Program Administration Officer
Description
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.
Working with a diverse
base of donors that includes Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
(FCDO), European Commission (EC), United States Agency for International
Development (USAID), Google.org, MasterCard Foundation and other foundations
and institutional donors, Mercy Corps empowers people to recover from crisis,
build better lives and transform their communities for good. We work closely
with the private sector, civil society and governance structures at local and
national levels to facilitate change and ensure that opportunities are
inclusive of all Kenyans.
Program /
Department Summary
Mercy Corps and its
consortium partners are implementing a five-year USAID/Food for Peace funded
program entitled Nawiri in Turkana and Samburu Counties of Kenya focused on
nutrition resilience. The program aims to sustainably reduce persistent acute
malnutrition in the two counties over a five-year period using a multi-sectoral
program approach that integrates resilient livelihoods, access to improved
water, health, and sanitation services, and strengthening enabling systems for
nutrition from household to national level. Nawiri has dedicated the first two
years (Phase 1) to implementing an action research agenda to inform the program
design to achieve the program’s goal in the remaining three years (Phase 2).
The program is currently embarking on an ambitious implementation plan to layer
and integrate a series of interventions that address both immediate and
systemic drivers of acute malnutrition, while addressing the effects of extreme
drought and the global food crisis in implementation areas. Throughout
all stages, the program is working closely with government, community, and
private sector partners.
General
Position Summary
Program Admin Officer will
provide general administrative support for USAID Nawiri (for program Heads and
technical teams based in the country office/Nairobi) and across overall program
operations and liaising with the National and County government in managing
government agreements and other requirements.
The position holder will
provide targeted support for all USAID Nawiri teams in Addis and across the
field offices in Turkana and Samburu (Lodwar and Maralal) where central teams
are organizing activities, events or processes, overall program admin tasks
including daily administrative workflows, logistical support for conference
& meetings, and follow closely the procurements, finance and HR need of the
project – as well as broader engagement with government as stipulated in detail
in the job function section.
Essential Job
Responsibilities
General Project
Administration:
- Manage
the daily administrative workflow of the USAID Nawiri Project. This
includes providing basic administrative support, including scheduling
meetings, taking notes, managing letters and invitations, updating the
team calendar with events such as training, completing forms, updating
program documents, and streamlining Nawiri processes and procedures.
- Conference/Meeting
Logistics Support: Assist with the logistical coordination and planning of
meetings and conferences (which includes venue arrangement, workshop
materials, event participant travel & accommodation) working closely
with Program team and Operations team.
- Procurement:
Serve as the focal point for USAID Nawiri procurement processes. Assist
Program team in procurement processes including procurement planning,
raising PR and following closely with Procurement Coordinator the progress
of ongoing procurements.
- Travel:
Assist travel arrangement for USAID Nawiri team, including reserving and
booking flights, booking accommodation, preparing TARs and other travel
details as necessary.
- Processing
of SOWs and consultant agreements for project support, including
interfacing with HQ on relevant sign offs.
- HR
Support (Hiring): Assist USAID Nawiri CoP in recruitment process – which
includes raising PRF for open vacancies and follow closely with HR for a
timely recruitment process.
- HR
Support (Team Movement & Leave Balances): Track USAID Nawiri team
leave plans and, working closely with HR, update team leave balances.
Also, provide a periodic summary update of team leave plans and balances
with the USAID Nawiri CoP & Component Leads.
- Perform
other administrative duties as required
Team Coordination Support:
- Support
cross-team administrative coordination: with the SMT, Field, program,
operations and finance teams to ensure timely operations support for
Nawiri Program activities implementation.
- Meeting
Management and Notetaking: Manage the organization and record the details
of all USAID Nawiri team meetings. This includes producing agenda
documents (where required) , and taking notes during team meetings and
disseminating them in a timely manner, always highlighting action points.
Support following up on action points as necessary.
- Filing
and Folder Tracking: Support Nawiri with structuring, updating and overall
maintaining a filing system accessible to all program stakeholders. Ensure
key files are appropriately maintained including, agreement documents with
various NGO and Private sector partners, reports, research documents,
discussion papers, videos, posters, etc.
Communications Support:
- Team
Communications: Assist the SMT and Field Directors in managing
communication flows within and across program teams, including across
Nairobi and county-based teams. Ensure communication flow protocols are in
place.
- Product
Communications: Support communications team to publish, produce and
distribute internal and external communications to facilitate learning
throughout the project. Keep track and manage dissemination plans and
progress against them. Procure graphics. Facilitate connecting with HQ
digital library and posting on internal and external sites.. Ensure
Nawiri information held within the site is accurate and up to date,
creating communications resources when requested,
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. None
Accountability
Reports Directly To: USAID Nawiri Chief of
Party with a dotted line to the operations director
Works Directly With: Nawiri SMT, including
DCOP, Implementation Director, Program Quality team, Senior Director for East
Africa Resilience Portfolio, CLA lead; Technical Teams including Component
Leads & Field/Area Coordinators, Operations, Finance, and HR Team members
Knowledge and
Experience
- Five
or more years of general administration or program support experience is
required.
- A
university degree or equivalent in a related field (economics, business,
accounting, international relations) is required.
- Excellent
oral and written English skills are required.
- Two
years’ experience of related work with an international NGO is
preferred.
- Proven
interest and commitment to humanitarian and development issues.
- Excellent
organizational skills: the ability to work independently &
productively in a fast-paced environment and to effectively see projects
through from start to finish.
- Flexible
work attitude and demonstrated creativity: the ability to work
productively in a team environment and the ability to problem solve
creatively with minimal guidance;
- Excellent
Computer skills (especially Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook)
Success Factors
- Must
be confident, self-starter, an independent thinker
- Strong
organizational, interpersonal and communication skills
- Team
oriented; Demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse group of
people
- Excellent
communication skills, written and oral are required
- Demonstrated
cultural sensitivity and appropriate flexibility
- Excellent
organizational skills with ability to successfully manage multiple tasks.
- Multi-tasking,
prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail are
essential.
How to Apply
Applications will be
reviewed on a rolling basis. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Mercy Corps does not
charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process.
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