Director, Program Redesign Implementation (12 month role)

Location: Edinburgh or London, UK; Remote, US; The Hague, Netherlands
Valid unrestricted work authorization in the country in which you will be based (UK, US, The Netherlands) is required at the time of application for this position.
Position Status: Full-time, Regular. This is a 1 year, benefits-eligible position.

Salary depends on location:
US: Starting salary for this role will be USD 90,000 to USD 114,000 commensurate on experience.
UK: entry point of £ 63,840, flexible based on experience
Netherlands: entry point of € 75,040, flexible based on experience

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.

The Program

Mercy Corps’ new 10-year strategy – Pathway to Possibility – is our guide to a future in which everyone can prosper. It reflects our ambitions to not only meet the basic needs of communities affected by conflict and climate change, but also to achieve lasting, transformative change at scale. In our pursuit of excellence, Mercy Corps’ Executive Leadership team has undertaken a review of our Program Department structure to find efficiencies and optimize the delivery of the Pathway to Possibility. This work will connect with the broader change management initiative and the Mercy Corps organization restructuring work led by the Strategic Realization Unit and the Office of the COO. With a recent assessment of the Program department structure and design now undertaken, a series of recommendations have been sent to our Executive Leadership and have been approved for action. The outcomes of this review process, and the resultant design, are transformative, comprehensive in scope, and will drive organizational alignment and coherence, which will in turn help us create greater impact.

The Position

The Director, Program Redesign Implementation will be a key actor in ensuring the delivery of the endorsed recommendations from the Program Department review (now referred to as the Program Redesign), to ensure the successful implementation of the structure vision, including supporting cross-functional workstreams and overseeing collaborative efforts leading to effective solutions, change management, innovation, as well its adoption and implementation by the relevant teams. Reporting to the Senior Director, Operations Management, and with close linkages to the Strategy Realization Unit (SRU), and the Program Redesign Steering Committee along with its Project Management Office, they will also oversee efforts related to the simplification and streamlining of key processes to make us more efficient and effective. They will collaborate and coordinate with the key actors and stakeholder across the agency also reviewing or undertaking transformative initiatives as part of the refreshed strategy and ensure that the outcome of these workstreams feeds into the holistic structure vision.

The work that the Director, Program Redesign Implementation will lead on builds on the 3As: alignment, accountability, and allocation of resources – a key part of our new strategy. Together, these 3As enable responsive support to country programs, effective inter-departmental action, and deliberate cross-organizational coordination to leverage lessons learned and scale what works.

Due to the executive sponsorship of the Program Redesign, which is constituted of key executives and stakeholders across the agency, as well as the cross-cutting initiatives under the Strategic Realization Unit, this role interacts heavily with other organizational leaders to design and implement changes. This role will need to successfully build credible partnerships across the departments/business functions to achieve the intended purpose and value propositions of operational initiatives. This includes Regional teams, ensuring significant benefit is achieved at the country level and that change is supported with adequate capacity and capability.

Essential Responsibilities

PROGRAM REDESIGN

• Assume responsibility as a Project Management Lead in the Project Management Office, ensuring that the new operating model is effectively put into practice.
• Work within and support the Project Management Office to drive the operational initiatives (the Program Redesign Steering Committee as well as Task Forces, Leadership Team, and Transition Champions), acting as a partner and sounding board to the initiatives working groups and as a “translator” to the different teams, ensuring that our process is accurately capturing the language and concepts that will resonate with team members.
• Lead and manage cross-functional teams to execute the key processes, decision gates, and structural changes outlined in the Program Redesign.
• Act as the primary driver of change, working closely with all stakeholders to align efforts with the redesigned model.
• Oversee the startup and execution of prioritized initiatives outlined in the Program Redesign, including structural changes and revised processes.
• Collaborate with working groups and consultants to ensure alignment and fidelity with the new model’s principles, intent and objectives.
• Monitor and track progress, adjusting as necessary to ensure successful execution.

REPORTING AND COMMUNICATIONS

• Establish clear reporting mechanisms to provide regular updates on the Program Redesign’s progress to the Program Redesign Steering Committee and, as needed, Executive Team.
• Produce progress reports, status updates and other internal and external communications materials to demonstrate status of Program Redesign.
• Foster strong stakeholder relationships within the organization, including senior leadership, country teams, and other functional units.
• Continuously engage with stakeholders to understand their needs, gather feedback, and address concerns during the implementation phase.

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP

• Demonstrate exceptional leadership by consistently exceeding expectations and maintaining composure, even in challenging situations.
• Embrace a growth mindset, actively seek diverse perspectives, and remain open to feedback for continuous improvement.
• Uphold high ethical standards, treating all individuals with respect and dignity.

Supervisory Responsibility

External consultants contracted for this work as required.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Senior Director, Operations Management

Works Directly With: Strategy Realization Unit, Program Redesign Steering Committee, Project Management Office

Coordinates With: a variety of internal stakeholders engaged in strategic planning or strategy realization.

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 Qualifications & Transferable Skills

• BA in a relevant nonprofit field and international experience required.
• 6+ years of professional experience in a fast-paced humanitarian or development environment.
• Certification in a Project Management methodology, or demonstrated experience in Agile project management in lieu of certification.
• Experience managing complex cross-team projects, including budgets and timelines, required.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, research, and written communication skills.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to effectively gather and summarize large amounts of and at times, complex information from various sources.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex cross-team projects, including budgets and timelines, required.
• Experience in country and/or regional structures; start up, scale up, close out, or restructuring experience a plus.
• Demonstrated experience with project management tools, software, or platforms is preferred.
• Familiarity with HQ functions, including accessing necessary support, building effective relationships, and navigating complex organizations.
• Experience developing or delivering strategies at a project, country, regional, or organizational level; past responsibility for driving key elements of strategy preferred.
• Ability to take initiative and complete work or solve problems with minimal guidance while prioritizing tasks across the department.
• Demonstrated ability to work well under pressure and cooperatively with team members.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will translate the strategic vision into an actionable and implementable work plan, which can be managed and validated via accountability mechanisms. They are an effective communicator both verbally and in writing – as well as a good listener, able to understand different perspectives, open to feedback, and importantly able to identify realistic and workable compromises. They are also a strong influencer with the ability to effectively help shape Mercy Corps’ strategy and decisions, and equally strong conveners and facilitators with the ability to meaningfully engage and leaders and their teams in key processes and changes designed to deliver on our Pathway to Possibility as well as build true ownership of the strategy by all and maximize effectiveness in the required changing behavior.