Program Reporting and Development Manager – Ukraine Cash Consortium

**This position is based in Lviv, Ukraine or Remote within 3 hour time difference to Ukraine

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 is responding to the Ukraine emergency since the escalation of armed conflict across the country in February 2022. The attacks set off a wave of displacement internally and into the countries along Ukraine’s western borders. Mercy Corps response program will focus on multi- purpose cash intervention and other key sectors, particularly food security, livelihoods, NFIs, and protection. Mercy Corps is also supporting local NGOs and other civil society actors currently supporting displaced populations, as well as those in Ukraine sheltering in place. As Mercy Corps pursues its objectives in the region it will continue to assess the security situation in areas of potential operation, with an eye towards the logistics of possible programmatic interventions and positioning going forward.

General Position Summary

Mercy Corps is responding to the Ukraine crisis with large-scale consortium programming with a focus on Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA). The Consortium is a partnership between three international humanitarian aid agencies to model and deliver innovative, effective cash and other humanitarian assistance programs to support people affected by the Ukraine crisis, including people within Ukraine and refugees in surrounding countries. The Consortium requires a strong leadership and coordination function in order to operate effectively and deliver on its promise as a premier mechanism for assistance, primarily via cash, in response to the Ukraine crisis.

The Program Reporting and Development Manager will support the Consortium in building and administering its current and expanding cash program. The Manager will assist in securing new programs by coordinating and leading proposal development processes and ensuring high-quality and timely donor reporting. S/he will know and advise teams on donor rules and compliance. S/he will work collaboratively with Consortium partner Program Managers, Finance and Compliance Teams, Field Office and Headquarters staff, including through facilitation and co-leadership of Consortium working groups, to advance common workstreams and maintain high program quality. S/he will support the Consortium’s thought leadership, advocacy, and communications agendas, and will represent the Consortium as appropriate in internal and inter-agency fora. It is critical that the Program Development and Reporting Manager is an excellent communicator, who is supportive and solution focused. The Program Development and Reporting Manager needs to be highly motivated, self-driven and able to support complex programming with limited daily support and direction; s/he will be able to work remotely with internal and external stakeholders to achieve common objectives.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Program Quality

• Lead and/or facilitate consortium working group convenings, ensuring that the Programs/Technical Working Group, Communications, Safeguarding, Reporting, Steering Committee, and other relevant inter-agency advance in their workflows, and coordinate convenings as needed to ensure task follow-up and accountability.
• Establish systems for regular grant monitoring and facilitate regular bilateral and consortium-wide discussions with Program, MEL, Finance, Operations, Director of Programs/Country Director, and Consortium Director to ensure that performance is tracked effectively, risks and issues are flagged and action taken as appropriate.
• Develop and implement advocacy strategies to the Ukrainian humanitarian community and Government of Ukraine to strengthen program management and response to participants, around issues such as allowable cash transfer values, needs-based approaches, and other relevant issues.
• Maintain close bilateral partnership with consortium member teams to ensure an open line of communication, troubleshoot agency-specific concerns, and provide other key guidance to ensure program management and harmonization.
• Provide regular management information to the Senior Leadership Team and Mercy Corps Complex Board on the performance of the Ukraine Cash Consortium.
• Maintain an online grant filing system, reporting and compliance tracker (ensuring compliance with PM@MC minimum standards), risk register, and other program management tools.
• Play a leading role in Grant Kick-Off and Close-Out meetings to ensure that all grant information, including deadlines, donor priorities and requirements, are communicated and understood by partner teams, and grants are closed in compliance with donor regulations.

Program Compliance

• Work closely with Finance, Complex Board, and HQ Compliance team to ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations (including PM@MC minimum standards).
• Liaise with Mercy Corps HQ to facilitate donor requests for review and approval of program activities (e.g. program adaptations, events), communications initiatives (e.g. press releases, reports, campaigns) and other initiatives that require donor approval within the parameters of the award contract.
• Ensure that program is executed in alignment with the donor agreement and the applicable donor regulations, staying abreast of changes in regulatory environment related to donor/grant compliance; updating partnership process, tools, policies and procedures as necessary.
• Communicate compliance expectations, donor policy updates/changes, and other relevant guidance to consortium partners and assist in the development of consortium-wide strategies to adhere to such guidance, as appropriate.

