Country Director – Haiti 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.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps helps communities develop their own ideas to solve Haiti’s most daunting problems by using innovative approaches to bring Haitians new social and economic opportunities and to make their country more secure, productive and just. Established in January 2010, Mercy Corps Haiti has offices in Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitian, Miragoane and Corail and more than 70 staff (growing to 140 staff) implementing programs for earthquake humanitarian assistance and recovery, economic development, agriculture, natural resources management and youth violence prevention. Mercy Corps’ work is guided by the principles of, localization, pro-poor development and demand-driven strategies. Mercy Corps takes a progressive approach to development that leads communities and entrepreneurs from relief to sustainable livelihoods to resilience.

General Position Summary

The Mercy Corps Haiti Country Director (CD) is an innovative leader responsible for resourcefully managing day-to-day operations in Haiti. This person has held senior roles in managing operations and/or programming in fluid environments and formulating strategic direction within an international development context. The CD has supervisory responsibility for the country team and implementation of security protocols. The CD is responsible for ensuring the smooth functioning of the country program in compliance with local laws, Mercy Corps policies and procedures, and donor rules and regulations. They will also ensure that all Mercy Corps Haiti programs are implemented in accordance to PM@MC standards, ensuring a high level of program quality, and that programs are implemented on time, on budget, and on scope. This person will contribute to the development of sustainable, multi-sector programming, ensure accountability to beneficiaries and donors, placing a high value on innovative solutions to relief and development issues and creative partnerships. Ideally, this person will have extensive experience and expertise in emergency response and rapid expansion of activities and support functions.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Strategy & Vision

Formulate, plan and communicate a clear vision of present and future program goals and strategies to team members and stakeholders that translates into concrete programs and work plans.
Lead the annual country planning process and provide strategic updates.
Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve program and agency objectives.
Use technical support teams collaboratively.
Explore, evaluate and present new country and project funding opportunities that leverage impact and integrate initiatives and activities; support and direct related fund-raising activities with both institutional and private donors.

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 & reach objectives.
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.

Program Management

Oversee program quality and impact by ensuring programs are based on sound design principles and utilize Mercy Corps and donor required M&E systems.
Ensure effective, transparent use of resources in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies/procedures.
Oversee budget management of sub-grantees/sub-contractors, if applicable.
Build and maintain operational systems that ensure proper administrative support for programs, as well as segregation of duties between finance and operations.
Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.
Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards.

Finance & Compliance Management

Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.
Draft and/or review scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants, including review for technical efficacy and contract budget.
Build and maintain operational structures that ensure proper segregation of duties between finance, administration and logistics and fully support field programs.

Influence & Representation

Represent Mercy Corps programs with national and international media and participate in community activities as appropriate.
Maintain productive relationships with internal and external constituents such as private partners, local governments, foundations, the private sector and donors.
Anticipate needs, understand diverse donors and contribute to shaping donor’s views on relief and development.
Explore, evaluate and present innovative funding opportunities that support the objectives for the country as a whole.
Demonstrate flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure.
Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.
Exhibit awareness of his/her own strengths and development needs.

Security

Liaise with the VP of Operations, the Regional Program Director and the Regional Security Advisor on crucial events, high-risk periods, incident reporting and security policy changes.

Supervisory Responsibility

Operations Director, Director of Programs, Finance Director, Head of HR

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Americas Regional Director

Works Directly With: Regional Program Team, Finance, Program Quality, Technical Services Unit, New Initiatives, Policy and Advocacy, Human Resources, Communications, Humanitarian Leadership and Response and Security.

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

BA/S or equivalent in relevant field required; MA/S preferred.
7-10 years of field experience in international relief and development programs, including demonstrable success in managing emergency response and complex development programs.
5 years of senior-level leadership, capacity building and field management experience.
Capacity to respond to emergency and disaster response as appropriate.
Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in emergency response preferred.
Demonstrated success working effectively and respectfully with host country government, private sector, INGO, NGO partners and other stakeholders in complex environments.
Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.
Proven skills in financial and grants management; prior experience with USAID, ECHO, Canada donors and grant management is preferred.
Successful and proven negotiation, communication and organization skills.
Excellent oral and written English skills required; proficiency in French is required.
Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.
Previous work experience in insecure environments.

Success Factors

The successful Haiti CD will skillfully represent programmatic priorities of the agency to donors and regional partners while providing effective leadership to the Mercy Corps program team. There is a significant emphasis in new business development for the Haiti program and growing the portfolio to meet the immediate and long-term needs of Haitians. They will have high emotional intelligence, sound judgment, constructive mentoring skills and proven experience with capacity building and will be committed to long-term program sustainability and the delivery of high-impact activities at the community level. Successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and challenging environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The Country Director is based in Port-au-Prince. Due to current instability, the location is posted at this time as accompanied for partner only. Housing is individual accommodation with limited freedom of movement that varies depending on security. Staff have a good degree of access to medical, electricity, water, shopping services in the Petionville area. This position requires 30% travel by air and car to field offices.
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.