Cover Letter

Being passionate, committed and committed professional willing to make a lasting

difference for vulnerable people, I would like to apply for the position HEAD OF
MISSION- Kenya/Somalia, Secours Islamique France, to become an integral part of
SIF team.
Working in emergency and post-emergency, humanitarian/recovery and peace-
keeping operations for national/international NGOs, UN and OSCE, I developed my
strong ability to work efficiently under limited time and excessive work pressure while
successfully applying a high degree of flexibility and adaptability to the rapidly
changing operational environments. I demonstrated a strong ability to act as a team
player and team leader while working with multinational teams in various cultural and
religious environments of Africa, Central and South Asia, North Caucasus, Eastern
and Central Europe and Middle East. My managerial experience obtained throughout
the years of challenging diplomatic, humanitarian and peace-building work
developed my ability to make high-level effective and well-balanced management
decisions, contribute to policy-making, provide effective management advisory
services and managing staff and operational systems and establishing relations with
and among international and national organizations and governments.
My performance and work experience gained in above-mentioned complex
operations provided me with unique combination of the skills, knowledge and
experience in all fields of Operations management: strategic direction & oversight
Programme/Project development and implementation, Representation,
Administration, HR management, Finance/Budget, Logistics/Procurement/Supply
Chain and Security/Safety management. The synergies of the aforementioned skills
ensured my effective performance as the best facilitator for successful
accomplishment of the field operations mandates as well as provided the most
efficient linkages among field, regional, country operational clusters and HQ. Im sure
that Ill be able to provide remarkable input building on inter-divisional collaboration
and promote systematic approach to the field to better support the work of
Country/Regional Offices and HQ outreach towards the field operations.
In view of the above, I strongly believe, that my qualifications and academic
credentials, substantiated by relevant training; strong knowledge of and broad
experience in operations management; 10 years of previous experience in
humanitarian work, including previous experiences Deputy Country Director/HoM,
and Head of Operations with INGOs, UN and OSCE in similar context; strong
knowledge and experience of project planning and budget holding; proposal and
report writing; extensive experience of securing substantial external funding,
experience in donor and contract management and program management, strong
experience in and knowledge of project management tools (Logical Framework
analysis, project cycle management, objectives and indicators etc.) in INGO/UN
context; strong experience of working within an insecure environment with
responsibility for security planning, monitoring and management; 15 years
experience of operational management of multi-sector humanitarian relief,
development and humanitarian projects in Africa and similar emergency/post-
conflict context at senior management positions; extensive experience of securing
substantial external funding; strong knowledge of the challenges of donor, contract
management and the implications for program management; similar experience in
other UN agencies, national & national NGOS; strong experience ensuring effective
management of the financial, human resource and material resources, providing
policy interpretation and application to the management and the staff; fiduciary
integrity/responsibility for funds and assets, leadership in strategic planning and
policy formulation in the areas of operations, compliance and internal controls;
confident and proficient use of MS office and ERP systems; proven leadership skills
and a supportive management style with strong experience of remote managing
national and expatriate staff; proven ability & skills to understand the cultural and
political environment and to work well with partners including local authorities; strong
experience in establishing new offices/missions in emergency and regular contexts;
strong experience in reviewing and enhancing existing policies with aim to improve;
substantial experience of strategic thinking, including identifying, analyzing, problem
solving and responding to opportunities and challenges and the ability to translate
these into practical plans of action; proven ability to conceptualize, innovate, plan,
execute ideas, provide training to colleagues, proven analytical, negotiating and
communication skills, well-developed diplomatic skills, demonstrated ability to work
in multinational environment, establishing harmonious working relations in
multicultural teams, experience in maintaining establishing and maintaining effective
working relations with the key donors and key stakeholders in a mission AOR; good
knowledge of Africa (Kenya, Nigeria, Somali, Cote dIvoire, DRC) with working and
living experience in the continent; good knowledge of operational and political
situation in the country, good understanding of and commitment to SIF mission and
values, my immediate availability will make me an excellent candidate for this
position and would make me useful and integral part SIF Nairobi/Somalia team. I
also hope that my active and lasting contribution to SIF will constitute an effective
impact into the beneficial work of the whole organization.

Thank you for consideration.