Team Leader XB North Darfur

Context

Relief International (RI) is an international non-profit organization partnering with communities impacted by conflict, climate change, and disaster to save lives, build resilience, and promote long-term health and wellbeing.

With over 7,000 staff and volunteers across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, RI delivers integrated programming in Health & Nutrition, WASH, Education, and Livelihoods, grounded in evidence-based, conflict-sensitive, and climate-smart approaches.

RI operates under a one-team alliance model across Relief International, Inc., RI-France, RI-UK, and RI-Europe, guided by humanitarian principles and a strong commitment to gender equality and safeguarding.

Job Profile

The Team Leader (TL) provides overall leadership and management of RI’s area office and staff, ensuring high-quality program implementation, effective operations, sound financial management, staff performance, and strong external representation within the assigned geographical area.

You will oversee field operations in collaboration with the DCDs and Program Managers to ensure delivery of safe and impactful programs. By strengthening coordination and accountability, you will promote operational coherence across all sectors to meet the organization’s strategic goals

Autonomy and Complexity

You will lead complex, multi-grant, multi-sector operations in fragile security contexts, exercising delegated financial and operational authority, managing security risks, representing RI externally, and ensuring compliance with organizational and donor requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Program Management and Quality

• Overall responsibility for managing the RI staff, area office, including ensuring positive and collaborative working relationships in line with RI's Code of Conduct, leading performance planning and evaluation process
• The TL strengthens accountability across field operations through the establishment, monitoring, and regular review of measurable KPIs. These include, but are not limited to, the efficiency and timeliness of staff movement planning and approvals, procurement follow-up and resolution of operational bottlenecks, and the effectiveness of locality-level coordination and inter-sector collaboration. The AM reviews performance against these indicators with Program Managers, Operations teams, and the relevant Deputy Country Directors, and takes timely corrective action where performance gaps are identified.
• In collaboration with the DCD Field Coordination, DCD Programs, and Sectoral Technical Coordinators, the Team Leader provides oversight for the program plans and projects implemented within the assigned geography. The TL’s sign-off specifically confirms the operational feasibility, resource availability, and security clearance necessary for these initiatives.
• Field Implementation Co-Management: Together with the relevant Program Manager, the TL is responsible for driving the daily execution of programs, ensuring smooth operational flow and prompt resolution of any issues that arise.
• Delegated Program Adaptation: The Team Leader is authorized to approve certain operational adjustments at the field level. This authority is granted in consultation with the relevant Program Manager. These adjustments must remain within the approved budget and comply with donor requirements to ensure that the program's momentum is maintained.
• Field Monitoring and Reporting: The Team Leader, alongside the Program Manager, will hold bi-weekly or Monthly meetings to review program progress and address any issues. They will develop corrective action plans for field operations and communicate details to the DCD Field Coordinator and DCD Programs. The Team Leader will also provide daily or weekly reports on field implementation, highlighting operational challenges, community feedback, and potential security issues.
• The TL ensures coherence among program initiatives in the designated area and promotes collaboration across sectors. Program implementation plans must align with RI Sudan's strategic priorities and programming principles.

Representation, Liaison, and Communication

• Develop and maintain strong connections with government officials, community representatives, counterpart organizations, the broader NGO community, and RI partners in the designated geographical area, as well as in other relevant regions.
• Proactively engage National NGOs operating within the assigned area, ensuring their inclusion in coordination structures and cluster-related discussions. This includes facilitating locality-level coordination, promoting equitable information-sharing, supporting inclusive participation in humanitarian forums, and conducting periodic local actor mapping to identify emerging partners, strengthen collaboration with local responders, and enhance local ownership of humanitarian response planning.
• Represent RI at the regional level coordination forums and engage with local stakeholders, including local authorities, business leaders, media representatives, and civil society leaders.
• Collaborate with the relevant Program Manager and co-implementing partner to plan and support donor missions and joint missions within the state, in partnership with the Country Office.
• The Team Leader leads all field engagements and negotiations with the UN agencies, humanitarian partners, and donors, while continuously providing feedback to the Program Manager, Deputy Country Directors, and the country team regarding any significant developments that may affect RI programs.
• Works closely with Local State Ministries/Departments and other agencies to obtain the necessary support required by RI at State level.

Accountability and System compliance

• Assure adherence to RI specifically to finance, logistics, IT, security, HR and Procurement following policies and procedures that comply with the RI handbook and funding source policies.
• Ensure that RI procurement and related policies and procedures are up-to-date and disseminated in a timely manner and that all appropriate staff are trained and competent.
• Ensure RI’s safety and security procedures are implemented in the Region and field offices working in close cooperation with the Safety and Security team.
• Ensure field-level donor-funded projects are managed in compliance with RI and donor policies and procedures
• Ensure donor reports for assets are timely completed and submitted to the finance/program and other departments as appropriate.
• Ensure that accountability mechanisms—including decision logs, movement approvals, and escalation records—are maintained at the area level to support transparency, audit readiness, and institutional learning.
• Safeguard RI’s assets in the Region Office and field offices by ensuring finance and administration policies and procedures are fully implemented, documented and filed; propose amendments and changes when necessary, and make sure that the office operates efficiently and effectively.

Delegated Approval Authority

• The Team Linder is authorized to review and approve all financial transactions and commitment requests (up to a limit of $4,000 USD for both Programmatic and Operational expenditures), provided they are verified against the approved budget and comply with regulations, and following continuous consultation with the Program Manager on programmatic necessity.

