Mercy Corps Programe Manager Job GIRL Project

Mercy Corps Programe Manager Job GIRL Project

Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.

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Driven by local needs, our programs provide communities in the world’s toughest places with the tools and support they need to turn the crises they confront into the opportunities they deserve. 

Mercy Corps has had a presence in Kenya since its humanitarian response to the post-election violence in 2008. 

We are presently looking for a committed and dynamic individual to take up the following position.
 

Program Manager - Girls Improving Resilience with Livestock (GIRL) Program, Lodwar
 

Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps implements high-quality, analytical development work in very difficult places. 

We have been operating in Kenya since 2008 and are presently implementing development programs across the Central, Rift Valley and Northern regions of Kenya.

We are currently launching a 3-year Nike Foundation funded program, focused on improving livelihoods in Turkana and West Pokot (Kenya) and Karamoja (Uganda) regions. 

The project, called Girls Improving Resilience with Livestock (GIRL), aims to empower pastoralist girls in the Turkana region to improve their livelihoods and personal agency, as well as increase the food security and adaptive capacity of their households and the resilience of their communities.

Mercy Corps opened its Lodwar office in January, 2015, in support of its cross-border conflict management programming.
 

We are seeking a highly skilled, creative problem solver with strong experience working in livelihoods with a focus on engaging marginalized populations to lead the Turkana office as Program Manager. 

The Program Manager – Lodwar will participate in strategy development and supervise the daily implementation of long-term development programming under GIRL’s three objectives, focused on livelihood development, girls empowerment and food security.

General Position Summary: The Program Manager is the senior management position for GIRL in Turkana, with supervisory and managerial responsibility over all aspects of program implementation and staff development in that locale. 

The Program Manager works closely with GIRL Program Coordinator to provide vision and leadership in project administration and monitors overall project performance. 

The Program Manager leads the coordination, financial and administrative compliance and monitoring and evaluation of the consortium in Turkana, engendering a collaborative team spirit focused on achievement of program goals and objective. 

The Program Manager is responsible for the oversight of GIRL activities and travels frequently to the field. He/She maximizes budget resources and personnel development and remains flexible in a continually changing environment. 

The Program Manager ensures that GIRL is planned and executed with quality, accountability and measurable impact. 

The Program Manager, along with the GIRL Program Coordinator and Mercy Corps Country Director, will liaise with the Nike Foundation and represent the program to other cooperating sponsors and other stakeholders.
 

The Program Manager will work closely with teams of officers in support of GIRL’s activities across objectives. 

The ability of the Program Manager to push forward systemically focused, dynamic approaches in all stages of programming will be one of the position’s three success factors.

The second will be the degree to which that person promotes and captures learning by her/his team, institutionalizing activity reviews, identifying and evaluating preconceptions and promoting a culture of inquisition. 

The third success factor will be the degree to which that person drives results, making critical decisions and producing scheduled outputs at deadline and to expected quality.

Essential Job Functions:
 

Program Management:

• Lead the conceptualization, implementation and continual improvement of dynamic, analysis-rooted development interventions in Turkana County in collaboration with Lodwar based GIRL team.
• Set an example as a thought leader in the Lodwar office, continually encouraging staff to reevaluate their strategies, gather and incorporate tacit information, and adapt programming to new learning and environmental conditions.
• Recommend program priorities and explore, evaluate and present new country opportunities that leverage impact and/ or complement core activities.
• Coordinate, manage and motivate the GIRL Turkana program team, ensuring that they have clear objectives/individual work plans as part of performance management) and receive meaningful feedback on their performance.
• Ensure an integrated approach to program implementation in order to maximize resource utilization and synergy between the staff and different MC programs.

