Director Systems and Policy Review for Emergency Response – Global Emergency Response Team – US, UK, Africa, MENA
JOB DETAIL
Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.
The Team
Mercy Corps works to achieve real and lasting impact in the world’s toughest humanitarian emergencies. We save lives and help people live with dignity in crises of all kinds. At the same time, we create the conditions to pivot to recovery quickly and effectively. We work wherever local capacity is overwhelmed, connecting people to the opportunities they need to strengthen their community in recovery. Whether it is a sudden shock or a slowly emerging crisis, whether the threat is natural or manmade, Mercy Corps is committed to rapid, needsdriven assistance. Mercy Corps supports a response that is marketdriven and leverages the capacities of both traditional and nontraditional aid partners—and ultimately gives people the ability to make their own decisions and secure their own lives and livelihoods.
The Global Emergency Response Team (ERprovides the agency with timely and effective leadership to prepare for, respond to, and learn from humanitarian emergencies, develops sharp, welltimed and influential humanitarian analysis to inform program design and implementation, and supports agency leadership and regional and country teams with safety and security expertise.
The Position
The Director, Systems and Policy Review for Emergency Response (SPREis a critical new position on the Global Emergency Response Team and will provide oversight and leadership to lead a global systems and policy review process to ensure Mercy Corps core policies are adapted appropriately for emergency and humanitarian response. Reporting to the Vice President of Emergency Response, the Director will be responsible for developing the review methodology, workplans, working group and stakeholder consultations for the systems/policy review processgenerally overseeing efforts related to the streamlining of our toplevel systems and policies to make us more efficient and effective in emergency response. They will collaborate and coordinate with key actors and stakeholders across the agency (global, regional and country leveto ensure that this workstream, which is an important action as part of the organization’s FY25 priorities, is adapted to the needs of our teams on the ground. This role will interact heavily with members of the senior leadership team.
The Director will need to successfully build strong working relationships with the working group members and stakeholders and drive the working group forward and stay on task in order to undertake the necessary policy reviews and adjustments that span multiple domains. This role also directly contributes to the strengthening of Mercy Corps’ global policies and systems and ultimately enabling more effective emergency and humanitarian response in order to support people impacted by crises.
Essential Responsibilities
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
- Provide leadership and vision, assuming full responsibility as the Project Management Lead for the systems/policy review project for Emergency Response, taking on full ownership of leading the review initiative.
- Lead the development of the project vision, TORs, workplan, coordination mechanisms and stakeholder consultation/feedback process.
- Approach the initiative from a practical and streamlining perspective, ensuring that policy revisions are reflective of the feedback from our country and regional practitioners who have supported emergency/humanitarian responses.
- Establish and lead a crossfunctional working group to lead the systems/policy review initiative including the prioritization of which policies to review, review timelines, consultative processes for obtaining stakeholder input on the policy adaptations/revisions, making the necessary revisions, and developing a socialization plan for any updated policies.
- Act as a primary driver of change, working with all stakeholders to align efforts and drive forward the systems/policy review project.
- Propose ideas and directly contribute to the revision process as appropriate.
REPORTING AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Establish clear mechanisms to provide regular progress updates on the review initiative to the project board, senior leadership team meetings, email communications and organization priority quarterly tracking/monitoring.
- Produce progress reports, status updates and other internal/external communications about the status of the initiative.
- Directly engage department leaders as appropriate to troubleshoot, identify solutions and ensure the initiative remains on track as per the workplan.
- Coordinate the communication and rollout plans for updated policies as part of this initiative.
- Foster strong stakeholder relationships within the organization, including senior leadership, country teams, and other functional units.
- Continuously engage with stakeholders to understand their needs, gather feedback, and address concerns during the implementation phase.
LEADERSHIP AND FACILITATION
- Demonstrate exceptional leadership by consistently exceeding expectations and maintaining composure, even in challenging situations.
- Embrace a growth mindset, actively seek diverse perspectives, and remain open to feedback for continuous improvement.
- Strike a balance to ensure good collaboration, consult a variety of stakeholders, and ensure the initiative moves forward. Address any bottlenecks directly by proactively engaging relevant stakeholders to identify solutions and move ahead.
- Facilitate discussions, brainstorming exercises and workshops as appropriate to identify/prioritize revisions, reaching consensus when possible.
SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES
- Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.
- Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and wellbeing of participants and fellow team members.
- Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.
Supervisory Responsibility
External consultants or interns brought on to support the initiative and facilitate the working group.
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Vice PresidentGlobal Emergency Response
Works Directly With: Global Emergency Response team, Department heads (People, Finance, Global Procurement and Operations, Legal, Compliance, Program support unit, Regional and Country leaders and stakeholders.
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant nonprofit field and international experience required.
- 6+ years of professional experience in a fastpaced humanitarian or development environment.
- Certification in a Project Management methodology, or demonstrated experience in Agile project management in lieu of certification.
- Experience managing complex crossteam projects, including budgets and timelines, and projects that are done remotely required.
- Excellent interpersonal, verbal, research, and written communication skills.
- Strong analytical skills and the ability to effectively gather and summarize large amounts of and at times, complex information from various sources.
- Strong facilitation skills and excellent collaboration skills required.
- Past experience with program implementation in emergency/humanitarian settings required.
- Understanding of operational policies and compliance is preferred.
- Experience in emergency start up, scale up, close out, or restructuring experience a plus.
- Demonstrated experience with project management tools, software, or platforms is preferred.
- Familiarity with HQ functions, including accessing necessary support, building effective relationships, and navigating complex organizations.
- Experience developing or delivering strategies at a project, country, regional, or organizational level; past responsibility for driving key elements of strategy preferred.
- Ability to take initiative and complete work or solve problems with minimal guidance while prioritizing tasks across the department.
- Demonstrated ability to work well under pressure and cooperatively with team members
- Strong presentation skills required.
Success Factors
The successful candidate will translate the strategic vision into an actionable and implementable
work plan, which can be managed and validated via accountability mechanisms. They are an
effective communicator both verbally and in writingas well as a good listener, able to understand
different perspectives, open to feedback, and importantly able to identify realistic and workable
compromises. They are also a strong influencer with the ability to effectively help shape Mercy
Corps’ strategy and decisions, and equally strong conveners and facilitators with the ability to
meaningfully engage and leaders and their teams in key processes and changes designed to
deliver on our Pathway to Possibility as well as build true ownership of the strategy by all and
maximize effectiveness in the required changing behavior.
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Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in the US, UK/Europe, Africa, MENA or other remote location where Mercy Corps has an established and registered presence. The role may require up to 20% travel, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited.
Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all incountry venues.
Ongoing Learning
In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.
We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS statu, marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.
Safeguarding & Ethics
Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([email protected]).
Covid19 Vaccine Policy for USBased Employees
Mercy Corps has determined that, in an effort to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of all Mercy Corps employees working in the United States, all U.S.based employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID19, regardless of prior COVID19 infection status. This policy is necessary to ensure not only the safety of our workforce, but the ongoing functionality of the organization.
This policy will be revised as needed to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, and to respond to changing guidance from public health authorities.
For new employees this requirement goes into effect within 10 business days of employment. Team members that travel are expected to comply with hostcountry requirements, including vaccinations. Failure to comply may impact your employment. Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.
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