Deputy Chief of Party, USAID-Funded Pioneers – Raedat Activity

Position is contingent on funding.

About Mercy Corps
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 long term impact.

Program/Department Summary

Mercy Corps has worked in Palestine since 1986 and currently operates across Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Mercy Corps works to empower Palestinians to meet their basic needs and overcome the effects of the humanitarian crises, as well as contribute to improving economic opportunities in the long term to become more self-sufficient and civically engaged, to live with greater dignity and create a brighter future. We believe women and youth are vital stakeholders in this vision and we prioritize programming that empowers and enables them to be leaders in their communities. The Palestine program currently has a total budget of USD $45 million, representing 10 active grants funded by USAID, BHA, ECHO, Global Affairs Canada, SIDA, and others. The country portfolio focuses on humanitarian response with a view to aligning with the nexus by integrating sustainable development and durable solutions approaches, as well as longer term development programs focusing on Palestinian youth to ensure lasting impact.

Mercy Corps is seeking a qualified Deputy Chief of Party (DCoP) to provide technical leadership and management support to the implementation of the five-year USAID-funded Pioneers-Raedat Activity. The proposed program will contribute to women’s empowerment in the West Bank and Gaza by increasing women’s access to leadership opportunities and enhancing the enabling environment to be more receptive for women’s participation in civic, political, and economic decision making. This will be achieved through 1) enhancing women’s representation and leadership capabilities; 2) improving equitable and safe enabling environments for women; and 3) increasing the adoption of inclusive social norms and workplace rights.

The Position

The Deputy Chief of Party will assist the Activity’s Chief of Party (CoP) in providing technical leadership and oversight of programmatic interventions to ensure quality, timeliness, and efficiency of all products and interventions generated under the Pioneers- Raedat Activity. In the absence of the CoP, the DCOP will be responsible for technical leadership, administrative oversight, and overall coordination of the activity. The DCoP will supervise key technical and implementing program staff, and will oversee the day-to-day operations and quality of work to ensure delivery of tasks and accountability to program participants as well as Mercy Corps and donor policies, rules, and regulations. The DCoP will report to the Activity’s Chief of Party.

Essential Responsibilities
TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP

• Under the guidance of the CoP, set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve program objectives.
• Ensure program strategies and activities represent global good practice in gender equity and social inclusion, creating transformational changes in gender and social norms by strengthening the enabling environment and institutional capacity, and addressing structural barriers for women.
• Ensure program implementation in close collaboration with other programs and stakeholder commitments and priorities
• Lead the socialization of the program with key technical stakeholders to enhance buy-in and collaboration at all levels, as required.
• Serve as the primary senior program leader responsible for developing and refining an integrated program design, and for ensuring that GESI, governance, and resilience are closely integrated into all sector areas with an overarching resilience approach, in line with Mercy Corps’ global model.
• Drive outside the box thinking and exploration of technical approaches and cultivate innovative partnerships in pursuit of program outcomes.
• Supervise and/or review the work of program consultants.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Lead aspects of program startup, including key assessments, baseline analysis and target design, participant targeting, and refinement of clear strategy approach documentation in collaboration with program teams.
• Support operational aspects of program startup in conjunction with HR, admin, logistics, and finance teams, to ensure program implementation needs are sufficiently met.
• Develop evidence-based and contextually appropriate gender-inclusive strategies that promote gender equality and the advancement of women’s leadership and draw on proven approaches and results of studies, baseline data and formative research.
• Lead the development of detailed implementation plans, flowing from annual implementation workplan, and ensure delivery of activities with technical quality and operational efficiency. Develop an implementation plan for the gender strategy and work with the Activity team and partners to ensure that a focus gender and social inclusion, is integrated throughout all activities.
• Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate.
• Provide managerial and programmatic oversight to partners and sub-grantee(s).
• Oversee efforts to design and implement effective program M&E systems, including linkages with Mercy Corps’ internal M&E systems.
• Produce written reports on program activities, capturing the impacts of activities.
• 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.
• Create and follow effective stakeholder management plans, ensuring sound and proactive communications with Mercy Corps Palestine, partner organizations, Mercy Corps headquarters, USAID, peer agencies, and other key stakeholders.
• Conduct frequent field visits to project sites.
• Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.