Budget Monitoring and Compliance:

• Oversee all field-level budget expenditures in close collaboration with the Country Finance team and the Area Finance coordinator to ensure strict compliance.
• Implement and maintain verifiable internal financial controls in line with policies and procedures, ensuring that all spending is regularly reviewed with the Program Manager and the concerned DCD(s) to confirm alignment with strategic goals.

Budget Review and Analysis:

• Work with Program Managers and Technical Coordinators to conduct/facilitate detailed field-level Budget Versus Actual (BVA) reviews, in conjunction with the concerned DCD(s), to ensure program-strategic input.
• Submit analysis and inputs resulting from the BVA reviews to the Country Office (CO) for consideration and action, ensuring a sign-off/review by the Program Manager and DCD(s) prior to submission.
• In collaboration with Technical Coordinators, monitor budget spending against spending plans and develop necessary remedial plans, which must be approved by the concerned DCD(s) to ensure optimal utilization of resources.

Strategic Financial Planning:

• Maintain a comprehensive site-level budget overview and collaborate regularly with the finance team and the Program Manager to monitor spending and ensure the timely utilization of all grants.
• Inform Senior Management of changing budget needs, risks, or opportunities, and actively participate in budget development and revision processes alongside the Program Manager and the concerned DCD(s).
• High-Value Commitments: Review and approve procurements, framework agreements, leases, and financial commitments up to $4,000 after confirming that the Program Manager is informed about the programmatic components. For commitments that exceed this amount, forward them to the relevant Program Manager or the designated author at the Country office.

Human Resources Management

• Practice effective human resource management to develop, promote, and retain a motivated team of qualified and experienced staff. The Team Leader's role emphasizes daily line management, mentorship, and the enforcement of the Code of Conduct.
• Ensure staff are well versed with RI's Code of Conduct, accountability, respectful dialogue with the displaced, refugees and host communities, and prevention of sexual exploitation, and abuse
• Promote professional development by identifying training and capacity-building opportunities and ensuring staff performance plans and evaluations are conducted regularly.

• Ensure all hiring, contract renewals, disciplinary actions, and separations for field staff are approved by the Country HR Manager, in coordination with relevant technical line managers.

Operations Support

• Coordinate, manage and monitor the workings of the Logistic and Procurement Sub-Departments at area office.
• Work with in-country operations teams to roll out and improve operational systems and ensure standard operation policies and procedures are adhered to
• Support and ensure the operation team works effectively with other units to improve planning such as procurement and movement planning and rational resource utilization.
• Review key operation performance indicators and take appropriate action to support in achieving the set objectives.
• Support in ensuring proper asset management by the Operations team at field level including asset tagging, logging of assets in the consolidated asset register, repair & maintenance of the assets and identification of assets due for disposal.

Safety and Security

• The Team Leader is tasked with collaborating with the country safety and security manager to ensure that comprehensive security management and preparedness plans are developed, routinely updated, and diligently implemented at the state level.
• The TL is responsible for promoting acceptance and safety awareness among all staff, while ensuring that RI operates in a conflict-sensitive manner that adheres to humanitarian principles, including neutrality.
• The Team Leader ensures that all staff receive mandatory security briefings prior to field travel, in coordination with the Safety and Security team, to reinforce situational awareness and risk mitigation measures.
• Make decisions and assist the safety focal point to manage security incidents at the local level, in consultation with the area security officer, Security Manager and DCD Field Coordination.

• The Team Leader proactively integrates security considerations into movement planning and operational decision-making from the outset, ensuring a preventative and risk-informed approach. The TL also maintains an up-to-date Darfur state-level movement tracking and security clearance log in accordance with RI security protocols.

Decision-Making Authority and Escalation Pathways

• The TL holds delegated authority for defined operational, financial, and security-related decisions at the field level, in line with approved budgets, security protocols, and donor regulations, and is responsible for timely decision-making to prevent operational delays.

• The TL maintains clear escalation pathways for decisions exceeding delegated authority—including high-risk security incidents, significant budget deviations, and major programmatic changes—ensuring appropriate consultation and referral to relevant Program Managers, Deputy Country Directors, or the Country Director to strengthen accountability and informed decision-making.

Behavior and Conduct

• Uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct in line with RI’s Code of Conduct and safeguarding policies.
• Act as a role model for integrity, accountability, and respectful engagement.
• Ensure staff actions do not compromise safety or dignity of affected communities.
• Ensure stakeholders are aware of RI’s conduct and reporting mechanisms.
• Report any concerns promptly through appropriate channels.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

• University degree in Political/Social Sciences, International Rural Development, Public/Business Administration, or related field
• Proven experience in area or field management in humanitarian or fragile contexts
• Strong experience in field operations, security management, and multi-sector coordination
• Demonstrated knowledge of donor compliance (e.g., BHA, ECHO, FCDO, SIDA, WFP, UNICEF, SHF)
• Strong leadership, multicultural people management, and decision-making skills

• Excellent interpersonal, communication skills and liaison experience, dealing with local authorities, donors, partners, program participants and communities.
• Ability to identify and communicate potential problems and propose solutions to the level of management and then effect chang

• Fluency in English (written and spoken)

Desirable Criteria

• Prior experience with Relief International or similar INGOs.
• Experience rolling out operational systems in field offices.
• Strong financial analysis and budget management experience.
• Ability to work effectively in highly volatile and insecure environments.

RI Values

Guided by the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, and the commitment to “Do No Harm,” Relief International values:

• Integrity
• Adaptability
• Collaboration
• Inclusivity
• Sustainability