Emergency Response Start-up Manager at Mercy Corps

General Position Summary

The Emergency Response Start-up Manager will provide leadership and coordination for humanitarian program implementation in Borno & Yobe States. The position holder will ensure rapid start-up of activities, establishment of operational systems, and effective coordination across program, operations, finance, and MEL teams.

The role will focus on:

• Ensuring immediate operational readiness and structured work planning
• Establishing program management tools including detail work plan, procurement plan and budget tracking tools
• Strengthening coordination, accountability, and quality during rapid scale-up
• Supporting field-level leadership to deliver high-impact life-saving programming

The position reports directly to the Humanitarian Programs Director and works closely with sector leads, operations, finance, and MEL teams.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY & START-UP MANAGEMENT

• Lead rapid start-up of humanitarian interventions in line with donor requirements and Mercy Corps standards.
• Develop and operationalize detailed implementation workplans, sector timelines, and start-up checklists.
• Establish practical program management tools including budget trackers, activity trackers, and field monitoring dashboards.
• Ensure clear role delineation and coordination mechanisms across program and support teams.
• Support early identification of implementation risks and mitigation strategies.

PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION & QUALITY

• Oversee field implementation to ensure activities are delivered on time, on target, and on budget.
• Ensure adherence to Mercy Corps technical standards, Sphere standards, protection mainstreaming, and Do No Harm principles.
• Support program managers in troubleshooting operational bottlenecks and maintaining implementation momentum.
• Ensure strong coordination between program, supply chain, finance, and MEL teams to enable smooth delivery.
• Promote adaptive management by ensuring field feedback and monitoring data inform real-time adjustments.

FINANCE, BUDGET & COMPLIANCE OVERSIGHT

• Establish and monitor budget tracking tools to ensure timely burn rates and prevent under and overspending.
• Conduct regular BvA reviews with program and finance teams during the start-up phase.
• Ensure compliance with donor regulations and Mercy Corps financial procedures.
• Support accurate and timely reporting aligned with donor expectations.

COORDINATION & REPRESENTATION

• Represent Mercy Corps in coordination forums as delegated by the Humanitarian Programs Director.
• Strengthen relationships with local authorities, partners, and coordination bodies.
• Ensure alignment with OCHA coordination structures and humanitarian architecture in Borno State.

TEAM LEADERSHIP & CAPACITY SUPPORT

• Provide mentoring and structured support to sector leads and program managers.
• Promote accountability, collaboration, and high performance across the emergency team.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, and orientation of surge staff where necessary.
• Foster a culture of teamwork, urgency, and professionalism during rapid response operations.

Safeguarding Responsibilities

• Actively learns 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.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO PARTICIPANTS

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to program participants, community partners, and other stakeholders, and to international humanitarian standards guiding relief and development work. The Emergency Response Team Leader will ensure that community accountability mechanisms are functional and integrated from program inception.

Supervisory Responsibility

Program Managers (WASH Program Manager, Nutrition Program Manager)

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Humanitarian Program Director

Works Directly With: Senior Programs Manager, Sector Program managers, Finance Department, Human Resources Department, Operations Department, and PaQ Director

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

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in humanitarian studies, international development, or related field preferred.
• Minimum 7–10 years of humanitarian programming experience, including leadership in emergency response contexts.
• Demonstrated experience in rapid program start-up and large-scale humanitarian implementation.
• Strong knowledge of donor compliance requirements (e.g., OCHA, BHA, ECHO, etc.).
• Proven ability to establish program management systems including workplans, budget trackers, and monitoring tools.
• Experience working in insecure and conflict-affected environments required.
• Strong leadership, coordination, and problem-solving skills.
• Fluent written and spoken English required.