Background

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. The GIZ Office in Kigali covers GIZ’s portfolio in Rwanda and Burundi. GIZ Rwanda/Burundi implements projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and other commissioning authorities in the following priority areas: Sustainable Economic Development; Good Governance; Climate, Energy and Sustainable Urban Development; Digital Transformation and Digital Economy; and regional projects in the Great Lakes Region.

As part of the management team with responsibility for Rwanda and Burundi, you will be responsible for the successful administration and management of the Service Unit (SU) and will make a high-quality and sustainable contribution to international development cooperation. A key focus of your role will be the management of the Service Unit’s commercial processes.

Position:

Head of Service Unit

Project:

Service Unit Rwanda/Burundi

Salary Band:

Band 5

Location:

Kigali

Fixed Term:

01.08.2026 – 31.12.2026 (maternity cover)

Main Tasks and Responsibilities

• You will take on managerial responsibility for the administrative staff in Rwanda and Burundi in line with the GIZ leadership philosophy, ensure a culture of respectful leadership, and foster your staff’s potential
• You will be responsible for and oversee the administrative and related support and advisory services provided by the Service Unit, in consultation with the regional and country offices, the clusters and the projects; in particular the services of the sub-unit 01 project finance management & Controlling, 02 Financing arrangements, 03 Procurement of Services & goods, 04 Events & Travel, 05 Internal Operations and Fleet Management.
• You will be responsible for providing commercial advice on co-financing and the financial management of projects and will ensure that the necessary expertise is available within the Service Unit
• You will ensure the efficient organizational and financial structure of the Service Unit and design work processes to meet objectives, requirements and client needs
• You will ensure that the Service Unit has the necessary staffing and technical resources
• You will assume administrative responsibility for the Service Unit’s special cost centre (SOKO) as well as coordinating with personnel cost accounting to ensure that personnel costs are allocated according to the source of expenditure, and you will oversee cost-effectiveness monitoring
• You will be responsible for coordinating and managing staff deployment within the Service Unit based on the funds available (in the long term)
• You will implement company policy within your area of responsibility in accordance with company-wide procedures (e.g. P+R) and ensure compliance management
• You will independently develop complex issues and tools within your area of work and embed them within the company. You will devise solutions to complex issues and fundamental problems affecting the unit.

Required Qualifications, Competences and Experience

Qualifications and professional experience

• A university degree in a field relevant to development cooperation, combined with experience in various commercial and technical roles within GIZ
• Several years’ experience in the line management of diverse teams in various cultural contexts, as well as experience in managing managers and remote management
• Several years’ operational experience in a GIZ country office, cluster and project
• Several years’ experience in financial management, including (large-scale) EU co-financing, as well as experience in conducting internal audits
• Customer focus and the ability to collaborate, combined with assertiveness, adaptability to a changing portfolio, commitment, reliability, diplomatic skills, gender competence and intercultural understanding of the region
• In-depth familiarity with the new S4GIZ software landscape and processes (and their implementation planning), as well as in-depth knowledge of legacy systems
• Business fluency in German and English

Other knowledge and additional competences

• The ability to provide direction and motivation in shaping the new landscape of roles and collaboration
• Strong conceptual and analytical skills in designing efficient processes, whilst avoiding duplication and bottlenecks.
• Several years’ experience in managing change processes.
• A basic knowledge of French or Kinyarwanda.

• You will take on managerial responsibility for the administrative staff in Rwanda and Burundi in line with the GIZ leadership philosophy, ensure a culture of respectful leadership, and foster your staff’s potential
• You will be responsible for and oversee the administrative and related support and advisory services provided by the Service Unit, in consultation with the regional and country offices, the clusters and the projects; in particular the services of the sub-unit 01 project finance management & Controlling, 02 Financing arrangements, 03 Procurement of Services & goods, 04 Events & Travel, 05 Internal Operations and Fleet Management.
• You will be responsible for providing commercial advice on co-financing and the financial management of projects and will ensure that the necessary expertise is available within the Service Unit
• You will ensure the efficient organizational and financial structure of the Service Unit and design work processes to meet objectives, requirements and client needs
• You will ensure that the Service Unit has the necessary staffing and technical resources
• You will assume administrative responsibility for the Service Unit’s special cost centre (SOKO) as well as coordinating with personnel cost accounting to ensure that personnel costs are allocated according to the source of expenditure, and you will oversee cost-effectiveness monitoring
• You will be responsible for coordinating and managing staff deployment within the Service Unit based on the funds available (in the long term)
• You will implement company policy within your area of responsibility in accordance with company-wide procedures (e.g. P+R) and ensure compliance management
• You will independently develop complex issues and tools within your area of work and embed them within the company. You will devise solutions to complex issues and fundamental problems affecting the unit.

• Customer focus and the ability to collaborate, combined with assertiveness, adaptability to a changing portfolio, commitment, reliability, diplomatic skills, gender competence and intercultural understanding of the region
• In-depth familiarity with the new S4GIZ software landscape and processes (and their implementation planning), as well as in-depth knowledge of legacy systems
• The ability to provide direction and motivation in shaping the new landscape of roles and collaboration
• Strong conceptual and analytical skills in designing efficient processes, whilst avoiding duplication and bottlenecks.
• A basic knowledge of French or Kinyarwanda.

• A university degree in a field relevant to development cooperation, combined with experience in various commercial and technical roles within GIZ
• Several years’ experience in the line management of diverse teams in various cultural contexts, as well as experience in managing managers and remote management
• Several years’ operational experience in a GIZ country office, cluster and project
• Several years’ experience in financial management, including (large-scale) EU co-financing, as well as experience in conducting internal audits
• Several years’ experience in managing change processes.