Mercy Corps
Program Coordinator – Maralal & Lowdar
Requisition number: PROGR003108
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.
Now, and for the future.
Mercy Corps began working in Kenya in 2008 and has to date built
a robust and diverse portfolio of programs aimed at sustainably improving the
lives and livelihoods of Kenyans affected by poverty, resource scarcity and
conflict.
To do this, we deliver integrated programming to strengthen
resilience, market, and governance systems, address the root causes of
conflict, and equip vulnerable populations- in particular youth, women,
adolescents, and marginalized social groups- with the skills, opportunities,
and resources they need to be healthy, productive, and drive the development of
their communities.
Mercy Corps Kenya also collaborates with Mercy Corps teams and
partners in neighboring countries to implement a number of multi-country and
cross-border programs.
The Program / Department
/ Team
USAID’s Office of Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA)
awarded funding to a Mercy Corps-led consortium of Kenyan and international
partners for a 5-year Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in Turkana and
Samburu Counties.
Through a phased approach that emphasizes evidence gap analysis,
as well as partnership, learning, and co-creation with government, civil
society, communities, and the private sector, this program aims to drive
sustained reductions in persistent acute malnutrition in both counties.
Mercy Corps’ NAWIRI consortium brings together the global
leadership, research capacity, technical expertise, and implementation
experience necessary to partner with local institutions to test, adapt, and
scale evidence-based solutions.
The program requires a robust county-centered design with
government leadership, and active engagement from communities, the private
sector, and civil society. Together we will sustainably reduce persistent acute
malnutrition for vulnerable populations in Turkana and Samburu counties.
The Position Summary
The USAID Nawiri Program Coordinator will Lead the program
implementation coordination and coherence within the consortium, manage staff
and program resources, lead in representation with government and stakeholders
at sub-county and decentralized levels (wards, villages) and a variety of other
stakeholders that are committed to reducing acute malnutrition.
S/he will promote a culture of collaboration, learning and
adaptation amongst USAID Nawiri staff from across the consortium and local
implementing partners’ staff, Mercy Corps staff, partner organizations and
county government
S/he will ensure coherent integration between diverse program
activities and the continual refinement of our approach based on evidence of
what works.
The Program Coordinator will support the Field Director and lead
integrated planning for the technical program scope implemented within the
field-office management (wards) ensuring coordinated management with key focal
point persons, including and not limited to technical leads, local implementing
partners, staff and component resource persons.
The Program Coordinator will build collaborative relationships
with county government, CSOs, the private sector and other key stakeholders
within the Sub- County to ensure efficient program implementation and shared
ownership of the program as well as its results.
S/he will be the primary program representative to donors,
relevant government entities, partners, other implementers and stakeholders in
the Sub- Counties and wards under the Program.
Essential Job
Responsibilities
Strategy, Leadership and
Representation
· Communicate a clear
vision of the USAID Nawiri program to Program program team members, government
and other stakeholders that translates into concrete program coordination in
implementation, adaptive learning and management.
· Represent the COP (Mercy
Corps) and the program at the highest levels within the sub-counties,
maintaining productive relationships with internal and external constituents
such as private sector partners, county government, civil society, communities,
and other stakeholders.
· Lead Sub- County level
planning processes and provide strategic updates to the Field Director, the
Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, in collaboration with coordinators and
with support of Technical Director and Technical leads.
· Ensure that all program
activities are tightly integrated at the Program level and are responsive to
the overall vision for the program – in close collaboration with the other team
members at the county and Nairobi level.
· Continuously monitors
program performance and, in coordination with the Field Director, generates and
evaluates alternative solutions and makes effective and timely decisions.
Team Management
· Coordinate USAID Nawiri
staff at Program level, across the consortium and oversee the timely
development of Program integrated work plans.
· Coordinate quality and
timely implementation of a coherent, integrated program that reflects use of
evidence in driving program interventions and their adaptations.
· Supervise, provide
leadership, mentor, and build the capacity of direct reports, including through
individualized professional development plans.
· Coordinate timely
development of quality program progress reports (weekly, quarterly) as needed
capturing key milestones and learnings.
· Promote a culture of
learning, systems thinking, and critical analysis. Create a working environment
in which sharing of successes and failures is encouraged and capitalized
through learning to establish mechanisms that ensure informed adaptive actions.
· Create a work
environment of mutual respect that attracts motivated, skilled, and effective
team members and enables them individually and collectively to strive to
achieve excellence.
· Encourage use of
evidence from learning and best practices in M&E to ensure that information
and knowledge is accessible to all staff and partners.
· Onboard and lead team
members so that they are positioned for success.
Program Management
· Provide leadership and
oversight that helps inform and improve program outcomes and Sub- County level
results.
· Lead in the principles,
methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, and managing
program activities and resources – including monitoring and inspecting costs,
work, staff and consultant performance.
· Oversee daily office and
program activities by ensuring program staff are following work plans as
assigned by respective team leaders.
· Serve as a resource for
program staff and input into activity design, evidence-based programming,
M&E plans, and annual program assessments.
