Program Performance & Quality (PAQ) Manager at Mercy Corps

General Position Summary

• The Program Performance & Quality (PaQ) Manager is a key position within the Mercy Corps Nigeria country team who will provide technical guidance and support for program management and coordination across the country programs’ portfolio of multiple grants. S/he will ensure accountability checks are in place for Mercy Corps Program Management Minimum Standards (PM@MC) by working closely with the PaQ Director and Director of Programs and advising Program Managers/Directors on best practices for program management, in line with PM@MC standards.
• S/he will have oversight of the development and management of an effective program filing and archiving systems, standardization of the process for program deliverable quality assurance checks. The PaQ Manager will also assist in securing new programs by supporting proposal development processes and partnership development. S/he will work collaboratively with the Programs Managers and Directors, Technical Advisors, and MEL teams, and Headquarters Technical Support Unit (TSU) and Desk staff. The PaQ Manager is highly motivated, s/he is an effective communicator, self-driven and able to move forward complex projects with limited daily support and direction; s/he is able to work remotely with internal and external stakeholders to achieve common objectives.

Essential Job Responsibilities
STRATEGY & VISION

• Ensure accountability checks are in place and functional for Mercy Corps Program Management (PM@MC) approaches.
• Contribute to direction setting by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and support the DOP and the PaQ Director in the country-wide strategy development. This includes supporting development of any sector-specific strategies.
• Support cross-program learning, including operation of sector-specific Technical Working Groups.

PROGRAM QUALITY MANAGEMENT

• Lead development of a MC Nigeria programs’ health dashboard in line with Mercy Corps Program Management minimum standards (PM@MC).
• Provide technical oversight and support to Program Managers/Directors and focal points to develop program filing and archiving systems and to ensure programs’ documentation is filed, in compliance with PM@MC, donors’ regulations and good practice.
• Provide technical guidance to Program Managers/Directors to set up effective internal and external program coordination structures.
• Work with Programs to refine processes for program deliverable quality assurance checks, including monitoring and spot check procedures.
• Provide support to Program Managers/Directors at key implementation moments (such as kick-off meetings, program initiation meetings, 90-day inception meetings, 90-day end of program transition meetings), as required.
• Maintain effective communications with headquarters staff and program teams on program quality and grants tracking issues, and information requests from internal/external sources.

PROGRAM AND PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT

• Provide support for prepositioning and new program strategy design efforts.
• Contribute to proposal development and the design of new programs.

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND COORDINATION

• Support Programs Managers/Directors and the MEL Manager in the development of an adaptive management culture at country-level, providing guidance in adaptive management techniques and decision-making.
• Build capacity of program teams with information, tools and resources to improve performance and reach objectives, and review programmatic tools (implementation and follow-up of quality assurance process, development and/or revision of SOPs, etc.).

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

• Create a culture of knowledge sharing among departments and programs collaboratively
• Create and operationalize a knowledge management system and capture new knowledge and ensure information is utilized in new initiatives
• Ensure team members are trained and aware of knowledge management processes including the objectives of knowledge management

REPRESENTATION AND COMMUNICATION

• Provide support to the Programs Managers/Directors to represent Mercy Corps programs with national and international counterparts, donors, partners and participate in coordination forums as required.
• Provide support to Program teams in the organization of donors’ visits.
• Support the development of strategic, cross-program communication materials, such as sector profiles, impact reports, program briefings, key messages, talking points, and other relevant pieces.

SECURITY

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.

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.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO BENEFICIARIES

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward 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.

Knowledge and Experience

• BA/S or equivalent in international studies, economics or other relevant field; MA/S preferred.
• Five years of relevant working experience in program quality and implementation for European and US institutional donors.
• Demonstrated ability in program quality assurance required.
• Field experience in both emergency and development environments preferred.
• Ability to work across diverse, multicultural teams and get buy-in from a variety of stakeholders is essential.
• Advanced written and spoken English is required.
• Ability to deliver high quality deliverables within short deadlines.
• Ability to multi-task and juggle several tasks and relationships at one time.
• Previous experience building staff capacity/training and providing technical guidance required.
• Excellent communication skills and experience in representing an organization.
• Demonstrated proficiency with the MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required.
• Proven ability to work effectively in with technical and administrative staff and consultants.