Country Director

Country Director - Egypt

Position Start Date: October 15, 2026

Duration: 24 months

Location: Cairo – Egypt

Status: family posting

Terre des hommes does not set closing dates for this position; recruitment is on-going until the position is filled.

Tdh:

The Terre des hommes Foundation (Tdh), with headquarters in Lausanne and an office in Zurich, is the leading Swiss child rights organisation with more than 2000 employees worldwide. We stand together with children to uphold their rights, protect their lives and improve their well-being. We achieve this through innovative programmes focused on health, migration and access to justice, specially designed to have a positive and sustainable impact.

Context:

Since 1983, Terre des hommes in Egypt works in collaboration with recognized national and local partners to provide support and protection to the most vulnerable children, youth, their families, and their communities. Tdh provides a variety of activities in Greater Cairo and across Upper Egypt governorates, with innovative approaches and sustainable solutions to enhance the resilience and wellbeing of the children and youth and help them to build a better future. The interventions are including mental health and psychosocial support, case management, cash assistance, community mobilization, youth empowerment and capacity building to strengthen protection systems and ensure a protective child-friendly environment.

The Children and Youth in Migration sector aims to enhance the wellbeing, resilience, and social inclusion of children and youth affected by migration and displacement by improving their access to essential services, social protection, education, and economic opportunities. It promotes youth empowerment, skills development, and meaningful participation while strengthening the capacities of communities, service providers, and institutions to respond effectively to the needs of mobile and vulnerable populations. Through systems strengthening and livelihood interventions, the programme supports sustainable integration and self-reliance for children, young people, and their families.

The Child Protection sector focuses on reducing the social and economic barriers that increase vulnerability and expose children, youth, families, and communities to rights violations, violence, exploitation, abuse, and harmful social norms. It strengthens prevention and response mechanisms, builds protective environments, and reinforces community and institutional protection systems. By establishing effective protection networks and promoting rights-based and inclusive approaches, the programme aims to enhance safety, dignity, and resilience among individuals and communities affected by or at risk of protection concerns.

The Access to Justice sector strengthens the capacity of justice and social care systems to address the needs of vulnerable children, youth, and families. It supports access to services within social care and justice institutions, restorative justice approaches, and the reintegration of children in conflict with the law. The programme further advances meaningful child participation in juvenile justice processes, promotes gender justice, and facilitates fair and accessible family law proceedings, contributing to stronger legal protections and improved outcomes for those seeking justice.

The health sector is focused on strengthening climate resilience in fragile health systems, ensuring that vulnerable populations maintain access to essential healthcare services despite increasing climate-related shocks and disasters. The initiative aims to retrofit primary healthcare facilities to become climate-resilient, environmentally sustainable, and disaster-ready. By enhancing their capacity to withstand and respond to climate and emergency-related disruptions, these facilities will be able to provide uninterrupted delivery of essential health services during and after crises.

Responsibilities:

• He/She ensures the properfunctioning of operations at the national level; as suchhe/she represents the organization in the country.
• He/She directs and supervises all activities connected to the Tdh projects in his/her assignment country in line with Tdh strategic orientations.
• He/She represents Tdh (including legally) and promotes the entirety of its remit in the assignment country.
• He/She demonstrates ethical and exemplary leadership to maintain Tdh good reputation and leads all the Country Office’s collaborators in a shared vision in compliance with Tdh strategic orientations. In collaboration with the programs and expertise, he/she develops the Country Strategy in compliance with the general reference framework.
• He/She develops and guarantees the implementation of the Country Office’s annual plan of action in compliance with the Country Strategy and internal processes (budgetary management, HR and logistics management, quality and accountability)
• He/She guarantees the implementation of an operational risk-management system for the Country Office.
• He/She supervises and supports all staff attached to the Country Office.
• He/She ensures the Country Office’s internal and external communications.
• He/She feels accountable to the beneficiaries, collaborators, and donors.
• He/She makes sure that his/her teams and partners have learned the security policies and the general code of conduct and always comply with them.
• He/She is responsible for the security of the Tdh teams under his/her responsibility and is in charge of the security rules and the contingency plan of the country under his/her responsibility.
• He/She manages and assumes ultimate responsibility for the risks and access aspects of the Country Office.

More specifically he/she has the following responsibilities:

Strategy and steering

Representation & external representation

Internal coordination

Security and safety

Human Resources

Finance and logistics

Business development & Reporting

Profile :

Education : Master’s degree in a relevant field

Experience, Skills & Competencies :

Minimum 8 years’ senior experience in an INGO, managing a large team / operation / programme, including previous experience as Country Director

Significant international experience in a humanitarian/refugee/conflict setting

Languages : Fluency in English, Arabic an asset

IT know-how : Usual MS Office tools

Salary :

Expatriate contract under Swiss regulations between CHF 5’000.- and CHF 5’700.- Gross/month according to experience x 13 times, Paid leaves: 25 days annual leaves local accommodation and transportation, Health insurance, accident and medical repatriation insurance, return flight.

Tdh Global Code of Conduct and Risk Management Policies :

• Fully complies with Tdh’s Global Code of Conduct and systematically reports any breach to the Code through the whistleblowing procedure: raises awareness within the Foundation on abuse and violence and the rights deriving therefrom, respecting the rights and dignity of children, members of the communities and our own Staff
• Commits to respecting Risk Management Policies including: Safeguarding Policies (Child Safeguarding Policy, Policy on the Protection against Sexual Exploitation and the Directive on Staff Misconduct at the Workplace), Safety and Security Policy and Anti-Fraud/Corruption and Prevention of the Financing of Criminal Activities Policies
• Commits to reducing the risk of abuse and harm by developing a culture of open and informed leadership within the organization and in our work with children and the communities in which we intervene in.

We offer an exciting and varied work, useful and meaningful, in a team that wants to make a difference for vulnerable children.

Are you interested? Do you want to face this challenge?