Director of Program Quality and Technical Support – Asia 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 implements a variety of programming throughout Asia in response to the diverse humanitarian and long-term development needs of the region. Our portfolio in the Asia region includes ongoing or future programming in the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Georgia, India, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Uzbekistan. Mercy Corps is committed to delivering high-quality, high-impact programming that reaches communities or individuals in need, wherever they are.

General Position Summary

The Director of Program Quality and Technical Support for the Asia region is a senior leader providing significant strategic direction and support to Mercy Corps programs quality and initiatives in the region. They work closely with the Regional Director (RD) and Deputy Regional Director (DRD) to ensure transformational change occurs through the combination of programmatic impact in our communities; the ability to influence changemakers at local, regional, and global levels; and a restlessness to innovate in search of better solutions. They will steer our team and efforts toward results-driven and quality programmatic and operational impact. They will collaborate with the RD and DRD to build and sustain a cohesive regional management team, ensuring the Asia portfolio is geared towards excellence with established and responsive systems. Powered by the belief that a better world is possible, Mercy Corps seeks an inspiring, creative, and focused leader to further the impact, influence, and innovation of Mercy Corps’ humanitarian and development efforts in the region.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY & PLANNING

Work with the regional Senior Leadership Team to articulate an ambitious and compelling regional strategy for Mercy Corps in Asia aligned with Mercy Corps’ global strategy. Lead key strategic objectives of the regional strategy in coordination with regional teams.
Act as key partner for the RD and DRD to achieve an effective regional management team that delivers programmatic excellence and significant impact and influence in the region.
Work with regional and HQ-based teams to develop regional research and learning priorities that are connected to regional and global strategic priorities.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

Ensure that members of this team have a deep understanding of their roles and are connected to relevant stakeholders across the agency to inform and promote agency strategies and best practices.
Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on one meetings and performance reviews.
Ensure sound performance management and staff access to high quality learning opportunities, with a special emphasis on national team member development.
Ensure dynamic engagement mechanisms across the region and globally to ensure every voice matters.
Participate in the recruitment, selection, orientation and training of key Mercy Corps staff in the region.
Encourage a climate of idea generation, open discourse, and honest communication, creating a trusting, inclusive team.

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT & PORTFOLIO GROWTH

Identify, explore and pursue funding opportunities that support regional and country strategy objectives.
Supervise and support the development of concept notes, proposals and other funding requests, ensuring quality submissions that maximize chances for success, including sourcing technical expertise to assist.
Position Mercy Corps for strategic funding opportunities that build on country and/or regional programmatic priorities.
Support Business development with other HQ and Regional teams with donors and partners, highlighting Mercy Corps Asia’s work and excellence across different sectors.

PROMOTING QUALITY AND INTEGRITY (PAQ, CARM, GDI)

Develop systems to ensure that all programs in the region receive support to achieve the highest possible impact and are in line with overall regional and global strategies.
Work closely with headquarters support units to ensure continuous quality improvement of field programs, and that teams are working towards achieving excellence, especially during rapid growth.
Lead efforts to build the culture of adaptive management, evidence and learning in each country in the region.
Support all countries in the region to adopt and adhere to Mercy Corps’ program accountability and CARM and Safeguarding policies.
Coordinate with PaQ and T4D to ensure that countries access relevant technical support.
Support countries with the adoption of agency MEL and program management procedures and policies, oversee efforts to conduct gap analyses and help countries develop action plans to correct gaps, including:
MEL policy
PM@MC
Lead efforts with country leadership to adopt global Gender, Diversity and Inclusion (GDI) policies within country programs and teams.
Support and facilitate key objectives of the Safe, Diverse and Accountable workplan and help countries in integrating gender and social inclusion considerations throughout programs, operations and teams with an emphasis on supporting increased representation of marginalized groups.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

Develop and nurture strong external relationships and networks to support program success.
Identify and pursue areas for thought leadership, including building connections with donors, private sector partners, and other actors, promoting the Asia region’s capabilities, expertise, innovation, strategic vision and values.
Act as a key liaison between headquarters, the regional team and country teams to effectively publicize program innovations and success stories.
Help to ensure timely and targeted communication and information flow that highlight Mercy Corps’ regional and global impact.
Connect teams to ideas, partners and resources to drive creative solutions for greater impact.

Supervisory Responsibility

Regional Technical Team

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Regional Director, Asia
Works Directly With: Deputy Regional Director, Country Directors, Senior Management Teams, Regional Program Team (RPT), and supplemental support teams based at HQ in locations such as Portland, OR and/or Edinburgh, Scotland

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 in international development, social science, business administration or other relevant fields required, MA/S or equivalent years of experience strongly preferred;
10+ years of experience in senior management roles, involving team management, strategy advisory, engagement with multiple actors internally and externally;
Confident communication skills applicable to donor relations, media outreach, and inter-agency coordination;
Demonstrated ability to think strategically, and solve complex problems at an organizational level;
Significant experience in strategy development, program design/development and planning;
Successful and proven negotiation and communication skills;
Demonstrated understanding of the critical humanitarian and development issues in the Asia and significant experience with the challenges of operating in the region;
Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.
Fluent in English required, other languages in Asia preferred

Success Factors

The successful Director of Program Quality and Technical Support will apply a strong combination of strategy development, leadership, management, coordination, and relationship-building skills with an outstanding ability to support innovative, impactful programs. With a high capacity to deliver results under tight deadlines with multiple priorities, the Director of Program Quality and Technical Support will have the ability to think ahead and decide on a course of action, ensuring that the required resources to implement are available to achieve high-quality outcomes. Commitment, flexibility and openness to new practices, concepts, ideas and change for continuous improvement will serve the position and team well. Public relations skills are integral success factors in this position. Excellent negotiation and communication skills will foster the development of donor and partner relationships. The role also requires a deep understanding of the region, its recent history, current trends and political environment. Being a team player, a positive attitude and a sense of humor are a must, along with strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills and a commitment to the values and mission of Mercy Corps.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Portland, OR, USA and it requires up to 20% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited.

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.