Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
Program / Department Summary
Countries in Mercy Corps’ Sahel Africa Region are undergoing both momentous humanitarian crises and significant development challenges in the face of growing conflict and the impacts of climate change. Mercy Corps works to support communities and those most affected within them to move from crisis to opportunity by enhancing resilience..With a high rate of urbanization and a massive youth population, Mercy Corps’ programs focus on promoting good governance and peace, facilitating access to economic opportunities, and enhancing food and water security. As a key partner with the many donors, government authorities and civil society actors in the region, it is imperative our work contributes to the process of positive change across the continent. Mercy Corps looks to actively engage and partner with an ever growing and innovative African private sector to achieve greater and sustained impact. It is also critical that we execute our current and future programs on scope, on budget and on time across the continent, while looking at new approaches and opportunities and leveraging innovations for the greatest impact and influence in the region. As such, Mercy Corps requires an astute navigator able to steer our team and efforts toward ever-improving results for what represents one of the agency’s largest and most complex portfolios. Powered by the belief that a better world is possible, Mercy Corps seeks an inspiring, creative and focused leader to further the impact, influence, and breadth of Mercy Corps’ humanitarian and development efforts in the Sahel region.
General Position Summary
The Deputy Regional Director (DRD) for Africa is a senior leader providing significant strategic direction and support to Mercy Corps country programs (Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Bénin and Mauritania) and initiatives in the Sahel region under their supervision. The DRD works closely with the Regional Director (RD) to ensure transformational change occurs through the combination of: programmatic impact in our communities; the ability to influence change makers at local and global levels; and a restlessness to innovate in search of better solutions. The DRD will collaborate with the RD to build and sustain a cohesive regional management team in the Sahel region, ensuring the Africa portfolio is geared towards excellence with heightened accountability measurements. The DRD ensures that technical resources are available and deployed when needed across the countries in the Sahel. They are directly responsible for enabling excellence in all operations functions across country teams. The DRD coordinates with managers and directors predominantly within the operations and finance departments to ensure support functions are of the highest quality and standards. The DRD will champion the Mercy Corps’ Cornerstones of Leadership to enable teams to drive transformational impact in the region through groundbreaking innovations and influence in active strategies that position Mercy Corps as the leader of change in the Sahel region and beyond.
Essential Job Responsibilities
STRATEGY & PLANNING
● Lead in articulating a regional strategy for Mercy Corps in the Sahel Region that aligns with and complements the broader Africa strategy and is aligned with the agency Vision 2030/Pathway to Possibility;
● Contribute to the development of compelling country-level strategies that integrate with the sub-regional Sahel strategy and are aligned with Mercy Corps’ global strategy and the Vision 2030/ Pathway to Possibility.
● Act as key partner for the RD to achieve an effective Sahel regional management team that delivers programmatic excellence and significant impact and influence in the region, and aligns with and contributes to the broader outputs and outcomes of the Africa region.
SUPERVISING OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT
● Provide support to RD and country teams across the Sahel on matters pertaining to strategy, planning, budgeting, programming and management.
● Assist in the administration of country strategies work plans and budgets throughout the fiscal year.
● Ensure effective human, material, financial and operational field support for all country programs, in cooperation with senior staff, prioritizing resource allocation as necessary.
● Engage in regular and timely communication with finance directors/managers and operations directors/managers, including travel to country offices as needed.
● Support country leadership in adhering to Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures, including rollout of new initiatives and standards.
● Assist with the identification, location, set up and transition of Mercy Corps offices as necessary.
TEAM MANAGEMENT
● Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development, and empower the team towards excellence.
● Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
● Create a work environment of respect where team members strive to achieve excellence and team culture is positive, transparent and focused on staff well being.
● Participate in the recruitment, selection, orientation and training of key Mercy Corps team members.
● Assist with the on-boarding of senior team members, ensuring they are set up for success and familiar with agency systems, procedures, and protocols.
● Ensure sound performance management and staff access to high quality learning opportunities, with a special emphasis on national team member development.
● Fill in as needed for Regional Director and for field leadership during transition.
ENSURING QUALITY AND INTEGRITY
● Ensure all programs in the Sahel region are achieving the highest possible impact and are in line with overall regional and global strategies.
● Ensure the integrity of Mercy Corps’ operations and program implementation through adherence to Mercy Corps and global best practices, policies and procedures.
● Encourage a culture of learning and innovation among all Mercy Corps staff in the region.
● Work closely with headquarters support units to ensure continuous quality improvement of field programs, and that teams are working towards achieving excellence, especially during rapid growth.
DEVELOPING PROGRAM AND PORTFOLIO GROWTH
● Provide direct support to new programming initiatives that build on country/regional strategies, and position Mercy Corps for complex programs and/or multi-country funding opportunities.
● Coordinate and prioritize the development of concept notes, proposals and other funding requests ensuring quality submissions that maximize chances for success.
● In the event of a major disaster or emergency in the region, work directly with Mercy Corps global team to coordinate an appropriate and timely response.
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL REPRESENTATION
● Ensure program coordination and information sharing within and between countries.
● Support regional knowledge networks to enhance strategies, learning agendas, collaborative action and common programmatic approaches to fostering greater regional coherence.
● Act as a key liaison between headquarters, regional management and country teams to effectively publicize program innovations and successes with RD.
● Help to ensure timely and targeted communication and information flow that highlight Mercy Corps’ regional and global impact.
● Connect teams to ideas, technical partners, research institutions and resources to drive creative solutions for greater impact.
● With a focus in the Sahel region build strong constituencies among international and national civil society leaders, government officials, embassies, media and the general public.
● Develop and maintain strong relationships with global and Sahel regional donors and partners that contribute to regional portfolio development, influence and impact.
● Represent Mercy Corps at external events to build voice, brand and influence.
Security
● Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by regional and country leadership.
● Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
Accountability to program participants
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our program participants and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging participant communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Supervisory Responsibility Country Directors, Regional management team members
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Regional Director, Africa
Works Directly With: Country Directors, Operations Managers/ Directors, Finance Managers/ Directors, Senior Management Teams as required inclusive of program teams. and supplemental support teams based at HQ in locations such as Portland, OR and/or Edinburgh, Scotland
Knowledge and Experience
● BA or equivalent in international development, political or social science, public administration, business management, required and MA preferred;
● At least 8-10 years field experience in senior management related to support functions and/or, direct program development and implementation in Africa;
● Demonstrated ability to think strategically, and to solve complex problems at an organizational level;
● Detailed understanding of the finance, operations and administration mechanisms that support a grant/project implementation life cycle;
● Direct experience managing and supervising large teams, as well as mentoring and development;
● Confident communication skills applicable to donor relations, media outreach, and inter-agency coordination;
● Ability to handle multiple issues at one time, especially in emergency situations, and to organize and prioritize accordingly;
● Demonstrated proficiency and experience with US, UK, EU, UN and other public and private donors, government grant and financial management requirements;
● Demonstrated understanding of the critical humanitarian and development issues in the Sahel and across Africa, and significant experience with the challenges of operating in the region;
● Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.
● Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in humanitarian response preferred.
This vacancy is archived.