Deputy Country Director, Development Specialist – Irish Rule of Law International

Job Description

Since August 2011, IRLI has been working in Malawi to address capacity challenges within the governance sector, with the overall aim of promoting the rule of law and improving access to justice for unrepresented and vulnerable persons in the criminal justice system. Our modality involves placing our Programme Lawyers (PLs) alongside key institutions in the Malawian criminal justice system: the Legal Aid Bureau (LAB), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Judiciary, and the Malawi Police Service (MPS). The lawyers work alongside their counterpart institutions to build capacity and mainstream a human rights based approach to criminal justice.

We also have an Alternative Justice Programme Officer that leads our child diversion programme called “Mwai Wosinthika” (chance for change) for children who come into conflict with the law. The programme offers sessions on various thematic areas to work towards rehabilitating the children, such as: sexual and reproductive health, careers, and creating positive relationships. The programme is facilitated by social workers from the Ministry of Gender.

In addition, we work on various advocacy initiatives on issues such as: the use of torture and forced confessions, pre-trial detention, food shortages in prisons, the passing of human rights based legislation, and more. We submit reports regularly to various UN and regional human rights mechanisms. For our advocacy initiatives, we work collaboratively with the Malawi Human Rights Commission and other human rights NGOs, so that our joint expertise is harnessed, duplication is avoided, and resources are maximised.

In tackling access to justice for vulnerable unrepresented accused persons, IRLI seeks to implement mechanisms, in partnership with local actors, to remove obstacles to free legal aid in the short-term (such as capacity constraints and shortage of lawyers). The purpose of this is to bring about direct change at beneficiary level, while developing systemic, sustainable interventions aimed at providing long-term benefits to the wider criminal justice sector.

8. Organisational Context

For many years, IRLI focused on hiring technical staff.

With a view to strengthening the managerial and development expertise of the team, we are searching for a motivated and passionate person to fill the new role of Deputy Country Director (DCD). The new DCD will ideally be a seasoned development professional, and enhance the skills of our team, particularly in the areas of: finances; policy development and implementation; monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL), exploring funding opportunities, and developing communications. In particular, in the next few years it is crucial that IRLI diversify its donor portfolio, making this an important area of responsibility for the DCD.

S/he must also be willing to adapt and learn new skills, in particular s/he must bring a keen interest in understanding the rule of law from the viewpoint of the accused person, and advocating for their rights.

Furthermore, IRLI Malawi takes great pride in its positive workplace culture and practice. The ideal candidate will bring with them a strong work ethic, but also great respect of work/life balance, team camaraderie, interpersonal skills, and compassion.

The DCD position will be primarily based in the IRLI office in Lilongwe with occasional travel in-country.

10. Roles and Responsibilities

Under the direction of and the support from the Country Director, the DCD will be in charge of the following tasks:

Creation of management team

• Work closely with the Country Director to foster an effective management team
• Meet regularly with the Country Director to ensure clear delineation of roles and effective communication

Strategy and Organisational Review implementation

• Work with the Country Director and IRLI Malawi Team to develop and enhance its strategy and to meet strategic objectives
• Work closely with the Country Director to implement the recommendations from IRLI Malawi’s recent organisational review

Identify funding opportunities and grant applications

• Identify new funding opportunities for IRLI and diversify donor portfolio
• Develop a tailor-made, coherent and clear process for grant applications with the Malawi team
• Support the Country Director as necessary with the oversight and implementation of grants
• Support the Malawi team with report writing

Policies

• Coordinate with the Director of Operations (based in IRLI’s head office in Dublin) to review IRLI’s existing policies and revise where necessary
• Identify gaps where new polices must be created
• Ensure effective implementation and institutionalisation of policies
• Develop and deliver training for IRLI Malawi staff to ensure the effective implementation of policies

Management sub-grantees

• Manage the relationships with IRLI and its grantees- (the recipients of small grants from IRLI)
• Build capacity of local partners
• Keep abreast of all developments in the area of localisation (the idea that international NGOs “localise” so that they are run by national actors) and work with the Country Director to strategise around this area

Finances

• In coordination with the Country Director, support the senior management team at head office quarters, including work on enhancing IRLI’s systems for financial management and financial reporting

Management of IRLI team

• Support the Country Director in providing direction and support to the team in terms of adherence to IRLI’s programme objectives and targets
• Support the Country Director to carry out performance reviews
• Work with the Country Director to establish a staff structure, determine line management responsibilities and put in place a process of staff reviews and appraisals
• Undertake line management responsibility for several staff members in the Malawi team

Communications and visibility

• In coordination with the Country Director, and IRLI Media and Communication head office staff, develop a communications and visibility strategy for IRLI
• Oversee adherence to communications and visibility strategy
• Work with Communications Officer at head office to enhance Malawi’s communications

Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning

• Support the MEAL Officer and Country Director in enhancing M&E systems

IRLI Malawi Meetings, Trainings, Conferences, and Networking Events

• Support the Country Director through representation of IRLI Malawi at events and networking opportunities to continue to develop its existing relationships with key stakeholders and to develop new relationships
• Support the IRLI Malawi team to structure and organise IRLI Malawi conferences and events in collaboration with the Country Director
• Keep abreast of relevant rule of law events and conferences for IRLI Malawi staff to attend
• Identify potential training opportunities for IRLI Malawi staff to attend to develop their professional skills

These roles and responsibilities provide a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list. Other reasonable duties may be required consistent with the grade of the post

11. Qualifications/Experience:

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree in development or related area of study
• Minimum 2 years’ experience in a managerial role in a development organisation
• Experience in a professional role of working in project management, ideally in a development organisation
• Experience working with Monitoring and Evaluation within the development context, including but not limited to results-based management and reporting on log frames
• Fundraising experience, including submission of funding proposals, on behalf of a development organisation
• Experience working on managing finances as part of a professional role, ideally in a development organisation
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Full Driving License

High Desirable

• Experience working on governance, law, rule of law, and/or human rights related issues
• Five years’ experience in a managerial role in a development organisation

The successful candidate must also, as part of the application process, demonstrate that they have:

• Strong co-ordination and proactive leadership skills, and the ability to mentor and support staff
• Excellent interpersonal/social skills and ability to collaborate and form effective partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, demonstrating patience, tact, diplomacy, and sensitivity to culturally diverse environments
• Willingness to learn and ability to work under pressure
• Exceptional time management and problem-solving skills
• Team spirit, flexibility, commitment, initiative, and creativity to further develop existing activities and explore new possibilities for work
• Experience working with and preparing budgets
• Experience in funding proposal/report writing
• Computer skills (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.)
• Strong diplomacy and negotiation skills with the ability to motivate others

12. How To Apply
Please forward a CV (no longer than three sides of an A4 page and no less than font size 11) and cover letter (no longer than two sides of an A4 page and no less than font size 11), outlining your motivation for applying for this role and giving specific examples of how you meet the requirements set out above, to careers@irishruleoflaw.ie by February 17th 2025 For more information on the programme and Irish Rule of Law International please visit www.irishruleoflaw.ie.

This project is funded by the Embassy of Ireland and the European Union with support from the Law Society and Bar of Ireland, and the Law Society and Bar of Northern Ireland.

Since August 2011, IRLI has been working in Malawi to address capacity challenges within the governance sector, with the overall aim of promoting the rule of law and improving access to justice for unrepresented and vulnerable persons in the criminal justice system. Our modality involves placing our Programme Lawyers (PLs) alongside key institutions in the Malawian criminal justice system: the Legal Aid Bureau (LAB), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Judiciary, and the Malawi Police Service (MPS). The lawyers work alongside their counterpart institutions to build capacity and mainstream a human rights based approach to criminal justice.

We also have an Alternative Justice Programme Officer that leads our child diversion programme called “Mwai Wosinthika” (chance for change) for children who come into conflict with the law. The programme offers sessions on various thematic areas to work towards rehabilitating the children, such as: sexual and reproductive health, careers, and creating positive relationships. The programme is facilitated by social workers from the Ministry of Gender.

In addition, we work on various advocacy initiatives on issues such as: the use of torture and forced confessions, pre-trial detention, food shortages in prisons, the passing of human rights based legislation, and more. We submit reports regularly to various UN and regional human rights mechanisms. For our advocacy initiatives, we work collaboratively with the Malawi Human Rights Commission and other human rights NGOs, so that our joint expertise is harnessed, duplication is avoided, and resources are maximised.

In tackling access to justice for vulnerable unrepresented accused persons, IRLI seeks to implement mechanisms, in partnership with local actors, to remove obstacles to free legal aid in the short-term (such as capacity constraints and shortage of lawyers). The purpose of this is to bring about direct change at beneficiary level, while developing systemic, sustainable interventions aimed at providing long-term benefits to the wider criminal justice sector.

8. Organisational Context

For many years, IRLI focused on hiring technical staff.

With a view to strengthening the managerial and development expertise of the team, we are searching for a motivated and passionate person to fill the new role of Deputy Country Director (DCD). The new DCD will ideally be a seasoned development professional, and enhance the skills of our team, particularly in the areas of: finances; policy development and implementation; monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL), exploring funding opportunities, and developing communications. In particular, in the next few years it is crucial that IRLI diversify its donor portfolio, making this an important area of responsibility for the DCD.

S/he must also be willing to adapt and learn new skills, in particular s/he must bring a keen interest in understanding the rule of law from the viewpoint of the accused person, and advocating for their rights.

Furthermore, IRLI Malawi takes great pride in its positive workplace culture and practice. The ideal candidate will bring with them a strong work ethic, but also great respect of work/life balance, team camaraderie, interpersonal skills, and compassion.