COORDINATION, INFLUENCE, AND REPRESENTATION

• As directed by the CoP, represent Mercy Corps at donor, NGO, and other relevant events or field visits.
• Coordinate activities with consortium partners, subgrantees, and other stakeholders and implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.
• Work with colleague organizations, especially USAID implementing partners, to explore synergies in program implementation and reduce potential duplication of resources.
• Encourage, support, and mobilize implementing partners for issue-based advocacy.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Supervise and manage, directly or indirectly, program staff to ensure day-to-day activities are implemented in a coordinated fashion according to schedule, budget, and the highest quality standards.
• Ensure all teams members and partners have internalized the program vision and theory of change.
• Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles, and assist team members with tools, resources, and feedback to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Supervise and manage all program partnerships and organizations (sub-awardees), including an indirect role for partners’ staff, to ensure sound coordination in the context of an inclusive and strategic program management framework.
• Coordinate with, and ensure the team is coordinating with, procurement, logistics, security, administration, and human resources teams to ensure operational systems support field activities.
• Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.

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.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

• In coordination with the country program’s operations and finance departments, ensure effective financial management, procurement, administration, human resources, and logistics (including transport, warehousing, and asset management).
• Monitor adherence to the award agreement, Mercy Corps’ policies and procedures, and relevant external rules and regulations.
• Support the CoP in leadership of monthly Budget vs. Actual (BvA) analysis processes, with monthly forecasting tied to work plans, and help lead the process of adaptive management.

MONITORING, EVALUATION, LEARNING, AND REPORTING

• In coordination with the MEL team, monitor the implementation of activities through regular site visits and assessments to ensure program quality and impact. Ensure processes and achievements are documented to ensure best practices are captured and disseminated.
• Facilitate the achievement of performance-based targets and outcomes and lead efforts to design effective, proactive, and iterative M&E systems following the program’s logical framework and results chain measurement.
• Oversee the scope of work, deliverables, and overall quality of work of any internal or external evaluation or research partners.
• Oversee the scheduling and production of formal and informal reports on all aspects of the program in a timely and efficient manner.
• Ensure program data and analysis is used for learning through semi- annual CLA program workshops with all program partners.
• With the program’s MEL team, support the roll out of an M&E framework and strategic research that contributes to program learning.
• Document achievements and impact of innovative program components.
• Ensure all team members support production of practical information that can be used for ongoing program analysis and decision-making, while also capturing results at the impact level.

Supervisory Responsibility

Expected to supervise several direct reports. The number of direct and indirect reports is to be determined.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Pioneers- Raedat Activity Chief of Party

Works Directly With: Activity Team, Mercy Corps Palestine Country Director, Deputy Country Director, Program Performance and Quality (PaQ) Unit, Program Managers, Finance and Compliance Teams, HR, and Operations Teams; HQ Regional Program Teams, HQ and Regional Technical Support Unit.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

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.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• A Bachelor’s degree in development or relevant social sciences areas.
• At least four (4) years of experience in project management, ideally experience demonstrating progressively increasing responsibility in managing gender equality and female empowerment projects of a similar size and scope.
• Demonstrated expert technical knowledge in gender equality and female empowerment and leadership. This may include skills development, mentorship and networking, gender-based violence, national and institutional level enabling environments for women’s participation, and/or promoting inclusive social norms.
• Excellent track record of achieving results in similar gender equality activities
• Demonstrated high level leadership, technical, and analytical skills.
• Experience in positions that require excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to network and maintain effective working relationships with diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Extensive professional experience in managing and implementing multi-component programs and demonstrated ability to effectively manage staff.
• Experience working in gender equality and female empowerment issues in the Middle East and West Bank and Gaza experience is preferred.
• Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Arabic language fluency is preferred.
• Palestinians and women, people with disabilities, and those from marginalized groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

Success Factors
The successful Deputy Chief of Party will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members and other stakeholders, combining exceptional management skills and experience in maintaining relationships with partners, donors, and key stakeholders and collaborators. They will have an outstanding ability to develop, implement, and adaptively manage innovative programs within the current and future program structure of Mercy Corps in the region, and in adherence to laws and security protocols within a complex and sensitive setting. The successful DCoP will also have proven experience with cross-cultural teams and capacity strengthening, 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. The DCoP will also see the program as part of wider Mercy Corps Palestine and Mercy Corps global programs, and be excited to engage at a country office and organizational level.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The DCoP position is based in either Jerusalem or Ramallah, West Bank in agreement with CoP and Country Director. This is an accompanied position. This position requires travel to the field sites in Mercy Corps Palestine’s operational areas up to 50% of the time, as security allows, including travel to some locations that may be insecure or austere. Frequent travel to project sites in the Gaza Strip will be required. When traveling around the country, strict adherence to Mercy Corps security policies and procedures will be required as well as respect for local cultural norms and traditions. Candidates must be able to work in an environment with energy, transportation, and communication challenges.

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 and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. 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.