Temporary Program Development & Reporting Advisor At Mercy Corps

Location: Remote – United States, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti

Position Status: Temporary – 6 months

Salary Level: The salary range for this role will be $5,333 – $6,333 USD monthly, for US-based applicants,

commensurate with experience and location. The salary will be benchmarked locally for candidates based outside of the US.

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, Jeremie and Miragoane and more than 80 staff implementing programs in economic development, agriculture, financial inclusion, natural resource management and humanitarian response. Mercy Corps’ economic development work is guided by the principles of 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 Program Development and Reporting Advisor is responsible for leading and managing all proposals development efforts for the Haiti office, including modifying/expanding existing programs and launching new programmatic initiatives. This involves leading the process of developing narratives, budgets, and relevant attachments and coordinating inputs from all other staff relevant to the initiative at the field and global office levels. The Program Development and Reporting Advisor also maintains working relationships with donors, cluster leads, consortium members and institutions at the Port-au-Prince level. The Advisor also identifies partners for partnership and implementation of programs and ensure further expansion of the Country office. S/he will know and advise teams on donor rules and compliance. S/he will work collaboratively with the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Regional Program Team (RPT), Finance and Compliance Teams, Country Office and other Global staff, as necessary. S/he will support the country team’s thought leadership, advocacy, and communications agendas as appropriate. It is critical that the Program Development and Reporting Advisor be an excellent communicator, who is supportive, and solution focused. The Program Development and Reporting Advisor needs to be highly motivated, self-driven and able to support complex programming with limited daily support and directions; s/he will be able to work remotely with internal and external stakeholders to achieve common objectives.

Essential Job Responsibilities

PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT

Interface with Mercy Corps Global teams (including LAC RPT) to keep abreast of donor strategic priorities, specific requirements, and deadlines.
Participate in the strategic evaluation process for new funding opportunities.
Support proposal development processes, including drafting and producing high quality concept notes and proposals that support strategic programming goals. This involves developing, managing and sharing the proposal development calendar in-country and with headquarters, ensuring funding proposals are submitted in a timely manner.
Coordinate funding opportunities, mobilize support from relevant Mercy Corps technical teams, and facilitate discussions and reviews to design sound technical proposal ideas.
Facilitate administrative elements of the proposal development process, including Issues Letters, PAL/PML processes, and other relevant internal or donor requests, as necessary.
In partnership with Country Director and country and LAC regional leadership, support the development of the MC Haiti fundraising strategy.

PROGRAM QUALITY

Establish and monitor systems for regular grant opportunity facilitation through regular bilateral discussions with RPT, MEL, Finance, Operations, Director of Programs, Country Director, and Regional Senior Program Development Advisor to ensure that performance is tracked effectively, risks and issues are flagged, and action taken as appropriate.
Maintain close bilateral partnership with country team members to ensure an open line of communication, troubleshoot agency-specific concerns, and provide other key guidance to ensure program management and harmonization.

Maintain an online grant filing system, reporting and compliance tracker (ensuring compliance with PM@MC minimum standards), risk register, and other program management tools.

Play a leading role in grant proposal kick-off meetings to ensure that all grant information, including deadlines, donor priorities and requirements, are communicated and understood by partner teams.
Facilitate training, learning opportunities and/or tools to country team members to develop an enriched and conducive organizational culture that is knowledgeable of business development and key donors (e.g. BHA) to support the country team’s overall goals and vision.
Ensure that the program is executed in alignment with the donor agreement and the applicable donor regulations, staying abreast of changes in regulatory environment related to donor/grant compliance, updating partnership process, tools, policies and procedures, as necessary.
Highlights to teams and DOP problems of budget under/over-spending, delays in implementation, or risk of under-performance on indicators.

REPORTING

Develop and maintain an overview of all grants, donor requirements, rules and regulations, and internal and external deadlines, including the filing of grant documents (including in the grants database).
Contributes to the development and review of donor reports.
Ensures quality and control of reports, including the inclusion of cross-cutting program elements and M&E structures.
Work closely with the Finance, and HQ Compliance team to ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations (including PM@MC minimum standards).
Liaise with Mercy Corps HQ to facilitate donor requests for review and approval of program activities (e.g. program adaptations, events) and other initiatives that require donor approval within the parameters of the award contract.

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

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Country Director

Works Directly With: Country Deputy Director, Director of Programs, MEL Manager, Finance & Compliance Manager, Safeguarding/CARM, regional LAC desk, Senior Program Development Advisor and Ethics teams.

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

Bachelor’s degree required. Master or equivalent in a field related to Humanitarian or International Development or relevant fields is preferred.
4+years of international experience providing coordination or management support to program implementation in a relevant field of expertise that includes preparing writing and analysis on programmatic activities, budget management experience, managing work plans, proposal and new business development experience.
Experience working in Haiti, Latin America and the Caribbean is a plus.
Proven ability to work cooperatively with internal and external stakeholders, and to play a leadership role in convening groups. Astute skills in relationship building and coordination and collaborative communication.
Experience working with USAID/BHA required; ECHO, EC, GAC, SIDA and other US and European institutional donors a plus.
Understanding and experience of adaptive management.
Extensive experience with monitoring and evaluation and other learning efforts.
Excellent writing and communications skills required.
High attention to details and planning out deadlines.
Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.
Fluency in written and oral French and English is required.

Success Factors

The staff member will demonstrate a winning track record in program development, and bring flexibility, creativity, and enthusiasm to every project they undertake. The individual must have exceptional writing skills and the ability to multitask, set priorities, pay attention to details, and work under tight deadlines within complex team environments. The incumbent will have a love of writing, strong interpersonal skills, and a healthy competitive spirit, and have the drive and initiative to contribute to internal team efforts. Being aware and sensitive to international development issues and diverse cultures is critical. S/he will also be willing and able to travel for extended periods to work with country teams on program development strategies and proposal efforts for a wide variety of donors.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position will be located remotely. The position requires travel approximately up to 40% time to the field where living conditions may be exceptionally rugged or be in volatile environments where security protocols will need to be followed. Team members must be ready to deploy to field environments on short notice in response to any emergency or crisis. When in the field the team member must be able to work in remote settings, over weekends and/or evenings as required by the schedule, and in settings with limited infrastructure, food options, and living conditions. Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/temporary assignment to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws and customs, and adhere to MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.