Chief of Party, Advancing Women’s Agency and Leadership (AWAL) At Mercy Corps

Position is contingent on funding.

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been operating in Jordan since 2003. In partnership with civil society organizations, the private sector, and the government, Mercy Corps Jordan has reached more than 3.4 million Jordanians and displaced populations in the country. Working throughout Jordan Mercy Corps is driven by the mission to contribute to the emergence of a peaceful, resilient and prosperous Jordan which is inclusive of youth and women. We seek to build a future for Jordan in which all people feel secure, believe in the goodness of communities and institutions around them, and are on a sustainable path toward economic self-reliance. Our strategic directions focus on promoting strong communities and governance, peace and social cohesion and environmentally sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Mercy Corps is seeking a Chief of Party to lead implementation of the expected five-year USAID-funded Advancing Women’s Agency and Leadership (AWAL) program. The proposed program will create transformational changes in gender relations at the family, community and national levels to enhance gender equality and advance women’s leadership in Jordan. This will be achieve through: 1) strengthening the enabling environment and institutional capacity and addressing structural barriers for women to fully exercise their rights, express their agency and freely lead and participate in society without restrictions; 2) partnering with local stakeholders to counter prevailing prohibitive social norms that perpetuate gender inequality, undermine women’s agency to exercise their rights, and prevent transformative change in gender relations; and 3) advancing the inclusive and transparent leadership and decision-making participation of girls and women.

General Position Summary

The CoP will provide overall leadership, management and strategic vision to the implementation of the AWAL program, to ensure that the program meets its targets and deliverables on-time and within budget, while modeling and nurturing processes and systems that are equitable, promote transparent and equal partnerships, and shift power dynamics that perpetuate inequalities The CoP will supervise program staff and ensure accountability to Mercy Corps policies and donor rules and regulations. S/he will be the primary program representative to donors, relevant government entities, partners, other implementers and stakeholders.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

Lead the development of a vision and strategy for the program shared with the program team and key stakeholders.
Play an active role in identifying and developing new initiatives that foster and/or improve strategic objectives of the program and the country office.
Integrate and embrace all voices into shared strategies for shifting norms.

Program Management

Oversee program start-up, management and administration. Ensure program implementation is on time, target and budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts.
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, while applying politically-sensitive adaptive management principles.
Confirm program participants are effectively targeted according to transparent criteria.
Lead effective management, communication and coordination among consortium members in a manner that is fully collaborative in sharing decision-making and among all members. To include developing partnership frameworks, partner agreements/Memorandum of Understandings that detail the program’s collaborative approach to partnership.
Introduce the program to the Government of Jordan stakeholders, ensuring necessary approvals and collaboration as required.
Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate. Certify all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and program participant accountability standards.
Ensure program strategies and activities represent global good practice in creating transformational changes in gender relations at the family, community and national levels by strengthening the enabling environment, institutional capacity and addressing structural barriers for women.
Supervision and/or review the work of program consultants.
Coordinate with procurement, logistics, security, administration, and human resources teams to ensure operational systems support field activities.
Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.

Representation

Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO and other relevant forums in close coordination with the Country Director.
Coordinate activities with consortium partners, subgrantees, local government and other implementers as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.
Serve as an active contributor and collaborator with regional and global counterparts to promote best practices.
Maintain close working relationships with counterparts in other organizations in Jordan.

Team Management

Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
Ensure team and program adheres to Mercy Corps Jordan’s Gender, Diversity and Inclusion (GDI) action plan and commitments.
Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.

Security

Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to develop and maintain systems that promote the safety and security of all team members.
Ensure that activities are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security.

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 Program participants

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

Supervisory Responsibility

Number of direct reports is to be determined

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Deputy Country Director – Programs

Works Directly With: Other Mercy Corps Jordan Directors or program managers, finance and operations teams, HQ Regional Program team, HQ Technical Support Unit

Knowledge and Experience

MA/S or equivalent experience in gender studies, social or political science, management or public administration, international development or other field relevant to gender programming. Applicants with other academic track records who bring a strong track record of work in gender transformative programming may also be considered.
A minimum of 12 years relevant development experience with at least 5 years in senior management positions or similar size/scope of program ($20+million).
Proven and demonstrated commitment to gender equality in both program outcomes and program management.
Experience managing multi-sector programs and teams which integrate gender and inclusion principles and best practices and are focused on shifting norms to advance gender equality.
Demonstrated ability to build and foster an adaptive team culture and a record of accomplishment in strategic visioning, leadership, and inspiring teams.
Experience managing a consortium or operating within a consortium, ideally USAID-funded.
Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with host governments, donors, other donor-funded projects and stakeholders, local organizations, and partners. Knowledge of the Jordanian context and key Jordanian stakeholders, as well as work experience in the Jordanian context, is strongly preferred.
Experience managing complex programmatic and financial reporting requirements, preferable with USAID.
Experience with USAID rules, regulations and requirements is strongly preferred.
Fluent verbal and written communication skills in Arabic and excellent verbal and written English is required.
Jordanians and women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Success Factors

A successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members and other stakeholders of varied work styles and cultures, follow procedures and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving. This position requires an ability to think creatively about changing norms that lead to greater opportunities for women’s engagement and leadership at household, community and institutional levels. S/he will have a proven ability to learn quickly, multi-task, prioritize, take initiative, and be accountable for results, understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details, problem solving, work within a complex and sensitive setting and to follow laws and security protocols. The most successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position is based in Amman, Jordan which is an accompanied post. Jordan is middle income country with excellent education, medical, and other facilities in the capital Amman. Jordan is a very safe country with excellent communications, transportation, and housing infrastructure. Although neighboring countries continue to experience political unrest, Jordan has been a stable monarchy for over 30 years and the destination preference for many people from the Middle East to relax or gain access to available services.

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 Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.