ensures its short and long-term sustainability through engagement with funding and operational partners.
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As the ideal candidate, you are an experienced senior leader with strong management skills. You are highly results-oriented, missiondriven and committed to accountability . You have experience working in conflict affected regions with humanitarian and/or human rights organizations and have built credibility for your efforts. You believe in the imperative of CIVIC’s mission: the protection of civilians caught in conflict. You bring substantive experience inspiring partners and donors to support the mission. You are a persuasive advocate and an impassioned public speaker. You are a very strategic systems thinker with change management expertise. You have experience building and supporting high performing fundraising teams and have stewarded funding from individuals, foundations as well as government and intergovernmental donors. You understand the many steps required to manage growth effectively and efficiently. You have a solid track record building and maintaining financially sound organizations. As ED, you are committed to leading and mentoring a professional and culturally diverse global team and ensuring a thriving, inclusive and equitable workplace. You are adept at building and maintaining strong, collaborative relationships and your colleagues and partners describe your leadership style as inclusive, humble and compassionate. You enjoy mentoring your team and creating a culture that embraces teamwork and collegiality. A confident people manager will thrive in this role.
Responsibilities The ED is the strategic leader of CIVIC. Reporting to the Board of Directors and leading a team of 100 across 12 countries, the ED will successfully lead CIVIC into the future. They are responsible for leadership and overall management of the organization. The duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to: • Work with the board to design the vision, and work with the SMT to develop the strategy of CIVIC; • Articulate the vision to both internal and external stakeholders, and ensure the strategy is implemented with the goal of maximizing impact; • Provide overall leadership of fundraising efforts, ensuring the organization is resourced to deliver on its strategic objectives through a sustained and diversified funding base consisting of governments, inter-governmental organizations, charitable foundations and individuals; • Ensure effective systems and policies are in place for robust financial management, annual planning, monitoring, compliance and ongoing risk management as well as lesson learning and adaptation;
• Oversee the financial health of the organization including leading strategic growth, expansion and transformation, ensuring internal and external accountability and organizational effectiveness; • Recruit, retain and lead the senior management team ensuring organizational integrity and a principles-driven culture, where policies are understood and practiced in all parts of the organization; • Working with the Board of Directors, ensure they receive relevant, accurate and timely information to enable them to carry out their governance function to the highest standards and facilitate decision making; • Represent and elevate CIVIC’s thought leadership and brand strategically, with the goal of building support for the mission, ensuring effective advocacy and demonstrating the value and impact of its work with key audiences (governments, international bodies, donors, supporters, partners); • Build strategic partnerships and collaborations with organizations and stakeholders with a particular focus on partnerships that advance the protection of civilians.
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Candidate Profile Education and Essential Requirements
• Educated at university level, preferably with a Master’s degree or PhD or equivalent and diversified international professional experience. • Willing to travel internationally on a regular basis • Fluent in English, and proficiency in other languages is desired (French, Arabic)
Experience and Core Competencies
• Lived experience and/or direct engagement with armed actors and civilians in conflict would be an asset. • Expertise and gravitas to advocate and engage meaningfully in coalitions and global dialogues such as the Munich Security Council, NATO, the UN and other multinational bodies. • Extensive experience building cohesive teams and harnessing the strength of agile, mission driven, global and diverse professionals. • Experience managing teams focussed on improving operational effectiveness and skilled at developing, implementing systems and policies that supports it • Experience working with and being accountable to a Board of Directors
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• Skilled fundraiser with a solid understanding of funding architecture relevant to civilian protection • Accomplished networker, with the skills to build strong relationships with a wide range of stakeholders including donors, governments, likeminded agencies, and coalitions. • Track record leading and managing financially sound global organizations. • Experience overseeing core functions of non-profit organizations, including policy and research, programmes, fundraising, finance and human resources. • Experience working in civilian protection, human rights, humanitarian action, accountability and stabilization. • Experience of ensuring fulsome reporting and compliance with charitable and donor regulations. • Strong cross-cultural skills including communicating with respect, recognizing others’ values, empathy, cultural sensitivity, openness and humility, among others. • Excellent diplomacy and persuasive public speaking skills.
How to Apply All correspondence, at this stage, should be via Oxford HR. To apply for this post, click on the “Apply” button on the job advert page, complete our online application form, and submit your CV and cover letter as two different documents, which should be prepared before applying as they will be considered in the application process. The cover letter should be no more than two pages long and explain why you are interested in this post and how your skills and experience make you a good fit. The document should be saved in PDF in the following format: Your First Name-Your Last Name-Document Name-Date (mmyy) e.g., Pat-Jones-CV-102023-CIVIC or Pat-JonesCoverLetter-102023-CIVIC.
Timeline
Closing Date: First stage interviews: Final interviews:
Selection Process
All candidates will receive an update regarding their application after the closing date. We advise candidates to add the role email to their safe senders list and regularly check their spam folder. CIVIC seeks to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool in the belief that employees from diverse backgrounds are critical to achieving our goals. CIVIC strongly encourages applications from persons with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Queries
If you have any queries on any aspect of the appointment process, need additional information, or would like to have an informal discussion, please email at civic@oxfordhr.com in the first instance.
December 31st 2023 January 2024 February 2024
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About Oxford HR Exceptional leaders can inspire change and propel purpose-led organisations towards reaching their world-changing goals. Finding such leaders can be a challenge; and yet their transition into leadership is vital to an organisations mission and success. Oxford HR is a global leadership consultancy dedicated to searching for and supporting remarkable leaders and teams in purpose-led organisations. We understand the nuances of purpose-led leadership because we’ve worked in organisations across the breadth of the sector ourselves. We’ve also worked with such organisations since 1995; so we appreciate just what benefits impactful people can bring.
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