Office Management:

• Ensure proper logistics, administration, human resources and transport needs of the program are conducted within Mercy Corps policy and with the maximum benefit to the program.
• Manage the recruitment and training of program staff to ensure staff are of the quality and capacity to successfully implement activities. 
• Monitor and advise on staffing needs throughout the program. 
• Ensure evaluations and disciplinary measures are made, as necessary according to Mercy Corps policy.
• Exercise sound judgment to ensure project expenses are reasonable, allocable and prudent.
• Ensure all project funds are spent in accordance with donor rules and regulations. 
• Work with the GIRL Program Coordinator to forecast expenditure surpluses and deficits to enable adjustments to be made to the program in a timely fashion.
• Oversee the program filing system and ensure that information is organized according to the reporting and auditing needs of the program. Ensure required levels of confidentiality.
• Provide direct and ongoing supervision and managerial support to all staff on the program.
• Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to develop and maintain systems that ensure the safety and security of the team in all aspects of its work.
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring positive recognition to Mercy Corps and to not endanger mercy Corps’ humanitarian mission.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Support the development and continual revision of a dynamic, programme-wide monitoring and evaluation system linked to program strategies, indicators, and information management tools, which supports programme management, accountability and learning. 
• Coordinate data gathering and management with all Lodwar-based program staff and take overall responsibility for GIRL monitoring and evaluation in the Turkana office.
• Ensure that team leaders are paying sufficient attention to the continual gathering and digestion of operating environment data and activity reports, and that teams are holding frequent activity review sessions to continually re-examine the relevance and impact of their programming.
• Coordinate and share information with the GIRL Program Coordinator to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are being achieved. Advise both on suggested improvements and necessities, as required.
• Produce written reports on the program activities capturing impacts related to all activities.
• Conceptualize and implement new mini-research efforts as opportunities arise.
• Ensure close coordination and sharing of information with other stakeholders such as other donors, other NGOs, and local authorities.

External Representation and Coordination:

• Ensure establishment and maintenance of relationships with communities, village councils and local government in Turkana target areas.
• Coordinate and share information and findings with the GIRL Program Manager in Kapenguria and in Karamoja.
• Support and coordinate visits from regional and HQ based staff and external visitors, such as donors and media, in collaboration with Program Coordinator.
• Establish and maintain contact with all key actors as relevant for program implementation – government ministries, UN, NGOs, partners – and establish mechanisms for contacting local community organizations and partners and other local NGOs/CBOs in line with key GIRL areas of work
• Other duties as assigned by your supervisor.

Accountability to Beneficiaries: Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
 

Organizational Learning: As part of Mercy Corps' agency-wide Organizational Learning Initiative, all team members are responsible for spending 5% of their work time in formal and/or non-formal professional learning activities.
 

Supervisory Responsibility: The Program Manager is responsible for directly/indirectly supervising approximately 2 national staff.
 

Accountability:

• Reports Directly To: GIRL Program Coordinator
• Works Directly With: Finance and Administration departments in Lodwar and Nairobi

Knowledge and Experience:

• Master’s Degree in business, economic development or other relevant field is preferred.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience with positions of progressively greater responsibilities.
• Management and demonstrated success building, managing and leading a team of professionals.
• Strong writing, communication, organization, prioritization and negotiating skills.
• Excellent (English) verbal and written communication skills with proven financial management skills.
• Local language skills a plus
• Excellent quantitative skills required. Financial accounting experience preferred.
• Experience in building and maintaining strong/productive relations with implementing and strategic partner agencies is preferred. This includes coordinating with government authorities and counterparts.
• Experience working in conflict environments is preferred.
• Security management experience in remote and insecure environments.
• Strong computer literacy with a full knowledge of office applications.

Success Factors: The successful candidate will possess strong leadership skills, with the ability to maintain a broad perspective. 

He/she will undertake innovative approaches, be agile in the conceptualization of new program ideas, and will be well versed in strategic thinking and planning. 

The ability and desire to grow individually and professionally in a difficult environment is important. 

The successful candidate will have the ability to live and work successfully in remote, insecure, and challenging setting with limited resources. An even temperament and good sense of humor is a must.
 

Furthermore, appreciations of a consultative, team approach to decision making and the ability to lead a team; including an ability to work with limited supervision. 

This position requires significant travel in remote and possibly insecure environment. The successful candidate will be energized by solving problems and working with adolescent girls.

Interested candidates who meet the above required qualifications and experience should submit a cover letter, detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three professional references (including a recent supervisor) to hrkenya@ke.mercysorps.org on or before Thursday 25th June by 4.00pm. 

The email subject line must clearly show the job title and location they are applying for. 

Applications without the right subject heading will be automatically disqualified. Please do not attach any certificates.

(Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We will only get in touch with shortlisted candidates.)

NB: Mercy Corps does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process.