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. Now, and for the future.
We see global challenges as an invitation
to pioneer innovative, sustainable solutions.
Mercy Corps is looking for committed and
dynamic individual to take up the following position:
Position: County Project Coordinators (5)
Position: County Project Coordinators (5)
Location: Isiolo, Marsabit, Wajir,
Garissa and Turkana Counties
Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps has been operating in Kenya since 2008, focusing its interventions around four objectives:
Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps has been operating in Kenya since 2008, focusing its interventions around four objectives:
1) Peace and Conflict Management;
2) Livelihood / Market Systems;
3) Governance (particularly at the county
level); and
4) Youth Employment/Employability
(including the social and economic development of adolescents).
The four objectives serve to increase
community resilience to drought and other shocks and stresses, and to decrease
fragility with a particular focus on Kenya’s Arid Lands.
Mercy Corps’ vision for change requires the
private sector, government and civil society to work together to create
meaningful and sustainable change.
Mercy Corps is recruiting five County Project
Coordinators to oversee county-level activities for a five-year USAID-funded
Feed the Future (FtF) Livestock Market Systems Development Activity for
Northern Kenya.
This project will support USAID’s Feed the
Future Initiative specifically to improve households’ income, productive assets
and resilience to drought and other shocks.
Specific areas of focus include:
strengthened and sustained rangeland and water management; strengthened drought
risk management; strengthened conflict management; improved and sustained
health, nutrition, and hygiene practices; improved literacy, numeracy, and life
skills; and collaborative action and learning for community empowerment.
General Position Summary: Under the direction
and management support from the Deputy Chief of Party, the County Project
Coordinator will be responsible for the overall county-level planning,
coordination, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of the
Strengthening Community Capacities for Resilience and Growth project.
S/he will ensures all project initiatives
are implemented to achieve maximum impact as per project objectives while
remaining on schedule and budget.
The Project Coordinator directly manages
the county-level staff on the project and has an informal reporting line to our
partner’s Regional Program Manager.
Strong day-to-day coordination with
the Regional Program Manager is required to ensure that office operations are
running effectively and are compliant with all internal and external
regulations.
S/he will be the primary liaison with
county government officials.
Essential Job Functions:
Essential Job Functions:
Program Management
·
Provide
overall managerial leadership for the project at the county level, ensuring
teams follow work plans so activities are on time, target and within the
approved budget, and project deliverables achieve desired impact;
·
Lead
effective coordination, collaboration and integration among all technical,
support and project units including with our lead partner – ACDI/VOCA and
implementing partner – the BOMA Project;
·
Partner
with county-level government and communities in areas of operation;
·
Ensure
effective and timely monitoring, documenting and reporting on all project
activities as per the policies and practices of the consortium lead, Mercy
Corps, USAID and the government;
·
Provide
timely updates to supervisor on progress and issues, identifying risks and
proposing solutions for action and early resolution;
·
Attend
all quarterly project meetings in Nairobi as well as facilitate planning
meetings and workshops with government, NGOs, private sector and community
partners to revise plans and promote partner acceptance/buy-in;
·
Regularly
visit field sites to assess progress of activities and provide formal and
informal feedback;
·
Coordinate
with procurement, logistics, security, administration and human resources teams
to ensure operational systems support field activities.
Team Management
·
Assist
team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance and
achieve objectives;
·
Promote
accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback
informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews;
·
Create
and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to
achieve excellence;
·
Work
closely with the HR department to recruit, orient and lead team members as
necessary.
Influence & Representation
·
Represent
Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO and other relevant events, in close
coordination with the Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party and country
leadership;
·
Coordinate
activities with consortium partners, sub grantees, local government and other
implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.
Security
·
Work
closely with the county team’s security focal points to develop and maintain
systems that promote the safety and security of all team members.
Coordinate closely with our partner, ACDI/VOCA on security issues at the county
level;
·
Ensure
that programs are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and
understanding of security.
Other
·
Conduct
himself/herself both 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.
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.
Accountability to Beneficiaries: Mercy Corps team
members are expected to support all efforts toward 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.
Supervisory Responsibility: 3-5 project
team members
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Deputy Chief Of Party
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Deputy Chief Of Party
Works Directly With: Regional
Program Manager (partner), Chief of Party, finance and operations teams, HQ
Regional Program Team, HQ Technical Support Unit, and Partner Organizations.
Knowledge and Experience:
·
Masters
Degree or equivalent in development studies, business, planning, social
sciences or other relevant field is preferred;
·
A
minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience in multi-sectoral
programs, managing teams, strategic planning and implementing programs;
·
Strong
managerial skills, including effective personnel management, adaptive
management, coordination and decision-making;
·
Strong
facilitation and consensus-building skills;
·
Competent
in building networks, strong problem-solving skills, and ability to influence
with effective listening, persuasion, negotiation and other techniques;
·
Strong
understanding of USAID compliance issues;
·
Internationally
recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to
obtain the qualification in the early months of work;
·
Excellent
and persuasive oral and written communication skills, including report writing,
in English and other language(s), as required;
·
Spoken
fluency is Swahili is required and primary local dialects in the respective
County is strongly preferred;
·
Previous
working experience in northern Kenya is desirable;
·
Demonstrated
attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work
independently and cooperatively with team members;
·
Ability
to work comfortably in a sometimes tense and changing security environment is required.
Success Factors
The successful County Project Coordinator
will have a strong understanding of project approaches and represent the
project professionally at all times.
S/he will combine exceptional management
skills and capacity to manage relationships with different stakeholders. A
heavy emphasis will be placed on coordination with other actors implementing in
the areas of intervention.
S/he will be committed to long-term program
sustainability and the delivery of high-impact activities at the community
level.
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.
S/he will be committed to working closely
and collaboratively with the County Government structures and our lead partner,
ACDI/VOCA.
How to Apply
Interested candidates who meet the above
required qualifications and experience should submit a Cover Letter and
detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three professional references (including
a recent supervisor) to ke-hrkenya@mercycorps.org on or before 23rd October,
2017.
The email subject line must clearly show the job title and location they are applying for.
Applications without an appropriate subject heading will be automatically disqualified.
The email subject line must clearly show the job title and location they are applying for.
Applications without an appropriate subject heading will be automatically disqualified.
Please do not attach any
certificates.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
NB: We do not charge any fees at any stage
of the recruitment process