Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps’ operations in West & Central Africa region consist of 9 countries including Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Central African Republic. This is a region with programming that covers all of Mercy Corps’ strategic pillars including food security, economic opportunities, water security, and peace and good governance. Mercy Corps’ programs in West Africa are undergoing both momentous humanitarian crises and significant development challenges that offer the opportunity to empower people to survive through crises, build better lives and transform their communities for good.

To do this, we deliver integrated programming to strengthen resilience, market and governance systems, address the root causes of conflict, and equip vulnerable populations- in particular youth, women, adolescents and marginalized social groups- with the skills, opportunities and resources they need to be healthy, productive and to drive the development of their communities. Mercy Corps also collaborates with neighbouring countries to implement a number of multi-country and cross-border programs.

Working with a diverse base of donors that includes the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), European Commission (EC), Switzerland, Google.org, Cisco, and other foundations, institutional and private donors, Mercy Corps seeks candidates for Country Director positions to lead the implementation of a variety of integrated, in country or regional, complex programs implemented in partnership with local and international partners, and covering either of its core outcomes of food security, water security, economic opportunities, peacebuilding and good governance.

General Position Summary

The Mercy Corps Country Director is an innovative and visionary leader responsible for resourcefully developing and managing all operations and programs resulting in lasting improvement in the lives of local community members. Looking to grow our portfolio of work in country office, s/he will continue to develop sustainable, multi-sector programming that is accountable to the country Government, participants and donors. A bold and visionary leader who values innovative solutions to development issues and creative partnerships, s/he identifies and pursues funding opportunities that strategically connect programs into a cohesive country portfolio, guided by a long-term strategy. The Country Director has full supervisory responsibility for the country team, including support staff (operations, finance, admin) and project leaders. The Country Director must be comfortable driving forward a culture of accountable, high performers; be able to confidently represent at high-level forums to influence and build new partnerships; drive forward and secure ongoing investment; nurture a culture of shared excellence, collaboration, communication and inclusivity based on learning and trust; and take considered risks in innovating and negotiating within a society that is in rapid change. This is an exciting opportunity to influence key outcomes and make a lasting impact.

Essential Job Responsibilities

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

Strategy, Vision & culture

• Formulate, refine and articulate a clear vision of present and future country strategy and objectives team members and stakeholders that translates into concrete programs and work plans and drives forward business development efforts.
• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
• Promote and foster a culture of cross-department/team collaboration, shared ownership of the country strategy, ethics and accountability across the mission.
• Build strategic partnerships and relationships to achieve the vision outlined in the country and regional strategy.
• Lead country strategy development and annual country planning using a collaborative process.
• Leverage headquarters and regional technical support teams to support program design and delivery in line with Mercy Corps’ best practices.
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcome. Remain current with development thinking, including resilience approaches, systems thinking, nexus approaches, social impact, value for money, etc.
• Lead engagement with authorities/local stakeholders, donors, partners, and communities to design and secure resources for high-impact programs that are aligned to community priorities.
• Support program and operations team members to pivot and adapt programming to be responsive to contextual changes, such as environmental and climate change impacts or emerging opportunities to deepen impact.

LEADERSHIP & CULTURE 

• Commit to building an organizational culture of trust, transparency, diversity, equity, and inclusion across the team and global organization.
• Uphold a culture of integrity through ethical decision-making, safeguarding and compliance with the Code of Conduct.
• Lead by role modeling self-awareness to foster an environment of mutual respect, diversity and inclusion so that all team members are included, supported and can thrive.
• Create a culture of collaboration and accountability for highly effective communication systems and relationships to ensure every voice matters.

Influence & Representation

•  Lead Mercy Corps’ outreach and engagement with local/national government, key donors, partners, civil society actors, and private sector representing country office in order to influence development and funding priorities, drawing on Mercy Corps’ key distinctives, research and policy & advocacy initiatives to shape the agenda and align with community needs and opportunities.
• Build partnerships with leading organizations, private sector, government, foundations, community representatives, and other critical partners to enhance collective impact, voice, and shape relevant policy agendas.
• Proactively participate and engage in coordination fora at the national level, including the INGO Forum and Humanitarian Country Team (and others), influencing advocacy efforts and elevating field priorities for action at the highest level.
• Set up systems to stay abreast of contextual changes, anticipate needs, and contribute to shaping donors’ views on humanitarian and development priorities in ways that are responsive to changes in the context.

