Country Director – South Sudan At Mercy Corps

Location: Juba, South Sudan with travels to field locations

Position Status: Full-time

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 Summary

Mercy Corps has been operational in South Sudan since 2005 and implements humanitarian and development projects in conflict-affected States in Great Upper Nile and Western Equatoria supporting host communities, IDPs, returnees and refugees. Mercy Corps’ current areas of programming include food security and livelihoods, WASH, resilience, and Market Systems Development.

Mercy Corps’ strategy in South Sudan integrates operational and programmatic approaches, establishing a framework to quickly pivot as contexts evolve. We focus on activities that can effectively complement traditional food assistance while integrating activities that factor in long-term goals for building community resilience in food security and livelihoods. In 2023, we reached over 268,000 people through our humanitarian, development and peacebuilding work in South Sudan.

General Position Summary

The Mercy Corps South Sudan Country Director (CD) is an innovative and visionary leader responsible for resourcefully developing and managing all programming and operations in South Sudan to deliver impact, harness innovative solutions and influence lasting and systemic change. Building on a strong foundation of programming that reached more than 268,000 people in 2023 alone, the CD will continue to oversee the delivery of high-impact, multi-sector programming that is accountable to both program participants and donors, while prioritizing strategies for thoughtful implementation and positioning, external influence and partnership building. Placing a high value on innovative solutions to humanitarian and development issues and creative partnerships, the CD will position Mercy Corps to drive forward strategic programming in South Sudan, connecting programs into a cohesive country portfolio, guided by a long-term country strategy that aligns to the Agency’s Global Pathway to Possibility. The Country Director will develop systems and processes to promote and uphold the Agency’s Organizational Commitments to being locally-led; climate-smart; safe, diverse and inclusive; evidence-driven; and innovative & creative. The Country Director has full supervisory responsibility for the country portfolio and is responsible for building a cohesive team that works together to deliver high-impact programming across the country.

Essential Responsibilities

SAFEGUARDING 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 well-being 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, 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 implementation of Country Strategy Plan and Annual implementation plan.
Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve program and agency objectives.
Explore, evaluate and present new country and project funding opportunities that leverage impact and integrate initiatives and activities, support and direct related fundraising activities with both institutional and private donors.
Lead engagement with authorities/local stakeholders, donors, partners, and communities to design and secure resources for high-impact programs that are aligned to community priorities.
Partner with the regional team and other country programs in the East and Southern Africa (ESA) region to elevate Mercy Corps’ expertise and profile within the broader region, leading to strategic regional programming that works across borders and delivers impact across the region.
Support program and operations team members to pivot and adapt programming to be responsive to contextual changes, such as environmental and climate change impacts, conflict, or emerging opportunities to deepen impact.

LEADERSHIP & CULTURE

Commit to preserving an organizational culture of trust, transparency, diversity, equity, and inclusion across the team and global organization.
Uphold a culture of integrity through ethical decision-making, safeguarding and compliance with the Code of Conduct.
Lead by role modeling self-awareness to foster an environment of mutual respect, diversity and inclusion so that all team members are included, supported and can thrive.
Create a culture of collaboration and accountability for highly effective communication systems and relationships to ensure every voice matters.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

Recruit and lead an efficient, capable and high-performing team, with a particular emphasis on developing and promoting national talent.
Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
Equip 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.

PROGRAM OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Oversee program quality and impact by ensuring programs are based on sound design principles and utilize Mercy Corps and donor-required Program Management systems.
Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide and adhere to PM@MC policies.
Ensure that the program and PAQ departments promote and adhere to Mercy Corps Program Management Minimum Standards, Gender, Do-No Harm, and accountability to program participants’ standards, including effective Community Accountability Reporting and safeguarding mechanisms across all programs.
Ensure that Mercy Corps programs proactively collaborate with local stakeholders, and actively engage in coordination mechanisms at the local and national levels.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

Influence

Lead Mercy Corps’ outreach and engagement with local/national government, key donors, partners, civil society actors, and private sector in order to influence development and funding priorities, drawing on Mercy Corps’ key distinctives, research and policy & advocacy initiatives to shape the agenda and align with community needs and opportunities.
Build partnerships with leading organizations, private sector, government, foundations, community representatives, and other critical partners to enhance collective impact, voice, and shape relevant policy agendas.
Proactively participate and engage in coordination fora at the national level, including the INGO Forum and Clusters (and others), influencing advocacy efforts and elevating field priorities for action at the highest level.
Set up systems to stay abreast of contextual changes, anticipate needs, and contribute to shaping donors’ views on humanitarian and development priorities in ways that are responsive to changes in the context.

Resource Mobilization

Proactively engage donors and other partners by presenting Mercy Corps Vision, Capacity Statements and priorities.
Oversee the identification of strategic partners and formation of alliances and consortiums necessary for fundraising efforts.
Lead the development of concept notes and proposals
Mobilize Global and Regional Technical Teams to provide quality support to business development

Finance and Operations Management

Oversee the start-up and opening of new field offices ensuring compliance with the government, donor and Mercy Corps policies
Ensure effective, transparent use of resources in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies/procedures.
Oversee budget management of sub-grantees/sub-contractors.
Build and maintain operational systems that ensure proper administrative support for programs, as well as segregation of duties between finance and operations,
Ensure proper and skilled staffing levels in Operations and Finance

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.
Ensure the safety and security of staff members through regular review and adaptation of security protocols and procedures including the country security plan. Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
Liaise with the Regional Director and Africa Regional Security Advisor on crucial events, high risk periods, incident reporting or security policy changes.

Supervisory Responsibility

Director of Programs, Finance Manager, Operations Manager, HR Manager.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Regional Director, East & Southern Africa Region

Works Directly With: Regional Program Team, Head Quarter operations, finance, recruitment, media, policy and advocacy staff

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 Qualifications & 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 large, complex, transitional 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 USG, FCDO, EU, SDC and other institutional donor grant management.
Successful and proven negotiation, communication and organization skills.
Excellent oral and written English skills required.
Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.
Previous work experience in insecure environments is highly preferred

Success Factors

The successful candidate should have a combination of experience in Program Management, Resources Mobilization, Operations Management and ability to deal with challenges resulting from difficult contexts, ability to apply high quality standards of programming in our teams, partners, and facilities in remote and challenging environments. This requires, patience, good humor while holding stead-fast to international standards in all activities. S/he must be able to work closely with a diverse team to adapt materials and methodologies to best meet the circumstances in targeted communities. S/he must work well across Mercy Corps teams who are not technical experts and are also critical to the success of these programs

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Juba, South Sudan and is an unaccompanied post. 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.

Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.

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, reach their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborate to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity 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 based on 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. By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. 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 e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).