About Mercy Corps

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.

Since establishing operations in Timor-Leste in 2007, Mercy Corps has earned a reputation for innovative and high-quality programming. We promote a community-led, market-driven approach to addressing the critical relief, recovery and resilience challenges alongside the people of Timor-Leste. Current programs address financial inclusion, poverty reduction, food security, nutrition, resilience, disaster risk reduction, sustainable energy, gender empowerment, and social inclusion.

Program/Department Summary

Mercy Corps’ Plastics Recycling Program is a public-private partnership, multi-donor funded program that aims to make Timor-Leste a ‘plastic neutral’ country whereby unnecessary plastic use is curtailed and replaced, and waste plastic is collected and recycled into locally sought after products. The resulting circular economy for plastics will bring much needed industry diversification as well as create and expand new, innovative economic opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship while improving the natural beauty of Timor-Leste and health and safety for its people. This program works closely with the government, private sector, civil society, and academia as it aligns with and leverages policy frameworks, economic drivers, and global evidence as it creates impact and influences global replication.

General Position Summary

The Program Manager will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the agencies’ recycling programming, leveraging our multi-program funding streams to ensure influence, impact, innovation and implementation is on time, on scope, and on budget. The Manager will lead facilitation of the multiple stakeholders engaged in plastics recycling, deftly navigating donor, private sector, and government priorities to ensure stakeholders are unified in vision, coordinating together, and progressing towards program deliverables. The Manager will manage the team of program recycling staff, ensuring they are supported with capacity development, technical guidance, and delivering on workplans. The Manager will report to the Director of Programs and collaborate closely with other Program Managers and the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team for effective participation and leveraged impact at a portfolio level.

Key Performance Metrics of the Job

· Are there strong relationships with the recycling program key stakeholders (donors, large enterprise partners) in which each partner feels the program is being actively facilitated by Mercy Corps, understands and delivers on their roles and responsibilities and is regularly involved/updated as relevant?

· Are the Plastics Recycling programs’ work plans, budgets and PMPs up-to-date, accessible, and utilized by program staff?

· Is the program implementation grounded in a market facilitation approach, with flexibility and sustainability at the forefront of decisions?

· Are program critical staff able to understand and execute their roles necessary for the successful delivery of the plastic recycling program activities?

· Is Mercy Corps leveraging its experience, evidence, tools, approaches, and relationships generated as a result of the plastic recycling program and activities to successfully influence government, donors, the private sector, peer organizations, and academia within Timor-Leste, and beyond?

Essential Job Functions

STRATEGY & VISION

· Provide overall leadership and vision to recycling stakeholders and staff, using a participatory and guided approach to create buy-in for effective market facilitation among diverse stakeholders.

· Operationalize the plastics circular economy in Dili, identifying and acting on strategies to reduce plastics consumption, increase upcycling, and foster the sustainable collection of plastic waste.

· Leverage Recycling activities to drive inclusive economic growth, build resilience, improve gender equality, and strengthen responsive governance;

· Work closely with the Director of Programs and MERL Director to identify opportunities for research, influence, and advocacy related to plastics recycling;

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

· Oversee program management and administration. Ensure program implementation is on time, target and budget.

· Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan.

· Working together with the MERL team, develop and utilize an effective program measurement system to reach desired program impacts, utilize evidence for influence, and drive effective program targeting.

· Lead program administration, including high-quality and timely response to donor deliverables, including: quarterly and annual reports, updates to logframes, compliance with gender and environment guidelines, and other deliverables as needed.

· Facilitate effective communication among Plastics Solutions Alliance stakeholders through proactive management, including but not limited to: establishing clarity in roles and responsibilities, branding, etc. through the participatory development of stakeholder group TORs/frameworks, etc., regular convening of meetings, and responsive communcations.

· Oversee partner capacity building of SMEs, CSOs, and local subgrantee.

· Supervise/review the work of program consultants

· Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide, including the use of annual, quarterly and monthly workplans updated on a regular basis to create clarity of direction and deliver on activities.

· Coordinate with the DRR Program Manager where relevant in the case of shared advocacy, stakeholder relationships, budget, and reporting

· Coordinate Recycling activities with the wider Mercy Corps Timor Leste portfolio, aligning with the Country Strategy and identifying new points of collaboration and leverage with other activities;

TEAM MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

· Provide line management supervision to six program technical staff. Develop the technical capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with coaching, performance management, mentorship and career development.

· Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.

· Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence and actively engage in decision-making processes.

· Foster adaptive management within the recycling team and MCTL through coordination and planning meetings, including participation in the Monthly/Quarterly strategic meetings, the bi-weekly senior program management meetings and recycling internal coordination meetings;

· Oversee the hiring and management of any external consultants, developing Scopes of Work and Terms of Reference, budget, oversight of daily tasks, and verifying deliverables.

INFLUENCE, REPRESENTATION & COMMUNICATION

· Effectively manage the Plastics Solution Alliance platform, including members, observers and other formally linked stakeholders through professional, high-quality, proactive, and responsive communication through multiple communication channels.

· Be able to represent the context and program strategy at a high-level, ensuring all key stakeholders are updated and abreast of all developments.

· Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with other plastics recycling and alternatives actors and stakeholders, specifically the Secretary of State for the Environment, Ministry of Public Works, and Department of Urban Development, FONGTIL, and local CSOs.

· Establish and maintain good relationships with local CSOs and private sector enterprices, advocating for community-led and market-driven plastics alternatives and recycling approaches, while striving to prevent unnecessary duplication of activities;

· Oversee operational research dissemination to encourage market-driven approaches to plastic recycling among relevant stakeholders;

· In coordination with Mercy Corps’ MERL team, produce accurate and timely reports/case studies, disseminating results within Mercy Corps as well as stakeholder events at national and regional level where applicable;

· Communicate effectively within Mercy Corps, including establishing and maintaining relationships with other programs, support functions and MERL team.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

· Ensure team compliance with Mercy Corps’, donor, and Timorese rules and regulations, including adherence to finance and operations policies and procedures;

· Analyze monthly BVA’s ensuring program budget is on track, expenditures coded correctly, and making course corrections in spending as necessary.

· Mitigate risk among third parties supported through the program by establishing effective screening, capacity building, and monitoring protocols.

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 BENEFICIARIES

· 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 programs.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

The Plastics Recycling Program Manager is responsible for managing the Plastic Recycling Senior Technical Officer, Senior Business Officers, Senior Behavior Change Officers, Program Assistants.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Reports Directly to: Director of Programs

Works Directly with: Program, and MERL management, and relevant Mercy Corps Global Technical Support Specialists.

Knowledge and Experience

· At least 5 year’s relevant professional experience in business or international development with at least 3 years in a senior role.

· MA/S or equivalent in business management, engineering, international development, or other relevant field.

· Proven experience managing diverse stakeholders under joint initiatives, including leading consortia, high-level working groups, etc

· Experience in grant management, with USAID, EU, or KOICA grant management skills a plus

· Demonstrated experience working with the private sector and government officials, experience with PPPs a plus.

· At least 2 years working on market facilitation activities required, with familiarity with waste management, plastic recycling a plus.

· Strong written and oral communication skills in English required, with demonstrated ability to produce high-quality donor reports and external stakeholder materials. Tetun or Bahasa language skills a plus.

· Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.

SUCCESS FACTORS

The successful manager will display dexterity in stakeholder management, effectively adapting communication styles to meet the needs of diverse stakeholders and foster a unified vision across development partners, private sector, CSO and government stakeholders. The candidate will be a strong manager, with proven experience not only delivering on basic program management but also fostering excellence within the team. The successful candidate will be strategic yet flexible, always maintaining a focus on program priorities and quality while adapting to changing realities on the ground.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions **

Dili provides a relatively secure living environment with minimal essential services and limited options. This is an unaccompanied post. International standard health facilities and other services can be accessed within two-hour plane ride. Multi-family, full-serviced compounds provide a safe and child/family-friendly living opportunity. While road conditions improve in Dili and on main roads, extremely windy and steep roads and frequent landslides make road travel hazardous. Occasional travel to the field (up to 15%) may be required though most activities will be focused in Dili Municipality.

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 professionally and respect local laws, customs, and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Diversity is powerful. To achieve transformational change, we seek out team members with different origins, beliefs, backgrounds and ways of thinking. Diversity helps us unlock complexity.

This vacancy is archived.

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