NGO Network Representative

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

The NGO Network is an independent coordination body of non-profit organizations working in the Middle East. The key focus of its members is to support local NGOs and their role within the humanitarian response. The NGO Network is led by its Steering Committee and managed by the Representative.

Partnerships and remote management of humanitarian operations has become a legitimate form of operation for humanitarian response in the Middle East and has become common practice among NGOs. Humanitarian actors build their strategies around localization and supporting local NGOs and CBOs as a key part of their interventions in the region. The NGO Network coordination facilitates safe ways of information sharing and provides a platform for discussions among its members to gather common lessons learned regarding aid delivery in a sensitive context.

General Position Summary

The NGO Network Representative is a management position and is responsible for overall leadership, strategic direction, and facilitation of coordination between both national and international members of the network, the elected Steering Committee, and external stakeholders. The coordination entails ensuring effective information exchange, representation and advocacy on common positions and agreed interests of the NGO Network as well as the wider NGO community. The NGO Network Representative is responsible for the general management of the NGO Secretariat and its staff and acts as an NGO focal point towards the community of aid actors.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND REPRESENTATION

• Lead on the NGO Network strategic planning while ensuring an inclusive approach to all members’ inputs. Facilitate Steering Committee discussions around the NGO Network strategy.
• Lead on communication and advocacy efforts of the NGO Network. Support development and revisions of the strategic advocacy approach.
• Represent the NGO Network and liaison with donors to support advocacy efforts of the NGO Network.
• Ensure that NGO Network risk management measures, confidentiality agreements and information sharing practices of the NGO Network are regularly revised and adapted in response to the ever-changing environment.
• Regularly assess coordination/communication gaps and priorities, gather lessons learned and feedback from members regarding NGO Network’s coordination modality, and recommend the most effective ways of coordination. Advise the Steering Committee on matters regarding the structure of the NGO Network and its Statutes (ToR). Ensure revision and adaptation of the NGO Network ToR where necessary.
• Explore and set up safe and relevant coordination mechanisms between the NGO Network and external stakeholders.
• Support principled partnerships, localization and efforts to strengthen the capacity of the national/local partners and civil society.
• Reduce duplication of efforts within the aid community and enhance linkages and structured interaction with relevant coordination fora.
• Represent the best interests of the NGO Network and its members externally. Attend and represent at regional coordination meetings when appropriate. Ensure consultation with and feedback to Members.
• Foster liaison with other NGO coordination fora in the region and globally to enhance more effective coordination practices.
• Provide advisory services to organizations, donor agencies, academic institutions as appropriate.
• Keep informed with Middle East political/economic and security context.

FACILITATION OF COORDINATION AND INFORMATION SHARING

• Provide appropriate and efficient coordination between aid organizations. Encourage the NGO Network members (local NGOs and INGOs) to work collectively, towards complementarity, coherence and harmonization of assistance delivery.
• Set up agendas, convene and facilitate regular coordination meetings (including general assemblies) and ensure that they are well-managed, action and results-oriented and documented, with decisions/action points clearly communicated to members. Organize ad-hoc NGO Network meetings on specific topics. Invite guest speakers if relevant to deepen discussions.
• Set up agendas, convene, take notes of the Steering Committee meetings. Report to and inform the Steering Committee about his/her activities, outcomes, finances, and HR, etc.
• Act as a “trustee” within the NGO Network and support members with safe exchange of sensitive information through building strong bilateral relationships with each member organization.
• Ensure appropriate information management and data security systems are in place to protect sensitive and/or confidential information, in coordination with the information management senior officer.
• Strengthen efforts towards information sharing with the regional Response Coordination System.
• Disseminate relevant materials, reports, documentations, available opportunities, meeting minutes etc. within NGO network membership. Ensure all the partners are informed about field level and relevant regional level coordination meetings and events.
• Promote information sharing on training opportunities of humanitarian personnel and capacity development of partners.
• Ensure and facilitate safe information sharing between members and external stakeholders when required.
• Produce and disseminate feedback to NGO Network members following attendance to any required meeting, including on formal coordination bodies and bilateral meetings.
• Provide presence mappings and any other relevant tools for enhancing information flow.
• Act as entry/focal point for any new NGO planning expansion in the area.
• Where relevant, support coordinated contingency planning among NGOs.

