Deputy Field Director at Mercy Corps

Key Responsibilities

Strategy, Leadership and Representation

• Communicate a clear vision of the complex program to county team members and other stakeholders that translates into concrete program design and incorporates learning.
• Support the Field director on county level planning processes and provide strategic updates in collaboration with technical leads.
• Support field Director and Sub County /Zone coordinators to ensure that all program activities are tightly integrated at the county and sub county levels and are responsive to the overall vision for the program - in close collaboration with the Nairobi-based technical leads.
• Support the Field Director in providing leadership, vision and strategy to the program’s overall technical direction and implementation.
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed; promote and model a culture of learning and adaptive management.
• 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 implementation strategy in each county.
• Facilitate technical coordination meetings and review and reflections of USAID Nawiri staff and partners to share best practices across all USAID Nawiri areas and workstreams, while seeking opportunities to build USAID Nawiri staff’s capabilities.
• Collaborate with different program components including research, implementation, M&E and learning to drive collaborative learning and adaptation.
• Monitor performance of consortium partners and sub-grantees against the CLA Pillars - program minimum quality standards, program effectiveness, program outcomes and oversee context monitoring.
• Continuously monitors program performance and, in coordination with the Field Director, generates and evaluates alternative solutions and makes effective and timely decisions.

Team Management

• Support the Field Director to promote a culture of learning, systems thinking, and critical analysis. Create a working environment in which sharing of successes and failures is encouraged and capitalized through learning to establish mechanisms that ensure informed adaptive actions.
• Support the Field Director and Sub County/Zone Coordinators create a work environment of mutual respect that attracts motivated, skilled and effective team members and enables them individually and collectively to strive to achieve excellence.
• Supervise, provide leadership, mentor and build the capacity of direct reports, including through individualized professional development plans.
• Assist in connecting research results and best practices in M&E and CLA to ensure that information and knowledge is accessible to all staff and partners.
• Hire, onboard and lead team members so that they are positioned for success.
• Support the Field Director to coordinate county-level USAID Nawiri staff and oversee the timely development and submission of quality program reports, work plans and budgets.

Program Management

• Provide technical supervision of and support to county technical teams, ensuring that all staff and consortium members are following work plans, activities are on schedule, and project deliverables are completed as planned.
• Serve as a resource for program staff and input into activity design, evidence-based programming, M&E plans, and impact assessments.
• Support internal and external reviews and lead the analysis of findings, with a strong emphasis on learning.
• Work daily with program staff and receive regular updates of program activities- ensure activities are on schedule.
• Conduct regular meetings and receive routine reports from program functions, as per MC policies, and facilitate linkages to programming.

Information Management and Reporting

• In coordination with the Field Directors and M&E team, lead the technical team to set program targets, and monitor the implementation of activities against the CLA pillars of program quality, effectiveness and contribution to outcomes as well as context monitoring of issues that are affecting implementation through regular field visits and assessments to ensure program quality and impact. This includes oversight and follow up of the county issues log and risk register.
• Provide technical input when requested in the development of the concept notes, deliverables and overall quality of work of any internal or external partners.
• In coordination with the Communications Specialist, support the scheduling and production of formal and informal reports on all aspects of the program in a timely and efficient manner.
• Ensure M&E CLA and technical teams are working together to analyze program data and using it for learning and decision making

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 both abiding by and aware of policies.

Safeguarding

• Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work
• Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members
• Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field; an advanced degree is preferred
• At least 7 years’ work experience with 3 years field experience managing diverse multi-sector, multi-partner programs and teams (familiarity with nutrition programming preferred).
• Proven experience managing a large team with programmatic and operational functions.
• Deep familiarity with the local context in the ASALs. Direct experience in either Turkana is required.
• Demonstrated ability and/or appetite to demand evidence and translate it into practice.
• Demonstrated ability working with policymakers/practitioners on translating evidence into practice.
• Strong writing skills: ability to analyze and consolidate information into succinct and timely reports.
• Highly proficient English verbal and written skills; additional verbal proficiency in Turkana/Samburu preferred.

Success factors/ essential skills:

• Initiative-taker, multi-tasker, and able to work effectively and respectfully with local government, private sector, civil society and donors.
• Demonstrated experience in setting up and managing systems and procedures as well as experience in building team commitment toward the achievement of program objectives.
• Team-player with a positive attitude to problem solving and conflict resolution. Focused on team building and capacity-building of program staff and will be able to apply creative solutions to program quality.
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities under tight deadlines and to calmly and diplomatically deal with unexpected events impacting program operations.