Regional Program Performance and Quality Advisor- Americas Region

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 implements a variety of programming throughout the Americas in response to the diverse humanitarian and long-term development needs of the region. Mercy Corps has ongoing programs in the Caribbean, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, the US Northwest and Venezuela in areas of food security, economic development, water security and peace and governance. Mercy Corps has made a high level commitment to achieving greater impact through evidence and learning, adaptive management, using data-driven evidence to demonstrate results and contribute toward solving complex global challenges.

General Position Summary

Mercy Corps’ program performance and quality (PaQ) function support effective, efficient and equitable program performance through a culture of quality management for those who matter most – our program participants. We do this by creating and supporting systems and processes to enable all programs to be managed well; while, providing targeted management and leadership support to our most strategic programs and portfolios. PaQ is not a single function but rather a collection of functions that includes Program Management; Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) and MEL Technology; Community Accountability; Infrastructure; and, Strategic Support to Programs and Portfolios.

The Regional Program Performance and Quality (PaQ) Advisor is a member of the regional team and works across country and HQ teams. They will provide a critical leadership role in supporting country teams to set a high standard in program performance and quality by strengthening an organizational culture of and providing the necessary capacities for evidence-based programming, outstanding monitoring and evaluation, community accountability, and sound program management. The role will work most closely with Program Managers (and other Program Leads), MEL Leads, and Community Accountability Reporting Mechanism (CARM) Leads in the region. As a member of the regional team, the Advisor will also support the Regional Director (RD) in compiling regional analytics to assess portfolio performance.

Essential Job Responsibilities

PROGRAM QUALITY

• Support RD to ensure the integrity of Mercy Corps’ operations and program implementation through adherence to Mercy Corps and global best practices, policies and procedures, which include adherence to PM@MC and other programmatic Minimum Standards at Mercy Corps as contained in the Program Management Policy.
• Support the implementation of PM@MC 2.0 at the regional level, and to assist in coordinating related training, capacity building and TA.
• Provide Program Quality surge support as required by field teams
• Develop a virtual community of practice (whether formal or informal) among Program Managers, allowing them to share information, tools, and lessons.
• Work on proposal development as required. Potential lead writer as determined.
• Guide program teams to access and utilize PaQ resources as relevant.
• Stay abreast of Complex Programs in the region, and engage with boards, start-up/ close-out, or other processes as needed, in coordination with the RD and the HQ Strategic Leadership Team.
• Conduct program quality reviews, work planning support, record retention or start-up support as requested by the RD.
• Support RD in following up on the Mercy Corps Agency Dashboard, the Minimum Standards Reporting Mechanism, the TolaData Dashboard, and other agency-level tools.
• Alongside and in consultation from country and program leadership, identify distinct program quality support needs and lead the development and execution of workplans to .

MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING

• Work with program teams to identify tools and processes to gather, analyze and use data to develop feedback loops and adapt programs in response to changing conditions on the ground. Build in linkages to technology as possible.
• Work with the HQ MEL team and the RD to support implementation of the agency MEL Policy (part of the PM Policy), and related training, capacity building and TA.
• Work with country MEL teams and program/operations teams to capture lessons learned during program implementation, and feed this information into thought leadership opportunities and into the decision making loop for ongoing program management and program design.
• Support TolaData implementation across programs and use TolaData to analyze progress against indicators.
• Collect impact stories and evidence from Mercy Corps’ country teams on a regular basis.
• Coordinate with our research and MEL teams to tie metrics and impact with research that promotes theories of change evident in our programs.
• Identify key PaQ learnings from countries and the Americas region to inform broader agency learning and policy agenda.
• Guide program teams to stay abreast of and utilize MEL resources as appropriate.

REGIONAL COHESION AND SYNERGIES

• Contribute to Regional and Country Strategies, as requested.
• Review country and regional strategies to ensure they incorporate or address program quality issues.
• Design tools and processes to measure the impact of the Regional Strategy. Data visualization knowledge is highly desirable.
• Support country teams in the review of MEL, CARM, and PaQ structures to ensure optimal functionality.
• Ensure country teams adhere to the Minimum Standards Reporting and capture results to inform strategies, research and learning, and evidence-based decision making.
• Support strategic hiring for Key PaQ, MEL, CARM, and Gender positions across country teams.
• Support orientation and onboarding of country-level PaQ, MEL, CARM, and senior program staff.
• Continue to engage with and grow relevant Communities of Practice (MEL, DoPs, FDs, etc) and organize learning/sharing events.
• Serve as a member of the global “PaQPlus” team, which includes PaQ and MEL regional advisors and works to advance a common approach to program performance and quality across regions.

ACCOUNTABILITY

• Capacity building to country teams on Mercy Corps’ Accountability Principles.
• Lead CARM updating and roll out in all countries.
• Develop tools and conduct regional analysis on CARM data.
• Working with the HQ Program Standards team, coordinate CARM TA to the region as needed.
• Contribute and lead agency-wide initiatives as identified and prioritized by regional leadership.

Supervisory Responsibility

None.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Regional Director

Works Directly With: Regional and Country Office teams, PaQ+, Technical Services, New Initiatives, Research and Learning

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 international development, organizational development or similar field of study and MA preferred.
• 6+ years of experience in international development work, with a minimum of 4 years in field postings
• Willingness and ability to travel to Mercy Corps project sites in the region, including traveling to insecure environments, are required. Applied international experience in program management, design, monitoring and evaluation.
• Proven ability to develop, apply and adapt to technological solutions.
• Data visualization and dashboard creation is highly desirable.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• High level of initiative and problem-solving ability.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Significant experience in facilitating learning and capacity building across teams.
• Fluency in English is required. Spanish required and French highly preferred.

Success Factors

The advisor will demonstrate a winning track record in program management and bring flexibility, creativity, and enthusiasm to every project they undertake. The individual must have change management skills and the ability to multi-task, set priorities, pay attention to detail, and work under deadlines within complex team environments. The Advisor position requires strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills, and a level of emotional intelligence proficiency that quickly builds and maintains productive relationships across teams. Being aware and sensitive to international development issues and diverse cultures is critical.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions The position is based in the Americas, with periodic visits in the region up to 30% travel.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in 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.

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.

As a safeguarding measure, Mercy Corps screens all potential US-Based employees. This is done following the conclusion of recruitment and prior to assuming full employment.

Our screening process is designed to be transparent and completed in partnership with new Team Members. You will have the opportunity to disclose any prior convictions at the conclusion of the recruitment process before the check is initiated. We ask that you do not disclose any prior convictions in your application materials or during the recruitment process.

Covid-19 Vaccine Policy for US-Based Employees

Mercy Corps has determined that, in an effort to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all Mercy Corps employees working in the United States, all U.S.-based employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection status. This policy is necessary to ensure not only the safety of our workforce, but the ongoing functionality of the organization.

This policy will be revised as needed to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, and to respond to changing guidance from public health authorities.

For new employees this requirement goes into effect within 10 business days of employment. Team members that travel are expected to comply with host-country requirements, including vaccinations. Failure to comply may impact your employment. Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.