Mercy Corps
Regional Livestock Market Systems
Program Director - Kenya
Programs
Nairobi, Kenya
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.
Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps has been a leader
in the drylands of the Horn of Africa for the last decade, supporting
households affected by climate change, drought, conflict and other challenges
to adapt and thrive in the face of increasing shocks.
Our programming focuses on
strengthening livestock production and markets, enhancing food and water
security, addressing gender inequality and youth opportunities, and
strengthening devolved governance outcomes to support dryland communities to
break from the cycle of humanitarian need and lay the foundations for a more
food secure, resilient future.
Working across Kenya, Ethiopia
and Somalia, Mercy Corps will soon be launching our 12-year Regional Livestock
Program (RLP), which looks to leverage the significant potential for livestock
production and trade within the region by building vibrant regional livestock
markets, strengthening livestock production and trade, supporting climate
adaptation and enhanced regeneration and governance of rangeland in order to
enhance household food security and livelihoods.
General Position Summary
Mercy Corps is seeking a
Program Director for our Regional Livestock Market Systems Program, a senior
level position with overall responsibility and oversight of program strategy,
delivery and resource mobilization across the targeted livestock corridors in
Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia.
Working closely with matrixed
teams across the three countries, the Program Director will supervise program
and support staff based within the regional and country teams and build strong
partnerships with Mercy Corps country-level leadership to ensure that the
program meets its targets and deliverables on-time and within budget while
ensuring accountability to Mercy Corps’ policies and donor rules and
regulations.
A senior level expert on
livestock systems in the region and an experienced Market Systems Development
practitioner, the Program Director will be the primary program representative
to donors, relevant government entities, partners, other implementors and
stakeholders.
Essential Job Responsibilities
STRATEGY & VISION
- Provide overall technical leadership and oversight of program
strategy development and delivery adhering to sound principles of Market
Systems Development.
- Lead the development of detailed intervention plans and
partner engagement approach, working closely with techncial support teams
and in-country experts to ensure that program activities are technically
sound and contribute to the program’s overall strategic outcomes.
- Play an active role in identifying and developing new
initiatives that foster and/or improve strategic outcomes of the program
and the country offices, including identifying additional interventions or
partnership opportunities to deepen program impact.
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
- Oversee program start-up, management and administration.
Ensure program implementation is on time, scope and budget, using
effective M&E systems to reach desired impact.
- Oversee consortium governance structures including
establishment of a steering committee, donor advisory group, and
development of MOUs, decision-making and coordination structures,
reporting systems, etc.
- Lead the development of detailed implementation plans,
flowing from strategic annual work plans and ensure delivery of the
interventions is based on Mercy Corps best practices for Market Systems
Development programs.
- Ensure that program implementation is responsive to
communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program
guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan.
- Ensure project partners are identified according to
transparent and well-communicated criteria.
- Develop partnership frameworks, partner agreements/memoranda
of understanding, and oversee partner capacity building.
- Integrate community engagement approaches, social inclusion,
gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as
appropriate. Certify all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender
Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards.
- Ensure program strategies and activities represent global
good practices.
- Document processes and achievements to ensure best practices
are captured and disseminated.
- Develop effective stakeholder management plans, ensuring
sound and proactive communications with donors, regional and country-based
team members, partner organizations, Mercy Corps’ country and regional
management, Mercy Corps HQ, government partners and other stakeholders.
- Collaborate closely with procurement, logistics, security,
administration, and human resources teams to ensure that operational
systems effectively support field activities.
- Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards
based on Mercy Corps’ organizational policies.
TEAM MANAGEMENT
- Develop the capacity of the program team ensuring that
program team members understand the program’s Market Systems Development
and private sector engagement approaches; support teams to deepen
understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
- Develop systems for managing a complex, matrixed team
structure across three countries, including sound communication and
decision-making frameworks and systems to build team cohesion, information
exchange and collaboration across borders.
- Assist team members with information, tools and resources to
improve performance and reach objectives.
- Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide
constructive feedback informally and formally through regular exchanges
and performance reviews.
- Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where
team members strive to achieve excellence.
- Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.
FINANCE & COMPLIANCE
MANAGEMENT
- Ensure financial management, procurement, administration,
human resources and logistics are conducted in alignment with donor and
Mercy Corps procedures and to the maximum benefit of the program.
- Create and maintain systems to ensure effective and
transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative
reporting in line with program, donor and Mercy Corps’ needs.
- Create frameworks to transparently manage multiple donor
contributions and to track co-financing in order to effectively report to
donors on financial resource use and mobilization.
INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION
- Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO and other
relevant events, in close coordination with the Deputy Regional Director,
relevant Country Directors and others.
- Coordinate activities with consortium partners, subgrantees,
local government and other implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps
programs.
- Establish and maintain relationships with communities and
local government stakeholders.
SECURITY
- Work closely with regional and country-based security focal
points to develop and maintain systems that promote the safety and
security of all team members.
- Ensure that programs are designed and implemented with a
clear analysis and understanding of security.
Supervisory Responsibility
- Regional Livestock Program Team members, both
regionally-based and country-focused
Accountability
- Reports Directly To: Deputy
Regional Director
- Works Directly With: Country
Directors, Directors of Programs, Finance Directors, Operations Directors,
HQ Regional Program Team, HQ Technical Support Unit.
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 Qualifications &
Transferable Skills
- BA/S in agriculture, business, economics, public policy,
international development or other relevant field, MA/S is strongly
preferred.
- Experience leading large, complex programs required, with
relevant previous experience, such as a Chief of Party, highly beneficial.
- A minimum of 10 years’ experience, including 5 years in a
senior management position.
- Strong skills and a track record in strategic visioning,
leadership, and inspiring teams.
- Effective personnel management, coordination, and
decision-making skills, with proven ability to be accountable for all
components of the program.
- Competent in building networks, strong problem-solving
skills, and ability to influence with effective listening, persuasion,
negotiation and other techniques.
- Internationally recognized qualification in project or
program management, or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early
months of work.
- Persuasive written and oral communication in English,
including report writing; competency in a relevant local language
beneficial.
- Demonstrated technical expertise in food systems, livestock
markets, market systems development and/or agricultural sector preferred.
- Experience in the Horn of Africa required, with prior
experience in the drylands / Arid and Semi-Arid lands an added advantage.
- Experience managing locally-led, innovative and
evidence-driven programming is critical
- Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow
procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with
team members is an asset.
Success Factors
The successful Program Director
will combine exceptional management skills and experience in maintaining donor
and partner relationships with a strong understanding of regional market
systems approaches, preferably in the livestock sector within the region.
S/he will have an outstanding
ability to develop, implement and manage innovative programs within the current
and future program structure of Mercy Corps in the region.
S/he will also have proven
experience with cross-cultural teams, capacity building of partner institutions
and of individual staff, with strong mentoring skills. Multi-tasking,
prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and
strategic vision are essential.
S/he will be conversant in a
diversity of cross-cutting technical themes, including market systems
development, governance, climate change adaptation, women’s empowerment, among
others.
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 / verbal
communication a priority in all situations.
Candidates from the Horn of
Africa region are strongly encouraged to apply.
Living Conditions /
Environmental Conditions
The Program Director is based
in either Nairobi, Kenya or Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This position will require
approximately 40% travel (by road and air), including to field offices and
areas which may lack basic services.
Mercy Corps team members
represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a
field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. 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.
Fostering a diverse and open
workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal
Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an
inclusive environment.
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 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 toMercy
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.
How to Apply
Apply online at https://bit.ly/3HjEqlx
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