Country Director Bangladesh

What we are looking for

NRC is looking for a Country Director to join the Bangladesh mission. The role holder will be responsible for providing both strategic direction and operational leadership, including maintaining a coordinated approach in the country management group to strategy, fundraising (against a background of declining resources), evidence-based advocacy, and support to the humanitarian coordination system.

If you are an experienced and seasoned leader with a track record of developing and integrating distinctive strategies; with strong coordination, networking, and stakeholder management skills; the ability to inspire and influence others; and successful experience building and leading collaborative, engaging, and effective teams, then this is the role for you!

What you will do

• Country strategy development and execution.
• National representation and coordination.
• Country-level advocacy.
• Resource allocation and mobilisation.
• Ensure structures and systems facilitate efficient support to operations.
• Cost efficiency and quality, including implementation of control mechanisms.
• Staff learning, training, and development.
• Safety and security of staff.
• Fundraising, donor compliance and donor engagement.
• Risk management oversight.
• Policies, guidance, and procedures compliance and adherence**.**

What you will bring

• Senior Management / Country Director experience.
• Humanitarian/recovery/emergency response context experience.
• Advocacy exposure.
• Emergency setting understanding.
• Strong representation skills.
• Complex and volatile context exposure.
• English fluency, both written and verbal

What makes this position attractive?

• 2025 marks eight years since violence broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, when over 742,000 Rohingya men, women, and children fled across the border into neighbouring Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Today more than 1 million Rohingya refugees currently live in 33 camps across Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char, heavily depending on humanitarian aid. Local integration challenges arise from socio-economic pressures, resource constraints, and social tensions. Addressing these issues needs comprehensive international support, sustained humanitarian aid, and collaboration between the Bangladeshi government, regional, and global stakeholders.
• This is an opportunity to work in the steadily growing NRC mission of Bangladesh that has scaled up since inception in 2018 to respond to the Rohingya influx, and that has an increasingly growing portfolio and funding. NRC interventions are based on the humanitarian principles and are used to increase the acceptance of humanitarian assistance amongst target Rohingya and Bangladeshi populations, as well as to facilitate and enable access.
• NRC provides lifesaving, multisectoral assistance and works towards self-reliance and durable solutions of both Rohingya refugees and host communities affected by the refugee influx, operating in 25 Rohingya camps and 8 unions in the Teknaf and Ukhiya Upazilas of Cox’s Bazar. NRC also hosts the Rohingya Response NGO Platform, which brings together more than 150 NGOs coordinating the Rohingya crisis humanitarian response. NRC Bangladesh reached over 140,000 project participants in 2024.
• In addition to the existing Rohingya refugee response, NRC’s integrated activities are addressing the impacts of displacement from climate change. As of 2022, NRC is working to respond to severe floods. Bangladesh is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries while also hosting one million Rohingya refugees. This is now considered a protracted emergency in which displacement and recurrent climate disasters combine.
• This is also set against a backdrop of continued conflict in Rakhine State, steady attenuation of humanitarian access, and political pressure to repatriate refugees. The humanitarian context is characterised by multiple localised emergencies adversely affecting communities and populations with low levels of resilience, high vulnerability, and acute poverty.
• Meaningful work that responds to the diverse needs, priorities, and concerns raised by beneficiary communities. The current context is set against a backdrop of continued conflict in Rakhine State, steady attenuation of humanitarian access, and political pressure to repatriate refugees. This is characterised by multiple localised emergencies adversely affecting communities and populations with low levels of resilience, high vulnerability, and acute poverty.
• Female candidates are strongly encouraged to join our work culture that empowers every employee to share ideas and take responsibility.

What we offer

• Dhaka, Bangladesh duty station.
• 24-month contract duration.
• Frequent travel.
• Grade 12 in NRC’s Salary Scale, with accompanying terms and conditions. NRC offers a competitive compensation and benefits package.
• NRC is an equal opportunities employer and aims to have staffing diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, nationality, and physical ability.
• We think outside the box, encourage ideas, and give responsibility to all employees at all levels. You will have many opportunities to be heard and take the initiative.

The full Job Description can be found on our website.