Vacancy at Mercy Corps for a Deputy Country Director

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Mercy Corps is an international relief and development organization working in over 40 countries worldwide helping people build secure, productive and just communities.

Mercy Corps has been operating in Nigeria since December 2012, with a staff of around 100 people working in twelve states of Nigeria, predominantly in the north and north - east. Mercy Corps Nigeria implements a variety of programs in the following sectors: economic development, livelihoods/food security, adolescent girls & boys empowerment, financial resilience, conflict mitigation and humanitarian response. Common themes include community engagement, inclusive development, gender, and working in partnership with local government, the private sector and civil society actors. One of the current challenges is to sustain quality of programs while continue to grow and increase our impact. The Nigeria team has a strong commitment to providing entrepreneurial and innovative solutions to development challenges, and is actively seeking and facilitating market-based solutions.


Job Position:  Deputy Country Director

General Position Summary
The Deputy Country Director (DCD) will work closely with the Country Director (CD) and the program teams to lead new program development and strategy, ensure effective program coordination and technical support, monitoring and evaluation, quality assurance and accountability in close collaboration with the operations and finance teams. The position will be based in Abuja, with frequent travel to field sites. S/he will help represent the Mercy Corps program relevant government authorities, donors, major stakeholders (including those from the private sector), and other program partners such as the UN and other NGOs.

Essential Job Functions 
Program Development

• In coordination with the Country Director, program directors, technical advisors and other relevant personnel and counterparts, lead the identification of new initiatives and opportunities that respond to identified needs and the country strategy;
• Plan and lead assessments to better understand needs for program design and to further develop Nigeria’s country strategy;
• Conduct analyses to determine humanitarian/development gaps and how Mercy Corps should position itself to best serve the needs of beneficiaries;
• Lead the development of solicited and unsolicited proposals and concept notes.

Coordination and Representation

• Establish close and productive relationships with donors, national government authorities, private sector actors, UN and NGOs, in close coordination with the Country Director, program directors and managers.
• Represent Mercy Corps at all relevant coordination meetings and increasingly play a lead role in other advocacy and coordination bodies;
• Coordinate with other NGOs to consolidate Mercy Corps’ strategic niche and comparative advantages, while identifying strategic partnerships;

Program Coordination

• Provide leadership in all aspects of program coordination to ensure consistent quality, including the incorporation of cross-cutting themes, lessons learned and best practices;
• Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and partners and aligned with Mercy Corps principles, values and strategic roadmap and country strategy;
• Work with program directors, and managers to monitor adherence to grant agreements, Mercy Corps policies and procedures and relevant external rules and regulations;
• Support program directors, and managers to oversee performance of partners, sub-grantees, and technical contractors;
• Conduct frequent field visits to all project sites for monitoring, quality control and program staff mentoring and coaching.

Program Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

• Ensure that robust design, monitoring, evaluation and learning (DMEL) and quality assurance and control (QAC) systems are in place, adhered to and used as a decision-making tool, encouraging consistency and best practice across programs;
• Ensure that the DMEL staff in Nigeria is actively linked to those at HQ to ensure that global indicators and practices are considered and adhered to where necessary;
• Provide ongoing training and guidance to staff on M&E best practices.

Program Minimal Standards and Reporting

• Ensure that program documentation and program minimal standards are consistently adhered to and that comprehensive dashboards are provided;
• Ensure that a comprehensive reporting schedule is maintained and adhered to according to requirements;
• Provide reporting review and/or support to and as required.

Program Support Operations

• Work closely with the Operations Manager and Finance Manager to ensure that operational and financial management systems are responsive to program needs and that program staff are adhering to both donor and Mercy Corps procedures and regulations.

Security

• Ensure that programs are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security management priorities.

Other

• Conduct him/herself professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission.
• Other duties as assigned.

Accountability
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 our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve - we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: Program directors, and managers (currently 4 program areas, and MEL Manager)

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Country Director

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Department Heads, country program, finance, operational staff; HQ Regional Program Team and Technical Support Unit.

Knowledge And Experience

• BA/S or equivalent in social science, management, international development or other relevant field. MA/S preferred.
• At least 10 years of overseas experience including at least 5 years in a senior management position.
• Experience managing humanitarian relief, transitional programs in areas affected by conflict and insecurity or development programs.
• Previous experience working in West Africa is desired.
• Proven track record in successful proposal writing and development.
• Experience managing programs in relevant technical area(s) including food security, economic development, gender, livelihoods, financial services and humanitarian work. Strong understanding of conflict sensitive program mainstreaming, gender or protection mainstreaming would be a key advantage;
• Strong M&E skills.
• Knowledge of major donor requirements and compliance issues.
• Strong management skills with good understanding of relevant cross-cultural issues.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Solid knowledge of security protocols and ability to work effectively in an insecure environment.

Success Factors
The successful DCD will have senior level experience in coordinating and managing programs in complex areas . S/he will have exceptional program development and proposal writing skills, and an outstanding ability to design, implement and manage innovative programs that respond to current needs and reinforce the future program structure of Mercy Corps in the region. S/he will have proven experience with cross-cultural teams, with strong leadership, communication and mentoring skills. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations. Patience, tenacity, diplomacy and a sense of humor will contribute to success.

Living Conditions/Environmental Conditions
This position will be based in Abuja with up to 40% travel, primarily to program locations within the Middle Belt, north and north-east Nigeria, Security in Abuja is generally good, although there are times when security is an issue. Housing, health care, water, electricity and consumer goods are all reasonably accessible and there are good international and domestic travel options from Abuja Airport.

Abuja is an accompanied location suitable for spouse/partner or dependents. This position is eligible for R&R.

Air travel is necessary to get to some field locations. Mobile phones services are widely available. Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices, although might be inconsistent. Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic. There’s reasonable access to most consumer goods, although they can be expensive. There is good number of school with different education philosophies and curriculum ( British, American, French, German to name the few)

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside of 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 Mercy Corps 's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should Click Here to Apply

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