· Support internal and
external reviews and lead the analysis of findings, with a strong emphasis on
learning.
· Ensure adherence to
Mercy Corps administrative procedures by support and program staff.
· Work daily with support
staff i.e., Operations, Finance and Human Resources departments to ensure
proper daily support functions and compliance with MC and donor policies.
· Work daily with program
staff and receive regular updates of program activities- ensure activities are
on schedule.
· Conduct daily meetings
and receive routine reports from support functions, as per MC policies, and
facilitate linkages to programming.
· Encourage platforms for
evidence based planning, adaptation and decision-making and support local
system strengthening at ward and community level.
Security
· Ensure compliance with
security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
· Proactively ensure that
team members operate in a secure environment and are both abiding by and aware
of policies.
· Represent Mercy Corps as
required with local governments and authorities for security
meetings/briefings.
· Assist the Field
Director, CoP and DCoP in developing strategies to continue work in times of
heightened security.
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.
Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a
professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies,
procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
Supervisory
Responsibility
Direct day to day supervisory and administrative management of
USAID Nawiri Mercy Corps staff in the Program while co-managing technically
with the thematic coordinators.
These include: The M&E Officer and Assistants, SSBC
officers, Citizen Engagement and Social Accountability officers, Integrated
Water Resources Management Officers, Assistant Livelihoods Officers, Snr. Livelihoods
Officers, Operations Officer, health and nutrition officers, Household Economic
Strengthening officers and Drivers, partner officers and diverse resource
persons.
Accountability
· Reports Directly To: Field Director.
· Works Directly With: Consortium Program lead staffs and
officers across the consortium partners and local implementing partners’ staff;
local government devolved units, support departments (Finance, HR and
Operations)
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.
Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and
outside work hours.
Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a
professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies,
procedures, and values at all times and in all locations.
Minimum Qualifications
& Transferrable skills
· Bachelor’s degree in a
relevant field; an advanced degree is preferred
· At least 5 years’ work
experience with 3 years field experience managing diverse multi-sector,
multi-partner programs and teams (familiarity with nutrition programming and at
least three or more sectors contributing to nutrition sensitive interventions
preferred).
· Proven experience
managing a large team with programmatic and operational functions.
· Deep familiarity with
the local context in the ASALs. Direct experience in either Turkana or Samburu
is preferred (for the Program applied for).
· Demonstrated ability
and/or appetite to demand evidence and translate it into practice.
· Demonstrated ability to
work with policymakers/practitioners on translating evidence into practice.
· Strong writing skills:
ability to analyze and consolidate information into succinct and timely
reports.
· Highly proficient
English verbal and written skills; additional verbal proficiency in
Turkana/Samburu preferred.
Success Factors
A successful Program Coordinator will be an innovative and
visionary leader with the ability to nurture a culture of systems thinking,
learning, and adaptation across diverse and multi-sector teams and partners.
S/he will be a skilled mediator, with demonstrated experience in
resolving conflict between parties and helping mitigate and overcome challenges
common within consortia.
The Program Coordinator will have the ability to work
independently while being a strong team player and continuously seek solutions
and see the big picture.
S/he will be a skillful facilitator of workshops and multiple
stakeholder meetings.
All successful USAID
Nawiri team members possess the following core competencies:
· Listening: Ability to
actively listen (i.e., seeks to understand, asks good questions, paraphrases,
and is in tune with speaker’s emotional state)
· Vulnerability &
Courage: Ability to share lack of knowledge, mistakes, or failures; give and
receive feedback; and raise difficult questions or concerns
· Curiosity: Ability to
articulate and explore novel areas of learning that would contribute to greater
effectiveness
· Systems Thinking:
Ability to understand, affect, connect, and leverage various parts of a system
while maintaining sight of the whole system
· Critical &
Reflective Thinking: Ability to analyze and understand situations from a
variety of perspectives
· Flexibility: Ability to
accept the unexpected and adjust to what the situation now requires rather than
what was planned
· Self-awareness &
Personal Improvement: Ability to recognize and develop personal strengths and
areas in need of improvement and adjust style and approach depending on what
the situation requires
· Decision-Making: Ability
to make informed, timely decisions based on a mixture of analysis, evidence,
and experience.
Finally, Mercy Corps team members must have a strong commitment
to teamwork, security procedures and community accountability, thrive in evolving
and changing environments, and make effective written and verbal communication
a priority in all situations. In northern Kenya, patience, diplomacy, tenacity,
compassion, determination, and a sense of humor are all success factors.
Living Conditions /
Environmental Conditions
The position is based in USAID Nawiri’s sub-offices
Maralal/Lowdar with over 50% travel to program locations.
A rural location with access to basic living conditions.
The location is characterized by dry weather conditions for most
months in a year.
Ongoing Learning
(Personal Mastery)
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.
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 and 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
Application Procedure
CLICK HERE to apply online.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.
Mercy Corps does not charge any fees at any stage of the
recruitment process.