Climate & Resilience Team Leader (Contingent on funding) At Mercy Corps

Under the Climate Resilience Component of the “Building Resilience and Addressing Vulnerability to Emergencies (BRAVE) Programme“, Mercy Corps is seeing an experienced and dynamic Team Leader to drive forward the anticipated £20million FCDO-funded programme in Pakistan.

General Position Summary

The Climate & Resilience Team Leader will have overall responsibility for successful delivery of the BRAVE programme and will be Mercy Corps’ primary point of contact with the FCDO. The Team Leader will provide overall leadership, management and strategic vision to the implementation of the BRAVE Programme, managing staff and resources to ensure that the programme meets its targets and deliverables on-time and within budget. The Team Leader will supervise key programme staff and ensure accountability to Mercy Corps policies and donor rules and regulations. He/she will be the primary programme representative to donors, relevant government entities, partners, other implementers and external stakeholders. He/she will be managing the Consortium-related aspects of this programme and will be key in ensuring the overall success.**

The Team Leader is expected to have strong expertise in the fields of climate adaptation, disaster risk management, community-based approaches. The Team Leader will:

• Develop and implement the overall programme strategy and design;
• Supervise programme staff and ensure accountability to Mercy Corps policies and donor rules and regulations.
• Lead the identification, engagement, capacity-building and coordination of partner organisations into a cohesive programme implementation unit;
• Drive a cutting-edge research agenda to inform programme strategy and promote internal and external learning;
• Oversee the design and implementation of community climate resilience initiatives;
• Oversees effective engagement with government and non-government stakeholders involved in the implementation of the programme;
• Facilitate clear communication among programme partners, donors, government agencies/officials, and other Mercy Corps departments.
• Ensure gender equity, social inclusion and conflict sensitivity is mainstreamed throughout the programme while at the same time more deliberate women’s and youth empowerment programming takes place where and when appropriate.
• Be responsible for meeting Value for Money requirements in coordination with finance, MEL, and operations

The Team Leader will be an integral member of Mercy Corps’ senior country leadership team, working closely with the Country Director, other programme technical advisors, directors and managers to promote synergies and knowledge sharing between BRAVE and ongoing programmes.**

Essential Job Responsibilities

Program Management & Technical Oversight

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for Mercy Corps’ BRAVE activities in cooperation with key project stakeholders, including national and international partner organisations, local civil society organisations, local and national government officials, other international agencies on the ground, and key donors.
• Provide technical leadership, guidance , and share best practice approaches in fields of disaster risk management implementation and policy development.
• Provide guidance on best practice on community-based approaches to climate adaptation and take into consideration climate smart approaches.
• Provide overall leadership in the identification of programmatic focus areas as they apply to national priorities on adaptation (such as National Adaptation Plans) and frameworks for DRR (such as the Sendai Framework).
• Provide technical oversight specific to the different stages of community resilience.
• Oversee and ensure high quality of technical inputs, including capacity building and institutional support to national institutions involved in climate adaptation and disaster planning.
• Ensure consortium partners are able to access and use suitable climate information services, and provide guidance on when and where this is to be used.
• Oversee effective programme start-up, implementation and close-out.
• Ensure programme implementation is on time, target and budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts, and develop mechanisms for targeted research to inform programme design and implementation.
• Based on the programme proposal, and working closely with the M&E team, ensure that appropriate monitoring systems and tools are in place to ensure a harmonised, effective and efficient monitoring system for the programme.
• Promote learning and knowledge management through documentation and knowledge sharing around best practices and lessons learned.
• Ensure that programme implementation is responsive to communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corp’s relevant programme guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan.
• Integrate community approaches, gender and conflict sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate.
• Supervise and/or review the work of programme consultants, when not under the direction of the relevant Manager/Technical Advisor.
• Coordinate with procurement, logistics, security, administration, infrastructure and human resources teams to ensure operational systems support field activities.
• Ensure adherence to Mercy Corps PM@MC minimum standards within the programme.
• Ensure implementation and modeling of safeguarding policies and procedures in all interactions with team members, partners and programme participants.
• Integrate gender and social inclusion, ensuring the programme is sensitive and responsive to different opportunities and barriers faced by women, elderly and youth.
• Ensure all donor reports are submitted on time and consistently maintain high standards of quality in reporting **

