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.
The ProgramMercy Corps has been active in the Sahel since 2005, with ongoing programs in Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria. In these countries, Mercy Corps works primarily in the areas of resilience, food security, livelihoods, governance, conflict mitigation, and humanitarian response. Through these programs, Mercy Corps aims to stimulate economic opportunities, catalyze inclusive and accountable governance systems, boost local economies, and break the cycle of food and water insecurity while addressing the immediate, medium, and long-term needs of populations. Mercy Corps' work promotes resilience to shocks and stresses and enables individuals, households and communities to achieve inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. Mercy Corps' vision for change encourages other actors, government, and civil society to work together to create meaningful and lasting change.
In Mauritania, Mercy Corps is based in Nouakchott and is operating the USAID-funded NAFOORE program, implemented in consortium with Counterpart International and ECODEV. The NAFOORE program is Mercy Corpsโ only current program in Mauritania. In line with Mercy Corps global strategy and the national strategy in Mauritania, the Nafoore program aims to build the resilience of vulnerable young people to violent extremism, ages of 15-29, by increasing economic opportunities, empowering youth through civic engagement and participation and developing sustainable support networks for and by youth. The overall objective of the program is to increase the resilience of vulnerable Mauritanian youth in Nouakchott and the southwestern regions of the country, Ayoรปn el' Atroรปs, and Nema.
Nafoore Program is designed to be iterative and adaptive all along its implementation to allow integration of Nafoore Network Youth Organisations and contextual realities. To achieve this, the NAFOORE program plans to build on three pillars, including:
The PositionThe Chief of Party/Mauritania Country Representative will provide overall leadership, management and strategic vision to the implementation of the NAFOORE program, to ensure that the program meets its targets and deliverables on-time and within budget. The COP also serves as Mercy Corps main country representative in Mauritania, including representation with local authorities and the management and oversight of all in-country support teams (finance, operations, security, HR/Admin) that directly support and serve the NAFOORE program. The CoP will supervise program staff and ensure accountability to Mercy Corps policies and donor rules and regulations. S/he will be the primary program representative to donors, relevant government entities, partners, other implementers and stakeholders.
The CoP will provide technical direction and thought leadership on preventing and countering violent extremism through use of the implementation modalities (and any necessary, evidence based adaptations) described above, ensuring a sensitive and effective approach to achieve program success as well as contributing to Mercy Corps' reputation and thought leadership in peacebuilding and P/CVE in the Sahel. The CoP will ensure that all program team members and key stakeholders are working toward a common P/CVE goal and are following best practices in Positive Youth Development, market-based employment opportunities, and civic engagement.
Essential Job Responsibilities
Strategy & Vision
Lead the development of a vision and strategy for the program shared with program team and key stakeholders.
Play an active role in identifying and developing new initiatives that foster and/or improve strategic objectives of the program.
Actively share learning with and absorb lessons from Mercy Corpsโ and other organizations P/CVE programming in the Sahel region.
Shape and work toward a forward-looking research and learning agenda that will inform program success as well as other P/CVE programs in-country and in the region
Oversee the Stakeholder Management Strategy and support the Stakeholder Manager and other team members in realizing the same
Support communications to promote the visibility of the Nafoore Activity and its objectives to reach all the stakeholders, direct or indirect, partners and communities participating in Nafoore. Program Management
Oversee program start-up, management and administration. Ensure program implementation is on time, target and budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts.
Lead the development of detailed implementation plans, flowing from annual strategic work-plans, and ensure the delivery of the same.
Structure his/her team to ensure that all program aspects are implemented to the highest standard (adhering to industry norms/regulations).
Ensure program objectives and deadlines are tracked and met.
Oversee the performance of consortium partners and sub-grantees.
Confirm participants are effectively targeted according to transparent criteria.
Develop partnership frameworks, partner agreements/Memorandum of Understandings, and oversee partner capacity building.
Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate. Certify all interventions adhere to Mercy Corpsโ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards.
Ensure program strategies and activities represent global good practice in P/CVE, peacebuilding, conflict sensitivity, youth employment, psychosocial support and safe spaces, and other related areas .
Supervise and/or review the work of program consultants.
Supervise and/or Coordinate with procurement, logistics, and security, administration, and human resources teams to ensure operational systems support field activities.
Fulfill Mercy Corpsโ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide. This includes an ability to properly plan and track the program with detailed Gantt planning and financial literacy in forward forecasting with the team on a detailed monthly basis
Working with the MEL Manager, ensure that all aspects of design, monitoring, evaluation and learning are met and ensure that all program aspects are documented and archived according to internal/donor requirements. Team Management
Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance & reach 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.
Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary. Finance & Compliance Management
Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corpsโ regulations.
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 Corpsโ needs. Influence & Representation
Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO and other relevant events, in close coordination with the Country Director.
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 country teamโs security focal point 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 ResponsibilityThe COP will oversee the DCOP and technical support team members for each objective. Contingent on budget, there may also be cross-cutting Financial Inclusion, Sequencing Integration and Learning (SIL) + CLA and gender specialists. Mercy Corps will oversee financial and contracting aspects of sub-granting to Nafoore Network partners โ with routine programmatic decisions taken by the COP in collaboration with a senior management committee (DCOP + technical teams).
Accountability Reports Directly To: Senior Director Conflict or Deputy Regional Director Works Directly With: Other CoPs or program managers conflict programs, regional/HQ finance and operations teams, Regional Program Team, HQ Technical Support Unit Accountability to Participants and StakeholdersMercy 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 Qualification & Transferable Skills