Tracking Code: 218815-927
Job Description
PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:
Mercy Corps has been operational in the Central African
Republic (CAR) since September 2007. With offices in the Bangui and in Bouar,
Bambari, and Bangassou, Mercy Corps works to integrate short-term
humanitarian assistance with programs to strengthen community resilience and
support market-led economic development, with a cross-cutting accent on
governance and gender. Mercy Corps takes a sustainable approach to its
programming, seeking to change behaviors and create institutions to foster
long-term development in the sectors of protection, governance, civil society
capacity building, water/sanitation, and food security. Funding comes from a
range of donors including the European Commission, OFDA, US Department of
State, DFID, the United Nations, FIDA, and private donations. By addressing a
number of overlapping and associated needs within a wide range of activities,
Mercy Corps in CAR takes an integrated approach to ensure the greatest possible
impact.
GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:
The Protection Program Manager will be responsible for
coordinating and supervising implementation of all program activities,
including daily management of program activities and program staff, ensuring
overall quality of psychosocial service delivery, developing and implementing innovative
community mobilization trainings and activities on children’s and women’s
rights and supervising the implementation of all socio-economic development
activities. The Protection PM will also be responsible for the recruitment and
training of national staff, representing the organization with local
authorities and supervising support staff in coordination with the Head of
Office.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
Vision, Leadership and Strategy - Provide
leadership and direction to the program team; ensure program strategy is clear
and communicated to team members, local beneficiaries and government, and the
international community. Collaborate and ensure synergies with other relative
Mercy Corps programs. As necessary, assist/lead with development, design, and
proposal writing for related programming
Program Implementation: Provide leadership and
oversight in all aspects of program implementation, development and management.
Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and partners,
and aligned with Mercy Corps’ principles and values. Monitor adherence to
grant agreement, Mercy Corps policies and procedures and relevant external
rules and regulations. Oversee performance program staff and quality of program
implementation. Conduct frequent field visits to all project sites.
Specifically:
- Continue
emergency psychosocial programming for conflict affected populations
- Oversee
community mobilization activities, including creation and maintenance of
protection committees and training of relevant actors on child protection
and GBV prevention and response
- Develop
training materials and oversee implementation of training activities
- Based
on market assessment studies, oversee livelihoods and vocational trainings
with at-risk youth, GBV survivors and conflict affected populations
- Oversee
the successful implementation of sport for development/play therapy
programming
Staff Management, Professional Development and Team
Building: Recruit, train and mentor program staff, including among
other subjects, participatory needs assessments, monitoring and evaluation,
reporting, project design and budgeting, and effective advocacy and awareness-raising.
Create a work atmosphere conducive to professional growth and development of
excellent personnel at all levels. Implement, and ensure all staff are
effectively using the performance planning and management system, establishing
performance expectations and regularly providing constructive feedback.
Contribute to country team-building efforts, and ensure the integration of all
team members into relevant decision-making processes. Facilitate training
and management of an informed, motivated and efficient staff including a high
focus on national team members.
Reporting, Monitoring and Evaluation - Establish
and maintain effective project reporting, monitoring and evaluation systems for
both internal and external use and ensure high quality input is secured from
external evaluators. Monitor program implementation, measure impact and
calibrate program strategy and implementation accordingly. Document process and
achievements to ensure best practices are captured and disseminated.
Representation and Coordination - Liaise
with local government officials including Social Affairs, Health and local NGOs
and project partner, local religious leaders and other community members to
ensure support for and acceptance of Mercy Corps projects. Develop and maintain
working relationships and coordinate with relevant international and local
agencies active in the protection and socio-economic resilience building
sectors, including donors, other humanitarian and human rights organizations,
local authorities and local partners, including representing Mercy Corps at
local and national coordination meetings.
Fiscal, Compliance Management and Accountability -
Coordinate and manage project budget within approved spending levels and ensure
compliance with all donor and Mercy Corps’ rules and regulations. Ensure
adherence to operational imperatives as per internal/external audit
requirements; utilize best practices based on Mercy Corps internal policies.
Ensure accurate and timely program financial reporting to the donors and Mercy
Corps’ headquarters.
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 towards 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 projects.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:
This position requires direct supervision of a team of
approximately 4 program staff.
ACCOUNTABILITY:
REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Deputy Director of
Programs
WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Head of Office, Programs
Coordinator, GBV PM and other staff of Mercy Corps
CAR.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
- BA in
relevant field; Master's preferred.
- Minimum
3-5 years’ NGO experience successfully managing programs in the field.
- Experience
working in remote emergency settings is preferred. Experience in Africa
and particularly working in conflict zones is an asset.
- Experience
training and supervising national staff.
- Experience
in the following domains:Demonstrated proficiency with the MS Office
software (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required.
- Emergency
protection experience, in particular child protection and psychosocial
response.
- Developing
and conducting culturally appropriate awareness-raising and
skill-building campaigns, particularly related to children’s rights
and/or women’s rights and protection
- Socio-economic
and livelihoods activities
- Fluent
French and English essential; Sango, Zande or Nzakara a plus.
- Patience,
flexibility and excellent diplomatic skills are critical!
SUCCESS FACTORS:
- Proven
experience working in difficult environments and emergency contexts is
critical.
- Effective
verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational, and
prioritization skills are necessary.
- Demonstrated
attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and
work independently and cooperatively with team members is required.
- Excellent
program planning and budget monitoring skills
- Interest
and ability to travel and work independently in very remote environments.
- Ability
to cope with insecurity.
- Awareness
of and sensitivity to multi-cultural international development work and
ability to train and facilitate dialogue among a diverse group of
individuals with various skill sets and working styles.
- Commitment
to working with community members to make concrete improvements to their
livelihoods and living conditions.
- Even
temperament and a good sense of humor appreciated.
LIVING CONDITIONS/ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:
The Central African Republic is a nation of 4.6 million
people, ranked as one of the poorest nations in the world, with an average life
expectancy of only 39 years. Bangui is a capital city of about 700,000
inhabitants. It has grown more insecure following the overthrow of the previous
government by the Séléka coalition last March. In previous years, Bangui was
generally free of any serious threats towards international or national staff,
outside of petty theft. However, carjacking and targeted looting do occur on
occasion. Hospitals and access to quality health care is very limited. Malaria
is prevalent. It is estimated that 7-8% of the population may be HIV positive.
Suitable group housing is available, but electricity and clean water are
sometimes sporadic.
This position is unaccompanied for spouses and/or children
and includes hardship allowance and R&R benefits.
Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during
and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting. Team members are
expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws,
customs and Mercy Corps' policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all
in-country venues.
Job Location: Bangassou, Mbomou, Central African
Republic
Position Type: Full-Time/Regular
