Program Officer - Africa at Mercy Corps

Overview

• 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 a long-term impact. Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
• Mercy Corps Europe (MCE) has grown rapidly in terms of volume of activity and complexity. With offices in Edinburgh, London, Geneva and The Hague, we now attract over £90min income.The breadth and impact of our programmes make Mercy Corps a unique and truly rewarding place to work. Our teams are proud of what we achieve in the country programmes and we are always looking for talented individuals who share our passion and commitment.

The Position

• The Programme Officer (PO) supports strategic, impactful, and high-quality programming. Reporting to the Senior Programme Officer, the PO supports the SPO, the Regional Director (RD), the Deputy Regional Director (DRD) and Country Offices in many aspects of their country programme and grant administration.
• The PO plays a key role in connecting the field to HQ resources and represents the country/regional interests internally with various HQ teams as well as with external stakeholders.
• The PO works with the Senior Programme Office (SPO), DRD and RD to provide the secondary check and supports the field (ultimate point of responsibility) in adhering to internal and external policies and regulations.
• The PO also provides guidance to the Assistant Programme Officer (APO) and helps with the administration that is necessary for robust and accountable grant management.
• The PO furthermore plays an important role in rolling out agency-wide initiatives in countries in the region. This role may be assigned a portfolio of countries, for which they will give specific support.
• This will depend on relevant experience and requirements from the wider Africa portfolio.
• Candidates should have a track record in international relief and development, along with proven experience in managing the development, implementation, administration and compliance of European-funded grants.
• The successful candidate will possess excellent planning, communication and organisational skills, have a keen eye for detail, be proactive and flexible in their work, and possess the ability to develop strong relationships with colleagues across the agency, both at the HQ level and in the field.

Essential Responsibilities
Programme and Grant Administration:

• The PO is the HQ point of responsibility for overall monitoring of grants/programmes for external/donor requirements as well as Mercy Corps’ internal policies and requirements.
• They provide ongoing monitoring of the status of programmes and complete regular check-ins on grant requirements (such as co-financing, budget versus actuals, data aggregation, etc.).
• They support country teams’ adherence to Mercy Corps internal policies and Programme Management minimum standards. They review and contribute to high-quality reports and other donor deliverables.

Proposal Development:

• The PO leads HQ coordination for proposals. Throughout the proposal process, the PO monitors the timeline, status of proposal, provides input into the design and communicates to the relevant parties as appropriate.
• The PO reviews the final draft for coherence and donor requirements, and manages submission
• They may be appointed a different role in the design process and travel to the field if needed.

External Representation:

• With guidance from the SPO, RD, DRD, Country Directors and other relevant stakeholders, the PO represents regional interests and programmes with external stakeholders.

Strategy, Planning & Learning:

• With guidance from the SPO, the PO supports country teams with strategy development and planning. The PO facilitates learning across country portfolios and regions and shares lessons learned and knowledge of agency resources/tools/best practices/etc.

Other:

• Internal Communication: In coordination with the APO, the PO supports internal communications and ensures knowledge management systems are up to date and accurate to support communication with other teams.
• Knowledge Management: In coordination with the APO, the PO ensures management of agency systems and adherence to HQ-related Programme Management minimum standards, etc.
• Orientation: For new hires visiting HQ, PO provides briefings on context, country strategy and programmes prior to their departure as an initial step in the on-boarding process. As requested, PO supports supervisors with the on-boarding of new expatriate team members.

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

• Educated to Bachelor's level, or equivalent experience.
• French and English fluency required
• 2 - 4 years of field-based experience in international relief and development; demonstrated knowledge of relevant sectoral and/or operational areas. Africa experience preferred.
• 2 - 4 years of experience managing the development, implementation, administration and compliance of grants; general programme management experience preferred. Similar experience with contracts is also preferred.
• Experience with proposal development with various donors, particularly European institutions (ECHO, EC, FCDO, Sida etc.), private foundations and corporations.
• Experience with monitoring and evaluation, and other learning efforts.
• Experience representing an organisation and its interests to a diverse range of local and international government officials, local civil society organisations, other international organisations, the media and the public is preferred.

Success Factors:

• Excellent planning and organisational skills.
• Proactive and able to work on own initiative.
• A problem-solver, adept in successfully dealing with issues of complexity.
• Demonstrates the ability to mentor colleagues.
• A skilled communicator, able to develop and utilise strong relationships with staff, partners and donors at all levels.
• Able to harness the expertise, experience and ideas of colleagues and effectively use this to improve their own work and support that of others.
• Strong research and analytical skills.
• A skilled writer and synthesiser of diverse and complex information.
• A robust sense of humour is greatly appreciated.
• A demonstrable passion for, and a clear empathy with, the organisation's aims and values.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally as required.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions:

• This position is based in Nairobi, Kenya, or Dakar, Senegal, or Edinburgh,or London, UK or The Hague, NL with some access to the office contingent on current COVID sensitive policies.

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 a 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, colour, 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. 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 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.