Mercy Corps is a global team of humanitarians working together on the front lines of today’s biggest crises to create a future of possibility, where everyone can prosper. In more than 40+ countries around the world, over 5,400+ team members work side by side with people living through poverty, disaster, violent conflict, and the acute impacts of climate change. We’re committed to creating global change through local impact — 84% of our team members are from the countries where they work. We bring a comprehensive approach to every challenge, addressing problems from multiple angles. And we go beyond emergency aid, partnering with local governments, forward-thinking corporations, social entrepreneurs, and people living in fragile communities to develop bold solutions that make lasting change possible. General Position Summary The Technical Director/TD is part of the Nawiri Leadership Team responsible for setting and driving a coherent, integrated technical vision and strategy for the Nawiri program,and ensuring high quality technical implementation of Nawiri’s approach in order to meet the program’s goal of sustained reduction of persistent acute malnutrition. Tasked with creatively managing and developing sustainable, multi-sector technical programming that is accountable to Government, participants and donors, the for Technical Leadership will oversee, guide, mentor and effectively support a high-performing team of senior technical experts across the programs core components (Resilient Livelihoods, Health and WASH, Water Systems, and Gender and Youth Social Inclusion and Systems Strengthening). S/he will ensure technical strategies are appropriately integrated across program systems and processes, reflect best industry standards and practice, and are responsive to participant needs and contexts. The TD will be responsible for working across the Nawiri Senior Leadership Team to ensure technical approaches are effectively reflected in implementation processes (under the Director of Implementation) and program performance standards (under the Program Performance, Quality and Learning Director), effectively guiding team members to delivery on high quality technical implementation plans and program performance standards.
The TD will support the CoP in representing the program’s approach, technical strategy and results to donors and government partners, including through regular field visits and technical updates at Nairobi-level. S/he will facilitate and finalize high quality technical inputs into all donor processes, working closely with the Program Performance Director to ensure that PREP, Annual Results Report, and other ad hoc donor milestones reflect the highest technical standards and metrics. S/he will ensure a culture of learning and adaptive management across their team, ensuring technical strategies are regularly updated based on data and learning. S/he will effectively facilitate cross-component technical reflection processes and support the Chief of Party in communicating the technical vision and related progress to donors, government and other key stakeholders.
Reports Directly To: Chief of Party Supervisory Responsibility: Resilient Livelihoods Lead, Health and WASH Lead Gender and Systems Strengthening, Water Systems Lead,
Works Directly With Program Performance Director, Director of Implementation, Strategic Learning Lead, the M&E team, partner agencies, local government, support departments (Finance, HR and Operations). Coordinates with HQ Technical Support Unit.
Key responsibilities
Technical Strategy and Vision
Provide overall technical leadership, vision and strategy to the Nawiri program. Ensure program technical approach reflects learning and best practices, including Mercy Corps’ approaches in food security and nutrition, food systems, market systems, water security, resilience, and gender and social inclusion. Facilitate shared understanding of Nawiri’s technical approach across the program. Ensure that cross-cutting aspects of the program such as gender equality, social inclusion, youth, climate adaptation, and resilience are included and well-integrated into the program technical strategy and approach. Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed; promote and model a culture of learning and adaptive management. Identify areas where additional technical support is needed and facilitate linkages to the team. Ensure program technical approach leverages Mercy Corps, USAID and government investments in counties of operations, to support sequencing, layering and integration. Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives that contribute to the program's overall purpose of reducing persistent acute malnutrition sustainability. As part of the Nawiri Leadership team, facilitate coordination across implementation and program performance components, to ensure effective integration and roll out of programs’ technical approach. Program Management and Implementation Provide overall technical guidance and leadership, mentoring, quality control and coordination to strengthen program outcomes. Lead and guide technical team to develop quality program standards, technical standard operating procedures and concept notes, and provide informed review and feedback aligned to Mercy Corps’ and Nawiri’s lessons learned and best practices Ensure high quality technical guidance informs the program cycle management process including work planning, (SOPs, concept notes, activity reports, review and reflection meetings, and sense-making sessions; co-facilitate processes for technical inputs. Facilitate technical team’s high quality and timely inputs into all program performance systems (led by the Program Performance Director), including reporting, PREP processes, review and reflection meetings, etc. Foster technical team’s input into and adherence to all program performance systems and standards (led by the Program Performance Director), including Mercy Corps’ minimum standards as outlined in the Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, CARM, participant accountability standards, quarterly reporting. Ensure technical implementation approach is responsive to communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan. Guide and lead technical team to effectively partner with the Implementation team and county-level tech leads for high quality delivery of all program activities. Effectively coordinate, facilitate and document technical team meetings, and ensure decisions and areas of deliberation are shared in a timely way with relevant team members. Provide and consolidate high quality technical inputs across program functions and components, to ensure their responsiveness to high quality technical standards.