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Mercy Corps has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since August 2007, with a staff of approximately 450 people working in Eastern DRC. Mercy Corps’ national office is in Goma with sub-field offices in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces. Mercy Corps’ key programming areas include a combination of longer-term development and immediate humanitarian response programmes in order to: 1) Improve water service delivery and ensuring equitable access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services, in urban and rural areas; 2) Improve food security and nutrition; 3) Promote diversified livelihoods, economic recovery and development. Mercy Corps expects to start shortly the new five-year USAID funded P-DEC complex program, with a budget of approximately $35 million which will be implemented in the Beni (North Kivu) and Mambasa territories (Ituri), in consortium with International Alert, the Wildlife Conservation Society and 9 other international and national partners. By engaging local communities and institutions in both the diagnoses of and solutions to conflict drivers, P-DEC will take a resilience and systems strengthening approach, supporting communities to engage in inclusive multi-stakeholder mobilization and dialogue processes to design local conflict early warning systems, mitigation processes and alternatives to violence (Outcome 1), decision-making processes in governance structures and social accountability mechanisms (Outcome 2) and viable economic activities with a private sector that promotes stability, inter-ethnic cooperation and social cohesion (Outcome 3).
The P-DEC Program Start-up Lead coordinates all the Program Start-up activities during the initial 3 months start-up phase. This includes the development of an integrated and comprehensive work plan, coordination of financial and personnel resources, and supervision of the start-up team for Mercy Corps’ new Complex Program. The Lead bridges the gap between the program’s start-up needs and the existing and available country and regional team’s capacity and resources.
● Lead analysis of existing and necessary capacities to facilitate a smooth and timely Complex Program Start-up.
● Lead cross-functional collaboration to devise a complex program start-up strategy and plan including the definition start up timeline - typically 8 to 16 weeks.
● Ensure synergy with program plans, technical approaches, and commitments. Further the analysis as necessary.
● Identify critical paths and key milestones that must be completed in the start-up phase of the program.
● Serve as a member of the Complex Program Board during the start-up phase.
● Create a start-up roadmap in consultation with country and regional teams and cross-operations HQ teams.
● Establish the profiles and duration of the required start-up team members and participate in sourcing.
● Work with the Director of Programs, PaQ Director then CoP to communicate the vision and direction to the team and ensure a coordinated and coherent approach.
● Ensure tools and tracking mechanisms are in place to accurately assess and communicate progress against the start-up work plan, resources (budget & personnel), and issues during start-up.
● Distribute and clarify roles and responsibilities throughout the start-up process.
● Provide coordination and supervision as needed to hold the start-up team accountable to the process.
● Engage in pro-active communication and collaboration with the Director of Programs and Country Director, Complex Program implementation team, and with the Complex Program Board.
● Collaborate with the Recruitment Manager of the DRC mission and the incoming CoP and DCoP to establish a recruitment and onboarding plan.
● Ensure the plans and activities of the people start-up function are fully integrated with the other start-up functions.
● Participate in the hiring of key positions as needed and assist with onboarding of culture and process.
● Socialize Program Management minimum standards and best practices including PM@MC and Complex Program minimum standards; and all other relevant standards within the new P-DEC team including partners.
● Foster a culture of compliance and accountability among the team with regards to Mercy Corps, donor and government laws, policies, rules and regulations.
● Lead essential communication and coordination with sub-grantees to facilitate the pre-award assessment process and awarding process, in coordination with HQ and the Sub-grants and Finance Manager
● Lead the revision and finalization of sub-grantees Program Description and Budget in support of the awarding process and in coordination with the Director of Programs, PaQ Director then CoP.
● Ensure that all program planning and implementation is in line with USAID requirements.
● Utilise lessons learned from the FARM program and other programs in DRC to improve P-DEC start up and implementation
● Prepare a post-startup work plan to guide transition to regular program implementation.
● 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.
● Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically
to our partners 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.
Reports Directly To: Director of Programs then CoP
Works Directly With: Finance, Operations and HR/Admin Directors and Managers, DCoP, PaQ Director, Complex Program Board members, SPO at HQ, HQ support departments and TSU.
● BA/BS degree in a relevant field.
● A minimum of 3 to 5 years managing programs in the field, at least 2 of which at Mercy Corps
● Excellent knowledge of Mercy Corps structure, resources and processes
● Demonstrated understanding of program management, Mercy Corps policies and minimum standards including PM@MC.
● Strong organizational and work-planning skills.
● Demonstrated attention to detail, meeting deadlines and working and problem-solving independently and cooperatively.
● Excellent leadership, negotiation and representation skills.
● Effective English verbal and written communication, organizational, prioritization and Microsoft Office applications. French preferred.
● Ability to work across departments to achieve results in a short period of time.
The successful P-DEC Programs Start-up Lead is an effective leader that can build and motivate a team of people from a variety of departments under pressure and with limited time. He/She is very well organized, communicates clearly and uses strong interpersonal skills to navigate challenging organizational politics situations.
This position is based in Goma, DRC, and is an unaccompanied position. Shared housing will be provided in Goma according to Mercy Corps DRC housing policy.
Goma is a provincial capital of over 800,000 inhabitants. Travel may be required up to 30% of the time to program areas within North Kivu and Ituri. Living in Goma is comfortable, although water and electricity can be unstable. Outside Goma, travel can be dangerous and unpredictable due to armed forces and rebel activity. While security is quite stable in Goma, North Kivu and Ituri continue to be an arena of violence and insecurity. Mercy Corps' sub-offices experience variable levels of insecurity, with the situation closely monitored by UN peacekeepers. Air travel is necessary to get from one end of the country to the other. Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available. Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices. Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic. There are a number of health services available with evacuation options for serious illnesses. There is reasonable access to most consumer goods, although they can be expensive.
Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/STA to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.
This vacancy is archived.