Temporary- Interim Director- Crisis Analysis Team – DRC

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.

About Program (CAT-DRC)

Mercy Corps has developed a Crisis Analysis function to support our programming in the most complex contexts, including Syria, Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo and others. The DR Congo Crisis Analysis Team (CAT-DRC) supports Mercy Corps programs in the Eastern DRC in five key areas: providing population displacement alerts, developing contextual knowledge of crisis and access, developing operational and programmatic strategies, crafting advocacy messages, and working closely with partners on predicting movement based on conflict. The CAT-DRC focuses on understanding crises – whether this is conflict, epidemic, famine, natural disasters, etc. – and trends, both present and forecasted, and linking this with its impact on the local population.

The Position

The Director is a strategic leader of the CAT-DRC reporting directly to the Country Director They is responsible for developing and delivering the Mercy Corps DR Congo country team with in-depth analysis on displacement, conflict, humanitarian access and humanitarian situation trends and timely strategic humanitarian and crisis data relevant to the programmatic activities in high and extreme risk areas.

The Interim CAT Directorwill ensure the alignment of products and services with internal and external stakeholder priorities, through maintenance of strong partnerships with the country programme, donors and other external stakeholders. They will be a core member of the country team and support programmatic activities in high and extreme risk areas by providing timely strategic humanitarian and crisis analysis. They will manage a team that provides MC DR Congo senior leadership with a comprehensive picture of local trends related to context stability, humanitarian access, conflict, emergency response and humanitarian needs through the combination of granular field data with geopolitical analysis in order to forecast changes to the conflict and humanitarian environment.

Essential Responsibilities

The Director is expected to fulfill their objectives through strategic management of the team as well as specific deliverables outlined in the department’s annual work plan, which is developed in line with the CAT-DRC Strategy for 2023-23025 and is to be updated on a monthly basis. More specifically, apart from ensuring “business as usual” for the department, the Director will be expected to deliver on several strategic priorities:

OPERATIONAL TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Ensure development and follow-up of the quarterly and monthly work plan, and support weekly planning (led by unit managers)
• Ensure delivery of quality products and services to other departments and programs on time (including final approval where relevant)
• Ensure department HR management, including timely planning of leave for all staff

POSITIONING OF THE CAT WITHIN MERCY CORPS DRC

• Organize monthly meetings of the CAT Advisory Group
• Ensure organization of induction briefings for new national and international staff
• Organize quarterly “all staff” briefings on the CAT and the product portfolio
• Ensure organization of oral briefings of flagship products (scenario, SHAEPES reports) to all staff or selected representatives of each department

SUPPORT THEMATIC EXPERTISE AND THE SERVICE OFFER (PRODUCT DELIVERY)

• Ensure publication of the Annual Scenario report on main drivers of crisis (Dec 2023)
• Ensure implementation and reporting of Community Perception Tracking and Analysis products (CPTA) as per agreed deadlines
• Ensure development and publication of the initial baseline context stability score – SHAEPES – reports (if requested), and of SHAEPES quarterly monitoring presentations (for Mambasa, Beni, and Kabare)
• Support identification of thematic analysis gap (specific topic) and development of SOPs

BUILDING INTERNAL EXPERTISE AND ADHERENCE TO GEDSI AND LOCALIZATION STRATEGY (preferably, depending on candidates expertise and experience)

• Support roll out of the GEDSI strategy for the CAT
• Support the Analytical Unit in development and maintenance of software portfolio and enhance internal capacities in its use (Web Design and Web Management, ArcGIS, Adobe, Canva, MAXQDA, etc.

BUILDING AND MAINTAINING EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS

• Ensure participation on OCHA-led coordination structures and a working presence in analysis-focused working groups on provincial and national level (GAB, Access, etc.)
• Support collaboration with CAT current partners: ACAPS, REACH-IMPACT, RootWise, Insecurity Insight, ACLED, etc.
• If possible: ensure/support independent fundraising for specific CAT activities/products

Supervisory Responsibility: Research Unit Manager, Analytical Unit Manager, Stakeholder Engagement Specialist

Reports Directly To: Country Director

Works Directly With:

• Internally: Country Director, Safety and Security Director, Program Director, Operations Director, and to a lesser extent Ethics Director and HR/Admin Director, works in support of the Country Leadership Team (CLT)
• Externally: CAT-DRC partners (ACAPS, REACH-IMPACT, Insecurity Insight, etc.) and broader humanitarian community (OCHA, clusters, etc.)

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 Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Master’s degree in a relevant field
• At least five years’ experience in security and/or conflict analysis
• At least two years field experience deployed in an active conflict environment
• High-level written and analytical skills
• Experience in liaising with diplomatic and multi-national organizations as well as international NGOs, other non-governmental organizations, donors and academic institutions
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills
• Experience leading, training, and coaching a team
• Competency in Internet and Microsoft Office systems including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and other database/mapping systems
• Fluency in English and French, both written and spoken is required
• Academic, practical, and professional knowledge and experience in the DRC is an asset

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position is based in Goma, DRC and unaccompanied. Travel up to 25% of the time.

While conditions in Goma are improving, there are still pockets of violence and insecurity and petty crime is present. Mercy Corps’ offices experience variable levels of insecurity, with the situation closely monitored by UN peacekeepers. Years of conflict and corruption have badly damaged the country’s infrastructure. Air travel is necessary to get from one end of the country to the other. Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available in urban areas. Internet is limited, but available in all Mercy Corps’ offices. Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic. There are a number of health services available with several evacuation options for serious illnesses. There is reasonable access to most consumer goods.

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 elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.