Humanitarian Programs Manager at Mercy Corps

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The Humanitarian Programs Manager will be responsible for coordinating and implementing the delivery of humanitarian response programming that includes livelihoods, cash, food, non-food items and wash interventions for families affected by conflict from both host and displaced communities. The position includes field leadership of humanitarian program, management of daily program activities and staffs, ensuring appropriate systems and support mechanisms are in place to track, analyze and report on results as well as engagement with senior management on the strategic direction of the overall emergency and recovery program. The post holder will represent Mercy Corps on state level humanitarian coordination platforms.

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

Mercy Corps has been present in Nigeria since 2012, focusing its interventions on adolescent girls’ empowerment, economic development and conflict mitigation. With the insurgency spilling over from the north-east of Nigeria and causing displacement of millions of individuals, Mercy Corps has decided to address the rising humanitarian needs among displaced households and vulnerable host communities by starting its humanitarian program in July 2014.

Mercy Corps Nigeria’s humanitarian program aims to provide assistance to populations affected by the crisis in north-east Nigeria. With funding from humanitarian donors including OFDA, FFP, and ECHO the humanitarian program has been focusing on food assistance, non-food items distribution, protection, livelihoods support, WASH and capacity building of humanitarian response actors. Mercy Corps plans to scale up and expand its humanitarian response in north-east Nigeria to reach more beneficiaries with additional and varied assistance in a wider geographic area.

All Mercy Corps interventions in Nigeria are implemented in a conflict and gender sensitive manner.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Program Management

• Oversee program start-up and ongoing program management and administration of teams across various field locations
• Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities, authorities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan
• Ensure that beneficiaries are effectively targeted according to established vulnerability criteria
• Develop and oversee program implementation strategies, including partnership frameworks, beneficiary targeting, distribution processes and capacity building of partners as needed
• Initiate needs assessments, surveys and other data gathering tools to ensure that Mercy Corps has continued access to updated information and is able to address emerging needs in timely manner
• Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate
• Ensure program implementation is on time, target and budget, using effective M&E systems to achieve the desired impact
• Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources and timely, accurate and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures
• Fulfill Mercy Corps Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.

Team Management

• Lead the program team in implementation of the humanitarian program.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect in which team members strive to achieve excellence
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews
• Hire, orient and supervise new team members as necessary
• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.

Representation & Fundraising

• Identify, build and manage partnerships on state and local levels with different stakeholders such as state and local government, civil society, UN agencies, peer INGOs, businesses and program participants.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.
• Host and ensure logistic support for donor or other stakeholders field visits

Strategy and Vision

• Recognize and bring forward opportunities for innovative action and create an environment of empowerment, inclusion and participation
• In coordination with management set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives and contribute to country-wide strategy development

Finance, Operations and Compliance Management

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to humanitarian programming and operations.
• Maintain operational systems that ensure proper administrative support for programs
• Manage humanitarian program budget(s)
• Manage field offices from the perspective of logistics, procurement, administration and HR.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Personal Leadership

• Consistently demonstrate flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances
• Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity
• Demonstrate an awareness of his/her own strengths and development needs

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

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.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: Humanitarian program & support team (field)

ACCOUNTABILITY

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Director of Humanitarian Programs

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Operations, Finance, Program Managers, TSU team members, and others. 

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• MA or equivalent in relevant field
• 5 – 7 years of field experience in international relief and/or development programs, including demonstrable success in managing humanitarian programs in transitional environments
• Previous working experience in Africa required
• At least 3 years of management, capacity building and field management experience.
• Demonstrated success working effectively and respectfully with host country governments, private sector, INGO, NGO partners and other stakeholders in complex environments
• Proven skills in finance and grants management; prior experience with emergency response grant management for both private and institutional donors desired
• Knowledge of SPHERE and other humanitarian programming standards
• Successful and proven negotiation, communication and organization skills
• Excellent oral and written English skills
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment
• Fluency in Hausa is a plus

SUCCESS FACTORS:

The successful candidate will skillfully represent programmatic priorities of the agency to donors and regional partners while providing effective leadership to the Mercy Corps humanitarian program team. S/he will be capable of multi-tasking, rapid decision-making, have initiative, drive and a lot of energy, as well as high emotional intelligence, constructive mentoring skills and proven experience with capacity building. S/he 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:

The position will be based in Gombe, Gombe state, Nigeria and it requires frequent travel (60%) between field locations. Considering the frequent travel from/to different field locations, this position will require flexibility in terms of accommodation and logistics. Housing in the field will be in hotels or guesthouse where available.  Security in the field locations require additional vigilance and accessibility will be reassessed continuously.

Access to good medical services in north east is limited. Phone communication, internet, electricity and water is available but might be erratic.

The location is currently being assessed for eligibility for hardship and R&R benefits and the intent is that these benefits will be in place at the time of hire. Given the nature of the humanitarian response, working hours require flexibility and working through weekends/evenings might be necessary.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in 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 locations.