SECRETARIAT MANAGEMENT

(1) Financial Management and Project Management

• Oversee budget management (strategic budget preparations, review, reporting). Serve as budget holder for all NGO Network grants in liaison with the Host Agency.
• Ensure implementation of agreed activities of the NGO Network according to a work plan. Where modifications are necessary, discuss, and seek approval of the Steering Committee and the Host Agency (if grant related).
• Prepare narrative and provide inputs to financial donor reporting.
• Develop donor proposals in cooperation with the NGO Network Steering Committee and the Host Agency.
• Secure funds for the NGO Network Secretariat together with the NGO Network Steering Committee and the Host Agency.
• Manage in-country relations with donors who provide funding for the NGO Network, in collaboration with the Steering Committee.
• Ensure compliance with all donor and NGO Network guiding rules.

(2) Membership management

• Oversee information sharing in an inclusive and transparent way with all Members.
• Manage and review new membership applications according to set criteria.
• Provide inductions to new members or its new staff to the NGO Network, including context sensitivities and confidentiality aspects.
• Ensure that the NGO Network Secretariat regularly updates and maintains contact lists and stores data in a safe way.
• Facilitate a transparent election process for NGO Network representatives to its Steering Committee.

(3) HR management of Secretariat staff

• Provide leadership and management to NGO Network Secretariat staff (currently team of two). Guide and support NGO Secretariat staff duties related to safe information sharing management and effective civil society engagement.
• Manage work planning and performance reviews of NGO Network Secretariat staff.
• Provide an environment of teamwork, staff empowerment and inclusion. Ensure that all staff have the tools and support to maximize their potential and contribute to the achievement of the organizational strategic objectives.
• Identify staffing needs, develop, or where required revise job descriptions, and support staff recruitment in consultation with the Steering Committee where necessary.
• Any further activities assigned by the Steering Committee.

Supervisory Responsibility

Line manager for NGO Network staff: Civil Society Engagement Coordinator and Information Management Senior Officer

Accountability

Reports Directly To: NGO Network Steering Committee and administratively to Mercy Corps focal point

Works Directly With: NGO Network membership

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

• Master’s degree in humanitarian affairs, development studies, public policy, international relations, economics, social science, political science, and international law or related field (or equivalent professional experience.)
• Minimum 5 years of experience in humanitarian response with at least 2 years in country program senior management and/or proven previous experience in a coordination role.
• Strong leadership skills and experience in bringing a variety of organizations to a common position/understanding.
• Experience in representation with multi-agency and/or humanitarian coordination. Experience in representation towards diplomatic communities, donors, national civil society, and UN agencies.
• Knowledge and understanding of the UN system, humanitarian coordination architecture, and humanitarian principles.
• Excellent strategic and analytical skills, including ability to synthesize and effectively communicate complex issues.
• Strong inter-personal skills, ability to build trustworthy and positive relationships.
• Management skills including staff and project management.
• Proven in depth operational knowledge of Middle East.
• Experience of chairing/facilitating meetings.
• Experience of partnership work, especially working with community-based organizations.
• Previous experience working on capacity development initiatives is preferred.
• Ability to work productively in a high-pressure environment and to maintain visibly high levels of morale in difficult circumstances.
• Fluency in spoken and written English is required. Good command of Arabic is an asset.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will have the ability to network effectively, lead, influence and inspire others. They will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust among people. They will be highly motivated and possess the ability to work independently. They will have the ability to undertake strategic analysis and translate thinking into practice. They will work with sensitive issues in a multi-cultural environment and with virtual or/and dispersed teams and will have the ability to build confidence and to find creative and constructive solutions to difficult issues. The successful candidate will be able to build trust and alliances and will empower others.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Beirut, Lebanon. Housing is individual accommodation with unlimited freedom of movement beyond the house/office. This is an accompanied post. Staff have easy access to services – medical, electricity, water, etc.

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 e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.