Mercy Corps
****Position is contingent on funding and donor approval of final candidate.
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps has been operating in Jordan since 2003. In partnership with civil society organizations, the private sector, and the government, Mercy Corps Jordan has reached more than 3.4 million Jordanians and displaced populations in the country. Working throughout Jordan Mercy Corps is driven by the mission to contribute to the emergence of a peaceful, resilient and prosperous Jordan which is inclusive of youth and women. We seek to build a future for Jordan in which all people feel secure, believe in the goodness of communities and institutions around them, and are on a sustainable path toward economic self-reliance. Our strategic directions focus on promoting strong communities and governance, peace and social cohesion and environmentally sustainable and inclusive economic growth. With today’s youth becoming the leaders of tomorrow, we see countless opportunities for transformational change.
Mercy Corps is seeking a Chief of Party (CoP) to lead implementation of the anticipated USAID-funded five year Youth Grow Activity in Jordan. This activity will aim to increase youth access to high-quality career planning information and livelihood opportunities; strengthen youth leadership through targeted support of local youth-led and youth-serving organizations in order to promote youth participation as decision makers and key contributors to individual, household, community, and national well-being; and strengthen Government of Jordan (GOJ) systems, in partnership with youth, to provide more coordinated and effective services, practices, and policies that embody the principles of Positive Youth Development (PYD). Based in Amman, the COP will oversee all aspects of program implementation, providing a vision for the program and ensuring that objectives are met on time and within budget.
General Position Summary
The CoP will provide overall leadership, management and strategic vision to the implementation of the anticipated USAID-funded, five year Youth Grow activity , to ensure that the project meets its targets and deliverables on-time and within budget, while modeling and nurturing processes and systems that are equitable, promote transparent and equal partnerships, and shift power dynamics that perpetuate inequalities. The CoP will supervise program staff and ensure accountability to Mercy Corps policies and donor rules and regulations. S/he will be the primary program representative to donors, relevant government entities, partners, other implementers and stakeholders.
Essential Job Responsibilities
STRATEGY & VISION
● Lead the development of a vision and strategy for the program with the program team and key stakeholders.
● Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives. Work with the country program to guide coordination and integrated implementation.
● Play an active role in identifying and developing new initiatives that foster and/or improve strategic objectives of the program and the country office.
● Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
● Integrate and embrace all voices into shared strategies for shifting norms.
INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION
● Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO and other relevant forums in close coordination with the Country Director.
● Coordinate activities with consortium partners, subgrantees, local government and other implementers as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.
● Serve as an active contributor and collaborator with regional and global counterparts to promote best practices.
● Maintain close working relationships with counterparts in other organizations in Jordan.
TEAM MANAGEMENT
● Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
● Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
● Ensure team and program adheres to Mercy Corps Jordan’s Gender, Diversity and Inclusion (GDI) action plan and commitments.
● Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
● Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
● Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
● Ensure that program implementation – from start-up to close-out – is responsive to communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan, while applying politically-sensitive adaptive management principles.
● Lead effective management, communication and coordination among consortium members in a manner that is fully collaborative in sharing decision-making and among all members, including developing partnership frameworks and the program’s collaborative approach to partnership.
● Create and follow effective stakeholder management plans, ensuring sound and proactive communications with Mercy Corps Jordan, partner organizations, Mercy Corps headquarters, USAID, Government of Jordan authorities, and colleague agencies.
● Introduce the program to the Government of Jordan stakeholders, ensuring necessary approvals and collaboration as required.
● Ensure program strategies and activities represent global good practice in creating transformational changes in gender relations at the family, community and national levels by strengthening the enabling environment, institutional capacity and addressing structural barriers for women.
● Document processes and achievements to ensure best practices are captured and disseminated. This will include the continual re-evaluation of program activities and information, with resulting activity adjustments in keeping with new insights.
● Coordinate with procurement, logistics, security, administration, and human resources teams to ensure operational systems support field activities. Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.
FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT
● In collaboration with the country program’s operations and finance departments, ensure proper financial management, procurement, administration, human resources and logistics (including transport, warehousing and asset management) needs of the program are conducted within Mercy Corps’ policy and with the maximum benefit to the program.
● Create and maintain systems to ensure effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with program, donor and Mercy Corps’ needs.
SECURITY
● Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to develop and maintain systems that promote the safety and security of all team members.
● Ensure that activities are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security.
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 PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS
● Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging program participant communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Supervisory Responsibility
Deputy Chief of Party – Programs, Deputy Chief of Party – Operations, and Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Director (Program Quality Lead)
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Country Director
Works Directly With: Director of Programs, other Mercy Corps Jordan Directors or program managers, finance and operations teams, grants Unit, Regional team, HQ Technical Support Unit
Knowledge and Experience
● MA/S or equivalent experience in economics, social or political science, management or public administration, international development or other field relevant to economic growth programming. Applicants with other academic track records who bring a strong track record of work in business development programming may also be considered.
● A minimum of 12 years relevant development experience with at least 5 years in senior management positions or similar size/scope of program ($20+million).
● Experience managing multi-sector programs and teams which integrate gender and inclusion principles and best practices and are focused on shifting norms to advance gender equality.
● Technical experience in economic development focusing on micro and small enterprise development and systems approaches preferred
● Demonstrated ability to build and foster an adaptive team culture and a record of accomplishment in strategic visioning, leadership, and inspiring teams.
● Experience managing a consortium or operating within a consortium, ideally USAID-funded.
● Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with host governments, donors, other donor-funded projects and stakeholders, local organizations, and partners. Knowledge of the Jordanian context and key Jordanian stakeholders, as well as work experience in the Jordanian or regional context, is strongly preferred.
● Experience managing complex programmatic and financial reporting requirements, preferable with USAID.
● Experience with USAID rules, regulations and requirements is strongly preferred.
● Fluent verbal and written communication skills in Arabic and excellent verbal and written English is required.
● Jordanians and women are strongly encouraged to apply.
Success Factors
The successful CoP will combine exceptional management skills and experience in maintaining donor and partner relationships. S/he will have an outstanding ability to develop, implement and manage innovative programs within the current and future program structure of Mercy Corps in the region. S/he will also have proven experience with cross-cultural teams and capacity building, individual staff development, and strong mentoring skills. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations. This position requires an ability to think creatively about changing norms that lead to greater opportunities for economic growth at household, community and institutional levels.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
This position is based in Amman, Jordan which is an accompanied post. Jordan is a middle income country with excellent education, medical, and other facilities in the capital Amman. Jordan is a very safe country with excellent communications, transportation, and housing infrastructure. Although neighboring countries continue to experience political unrest, Jordan has been a stable monarchy for over 30 years and the destination preference for many people from the Middle East to relax or gain access to available services.
Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to 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 in-country venues.
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 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, color, 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 to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
How to apply