Terre des hommes recruits 01 Country Director – Palestine
Position Start Date : April 15th, 2026
Duration : 24 months
Location : The position will be based either in Jerusalem, Ramallah, or Amman (Jordan); the administrative context will guide the choice at a later stage.
Status : Unaccompanied
Terre des hommes does not set closing dates for this position; recruitment is on-going until the position is filled. Candidates are nevertheless encouraged to apply asap.
Tdh :
Terre des hommes Foundation (Tdh), with headquarters in Lausanne and an office in Zurich, is the leading Swiss organisation for child rights. In 2022, we supported 2.6 million children and members of their communities around the world. We trained people who in turn supported a further 4.5 million children and members of their communities.
Context :
Terre des hommes (Tdh) was established in Palestine in 1973 in response to child malnutrition in the West Bank. Today, Tdh operates through a coordination office in Jerusalem, two field offices in Gaza (established in 1984), and in Ramallah. Tdh interventions focus on supporting children, youth, and families affected by conflict, displacement, and protracted crisis. Tdh in Palestine has extensive experience in delivering integrated protection services to children and youth at risk, including children in conflict with the law, children involved in labor, out-of-school children, child and women survivors of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and children with disabilities. Working with local partners, Tdh delivers child-friendly, inclusive, and gender-sensitive case management, mental health and psychosocial support services (MHPSS), education in emergencies, humanitarian assistance, and increasingly, health and sexual and reproductive health services. Tdh also supports the long-term strengthening of protective and justice systems in close coordination with national and local stakeholders. Our programming is rooted in a localization approach, combining technical supervision, capacity building, and quality assurance for sustainable impact.
Responsibilities :
- He/She ensures the proper functioning of operations at the national level; as such he/she represents the organization in the
- 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.
The full job description will be shared with the candidates selected to start the recruitment process.
Profile :
Education :
University degree, preferably Masters’ level, in relevant discipline
Experience & 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 :
Fluent English, Arabic is an asset
IT :
High proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite
Conditions:
- Swiss Labour Law contract
- Gross monthly salary between CHF 5’400.- and CHF 5’700.- depending on experience – x13,36 months
- Insurances: sickness, accident, repatriation
- Annual leaves: 25 days/year
- Flights to duty station and back
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?
Procedure :
Please apply directly online: www.tdh.org à https://jobs.tdh.org/en-GB/jobs/7043184-country-director-palestine?promotion=1795120-trackable-share-link-coordinationsud
Application files sent through our official website will be processed only if complete (CV + cover letter). Additional documents (diplomas, work certificates, etc.) will be requested at a later stage.
We will be in touch with the shortlisted candidates only in the selection process – with the large number of applications received, we unfortunately cannot provide personal follow-up to the larger candidate pool. Thanks for your understanding.
For any questions you can consult the FAQ below the job advertisements.