Country Director – CARE Iraq At CARE Deutschland

Location: Erbil with Frequent travel to sub-offices and program sites in Baghdad, Dohuk, Ninwa, Basra and various field locations,
Reporting line manager: CARE Germany Team Lead, Country Office Management Team,
Supervisory responsibilities: Iraq Country office team,
Contract type: Full time for one year with potential extension, 6 month probation period,
Start date: May 1, 2025 or closest, the position is unaccompanied,

About CARE International in Iraq
CARE began its operations in Iraq in 1991. After a hiatus from 2003 to 2014, it resumed activities with a focus on humanitarian response and development assistance for vulnerable displaced populations across multiple governorates.
in 2022 CARE Iraq commenced the journey of transition from core humanitarian aid to a nexus and development approach, emphasizing equity and justice between women and men, as well as climate justice.
Recognizing Iraq’s climate vulnerability and the increasing trend of climate-induced displacement, CARE Iraq is expanding its efforts into the southern governorates of Thi Qar and Basra while maintaining its programming capacity in the north. This strategic shift broadens our impact beyond immediate relief to address long-term development needs, reinforcing our commitment to climate justice and the empowerment of women and girls.

CARE Iraq is officially registered with both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi Federal Government. The organization operates from its main office in Erbil, with satellite offices in Duhok, Ninewa, Basra, and Baghdad, ensuring a widespread presence to support communities across the country.
CARE Iraq is a place where staff are supported to grow both personally and professionally. Our team environment promotes collaboration, diversity, and open communication, ensuring that every voice is heard and valued. Our workplace culture is designed to encourage innovation, creativity, and respect, making it a supportive environment for all.

About you:
As an accomplished and people-centered leader, you bring a deep passion and unwavering commitment to social justice, equity between women and men, and sustainable development. You possess extensive experience and a proven track record in strategic planning, program design, and the implementation of long-term development initiatives, you have led transformative programs, particularly those focused on women’s empowerment and climate justice. A recognized thought leader, you take a collaborative approach, ensuring that communities remain at the center of decision-making while fostering inclusive, locally led solutions.
You have successfully led diverse teams in complex and dynamic environments, cultivating a strong organizational culture based on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Your ability to engage and inspire stakeholders, ranging from government officials and donors to grassroots organizations, you have led to meaningful policy influence, effective resource mobilization, and measurable program impact. With at least 10 years of senior leadership experience, you have demonstrated expertise in strategic planning, partnership development, and the management of innovative development initiatives.
As Country Director for CARE Iraq, you are ready to accelerate transformative change and boost the transition to long-term development. You are proficient at navigating complex operational landscapes, strengthening CARE’s presence in Iraq, and ensuring that our practices internally as an organization and programs continue to empower women, advance climate resilience, and create lasting impact for vulnerable communities..

Job Summary:
The Country Director for CARE Iraq provides strategic leadership, ensuring the effective implementation of CARE’s mission to fight poverty and social injustice, with a strong focus on women’s empowerment and climate justice. This role oversees all aspects of program development, operations, advocacy, and resource mobilization, ensuring alignment with global and regional priorities while responding to the specific needs of communities in Iraq.

As the organization’s legal representative in Iraq, the Country Director maintains high-level relationships with government authorities, donors, civil society organizations, and other key stakeholders to enhance CARE’s visibility and impact. They drive a culture of excellence, innovation, and accountability, ensuring that CARE Iraq remains a leader in delivering high-quality, evidence-based programs that promote equity and long-term resilience.

A people-centered leader, the Country Director fosters an inclusive, high-performing team culture, championing diversity, equity, and staff well-being. They provide strategic oversight of financial management, risk mitigation, security, and compliance, ensuring operational efficiency and sustainability. In times of crisis, they lead CARE’s emergency preparedness and humanitarian response efforts, ensuring swift and effective action to support affected communities.

This role demands a visionary and adaptive leader with extensive experience in long-term development programming, humanitarian operations, partnership-building, and policy advocacy. The Country Director is instrumental in driving CARE Iraq’s transition to sustainable, locally driven development solutions, empowering communities to thrive.

Key Responsibilities and Tasks:

1) Country Team Leadership and Organization Culture
• Foster a trust-based, inclusive, and high-performing work environment that promotes collaboration and mutual respect.
• Lead with integrity and transparency, setting a strong example of ethical leadership, accountability, and professional excellence.
• Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion by embedding these principles into leadership, decision-making, and organizational culture.
• Empower and develop staff through mentorship, capacity-building, and career growth opportunities, fostering continuous learning.
• Encourage open communication and psychological safety, ensuring all team members feel valued and heard.
• Promote a unified vision and shared values, aligning teams around strategic priorities and long-term impact.
• Strengthen cross-team collaboration, breaking down silos and fostering synergy across departments and field offices.
• Cultivate a results-driven culture, encouraging innovation, adaptability, and accountability in program delivery.

