Sudan INGO Forum DirectorPort Sudan, Sudan

10+ years of humanitarian sector experience, including at least 5 years in senior leadership or coordination roles.

Strong understanding of humanitarian coordination, access negotiations, and inter-agency mechanisms.

Proven experience leading teams in complex humanitarian environments.

Contract Duration: 8 Months ( Aug.

(Level 3: Frequent contact with participants, direct contact with children, access to sensitive data, and/or high level of accountability.

Prior experience working in Sudan or similar conflict-affected contexts (e.g. South Sudan, Syria, Yemen).

Reporting to the INGO Forum Steering Committee (SC) through the SC Chair, the Director provides overall strategic leadership to the Forum, overseeing coordination, representation, and stakeholder engagement efforts.

This role is pivotal in ensuring the Forum remains responsive, inclusive, and impactful in an increasingly complex humanitarian context.

The Director is responsible for materializing the Forum’s vision, ensuring its Secretariat sufficiently serves its vision, representing the Forum to key external stakeholders, and ensuring alignment across the Forum’s advocacy, access, and area coordination workstreams.

The Director ensures that Sudan-based realities are reflected in regional and global platforms and supports member organizations to navigate political, access, and coordination challenges.

The positions of the INGO Forum are hosted by Mercy Corps.

STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP

Sudan is facing one of the most severe humanitarian crises globally, marked by widespread displacement, disease outbreaks, and confirmations of famine in several ‘hunger hotspots.’ In an effort to coordinate INGO efforts and establish a common voice for INGOs operating in Sudan, the INGO Forum was established in 2009 as a key representation platform. To date, the Forum, hosted by Mercy Corps, is made up of 78 members and observer members operating across the country.

The Program / Department / Team

(Program / Department Summary)

The INGO Forum is a permanent member of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG). It co-leads the Humanitarian Access Working Group (HAWG), alongside OCHA and spearheads collective engagement with Government, other Authorities and donors. The Forum leads collective advocacy through its Advocacy Working Group (AWG) and in close coordination with the regional Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) and Member liaison offices in key donor/diplomatic capitals.

Since 2023, the situation in Sudan has dramatically shifted as state and non-state actors engage in conflict. Humanitarian access is severely restricted and the uneven presence of the United Nations (UN) exacerbates challenges to the delivery of efficient and wide-reaching humanitarian response. There is an urgent need for enhanced coordination amongst INGOs, and between INGOs and the UN, international aid community, and national/local responders. To this end, the core tenets of the INGO Forum’s work include:

Coordinated aid delivery: Enhancing operational alignment across organizations to maximize humanitarian impact.