Program Development and Reporting Manager At Mercy Corps

About Mercy Corps

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 Program / Department / Team

Mercy Corps has been operational in the Central African Republic (CAR) since 2007. With offices in Bangui, Bouar, Bambari, Bangassou and Berberati, Mercy Corps works to integrate short-term humanitarian assistance with programs to strengthen community resilience and support market-led economic development, with a cross-cutting accent on governance and gender. Mercy Corps takes a sustainable approach to its programming, seeking to change behaviors and create institutions to foster long-term development in the sectors of protection and gender-based violence, governance, capacity building, social cohesion and early economic recovery. Funding comes from a range of donors including USAID (BHA), UN, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Agence Française de Développement and private foundations. By addressing a number of overlapping and associated needs within a wide range of activities, Mercy Corps in CAR takes an integrated approach to ensure the greatest possible impact.

The Position

The Program Development and Reporting Manager will work closely with the Programs Director and the Program Managers, to build a donor’s strategy to increase the portfolio of the country ensuring that proposals are aligned with the country strategy. They will be a focal point in seeking new funding including the drafting of concept notes and contributing to larger proposal development efforts. They will ensure high quality and timely reports to Mercy Corps and its donors for the CAR program. The PDRM will facilitate internal coordination, providing support to the Country Director and the Director of Programs as well as other members of the Senior Management Team.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

● Lead and coordinate proposal development in line with the country strategy and recognize opportunities for innovative actions, with the support from technical units, HQ and field staff.

● Participate in the designing of assessments, baselines, midterm and end-line survey tools and analysis for the projects and proposals.

● Draft program updates and respond to information requests from donors and other key stakeholders.

● Assist in advocacy efforts and strategy development to convince stakeholders to provide support for priority sectors.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

● Lead the coordination, review, approval and submission of program reports in French and English in adherence with the grant agreement and timelines.

● Collect and organize key project management tools and manage grant administration and reporting.

● Provide support to program teams at key programmatic moments, such as program start-up, kick-off meetings, 90-day inception meeting check-ins, quality audits and spot checks, collecting lessons learned, 90-day end of program transition meetings.

● Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan.

● Create and maintain effective systems ensuring timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.

TEAM WORK

● Manage multiple donors in different countries to deadline and coordinate the team inputs needed for the submissions.

● Build the capacity of CAR staff and local partners in grant reporting to enable them to develop high quality reports and other documents.

● Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve program performance to reach objectives.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

● Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.

● Assist with project level budgeting and forecast expenditure surpluses and deficits to enable adjustments to be made to the program in a timely fashion.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

● Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, donors, UN agencies and other NGOs.

● Support the design and drafting of communications material (annual report, social media, speeches, editorials, press releases, website content, newsletters, drafting success stories, etc.)

● Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.

● Organize and conduct site-visits to the project sites and host visitors and donors, as needed.

Supervisory Responsibility

None.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Programs Director

Works Directly With: Country Director, Program Managers, Finance Manager, M&E Manager, regional and headquarters program officers, donors, NGO partners and humanitarian agencies

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 Qualification & Transferable Skills

● MA/MS in relevant fields (government, development studies, international relations, etc.)

● Ability to manage and deliver complex grants involving multiple partners to deadline.

● 2-3 years of experience with European and US institutional donors, including grant management, and proposal development.

● Field experience in conflict and development environments. Exposure to gender, protection, and social cohesion programs.

● Fluency in written and spoken English and French, with editing experience in both languages.

● Ability to deliver high quality reports within short deadlines, as well as support, coordinate and lead proposal writing.

● Ability to juggle several competing priorities and from different projects at the same time.

● Excellent analytical, writing and reporting skills.

● Excellent communication and networking skills, to build and maintain contact networks across a broad range of partners.

Success Factors

A successful candidate will have an ability to work independently, take initiative in tasks and self-learning, and be proactive in communications and development of professional relationships. S/he will be able to live and travel regularly to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites, working closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly intense and fluid work and security environment. The successful candidate will have good interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate and negotiate clearly and effectively at all levels. Tact and diplomacy are essential, with demonstrated sensitivity to the people and issues in the region, especially in high stress environments. S/he will be committed to the values and mission of Mercy Corps; can creatively problem-solve, to juggle multiple priorities under tight deadlines and to calmly and diplomatically deal with unexpected and sudden events impacting program operations with patience, dynamism, tenacity and a good sense of humor.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Bangui, Central African Republic and it requires up to 20% travel to the field offices, as well as surrounding areas (security permitting).

This is an unaccompanied post and eligible for Hardship and R&R. The Central African Republic is a nation of 4.6 million people, ranked as one of the poorest nations in the world, with an average life expectancy of only 49 years. Hospitals and access to medicines are very limited. Malaria is prevalent, and it is estimated that 7-8% of the population may be HIV positive. The location is unaccompanied however if security improves this could be revisited. Housing is in group housing with freedom of movement beyond the house/office. Staff will have access to electricity, water, and internet, though they should expect occasional outages. Access to health care is limited. This role qualifies for hardship allowance.

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 in-country 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 status), 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. 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.