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.
Mercy Corps Europe (MCE) has grown rapidly in terms of volume of activity and complexity with offices in Edinburgh, London, Geneva and The Hague. The breadth and impact of our programmes makes Mercy Corps a unique and truly rewarding place to work. Our teams are proud of what we achieve in the country programmes and we are always looking for talented individuals who share our passion and commitment.
The Programme / Department / TeamMercy Corps implements a variety of programming throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe Region (MENA/Europe) and it continues to respond to humanitarian and development needs across Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine by forging meaningful and trusted partnerships and designing impactful programming. The country programs face humanitarian crises and significant development challenges, and operate in fragile and conflict-affected areas, displacement settings, emergency responses, as well as more stable developed settings. Mercy Corpsโ focus in MENA/Europe has been in promoting good governance and conflict resolution, enhancing resilience, supporting market systems development, as well as gender and inclusion, and youth employment. Mercy Corps investment in thought leadership, continual learning, and adaptive programming allows us to make changes that are essential in a fluid context, with significant ambitions to learning and sharing through building an evidence base, investment in programme quality, including MEAL and additional specific research, to enhance adaptive and responsive programming in MENA/Europe.
The PositionThis Programme Officer (PO) position works in support of the MENA/Europe Regional Programme Team (RPT) based in Europe. The PO supports strategic, impactful, and high-quality programming. Reporting to the Senior Programme Officer (SPO), the PO supports the SPO, and Country Offices in many aspects of their country programme and grant administration. The PO plays a key role in connecting the field to HQ resources and represents the country/regional interests internally with various HQ teams as well as with external stakeholders. The PO works with the SPO and Country teams to provide the secondary check and supports the field (ultimate point of responsibility) in adhering to internal and external policies and regulations. The PO also provides guidance to the Assistant Programme Officer (APO) and helps with the administration that is necessary for robust and accountable grant management. The PO furthermore plays an important role in rolling out agency-wide initiatives in countries in the region. This role may be assigned a portfolio of countries, for which they will give specific support. This will depend on relevant experience, and requirements from the wider MENA/Europe Portfolio. Candidates should have a track record in international relief and development, along with proven experience of managing the development, implementation, administration and compliance of European-funded grants. The successful candidate will possess excellent planning, communication and organisational skills, have a keen eye for detail, be proactive and flexible in their work, and possess the ability to develop strong relationships with colleagues across the agency, both at HQ level and in the field.
Essential ResponsibilitiesPROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT
- Lead HQ coordination for proposals; throughout the proposal process, monitor the timeline, status of proposal and communicate to the relevant parties as appropriate.
- Provide input to proposals, ensuring alignment with donor priorities and requirements. In addition, review drafts for coherence, provide copy-editing and rewrites as necessary, and manage submission to the donor. He/she may be appointed a different role in the design process and travel to the field if needed.
- If needed, draft sections of and/or serve as โconsolidating writerโ (to ensure document flows clearly and coherently) for proposals, working closely with country teams throughout the proposal development process.
PROGRAMME & GRANT ADMINISTRATION- Serve as HQ point of responsibility for overall monitoring on grants/programmes for both external/donor requirements as well as Mercy Corpsโ internal policies and requirements.
- Provide ongoing monitoring of the status of programmes and complete regular check-ins on grant requirements (such as co-financing/match, BVA, data aggregation, etc.).
- Serve as HQ point of contact to donor representatives
- Support country teamโs adherence to Mercy Corps internal policies and Programme Management minimum standards. As identified, support adherence to Mercy Corpsโ Complex Programmes management standards.
- Support country programmes, as needed, with planning and implementation challenges, and coordinating with other HQ departments, including Technical Support, Compliance, Finance, to provide additional support
EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION
- With guidance from the SPO, represent regional interests and programmes with external stakeholders, in concert with the country office teams.
STRATEGY, PLANNING & LEARNING
- With guidance from the SPO, support country teams with strategy development and planning.
- Facilitate learning across country portfolios and regions and share lessons learned and knowledge of agency resources/tools/best practices/etc.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
- In coordination with the APO, support internal communications and ensure knowledge management systems are up to date and accurate to support communication with other teams.
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT:
- In coordination with the APO, ensure management of agency systems and adherence to HQ-related Programme Management minimum standards, etc.
Supervisory ResponsibilityNone.
Accountability Reports Directly To: Senior Programme Officer โ MENA/EuropeWorks Directly With: Country teams and other HQ Programme units and departments, including Resource Development, Finance, Leadership and Organisational Effectiveness, Compliance, Policy and Advocacy, Counterparts at Mercy Corps HQ offices in the United States; Mercy Corps Country Offices; Mercy Corps donors and partners
Accountability to Participants and StakeholdersMercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our programme 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
- Experience with proposal development including support and writing with various donors, particularly Sida, AFD, ECHO, FCDO and other European donors, private foundations, and corporations.
- Strong writing skills.
- BA/S in relevant fields required; MA/MS/MBA or equivalent preferred.
- 2 - 4 years of field-based experience in international relief and development -- ideally in the region; demonstrated knowledge of relevant sectoral and/or operational areas.
- 2- 4 years of experience managing the development, implementation, administration, and compliance proposal development experience preferred.
- Experience with monitoring and evaluation and other learning efforts.
- Experience representing the organisation and its interests to a diverse range of local and international government officials, local civil society organisations, other international organisations, the media, and the public โ preferred.
- Proficiency with MS Office software required (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
- Preference given to candidates with prior work experience in MENA/Europe.
- Proficiency in Arabic is preferred.
Success Factors The successful candidate is a problem solver, who is adept in successfully dealing with issues of complexity and demonstrates the ability to serve as a mentor for the Assistant Programme Officer. They are a skilled communicator, able to develop and utilise strong relationships with staff, partners and donors. They will coordinate with their supervisor, the SPO, and be effective at building working relationships with stakeholders. They will collaborate with Mercy Corpsโ diverse programme support teams, including members of the TSU, Leadership and Organisational Effectiveness and Social Innovations teams to support impactful partnerships with country programmes and the region at large. The Programme Officer is part of a team that works with country teams to ensure that we learn from experience, thoroughly research and analyse context and develop high impact strategies. They will be a skilled writer and synthesiser of diverse and complex information, helping teams generate new insights into their work, the needs of their countries and the region, and how programme impact can be scaled. A robust sense of humour is greatly appreciated.
Living Conditions / Environmental ConditionsThe position is remote but may be asked to travel- sometimes on short notice - to areas with limited access to medical facilities and amenities.
Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a country office posting or on a visit/Short-Term Assignment (STA) to a country office 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 LearningIn support of our belief that learning organisations 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 & InclusionAchieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organisation 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 OpportunityMercy 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, colour, 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 & EthicsMercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, programme 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. 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.
- In coordination with the APO, ensure management of agency systems and adherence to HQ-related Programme Management minimum standards, etc.
- In coordination with the APO, support internal communications and ensure knowledge management systems are up to date and accurate to support communication with other teams.
- With guidance from the SPO, represent regional interests and programmes with external stakeholders, in concert with the country office teams.