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.
Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps Senegal began operations in 2022, following its global merger with Energy for Impact, operational in Senegal since 2012 and Benin since 2019 providing increased access to sustainable, renewable energy across communities in 8 parts of the country. With funding from Energia/SIDA, GIZ, and private foundations, it’s current small portfolio in these two countries is focused on supporting the development and growth of small and medium enterprises to deliver energy products and services to vulnerable populations, through advisory business services and access to financial resources to grow and expand their businesses. Mercy Corps Senegal office provides remote support to one project currently implemented in Benin. Mercy Corps Senegal also hosts a small regional team that is managed separately through the Regional structure, but that works closely with the Senegal country team.
As Mercy Corps Senegal looks to develop it’s country strategy in line with Mercy Corps Global strategy, the Pathway to Possibility (P2P), this is a critical turning point for the Senegal portfolio to grow and diversify our focus areas and funding base, as well as our partnerships moving forward. Notably, we aim to expand our work beyond energy into areas including climate resilience, economic development (with a focus on youth), agriculture and value chains development, and potentially other areas as aligned with the P2P such as food/water security and peacebuilding/governance.
General Position Summary
The Mercy Corps Senegal Country Director is an innovative and visionary leader responsible for resourcefully developing and managing all operations and programs resulting in lasting improvement in the lives of local community members. Looking to grow our portfolio of work in Senegal, s/he will continue to develop sustainable, multi-sector programming that is accountable to the Senegalese Government, participants and donors. A bold and visionary leader who values innovative solutions to development issues and creative partnerships, s/he identifies and pursues funding opportunities that strategically connect programs into a cohesive country portfolio, guided by a long-term strategy. The Country Director has full supervisory responsibility for the country team, including support staff (operations, finance, admin) and project leads. The Country Director must be comfortable driving forward a culture of accountable, high performers; be able to confidently represent at high-level forums to influence and build new partnerships; drive forward and secure ongoing investment; nurture a culture of shared excellence, collaboration, communication and inclusivity based on learning and trust; and take considered risks in innovating and negotiating within a society that is in rapid change. This is an exciting opportunity to influence key outcomes and make a lasting impact. He/she will also oversee the project lead for the implementation and then close-out process for our current program operating in Benin.
Essential Job Responsibilities
Strategy, Vision & culture
Formulate, refine and articulate a clear vision of present and future country strategy and objectives team members and stakeholders that translates into concrete programs and work plans and drives forward business development efforts.
Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
Promote and foster a culture of cross-department/team collaboration, shared ownership of the Senegal strategy, ethics and accountability across the mission.
Build strategic partnerships and relationships to achieve the vision outlined in the country and regional strategy.
Lead country strategy development and annual country planning using a collaborative process.
Leverage headquarters and regional technical support teams to support program design and delivery in line with Mercy Corps’ best practices.
Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcome. Remain current with development thinking, including resilience approaches, systems thinking, nexus approaches, social impact, value for money, etc.
Lead engagement with authorities/local stakeholders, donors, partners, and communities to design and secure resources for high-impact programs that are aligned to community priorities.
Support program and operations team members to pivot and adapt programming to be responsive to contextual changes, such as environmental and climate change impacts or emerging opportunities to deepen impact.
Leadership & Culture
Commit to building an organizational culture of trust, transparency, diversity, equity, and inclusion across the team and global organization.
Uphold a culture of integrity through ethical decision-making, safeguarding and compliance with the Code of Conduct.
Lead by role modeling self-awareness to foster an environment of mutual respect, diversity and inclusion so that all team members are included, supported and can thrive.
Create a culture of collaboration and accountability for highly effective communication systems and relationships to ensure every voice matters.
Influence & Representation
Lead Mercy Corps’ outreach and engagement with local/national government, key donors, partners, civil society actors, and private sector representing Senegal in order to influence development and funding priorities, drawing on Mercy Corps’ key distinctives, research and policy & advocacy initiatives to shape the agenda and align with community needs and opportunities.
Build partnerships with leading organizations, private sector, government, foundations, community representatives, and other critical partners to enhance collective impact, voice, and shape relevant policy agendas.
Proactively participate and engage in coordination fora at the national level, including the INGO Forum and Humanitarian Country Team (and others), influencing advocacy efforts and elevating field priorities for action at the highest level.
Set up systems to stay abreast of contextual changes, anticipate needs, and contribute to shaping donors’ views on humanitarian and development priorities in ways that are responsive to changes in the context.
Team Management
Recruit, manage, motivate, and onboard an informed, skilled and efficient team with an emphasis on excellence and efficiency; encourage a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, incorporating staff development strategies and performance management systems into the team building process.
Demonstrate commitment to promoting gender, diversity, and inclusion outcomes within the team, and create a safe and empowering work environment where all voices are respected and empowered.
Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
Cultivate a culture of urgency across the team to work in an effective and efficient manner.
Encourage a team culture of growth, learning, creativity and innovation by incorporating a culture of continuous feedback, development and performance management.
Establish credibility within the team by demonstrating personal accountability, flexibility, resilience and dedication to quality programming by creating positive relationships and having composure in complex situations.
Ensure people-focused human resource systems are in place and consistent with Mercy Corps’ global policies, including position descriptions, team member onboarding, performance management, professional development plans and reporting mechanisms.
Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
Program Impact, Monitoring and Evaluation and Learning
Oversee program quality and impact by ensuring programming is based on sound design principles and utilize Mercy Corps and donor required program quality and MEL systems.
Lead country team to strive for quality and impact at program and country level leading to sustained change based on solid systems and incorporation of learnings/adaptations into programs.
Ensure programming promotes and adheres to Mercy Corps Program Management Minimum Standards, Gender, Do-no Harm, and accountability to program participants standards, including effective Community Accountability Reporting Mechanism and safeguarding mechanisms across all programs.
Ensure that Mercy Corps programs proactively collaborate with local stakeholders, and actively engage in coordination mechanisms at the local and national levels.
Program Operations & Compliance
Provide strategic oversight to the overall country budget and portfolio; ensure budget holders manage their respective program/department budgets within approved spending levels and establish an annual cash flow plan to ensure a steady and adequate supply of funds for program activities.
Build and maintain operational structures that ensure proper segregation of duties between finance, operations, HR and programs, and enable the timely, compliant and effective delivery of programming and support functions.
Foster and drive an environment of collaboration among program, finance, operations and human resource team members resulting in optimal support for implementing our work across all teams.
Ensure program implementation is on time, target and budget, using systems effectively to reach desired impacts.
Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations, policies and procedures, and the implementation of appropriate risk mitigation measures to reduce Mercy Corps’ exposure to potential risk.
Influence and Representation
Represent Mercy Corps programs with national and international media and participate in community activities as appropriate.
Maintain productive relationships with internal and external constituents such as private partners, local governments, foundations, the private sector, etc.
Anticipate needs, understand donor pool, and contribute to shaping donor’s views on development.
Explore, evaluate, and present innovative funding opportunities that support the objectives for the country as a whole.
Demonstrate flexibility, resilience, and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure.