Country Director, Honduras

Who is Water Mission?

Water Mission is a Christian engineering nonprofit that builds safe water solutions for people in developing countries, refugee camps, and disaster areas. Since 2001, Water Mission has served more than 8 million people in 60 countries, sharing safe water and the message of God’s love. Working at Water Mission is as much a calling as it is a career, and we are searching for people with the courage, passion, and drive to help us change the world. Read more about our Statement of Faith and Our Christian Mission.

What is the position?

Under the direction of the LAC Regional Director, the Country Director is responsible for carrying out the mission of Water Mission in the Country - to honor God by developing, implementing, and sharing best-in-class safe water solutions that transform as many lives as possible, as quickly as possible. This critical position is both a calling and a career. This role manages a diverse team of locals and other international staff working in various functional groups, including human resources, accounting, WASH programs, operations, project management, safety, quality, ministry, and administration. By applying sound management and leadership, this role will ensure that Water Mission programs are implemented successfully according to Water Mission standards.

This role will require establishing full-time residence in the country city of El Progresso. It will also require additional short-term travel to Charleston, SC, USA (Water Mission Headquarters) and other regional country programs.

The Water Mission Honduras Country Program is a recognized leader in solar pumping, water treatment, remote monitoring, and community development for the last mile and rural communities. The Country Director will be expected to expand on the program’s established reputation as both an implementor and resource to other like-minded organizations.

Position Responsibilities:

Senior Management and Strategic Planning

• Maintain a strong Christian witness and model servant leadership to colleagues, partners, the communities we serve, and the public.
• Lead the Country Program senior management team and coordinate all its operations.
• Manage employee relations issues (biblical discipline and performance improvement) and ensure personnel management practices are consistent with Water Mission standards.
• Plan development of the country program following local needs and Water Mission priorities in the form of a country strategy.
• Ensure medium-term and long-term strategic planning, establishment and maintenance of managerial procedures, recording and utilizing lessons learned, and capacity building.
• Provide regular Country Program communication updates to Water Mission Headquarters regarding administrative, financial, and programmatic updates/needs.

Finance & Administration

• Supervise the financial and administrative situation and based on the strategy and fixed objectives, make the relevant decisions in collaboration with his senior management team and the Water Mission headquarters.
• Prepare and supervise the Country Program budget and overall economic situation together with the programs manager and finance manager.

Project Management

• Actively contributes and supports the development of new proposals, in line with Water Mission country strategy.
• Ensure timely and high-quality reporting on country program operational performance against approved ministry tactical plan and budget to donors and HQ.
• Actively monitor program implementation in their areas and provide feedback to program staff.
• Uphold Water Mission quality standards in the execution of all project activities.

Representation and Fundraising

• Network among donors and key stakeholders to actively seek funding opportunities, help increase the quality of proposals, understand donor priorities, and ensure coordination.
• Represent Water Mission at meetings with government partners, regional and local authorities, donors, local agencies, coordination bodies, and other relevant stakeholders at all levels of project implementation as required.
• Ensure fundraising from institutional donors and financial stability of the Country Program, including preparation of project proposals in cooperation with program staff.
• Proactively engage with other organizations in the WASH sector to advance our mission and vision and evaluate people and organizations for potential ministry partnerships.

Human Resource Management

• Plan HR needs of the Country Program and take part in the process of selection of new staff.
• Supervise capacity building and ensure sufficient human resources for the projects to meet their objectives.
• Ensure coherent policy toward recruitment, remuneration, and bonuses across the Country Program.

Security

• Ensure the application of adequate measures to mitigate the legal, reputational, financial, and security risks of the Country Program.
• Ensure respect for the principles and values of the organization, particularly as regards the code of conduct and the fight against fraud, corruption, abuse, and other bad practices.
• Report in a timely manner any violation of our protocols and policies according to established procedures.
• Guarantee respect for legal obligations in the country.
• Analyze the risks to the security of the Country Program and adapt the operation and internal measures of the Country Program to the security situation.

Qualifications Required:

• Personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Alignment with Water Mission’s Statement of Faith and core values of Love, Excellence, and Integrity.
• Fluency in written and spoken English required.
• Bachelor’s and/or master’s degree from an accredited university in fields such as Management, Engineering, Development or Business, Public Health, or any other related discipline.
• WASH experience required.
• International development experience required.
• Proven experience managing >1,000,000 USD programs.
• At least 6+ months of experience living in a developing country; LAC country preferred.
• 10+ years in a leadership or management position with experience training, mentoring, and developing new leaders.
• Experience in establishing and maintaining multiple partnerships with Christian ministries, NGOs, governments, UN organizations, USAID, and other development agencies.
• Advanced computer skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office 365, SharePoint).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in cross-cultural settings.
• Legal authorization to work in Honduras without sponsorship.