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
For over 16 years, Mercy Corps has successfully worked in more than half of the country with communities most affected by conflict, both pre- and post-2016 Peace Accords. Mercy Corps program participants include displaced and refugee populations, smallholder farmers, victims of natural disasters, LGBTI+ community members, and youth. Mercy Corps Colombia’s portfolio, which will have an operational budget of at least $30M in 2024, includes programs focusing on the Venezuelan refugee response (including cash transfers, psychosocial support, legal support, small business, and employment opportunities), land titling, illicit crop substitution, and improved productivity and increased income from licit farming activities, especially for women farmers.
Mercy Corps Colombia is expanding its work in the region of Catatumbo with a $90 million, seven year program, Protierra, financed by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation (HGBF). The program builds on three years of experience formalizing land titles and improving food security for 1,100 smallholder farmers in Catatumbo. The expansion will support over 5,000 farmers to live in more peaceful communities and to improve their food security through a combination of illicit crop substitution, on-farm technical assistance, land formalization, and capacity building for local associations and cooperatives. Additionally, Mercy Corps works collaboratively with other HGBF investments and several key Government of Colombia agencies including the President’s Office, The National Land Agency, the National Victims Unit, and the National Learning Service.
General Position Summary
The Program Development and Reporting Manager (PDRM) will support the Protierra team in producing high-quality and timely donor reports, ensuring program quality, and coordinating the complex board meetings, deliverables, and requests for assistance. S/he will work collaboratively with the Protierra team, Mercy Corps complex board members and other Global staff, the Director of Land and Rural Development, and the Country Director. As requested, the PDRM may support the ALGO Nuevo program in Cauca, also financed by the HGBF.
If requested, the Manager will assist in securing new programs by coordinating and leading proposal development processes. The PDRM must be an excellent communicator who is supportive and solutions-oriented.
The PDRM needs to be highly motivated, self-driven and able to support complex programming with limited daily support and direction; s/he will be able to work remotely with internal and external stakeholders to achieve common objectives.
Essential Job Responsibilities
Program Quality
Lead and/or facilitate working group meetings and complex board meetings, ensuring interpretation is available when needed.
Develop and implement advocacy strategies for the Colombian peacebuilding and development communities, as well as the GoC, to promote strong practices for compliance with Point One of the Peace Accords.
Provide regular management information to the Senior Leadership Team and Mercy Corps Complex Board on the Protierra’s performance.
Maintain an online grant filing system, reporting and compliance tracker (ensuring compliance with [email protected] minimum standards), risk register, and other program management tools.
Play a leading role in Grant Kick-Off and Close-Out meetings to ensure that all grant information, including deadlines, donor priorities and requirements, are communicated and understood by program and support staff, and grants are closed in compliance with donor terms and conditions.
Program Compliance
Work closely with Finance, Complex Board, MEL teams, and Corporate and Foundations Partnership (CPT) teams to ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations (including [email protected] minimum standards).
Liaise with Mercy Corps HQ to prepare donor requests for review and approval of program activities (e.g. program adaptations, events), communications initiatives (e.g. press releases, reports, campaigns), budget revision requests, and other initiatives that require donor approval within the parameters of the award.
Communicate compliance expectations, donor policy updates/changes, and other relevant guidance to Protierra staff and assist in the development of strategies to adhere to such guidance, as appropriate.
Program Reporting and Communications
Coordinate report preparation activities, including information collection from field and Bogota-based teams.
In collaboration with the Mercy Corps Corporate and Foundation Partnerships team, coordinate, write, and submit high quality reports at donor-instructed frequency, including ad hoc and semester reports. Ensure all reports successfully convey program successes and challenges and are presented to Mercy Corps Global in a timely manner in order to meet donor reporting deadlines.
Work with MEL Manager to analyze, manage, and visualize indicator and monitoring data to effectively and creatively illustrate program progress and findings for donor/external actors.
Spearhead opportunities for thought leadership and increased visibility for HGBF and the Land and Rural Development results, including video/fact sheet production, position papers, and other related initiatives leveraging evidence from programs.
Provide timely, thorough responses to information requests from internal and external sources including HGBF, coordination mechanisms, and GoC partners.
Participate in donor meetings, providing requested inputs, taking notes, and ensuring all action items are completed.
Proposal Development
Interface with Mercy Corps Corporate and Foundations Partnership team to keep abreast of donor strategic priorities, specific requirements, and deadlines.
Participate in the strategic evaluation process for new funding opportunities.
Coordinate proposal development processes, including drafting and producing high quality concept notes and proposals that support the Land and Rural Development program’s strategic goals.
Facilitate administrative elements of the proposal development process, including responses to donor feedback, budget adjustments/alignments, and other relevant internal or donor requests as necessary.
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.
Supervisory Responsibility
None
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Director of Land and Rural Development Programs
Works Directly With: Protierra Program Manager, Bogota-based Land and Rural Development team, MEL Manager, Finance and Procurement leads, CARM Manager, Regional Senior Technical Advisor, Director of Corporate and Foundations Partnerships.
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
Bachelor’s and masters (or equivalent) in a field related to International Development, Peace, Conflict, and Development, or other relevant studies are required.
5+ years of experience providing coordination or management support to program implementation in a relevant field of expertise that includes:
Lead writing donor reports.
Budget management experience.
Managing work plans.
Proposal and new business development.
Representing programs with donors and external stakeholders.
Experience working in Colombia and/or with private donors preferred.
Experience with monitoring and evaluation and other learning efforts, and/or adaptive management practices.
Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.
Fluency in written and spoken English and professional working proficiency in Spanish required. Experience in simultaneous interpretation a bonus.
Success Factors
Highly developed interpersonal communication skills.
Experience in all phases of project management.
Deep commitment to humanitarian principles and values.
Ability to work under pressure, independently and with limited supervision, and to be proactive.
Demonstrated creative problem-solving skills.
Demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members of varied experiences and work styles, follow procedures, and meet deadlines.
Multi-tasker with the proven ability to organize and prioritize competing priorities.
Proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results.
Commitment to working with a multi-cultural team and managing difficult situations with high levels of emotional and professional maturity.
Ability to maintain a sense of humor in stressful situations.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in Bogotá, the capital, which is a large and modern city with good access to public services as well as excellent medical care. Bogotá is an accompanied/family post. Housing is provided as individual accommodation with unlimited freedom of movement beyond the house/office. All MC Colombia employees are expected to work a 5-day work week with occasional need to work extended hours and on weekends/holidays. There are excellent international schools in Bogotá. This position requires up to 20% time for travel by air and land to project sites in sometimes insecure environments. Mercy Corps Colombia is a member of UNDSS and requires staff to follow security protocols to minimize security risks in the field.
Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY 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.
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 world’s 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 a 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 e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.