Team Management

• Recruit, manage, motivate, and onboard an informed, skilled and efficient team with an emphasis on excellence and efficiency; encourage a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, incorporating staff development strategies and performance management systems into the team building process.
• Demonstrate commitment to promoting gender, diversity, and inclusion outcomes within the team, and create a safe and empowering work environment where all voices are respected and empowered.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
• Cultivate a culture of urgency across the team to work in an effective and efficient manner.
• Encourage a team culture of growth, learning, creativity and innovation by incorporating a culture of continuous feedback, development and performance management.
• Establish credibility within the team by demonstrating personal accountability, flexibility, resilience and dedication to quality programming by creating positive relationships and having composure in complex situations.
• Ensure people-focused human resource systems are in place and consistent with Mercy Corps’ global policies, including position descriptions, team member onboarding, performance management, professional development plans and reporting mechanisms.
• 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.

PROGRAM IMPACT, MONITORING AND EVALUATION AND LEARNING

• Oversee program quality and impact by ensuring programming is based on sound design principles and utilize Mercy Corps and donor required program quality and MEL systems.
• Lead country team to strive for quality and impact at program and country level leading to sustained change based on solid systems and incorporation of learnings/adaptations into programs.
• Ensure programming promotes and adheres to Mercy Corps Program Management Minimum Standards, Gender, Do-no Harm, and accountability to program participants standards, including effective Community Accountability Reporting Mechanism and safeguarding mechanisms across all programs.
• Ensure that Mercy Corps programs proactively collaborate with local stakeholders, and actively engage in coordination mechanisms at the local and national levels.

PROGRAM OPERATIONS & COMPLIANCE 

• Provide strategic oversight to the overall country budget and portfolio; ensure budget holders manage their respective program/department budgets within approved spending levels and establish an annual cash flow plan to ensure a steady and adequate supply of funds for program activities.
• Build and maintain operational structures that ensure proper segregation of duties between finance, operations, HR and programs, and enable the timely, compliant and effective delivery of programming and support functions.
• Foster and drive an environment of collaboration among program, finance, operations and human resource team members resulting in optimal support for implementing our work across all teams.
• Ensure program implementation is on time, target and budget, using systems effectively to reach desired impacts.
• Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations, policies and procedures, and the implementation of appropriate risk mitigation measures to reduce Mercy Corps’ exposure to potential risk.   Security
• Liaise with the Regional Security Advisor, Country Safety and Security Manager, and Deputy Regional Director on crucial events, high-risk periods, incident reporting and security policy changes.
• Ensure the safety and security of staff members through regular review and adaptation of security protocols and procedures including the regularly updated country security plan.

Supervisory Responsibility: Director of Programs, Chief of Partys (CoPs), Operations Directors, People and Culture Directors/Leads, Finance Directors/Leads, Ethics and Compliance Manager /safeguarding focal points

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Regional 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.

Works Directly With: Regional team, Global Programs team, Finance, compliance, resource development, Technical Support Unit, and other Country Directors in the region.

Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills

• BA/S or equivalent in relevant field required; MA/S preferred.
• 10+ years of field experience in international relief and development programs, including demonstrable success in managing multi-sector country portfolios.
• 5 years of senior-level leadership, capacity building and field management experience.
• Proven leadership skills that promote collaboration, communication and accountability.
• Experience with growing/diversifying program portfolios and establishing new/innovative partnerships in line with strategic objectives across a variety of sectors.
• Experience with climate smart resilience, economic development and energy access programming a plus.
• Demonstrated success managing and bringing together a multi-cultural team with team members in multiple offices.
• Successful and proven representation, negotiation, and organization skills.
• Demonstrated experience multi-tasking and success in securing funding for country programs.
• Demonstrated success working effectively and respectfully with host country government, private sector, INGO, local partners and other stakeholders in complex environments.
• Proven skills in financial and grants management, including experience with USAID, FCDO, EU-, UN donors and other strategic donors.
• An internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.
• Excellent oral and written English; French language skills highly preferred.
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.
• Previous work experience in countries where travel to insecure areas is required, and management of programs in insecure locations.
• Capacity to manage security and incident/crisis management teams.