2) Representation, Relationships, Fundraising and Advocacy
• Serve as CARE Iraq’s legal representative, liaising with the Government of Iraq at all levels, the judiciary, financial institutions, labor authorities, suppliers, service providers, civil society organizations, and donors.
• Ensure full compliance with host government regulations and maintain a legally sound operational framework for CARE’s presence in Iraq.
• Position CARE as a trusted partner, fostering strong relationships with key stakeholders, including government agencies, civil society, and donors.
• Cultivate and expand partnerships with institutional donors, leading the development of successful funding proposals to ensure a sustainable financial pipeline.
• Uphold CARE’s mission, vision, and values, ensuring the organization’s reputation and image align with its global commitments.
• Facilitate active engagement of CARE Members, supporting donor outreach, media efforts, and strategic communications.
• Establish CARE Iraq as a leading advocate for equity between women and men and climate justice, driving evidence-based, high-impact programs aligned with global best practices.

3) Country Office Program Development and Implementation
• Ensure CARE Iraq has a clear, documented, and strategic framework aligned with CARE’s global strategy, country needs, and donor and government priorities to effectively combat poverty and injustice among marginalized communities.
• Ensure that CARE’s programs achieve their intended impact, supported by robust monitoring, evaluation, and evidence-based reporting.
• Provide strategic guidance to the country office’s program leadership in designing and developing initiatives that align with CARE’s mission and priorities.
• Foster strategic partnerships that enhance CARE’s effectiveness, amplify impact, and align with global commitments.
• Secure diverse funding sources, including bilateral, multilateral, and non-traditional donors, to sustain and expand CARE’s programs.
• Drive program excellence by integrating best practices, technical expertise, and strong monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEAL) frameworks to inform policy engagement.
• Ensure full compliance with donor requirements, oversee effective project implementation, and facilitate timely reporting, course corrections, and innovation to maximize impact.

4) Emergency Preparedness & Response
• Regularly update the Country Office emergency preparedness plan in collaboration with CARE stakeholders and in-country partners.
• Maintain a high level of readiness to respond effectively to humanitarian emergencies.
• Provide strong leadership and oversight during emergency responses, ensuring swift and effective action.

5) Safety and Security
• Foster a safe and secure work environment by promoting a culture of safety and ensuring the consistent application of CARE’s safety and security policies and procedures.
• Collaborate with the line manager and relevant CARE stakeholders as needed in the event of any major safety or security issues or critical incidents.
• Lead the Crisis Management Team in Iraq, overseeing the country office’s response to critical incidents and coordinating with government authorities, CARE Germany teams, donors, and media in compliance with CARE International critical incidents policy.

6) Country Office Strategic and Operational Planning and Implementation
• Establish and maintain an efficient management structure in the country, clearly defining responsibilities, accountabilities, and stakeholder engagement in decision-making, while ensuring effective internal communication systems.
• Ensure operational planning cycles (e.g., Annual Operating Plans) align with CARE standards and are consistently reviewed for maximum effectiveness.
• Streamline reporting processes to meet all requirements of the host government, development stakeholders, CARE Members, and line management, leveraging technology to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and impact.

7) Country Office Financial, Budget and Administration Management
• Oversee the development of the Country Office’s annual budget, ensuring alignment with CARE’s policies and procedures, and financial sustainability.
• Monitor the financial viability of the Country Office, ensuring project budgets cover operational costs and adapting to program changes effectively.
• Analyze and optimize the CO’s cost structure, anticipating and addressing adjustments in the program portfolio to maintain financial efficiency.
• Ensure consistent performance and audit results, addressing recommendations from evaluations and audits to foster continuous improvement.
• Maintain an up-to-date risk register and strategy, responding to issues promptly and ensuring effective risk mitigation measures are in place.
• Ensure strict adherence to donors and CARE Member financial policies, internal controls, and reporting requirements, to guarantee operational transparency and compliance.
• Ensure compliance with all legal, contractual, and statutory requirements, safeguarding the organization’s integrity and operations.
• Leverage technology to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and impact across financial management, ensuring streamlined processes and improved decision-making,

8) Human Resources Development and Management
• Oversee workforce planning, performance management, and operational efficiency within the country office, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and optimizing team effectiveness.
• Establish and regularly review HR policies and procedures to ensure compliance with host country laws and regulations, fostering a fair and legally sound working environment.
• Ensure that all personnel are managed in accordance with labor laws and relevant HR policies, maintaining a consistent and supportive approach to staff welfare.
• Develop and document personnel management systems and processes, including staff onboarding, offboarding, work plans, performance management, safety, security, and conduct.
• Drive staff development and maximize national talent especially women through targeted coaching, mentoring, succession planning, and career development, fostering a culture of continuous learning and growth.
• Leverage technology to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of HR systems, ensuring that all processes are streamlined for greater impact and agility in responding to evolving needs.

