Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

• Provide leadership and strategic vision in all technical aspects (food security, school feeding, resilience, community engagement, cash transfers, and social and behavior change communication) of program implementation, development, and management. Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and partners, and aligned with Mercy Corps principles, values, and strategic plan.
• Leverage Mercy Corps’ existing programs on market system development, nutrition, school feeding and governance to ensure systematic approach to food security, nutrition, and resilience activities.
• Active participation in Mercy Corps’ strategic discussions in country and at global level.

  Program Management and Implementation

  • Support the Chief of Party in program startup and administration, establishment of a program structure that favors smooth, effective, and efficient implementation.
  • Ensure cohesive implementation planning in all technical areas.
  • Ensure that cross-cutting themes such as adaptive management, resilience and sustainability are fully included within the program strategy, and all sectorial activities are sequenced appropriately.
  • Monitor adherence to the award agreement, ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and Liberia policies/priorities, and is consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, value, and quality standards.
  • In coordination with the country PAQ department, monitor the implementation of activities through regular field visits and assessments to ensure program quality and impact.
  • Introduce the program to Government and other stakeholders, ensuring necessary approvals and collaboration as required.
  • Work with Finance/sub award team to provide managerial and programmatic oversight to partners and sub-grantees.
  • Manage sectorial technical teams and ensuring relevant technical support unit/ TSU is consulted/ involved (Gender, food security, nutrition, resilience, agriculture, cash, and young people and protection).
  • Coordinate with procurement, logistics, finance, security, administration, and human resources teams to ensure operational systems support field activities, liaising with Regional Program Team
  • Confirm communities/ participants are effectively targeted according to transparent criteria.
  • Document processes and achievements to ensure best practices are captured and disseminated.
  • Produce written reports on program activities, capturing the impacts of activities.
  • Create and follow effective stakeholder management plans, ensuring sound and proactive communications with Mercy Corps Liberia, partner organizations, Mercy Corps headquarters, USAID, Government of Liberia authorities, and peer agencies.
  • Conduct frequent field visits to all project sites – spend up to 50% of time in the field.
  • Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.
  • Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate. Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, safeguarding, Do No Harm principles, and participant accountability standards

    Team Management

    • Recruit program teams, prepare PDs, lead recruitment process, onboarding of team,
    • Oversee program implementation team, ensuring that all staff are following workplans, activities are on schedule, and project deliverables are completed as planned.
    • Develop and oversee implementation of capacity building strategy for team members that promotes a culture of learning through systematic analysis and reflection of program data and lessons learned.
    • Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
    • In close partnership with the COP, create a work atmosphere conducive to professional growth and development of excellent personnel at all levels.
    • Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
    • Liaise with other programs to ensure systematic approach in line with Mercy Corps strategic vision

      Internal and External Coordination

      • Represent Mercy Corps in forums with the broader technical coordination meetings,
      • Active contributor and collaborator with regional and global counterparts to promote best practices.
      • Maintain close working relationships with counterparts in other organizations in Liberia.

        FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

        • Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps’ 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 Corps’ needs.
        • Ensure sound financial management, including programmatic budgeting, spending projections, and monitoring of payments in compliance with USAID standards.

          INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

          • Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO, and other relevant events, in close coordination with the Chief of Party.
          • Coordinate activities with partners, subgrantees, local government and other implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.
          • Create an enabling environment for local market actors to participate in the project to ensure systematic sustainability of the project beyond the life of the project.

            Security

            • Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
            • Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

              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 Program participants

                • 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.

                  Supervisory Responsibility

                  Number of direct reports is to be determined

                  Accountability

                  Reports Directly To: Chief of Party

                  Works Directly With: Sector leads/program managers/ Team Leaders, field teams, the PAQ team, CARM team, Ethics, Finance, HR, Operations, security focal point, HQ, TSU (technical support unit), Desk (Program officers and International/ Regional Finance officers), partner organizations and other implementers

                  Knowledge and Experience

                  • BA/S in Agriculture, development studies, economics, food security, nutrition, public health, social sciences, or another relevant field required, Master’s preferred.

                  • At least five years of relevant experience (Agriculture, Food security and nutrition, school feeding) in positions of progressively greater responsibility in programming in a developing country context.

                  • Minimum three (3) years of successful experience as Deputy Chief of Party, Team Leader, Project Director or equivalent position for USAID or a similar donor agency-funded project

                  • Demonstrated experience developing and ensuring program performance for technically rigorous food security programs, with strong understanding of Gender,

                  • Strong financial management and donor compliance skills.

                  • Experience providing leadership, supervising staff, managing multiple complex program components, and convening people across technical teams to build consensus and achieve an outcome.

                  • Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.

                  • Preference for experience with USAID-funded programs.

                    • Experience in Liberia or West African countries strongly preferred.
                      • Excellent computer skills (especially Microsoft office applications) and ability to use information technology as a tool and resource.