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 Corps implements a variety of programming throughout the Middle East in response to the diverse humanitarian and long-term development challenges of the region. Mercy Corps has ongoing programs in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine.
The Position
The Senior Program Officer (SPO) supports strategic direction, vision and leadership to ensure impactful, high-quality programming in the Middle East. The SPO works with the Regional Team and reports to the DRD. The SPO is the headquarters (HQ) focal point for regional and country level strategic plan processes, regional and country structures and transitions updates and progress on program implementation and impact. The SPO leads, manages, and mentors a team of Program Officers (POs) and an Assistant Program Officer (APO), ensuring quality work, and instilling a cohesive team dynamic. The SPO supports country teams in multiple aspects of their programs and plays a key role in connecting the field to HQ resources and represents country/regional interests internally with various HQ teams, as well as with external stakeholders. The SPO has the ultimate responsibility for overall monitoring of grants/programs for compliance with external (donor) requirements, and adherence to Mercy Corpsโ internal policies and procedures.
Essential Responsibilities
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT & GRANT ADMINISTRATION
- Support coverage for a minimum of one country in the portfolio; provide coverage/surge support for leave and high volume periods.
- Supervise ongoing monitoring of programs, including ensuring regular check-ins with country teams on contractual, legal and financial requirements (such as co-financing/match, BvA, etc.);
- Actively provide assessment of risk associated with program implementation; mitigation measures and problem solving based on patterns of knowledge across portfolios;
- Support field teams in adhering to internal and external policies (e.g. [email protected] minimum standards, donor compliance regulations, etc.);
- Ensure timely sign off and submission of proposals, as well as both narrative and financial reports, and follow up with donors as necessary;
- Ensure Mercy Corps knowledge management systems (e.g. Grant Award Information Tracker) are up to date and accurate.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
- Identify and highlight promising funding opportunities for country programs and regional initiatives, in line with country strategies;
- Identify contractual risk and develop mitigation strategies;
- Ensure that proposals are developed in accordance with defined internal processes;
- Ensure that lessons learned are incorporated into new programme design;
- Oversee submission of proposals and concept notes to donors, and serve as the focal point during any negotiations with donor HQ representatives.
COORDINATION AND REPRESENTATION
- Coordinate the flow of information between country programs, the regional management team, relevant HQ departments and donors;
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with country offices, resolving issues and maintaining regular contact regarding program implementation, grant regulations, training/ support needs and incident tracking;
- Ensure field teams are aware of relevant Mercy Corps resources/tools/best practices
- Attend donor meetings on behalf of country programs and/or the region to represent strategies.
TEAM MANAGEMENT
- Responsible for managing overall desk support to the region;
- Develop individual and/or team work plans or other internal management tools for the efficient use of desk team resources and time; set standards and priorities for the team;
- Check the quality and timeliness of all work of the regional desk team at HQ;
- Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
OTHER
- Support the recruitment, deployment and onboarding process for any Mercy Corps new hires, as needed;
- Any other duties as assigned.
Supervisory Responsibility
2-3 Programme Officers and 1 Assistant Programme Officer
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Deputy Regional Director, Middle East
Works Directly With: ME Regional team, country programme teams, Country Directors, Directors of Programmes, MCE Programmes team, Finance, Compliance, Communications, Policy and Advocacy, New Initiatives, Programme Accountability and Quality, Strategic Partnership Team.
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
- Demonstrated experience with Mercy Corps Europe headquarters processes and systems.
- Middle East field experience and MC Middle East portfolio knowledge preferred.
- Bachelorโs degree or equivalent experience in relevant field.
- Minimum 5 yearsโ experience in international relief or development, particularly in grant administration and compliance.
- Demonstrated experience with proposal development, program management, monitoring and evaluation, and external representation.
Success Factors
The successful candidate demonstrates the skill, professional maturity and finesse required to manage the desk team to provide excellent, timely support to the Middle East field teams. The SPO 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 Programme Officer and Assistant Programme Officer. The SPO is a skilled communicator, able to develop and utilize strong relationships with staff, partners and donors. The SPO will analyze context and develop high impact strategies and will be a skilled writer and synthesizer of complex information, helping teams generate new insights into their work, the needs of their countries and the region, and how program impact can be scaled. A sense of humor is greatly appreciated.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
This role is based in Edinburgh, London or The Hague.
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 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 elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
As a safeguarding measure, Mercy Corps screens all potential US-Based employees. This is done following the conclusion of recruitment and prior to assuming full employment.
Our screening process is designed to be transparent and completed in partnership with new Team Members. You will have the opportunity to disclose any prior convictions at the conclusion of the recruitment process before the check is initiated. We ask that you do not disclose any prior convictions in your application materials or during the recruitment process.