Finance and HR Director, Growing Agriculture and Incomes in Syria, USAID/Syria

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.

Mercy Corps works in places of transition, where conflict, disaster, political upheaval, or economic collapse present opportunities to build more secure, productive, and just communities. Providing emergency relief in times of crisis, we move quickly to help communities recover and build resilience to future shocks, and promote sustainable change by supporting community-led and market-driven initiatives. Recognizing both the great potential and the complex challenges faced by the Middle East, since 1989 Mercy Corps has been implementing a range of humanitarian assistance and development programs tailored to the specific needs of the region and of those communities where we work.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been implementing emergency, life-sustaining, and resilience activities in Syria since 2012. Mercy Corps partners with a range of strategic institutional donors to deliver at high quality and a large scale. The evidence and learning component of Mercy Corps’ work and relationships with donors is critical to a meaningful impact on the lives of vulnerable people in Syria.

Mercy Corps is seeking a Finance and HR Director to support the implementation of the USAID Growing Agriculture and Incomes in Syria (GROW) activity. This five-year, $30-45m contract is expected to strengthen agriculture markets in non-regime held areas of Syria. The Activity is expected to increase the earnings of small and commercial farmers and other market systems actors by reducing constraints to production, strengthening private sector engagement, improving market access, and increasing economic opportunities for women and youth in agricultural value chains.

The Position

The Finance and HR Director will assist the Chief of Party (COP) and Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) in project oversight, with a focus on the financial, human resources, and administrative management of the activity. The position reports directly to the COP and will provide financial and HR oversight and management of the budget, project costs, recruitment and retention and project support staff.

Essential Responsibilities

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Ensure sound financial management, including programmatic budgeting, spending projections, and monitoring of payments in compliance with USAID standards.
• Supervise daily and routine financial, administrative, and HR tasks including monthly accounting cycle, payment of staff salaries, and bank statement monitoring and reconciliation.
• Work with the U.S.-based finance and accounting team to rectify any budget issues
• Ensure office policies are compliant with project and donor policies are effectively implemented
• Participate in work planning, and work closely with the technical team to prepare and monitor costed work plans
• Support and provide information and training to staff; serve as a human resources focal point responsible for fostering and maintaining a safe and inclusive work environment
• Support in essential communication with partners and sub-grantees to verify their systems and that they understand and follow all appropriate procedures and archiving.
• Work with finance and compliance to mitigate fraud, conflict of interest and legal ramifications of Mercy Corps activities.
• Ensure that all programme planning and implementation is in line with USAID requirements.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Oversee recruitment and onboarding of all staff and consultants
• Develop the capacity of the GROW team, deepen understanding of staff roles, and assist with career development.
• Provide team members with information, tools, and resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Promote staff accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one-on-one meetings and performance reviews.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE

• Ensure compliance with USAID and Mercy Corps’ regulations.
• 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.

Supervisory Responsibility

Supervise a cadre of the GROW Team in particular finance and human resources. The number of direct and indirect reports will be determined at a later stage.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: GROW COP

Works Directly With: GROW senior leaders (key personnel and component leads), Country Director, Director of Programs, Program Performance and Quality Director, HR, finance and operations teams, and HQ Regional Programs Team

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

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, operations, or other related discipline.
• Minimum eight years of relevant experience, with at least 6 in financial management
• Experience in senior leadership positions on USAID contracts
• Experience overseeing human resources divisions, ideally with a project of similar size and complexity
• Strong administrative and organizational skills; excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Skilled at using Microsoft Office products and other computer software
• Demonstrated leadership and management skills
• Ability to work in complex, politically charged, unstable environments, as well as work across different cultures, and manage diverse teams
• Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity
• Experience in Syria strongly preferred
• Fluency in spoken and written English and Arabic required

Success Factors
A successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members and other stakeholders of varied work styles and cultures, follow procedures and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving. This position requires an ability to think creatively about civic engagement to strengthen inclusive, peaceful, and responsive governance. They will have a proven ability to learn quickly, multi-task, prioritize, take initiative, and be accountable for results, understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details, problem solving, work within a complex and sensitive setting and to follow laws and security protocols. The most successful Mercy Corps team 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.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
This role will be based in Hasakeh, Syria but split its time between Derik, Hassakeh, and Raqqa based on need with travel to other areas of NES as required and requires up to 50% travel to all program implementation sites, security permitting. Personnel in this location are expected to follow all security protocols.

The position is eligible for hardship, R&R, and home leave, as well as regular employment benefits. This unaccompanied position will be required to reside in group housing in an austere environment. Water, electricity, and the internet are present with occasional cuts.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of 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 MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

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.

Ongoing 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.

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.