Job Summary: 

Key Duties and 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

Strategy & Vision

• Formulate and plan, in consultation with key stakeholders, a clear vision of present and future program goals and strategies which can be clearly communicated to team members, beneficiaries, international partners, governmental counterparts, and donors.
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve country goal and objectives.
• Explore, evaluate and present new project funding opportunities that leverage impact and integrate initiatives and activities, support and direct related fundraising activities with both institutional and private donors.
• Evaluate program priorities within the country and participate in regional prioritization.

Team Management

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Recruit, manage, motivate, and onboard an informed, skilled and efficient team with an emphasis on excellence and achievement; encourage a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, incorporating staff development strategies and performance management systems into the team building process.
• Establish leadership and personal credibility with the Mercy Corps team, and implement by example an organizational culture of accountability, responsibility and quality of services.
• Ensure excellent human resource plans are available and consistent with Mercy Corps policies, including position descriptions, personnel orientation and professional development plans, personnel evaluation system, field personnel policy manual, and personnel grievance procedure system.
• Institute a disciplined culture of performance management and regular feedback between supervisors and their direct reports.

Program Impact, Monitoring and Evaluation and Learning

• Oversee program quality and impact by ensuring programs are based on sound design principles and utilize Mercy Corps and donor required M&E systems.
• Gather evidence of program impact through robust agency standard procedures for data gathering, reporting, and evaluating program outputs and outcomes
• Lead country team to strive for impact at country and regional level leading to sustained change based on strong systems and incorporation of learnings into programs.
• Fulfill Mercy Corps Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organizationwide guide.
• Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards.

Personal Leadership

• Demonstrate flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure.
• Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.
• Demonstrate awareness of his/her own strengths and development needs.

Influence & Representation

• Maintain productive relationships with internal and external constituents such as private partners, local governments, foundations, the private sector, etc.
• Maintain productive relationships with the international community inclusive of the United Nations, International NGOs, Think Tanks, Research Institutes and Foreign Governments.
• Anticipate needs, understand donor pool and contribute to shaping donor’s views on humanitarian and development strategies.
• Represent Mercy Corps programs with national and international media.

Program Operations and Compliance

• Coordinate overall country budget; manage budget within approved spending levels and establish an annual cash flow plan to ensure a steady and adequate supply of funds for program activities.
• Build and maintain operational structures that ensure proper segregation of duties between finance, administration and logistics and fully support field programs.
• Build and maintain an environment of collaboration among program, finance, operations and human resource team members resulting in optimal support for program activities.
• Ensure program implementation is on time, target and budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts.
• Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.

Security

• Manage security and safety of the entire country team and Mercy Corps assets according to best practices, Mercy Corps operating standards and field realities.
• Liaise with the Regional Director, Global Security Advisor, Strategic Response and Global Emergencies Director on crucial events, high risk periods, incident reporting or security policy changes.

Organizational Learning

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
  to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Supervisory Responsibility

• MA/S or equivalent in social science, management, and international development preferred.
• 1012 years of field experience in international relief and development programs with demonstrable success in managing complex emergency response and it’s transfer into early recovery or development.
• Prior experience in setting country level strategy with annual implementation plans and resource managing towards the strategy.
• Excellent writing skills and experience with proposal development processes with prior experience with USAID/BHA, FCDO, FrMOFA, ECHO, GAC and other bilateral funding agencies.
• Great communication skills and prior experience in building, managing and leading a team of professionals
• History of working effectively and respectfully with host country government, private sector, INGO and NGO partners in complex environments.
• Prior experience working and managing a program in a high security alert area, with demonstrated knowledge and skills to manage the security in conflict and postconflict situations.
• Previous work experience in Middle East and demonstrated ability to work comfortably, and sensitively, in the environment required.
• Proven skills in financial management are necessary.
• English proficiency required; Arabic language skills preferred.

Success Factors