Strategy and vision

• Set the overall vision and strategy for the programme by prioritising and organising actions & resources to achieve program objectives and impact.
• Recognise opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Contribute to identifying and developing new initiatives that foster and/or expand strategic objectives of BRAVE and the country office.
• Contribute to strategy development by ensuring lessons learnt and impact of BRAVE are integrated into organisation-level strategies and plans.

Representation, coordination and Partnerships

• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.
• Maintain good working relationships with the donor, the host country government and local leaders, partner agencies, and other key stakeholders.
• Document and disseminate lessons learned and best practices from BRAVE to internal and external stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain working relationships and coordinate with relevant international and local agencies active in the governance sector, including donors, other governance and research organisations, local authorities and local partners, including representing Mercy Corps at local and national coordination meetings.

Team management

• Supervise, hire and orient new team members as necessary.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via performance reviews.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance & reach objectives.
• Supervise and regularly coordinate with project staff and support departments to ensure smooth planning, preparation, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of program activities. Develop a framework for adaptive management and program iteration driven by research and learning.
• Provide overall leadership to a broad team of programme staff ensuring synergy, sharing of best practices and resources.
• Increase staff capacity by ensuring high quality technical training on governance programming for Mercy Corps staff and local partners, and providing ongoing coaching and mentoring.
• Oversee relevant programme, finance and administrative staff to ensure systems are in compliance with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.

Financial and compliance Management

• Responsible for the management of the overall programme budget
• Regularly monitor expenditure to ensure each team and partner adheres to their respective approved budgets
• Support budget reviews and revision processes at team, partner and program level
• Ensure the value for money propositions outlined in the proposal are met through effective mainstreaming of the relevant approach.
• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations
• Create and maintain systems to ensure effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with program, donor and Mercy Corps needs.
• 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.**

Supervisory Responsibility

1. Direct supervisory responsibility for: Climate & Resilience Programme Manager, Technical Experts, and the MEL Manager.
2. Functional supervisory responsibilities (matrix management) for: Programme Financial Management Specialist; Gender, Inclusion and Youth Advisor; Key Personnel from partner organisations.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Country Director

Works Directly With: All team members of the BRAVE programme, including partners, PaQ team, Technical Support Unit, Operations and Finance Teams, Mercy Corps Desk team

Knowledge and Experience

• Master’s degree in Climate Adaptation, Resilience, social sciences, international relations or other relevant fields.
• Minimum 5-8 years’ relevant professional experience implementing Climate Adaptation & Resilience programmes in Pakistan, preferably with experience on working on Climate Adaptation & Resilience programming in fragile or conflict affected countries
• Proven understanding of climate change adaptation strategies, and resilience programming
• Previous experience as Chief of Party/Team Lead for a large donor-funded development programme in Pakistan will be a plus
• Experience working on large climate resilience and adaptation programmes in conflict affected and/or fragile states in Pakistan
• Experience managing large FCDO-funded grants will be preferable
• Previous experience managing a portfolio of projects
• Previous experience of successfully delivering grants
• Experience in the following program areas: conflict management, community based engagement, gender equity and social inclusion.
• Demonstrated experience with consortium management, including innovative ways to ensure participatory and dynamic engagement of partner organisations.
• Demonstrated experience with adaptive management, integration of research into programme design and strategy, and innovative approaches to program monitoring and evaluation.
• Demonstrated experience in managing effective relationships with external stakeholders, including government entities, research institutes, donors and peer agencies.
• Successful experience of Payment by Results (PbR)
• Knowledge of systems approaches and resilience principles is a plus.
• Strong facilitation and consensus-building skills.
• Experience managing national and international staff
• Experience managing national and international consultants
• Familiarity and experience with FCDO regulations preferred.
• Must be able to work independently while being a strong team player.
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Urdu.