9) Communication, information and public relations
• Develop and implement an internal and external communication plan that leverages technology to effectively share success stories and elevate the country office’s profile among donors, peer organizations, stakeholders, and government entities.
• Ensure that the country office information is consistently updated across SharePoint, organizational websites, and relevant social media platforms to maintain real-time accuracy and accessibility.
• Collaborate with CARE Members to amplify the impact and visibility of CARE’s work in Iraq.
• Provide timely and relevant information to the Fundraising and Communication Departments, supporting efforts to drive greater efficiency, effectiveness, and impact.

Key contacts and collaborators:
Internal:
Country office team
External:
CARE International Network, CARE member partners, Local and International NGOs, DNGO, relevant ministries, Donors, Local Authorities, Academic Institutions, Private Sector Partners, Media Outlets

Accountability within CARE:
A commitment to CARE values and CARE’s integrity framework is critical to working with CARE. Any candidate offered a job with CARE will be expected to adhere to the following key areas of accountability:
A) Safety and Security:
CARE believes that personal safety and safety risk management is crucial for staff; however, this cannot be achieved unless each staff member fulfills responsibilities such as Maintain Situational Awareness, staying informed, comply with protocols, preparedness, maintaining reliable communication, respect local norms, comply with policies and instructions, and report incidents promptly.
Failure to do so can not only endanger their own safety but also compromise the entire team and organization.

B) Representation of CARE Mission and Values:
• Actively communicate and promote CARE’s mission, values, and goals to all stakeholders, partners, and the public.
• Utilize CARE’s logo and branding materials appropriately in all professional activities, ensuring donor acknowledgment and visibility.
• Wear the official CARE identification material such as vest, badge and/or pin at all business settings including meetings and events to clearly represent the organization.
• Employees are expected to engage in business related video/photo shoots, interviews, or audio recordings to promote CARE and its projects, enhancing organizational visibility.
• Employees are encouraged to re-share CARE’s social media posts and follow official CARE channels on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to help amplify the organization’s message.
• Ensure the organization’s logo and online presence are used professionally, with misuse potentially leading to disciplinary action.

C) Promoting Equity, Justice, and Climate Responsibility:
Employees at CARE Iraq are expected to embody the organization’s core values of equity, justice, and climate responsibility. This includes fostering equity between men and women, promoting climate justice, and embedding these principles into the organizational activities and work culture overall. A key focus internally and externally is on empowering women through leadership opportunities, professional growth, and meaningful participation in decision-making, while addressing workforce imbalances and amplifying women’s voices to drive transformative change.
Equally, all employees of CARE Iraq are expected to prioritizes climate responsibility by encouraging sustainable practices, reducing ecological foot print, drive positive environmental impact, and supporting climate-affected communities. Integrating resilience and sustainability into all operations and actions will ensures a just and equitable future.
These principles are central to CARE Iraq’s vision for justice, fairness, and environmental stewardship.
Safeguarding and Ethics:
At CARE, we recognize our responsibility to promote human dignity and social justice within our organization. At the heart of CARE’s efforts to impact poverty and social justice is our engagement with marginalized communities. We place human dignity at the center of our work. We are aware of the importance of organizational culture and accountability in enabling a safe and supportive environment for programme participants, the communities where we work, our staff, related personnel and our partners.
At CARE, we believe all people have a right to safety and to live their lives free from harm. The Safeguarding Policy is a response to CARE’s commitment and recognition of our responsibilities to protect and safeguard people we work with, and who work for CARE, from any form of abuse, including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, physical and emotional abuse, neglect, and child abuse. To find further details about our Safeguarding Policy commitments,

Qualifications and Skills
• Education: Master’s degree in in relevant field and / or academic qualifications commensurate with the seniority of the position, deep knowledge and application of leadership theories and practices,
• Languages: Fluency in English (speaking, reading and writing) is essential, Arabic is an advantage, German and other used languages is an asset.
• Regional Knowledge: Strong understanding of regional history, politics and culture norms, knowledge of federal Iraq and Kurdistan’s environmental related legal, political, and operational landscape.
• Diplomatic Skills: Proven ability to engage and communicate effectively with high-level officials and stakeholders.
• Experience: Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in leadership positions, preferably in the middle east, leading large teams in designing and executing women empowerment and climate project in development context. Demonstrated ability to lead teams to successful resource mobilization and strategic foresight. Solid understanding of financial and budget management, and of best practice programming,
• Other Skills: Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities effectively. Proven abilities in decision-making and problem-solving including in dynamic and sensitive contexts. Proven ability to lead teams through change, innovation, efficient operations and agility,
• Technical Skills: Deep understanding of climate change and conservation challenges in developing countries, with the ability to recognize and work with local and national level priorities to identify linkages between policy and practice. Demonstrated experience in program design, management, implementation, monitoring and evaluation and reporting.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Microsoft Teams, and email platforms.

A Strong Call for #Women Candidates
We highly encourage women candidates to apply for this role. At CARE Iraq, we are committed to Equity between women and men and strive to create a safe and inclusive space where everyone can thrive. Our goal is to build a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve and contributes to meaningful change in the lives of women and girls.

Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. References will only be contacted after the interview.

Apply here