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 Program
Mercy Corpsโ Ukraine response meets the humanitarian needs of vulnerable Ukrainians and other conflict-affected people where they are: displaced inside Ukraine, refugees in Poland, and Moldova, or trapped behind frontlines. In 2022, MCโs Ukraine response reached 1.28 million people with emergency cash, food, psychosocial support, and information campaigns. Notably, nearly all our programming has been delivered in partnership with Ukrainian, Polish, and Moldovan civil society organizations through a granting program that matches humanitarian action with capacity strengthening, and with peer international NGOs through a consortium in Ukraine. Building on a substantial program addressing needs through MPCA/Cash in the Eastern and Southern regions of Ukraine, the portfolio is currently piloting a Rapid Response Mechanism as well as a Resilience program focusing on supporting local value chains and SMEs.
The Position
The Leadership Support Officer serves as a vital, response-wide organizational capacity and supports the efficient and effective management of Mercy Corpsโ response in Ukraine, Poland, and Moldova. S/he works directly with the Ukraine Response Director (URD) and Response Senior Management Team (RSMT) to provide a range of support services which ensure that our crisis response leadership keeps on top of critical issues and challenges, can follow those issues and challenges to resolution, and also helps to keep internal stakeholders up to date through internal communications work.
Essential Job Responsibilities
SUPPORTING THE RESPONSE SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM
The Leadership Support Officer supports the efficient functioning of the RSMT through facilitating agenda setting, maintaining action/issues logs, following up on action items where needed, and ensuring that RSMT meetings and discussions are properly recorded. The Leadership Support Officer also takes on specific tasks within the broad scope of this role, as directed by the URD or other RSMT members (with the agreement of the URD and Leadership Support Officer). These tasks may include, inter alia, research, facilitating planning processes and events, drafting briefings, helping maintain the risk register, and involvement in relevant organizational initiatives and processes.INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
The Leadership Support Officer will assist the Deputy URD and Communications Adviser in crafting internal communications content regarding the Ukraine Response and in maintaining a presence on internal communications platforms, as well as other internal communications work as required and appropriate. The Leadership Support Officer will assist the URD and RSMT in coordinating the array of requests for information and engagement from both internal stakeholders and external parties, to help ensure timely and focused responses.NETWORKING AND LIAISON
The Leadership Support Officer, as guided by the URD, will represent the Ukraine Response in selected internal and external networks, meetings, working groups and other fora, as appropriate. S/he will maintain and share information etc. from any such networks or fora, and act to facilitate the engagement of other Ukraine Response team members where appropriate and relevant.OTHER DUTIES
The Leadership Support Officer, in agreement with the URD, may be assigned additional duties when appropriate.Supervisory Responsibility: None
Accountability
Reports directly to: Ukraine Response Director
Works directly with: RSMT, programs & support teams, other relevant departments across Mercy Corps.
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
Bachelorโs degree in a relevant discipline, Masterโs degree or equivalent in experience preferred. One to two yearsโ experience with a humanitarian or development non-governmental organization. Demonstrable ability to live and work in insecure, fragile and conflict-affected settings. Demonstrable skills in organization, administration and process management. Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills. Excellent planning, coordination and reporting skills, with the ability to organize a substantial workload comprised of complex, diverse tasks and responsibilities, and present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner. Proven ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality. Competency in Internet and Microsoft Office systems including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and other database/mapping systems English proficiency required, knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian is ideal, but not required.Success Factors
The successful Leadership Support Officer will be a team player with a strong organizing capability and ability to keep on top of multiple priorities. S/he will help the URD and RSMT create an inclusive environment where voices can be heard, accountability is clear, and everyone is focused on delivering impact. S/he will network and communicate frequently with counterparts in the response as well as in the wider organization.
Living/Environmental Conditions
This position is based in Kyiv and is unaccompanied. Living conditions are in group housing: water, electricity and internet are present. The position will require travel within Ukraine, and to Mercy Corpsโ operational areas in neighboring countries, up to 30% of the time.
Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps' policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
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. Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corpsโ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment. 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 worldโs 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 to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.