The DCD position will be primarily based in the IRLI office in Lilongwe with occasional travel in-country.

10. Roles and Responsibilities

Under the direction of and the support from the Country Director, the DCD will be in charge of the following tasks:

Creation of management team

• Work closely with the Country Director to foster an effective management team
• Meet regularly with the Country Director to ensure clear delineation of roles and effective communication

Strategy and Organisational Review implementation

• Work with the Country Director and IRLI Malawi Team to develop and enhance its strategy and to meet strategic objectives
• Work closely with the Country Director to implement the recommendations from IRLI Malawi’s recent organisational review

Identify funding opportunities and grant applications

• Identify new funding opportunities for IRLI and diversify donor portfolio
• Develop a tailor-made, coherent and clear process for grant applications with the Malawi team
• Support the Country Director as necessary with the oversight and implementation of grants
• Support the Malawi team with report writing

Policies

• Coordinate with the Director of Operations (based in IRLI’s head office in Dublin) to review IRLI’s existing policies and revise where necessary
• Identify gaps where new polices must be created
• Ensure effective implementation and institutionalisation of policies
• Develop and deliver training for IRLI Malawi staff to ensure the effective implementation of policies

Management sub-grantees

• Manage the relationships with IRLI and its grantees- (the recipients of small grants from IRLI)
• Build capacity of local partners
• Keep abreast of all developments in the area of localisation (the idea that international NGOs “localise” so that they are run by national actors) and work with the Country Director to strategise around this area

Finances

• In coordination with the Country Director, support the senior management team at head office quarters, including work on enhancing IRLI’s systems for financial management and financial reporting

Management of IRLI team

• Support the Country Director in providing direction and support to the team in terms of adherence to IRLI’s programme objectives and targets
• Support the Country Director to carry out performance reviews
• Work with the Country Director to establish a staff structure, determine line management responsibilities and put in place a process of staff reviews and appraisals
• Undertake line management responsibility for several staff members in the Malawi team

Communications and visibility

• In coordination with the Country Director, and IRLI Media and Communication head office staff, develop a communications and visibility strategy for IRLI
• Oversee adherence to communications and visibility strategy
• Work with Communications Officer at head office to enhance Malawi’s communications

Monitoring Evaluation Accountability and Learning

• Support the MEAL Officer and Country Director in enhancing M&E systems

IRLI Malawi Meetings, Trainings, Conferences, and Networking Events

• Support the Country Director through representation of IRLI Malawi at events and networking opportunities to continue to develop its existing relationships with key stakeholders and to develop new relationships
• Support the IRLI Malawi team to structure and organise IRLI Malawi conferences and events in collaboration with the Country Director
• Keep abreast of relevant rule of law events and conferences for IRLI Malawi staff to attend
• Identify potential training opportunities for IRLI Malawi staff to attend to develop their professional skills

These roles and responsibilities provide a framework for the role and should not be regarded as a definitive list. Other reasonable duties may be required consistent with the grade of the post

11. Qualifications/Experience:

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree in development or related area of study
• Minimum 2 years’ experience in a managerial role in a development organisation
• Experience in a professional role of working in project management, ideally in a development organisation
• Experience working with Monitoring and Evaluation within the development context, including but not limited to results-based management and reporting on log frames
• Fundraising experience, including submission of funding proposals, on behalf of a development organisation
• Experience working on managing finances as part of a professional role, ideally in a development organisation
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Full Driving License

High Desirable

• Experience working on governance, law, rule of law, and/or human rights related issues
• Five years’ experience in a managerial role in a development organisation

The successful candidate must also, as part of the application process, demonstrate that they have:

• Strong co-ordination and proactive leadership skills, and the ability to mentor and support staff
• Excellent interpersonal/social skills and ability to collaborate and form effective partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, demonstrating patience, tact, diplomacy, and sensitivity to culturally diverse environments
• Willingness to learn and ability to work under pressure
• Exceptional time management and problem-solving skills
• Team spirit, flexibility, commitment, initiative, and creativity to further develop existing activities and explore new possibilities for work
• Experience working with and preparing budgets
• Experience in funding proposal/report writing
• Computer skills (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.)
• Strong diplomacy and negotiation skills with the ability to motivate others

How to apply#

Please forward a CV (no longer than three sides of an A4 page and no less than font size 11) and cover letter (no longer than two sides of an A4 page and no less than font size 11), outlining your motivation for applying for this role and giving specific examples of how you meet the requirements set out above, to careers@irishruleoflaw.ie by February 17th 2025 For more information on the programme and Irish Rule of Law International please visit www.irishruleoflaw.ie.

This project is funded by the Embassy of Ireland and the European Union with support from the Law Society and Bar of Ireland, and the Law Society and Bar of Northern Ireland.