Program Reporting & Communications

• Lead all reporting workflows and processes between partner reporting and program teams and Mercy Corps Ukraine and HQ to ensure the timely and quality development, review and submission of reports and other communication products.
• Develop and implement a communications strategy.
• Coordinate, write, and submit high quality reports at donor-instructed frequency, including: monthly reports, semi-annual reports, and annual reports.
• Work with the PaQ team to analyze, manage, and visualize indicator and monitoring data to effectively and creatively illustrate program progress and findings to donor/external actors.
• Spearhead opportunities for thought leadership and increased visibility on behalf of the consortium, including video/fact sheet production, position papers, thought leadership pieces, and other related initiatives leveraging evidence from programs.
• Provide timely, thorough responses to information requests from internal and external sources, such as Cash Working Group, sub-clusters, and the Government of Ukraine.
• Participate in donor meetings, providing requested inputs and contributing to discussions around program management and strategy.

Proposal Development

• Interface with Mercy Corps HQ to keep abreast of donor strategic priorities, specific requirements and deadlines.
• Participate in the strategic evaluation process for new funding opportunities.
• Oversee proposal development processes, including drafting and producing high quality concept notes and proposals that support Consortium’s strategic programming goals. This involves developing, managing and sharing the proposal development calendar in-country and with headquarters, ensuring funding proposals are submitted in a timely manner.
• Coordinate funding opportunities with relevant Mercy Corps and consortium partner teams and facilitate discussions to design sound technical proposal ideas. Use partner inputs to lead on proposal writing, development, and submission processes to donor, ensuring partners’ compliance with established deadlines for providing technical input and comments.
• Facilitate administrative elements of proposal development process, including Issues Letters and other relevant internal or donor requests as necessary.

Team Management

• Hire and supervise team member(s) responsible for administrative, reporting, and support duties for the consortium.
• Develop the capacity of the supervisee, deepen his/her understanding of their role and assist with career development.
• Assist Mercy Corps and partner team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Support Consortium Director and represent consortium on behalf of Director in internal or external capacity, as appropriate.
• 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.
• Assist in recruiting, orienting, and new team member onboarding as necessary.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by Ukraine response leadership. Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
• Ensure that security information that could affect programming is shared with all Consortium members

Supervisory Responsibility

TBD

Accountability

Reports directly to: Consortium Director

Works directly with: Consortium Management Team, Country Directors, Programmatic Managers, Mercy Corps HQ, Field Coordinators, Communications and Reporting focal points.

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 that guide international relief and development work. We are committed to actively involving communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills

• Bachelor’s degree required. Masters or equivalent in a field related to Humanitarian or International Development or relevant fields is preferred.
• 5+ years of experience providing coordination or management support to program implementation in a relevant field of expertise that includes:
  • Preparing writing and analysis on programmatic activities;
  • Budget management experience;
  • Managing work plans;
  • Proposal and new business development;
  • Representing programs with donors and external stakeholders.
• Experience working in Ukraine or Eastern Europe humanitarian context.
• Proven ability to work cooperatively with internal and external stakeholders, and to play a leadership role in convening groups. Astute skills in relationship building and coordination.
• Experience working with USAID/BHA required, DFID, EC, GAC, SIDA and other donors a plus.
• Understanding and experience of adaptive management.
• Extensive experience with monitoring and evaluation and other learning efforts.
• Excellent writing and communications skills required.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field. locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.
• Fluency in English is required.

Success factors

• Highly developed interpersonal communication skills
• Experience in all phases of project management
• Deep commitment to humanitarian principles and values
• Ability to work under pressure, independently and with limited supervision
• Demonstrated creative problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members of varied experiences and work styles, follow procedures, and meet deadlines
• Multi-tasker with the proven ability to organize and prioritize competing priorities
• Proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results
• Demonstrate a strong understanding for cultural, political and religious environments and be able to live and work successfully in those environments
• Ability to maintain a sense of humor in stressful situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Lviv, Ukraine with the ability to implement the role 50% remotely. Accommodations are being defined and access to services – medical, electricity, water, etc. is in place but may change depending on the situation. This position requires travel to surrounding countries, as security permits. Given the emergency context, this position requires exceptional work schedules, including evenings and weekends

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 theInteragency 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 toMercy 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.