Mercy Corps
**Position Description Location Edinburgh or London, UK, or NL Position Status Full-time, fixed term – 12 months’ maternity coverage Start date: early December 2022 Salary circa Edinburgh: 32K – 38K; London: 37K – 44K; NL: 38K – 45K Reporting to Regional Director, Asia Travel Up to 35%
Closing Date: Apply with CV and Cover Letter before 9th October**
Candidates must have the independant right to work in the UK at the time of appointment.
About MERCY CORPS
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
The Team
Mercy Corps’ current operations in the Asia region focus on 14 countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Thailand, and Uzbekistan). These are a disparate collection of countries with many different challenges and opportunities. Mercy Corps’ past and present activities in the region include: large- and small-scale conflict mitigation through market systems development, health awareness campaigns for TB eradication and mother and child health; education; nutrition; agribusiness and natural resource management; vocational training and job creation; renewable energy development; financial inclusion; technical assistance to governments and citizens for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR); and water and sanitation work targeting vulnerable populations.
The Position
The Senior Program Officer (SPO) supports strategic direction, vision and leadership to ensure impactful, high-quality programming in the Asia region. The SPO works closely with the Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director and is an essential member of the Regional Management Team. S/he is the headquarters (HQ) focal point for regional and country level strategic plan processes; regional and country structures and transitions updates and progress on program implementation and impact. S/he leads, manages and mentors a team of Program Officers (POs) and Assistant Program Officers (APOs), ensuring quality work, and instilling a cohesive team dynamic. The SPO supports country teams in multiple aspects of their programs, and plays a key role in connecting the field to HQ resources and represents country/regional interests internally with various HQ teams, as well as with external stakeholders. S/he is the ultimate of responsibility for overall monitoring of grants/programs for compliance with external (donor) requirements, and adherence to Mercy Corps’ internal policies and procedures.
Essential Responsibilities
Strategy, Planning and Learning
● Support regional and country teams with strategy development, planning and progress tracking;
● Travel to support facilitation of the process and work with teams to finalize strategic plans;
● Work with the regional and country teams to ensure active and proposed programs are aligned with and contribute to strategy.
● Assist Regional Director in identifying and securing support and resources for the region.
Coordination and Representation
● Coordinate the flow of information between country programs, the regional management team, relevant HQ departments and donors; Build and maintain strong working relationships with country offices, resolving issues and maintaining regular contact regarding program implementation, grant regulations, training/support needs and incident tracking;
● Ensure field teams are aware of relevant Mercy Corps resources/tools/best practices;
● Attend donor meetings on behalf of country programs and/or the region to represent strategies.
● Actively participate in relevant coordination forums, networks and donor events;
● Provide written or verbal briefings on context, country strategy and programs as needed.
Team Management
● Responsible for managing overall desk support to the region;
● Develop individual and/or team work plans or other internal management tools for the efficient use of desk team resources and time; set standards and priorities for the team;
● Check the quality and timeliness of all work of the regional desk team at HQ;
● Mentor and oversee the onboarding, learning and career progression of POs and APOs;
● Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
Portfolio Management and Grant Administration
● Supervise ongoing monitoring of programs, including ensuring regular check-ins with country teams on contractual, legal and financial requirements (such as co-financing/match, BvAs, etc.);
● Actively provide assessment of risk associated with program implementation; mitigation measures and problem solving based on patterns of knowledge across portfolios;
● Contribute to complex program management in concert with the Regional Director and Deputy Regional Director;
● Support field teams in adhering to internal and external policies (e.g. PM@MC minimum standards, donor compliance regulations, etc.);
● Ensure timely sign off and submission of proposals, as well as both narrative and financial reports, and follow up with donors as necessary;
● Ensure Mercy Corps knowledge management systems (e.g. Grant Award Information Tracker) are up to date and accurate.
Business Development
● Identify and highlight promising funding opportunities for country programs and regional initiatives, in line with country strategies;
● Identify contractual risk and develop mitigation strategies;
● Ensure that proposals are developed in accordance with defined internal processes;
● Ensure that lessons learned are incorporated into new program design;
● Oversee submission of proposals and concept notes to donors, and serve as the focal point during any negotiations with donor HQ representatives.
● The SPO reviews draft proposals for coherence and donor requirements, and manages submission. He/she may be appointed a different role in the design process and travel to field if needed.
● Works closely with the finance department to coordinate the development of a realistic and cost-effective budget that includes all appropriate support costs
● May be asked to take on lead writing responsibilities from time to time, including travel to the field to help with the design phase, needs assessment and partner coordination.
Other
● Travel to the field to support country programs as requested;
● Support the recruitment, deployment and onboarding process for any Mercy Corps new hires, as needed
● Any other duties as assigned
Supervisory Responsibility
Asia Regional Programme Team
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Regional Director, Asia
Works Directly With: Field based programme teams, Country Directors of Programmes, MCE
Programmes team, Finance, Compliance, Communications, Policy and Advocacy, New Initiatives,
Programme Accountability and Quality, Strategic Partnership Team.
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 and Transferrable Skills
Knowledge and Experience
● Bachelor’s degree in relevant field. Master’s or equivalent experience preferred.
● Minimum 5 years’ experience in international relief or development, particularly in grant administration and compliance.
● Demonstrated experience with proposal development, program management, monitoring and evaluation, and external representation.
● Previous Asia field experience preferred.
Success Factors
The successful candidate demonstrates the skill, professional maturity and finesse required to manage the desk team to provide excellent, timely support to the Asia field teams. S/he is a problem solver, who is adept in successfully dealing with issues of complexity and demonstrates the ability to serve as a mentor for the Program Officers and Assistant Program Officer. The SPO is a skilled communicator, able to develop and utilize strong relationships with staff, partners and donors. S/he will analyse context and develop high impact strategies, and will be a skilled writer and synthesizer of complex information, helping teams generate new insights into their work, the needs of their countries and the region, and how program impact can be scaled. A sense of humour is greatly appreciated.
Note on Travel
The SPO role involves travel to the field, of up to 35% of the time, sometimes on short notice and to areas with limited access to medical facilities and amenities, to support and fill-in during senior staff gaps.
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.
How to apply
Please learn more and apply here: