Country Director Full-Time

Development Media International (DMI) delivers mass media campaigns aimed at changing behaviours, promoting health and saving lives in developing countries. We are the first organisation to scientifically demonstrate that mass media can increase life-saving behaviours. DMI recently completed a 5-year, £7m randomised controlled trial in West Africa which showed that 56% more children were taken for treatment for malaria, 73% more for diarrhoea and 39% more for pneumonia following exposure to our campaign. Economic modelling indicates that our approach is one of the most cost-effective ways of saving children’s lives.

DMI’s head office (DMI UK) is situated in East London, overlooking the Regent’s Canal. We have a permanent presence in Burkina Faso, Mozambique, and Tanzania and also currently operate in Mauritania, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, and Chad. We are now expanding our operations in East and Southern Africa. We have two priorities: first, to continue to generate ground-breaking research (we are conducting another randomised control trial in Burkina Faso, this time to measure our impact on contraceptive uptake), second, to take these proven strategies to scale, saving as many lives as possible. We work across a range of health issues, including child survival, reproductive health, nutrition and hygiene, and early childhood development.

DMI works in close partnership with leading experts in health, including WHO, UNICEF and LSHTM and has been funded by some of the world’s most prestigious organisations including the Wellcome Trust, DFID, Comic Relief, the Global Innovation Fund and the Mulago Foundation.

We are an innovative and rapidly growing organisation, working at the nexus between science and creativity. Our intellectual rigour, enthusiasm and willingness to learn from both our successes and mistakes, makes us distinct. DMI is on the cutting edge of how international development should work by demonstrating that knowledge is not only a human right, but is also the key to saving lives in a cost-effective way. Our ethos is non-hierarchical: all our staff are intellectually high-powered and we have a “best idea wins” culture. By working at DMI you will have a genuine, measurable impact on improving lives in low-income countries.

DMI is ranked as one of the most cost-effective non-profit organisations in the world by GiveWell and is endorsed by theCentre for Effective Altruism, Giving What We Can, ImpactMatters and The Life You Can Save.

Job description

DMI has had a presence in Mozambique since 2015.  We have a main office in Maputo and a field office in Chimoio.  Since Jan 2018 we have been delivering a major, nationwide radio campaign called ‘Intensaude’ to improve treatment seeking behaviour for symptoms of pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria in children under five.  Intensaude will run until early 2020 and DMI will implement a new family planning campaign, as part of a DfiD funded consortium, in late 2018 / early 2019, until mid-2021.

DMI is looking for an experienced and high calibre individual to be our Country Director in Mozambique.  The role will assume overall responsibility for managing DMI’s projects and activities throughout the country.  This will include coordinating research tasks, media output production and distribution/broadcast of those outputs.  There will also be a requirement for the successful candidate to assist DMI with business development, particularly with respect to building and maintaining strong relationships with relevant stakeholders in Mozambique.  You will also have a role to play in securing new projects and campaigns to ensure the long-term sustainability of DMI in Mozambique.

DMI’s Country Directors are the key link between our in-country teams and our head office (DMI UK).  To be successful, you will need to effectively manage the priorities and demands of both.  Ultimately, you will be responsible for ensuring that high quality outputs and outcomes are delivered in line with the requirements of the project, the funder(s) and DMI’s policies and procedures.  Management of internal and external stakeholders, and collaboration with funders, government and (where applicable) consortium partners, will be a key part of the role.

This is a senior position with a high level of responsibility, suited to someone with extensive experience in programme management, team coordination, and financial monitoring and reporting. In return, DMI supports its international staff members with a competitive benefits package for the sector, including base salary, housing allowance, health insurance and relocation allowances (if applicable).

More specifically, the Country Director’s role will include the following responsibilities:

• Maintaining oversight of, and coordinating, all DMI activities in Mozambique to ensure that projects are delivered on time, on budget, to a high standard and meet the requirements of funders and other relevant stakeholders;
• Providing dynamic and inspirational leadership to all DMI staff in Mozambique;
• Acting as the senior manager for DMI Mozambique, including line managing the Deputy Country Director and other staff as required;
• Ensuring that financial, administrative and HR tasks are carried out in line with DMI policies, as well as local and national regulatory requirements;
• Assuming responsibility for day to day decision making in relation to activities carried out by DMI in Mozambique and communicating clearly and effectively with DMI UK to resolve issues with significant operational or strategic implications;
• Working with DMI UK to identify, mitigate and avoid risks to DMI’s reputation, financial resilience and/or ability to deliver projects and campaigns in Mozambique or elsewhere through the use of foresight, strategic judgement and risk analysis;
• Developing and maintaining relationships with funders, government departments, media agencies, radio stations and other key stakeholders to ensure that they are supportive of DMI’s projects and, where relevant, contribute to the successful delivery of those projects;
• Conducting fundraising, networking and business development activities for DMI in Mozambique;
• Other tasks as required by DMI.

Person specification

Required knowledge, skills and experience

• Fluent English and Portuguese (written and spoken).  Able to convey complex technical and non-technical material in an engaging manner appropriate to the audience;
• Previous experience of managing a team;
• Experience delivering complex projects or programmes, delivering a range of outputs on time and on budget, ideally with direct experience in developing countries;
• Previous experience of project/programme level financial/budget management;
• Strong intellectual ability, as evidenced by a good degree or similar qualifications in a relevant field and performance at interview;
• Ability to work effectively in collaboration with partners and other stakeholders (internal and external), including those with differing agendas;
• Self-motivated with the confidence to take the initiative. Resilient and good-humoured under pressure.

Desirable knowledge, skills and experience

• Knowledge and experience working within media production, global health and/or mass media environments;
• Professional project/programme management qualifications (PRINCE2, MSP, APMP etc);
• Proven fundraising/business development success in the not for profit / NGO sector.