Program Manager (Mombasa) at Mercy Corps

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps is implementing a multi-year, conflict prevention and stability programme funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). Collective Resilience Against Violent Extremism (CREATE) engages local and national governments, local civil society organizations and communities to mitigate the drivers, enablers and narratives of violent extremism in East Africa through support to policy initiatives, community engagement, and support to national civil society organizations in order to prevent the recruitment of vulnerable individuals by violent extremist organizations. The programme works in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Uganda, through strategies adapted to the context and opportunities in each country to advance research, legislation and field implementation of activities

General Position Summary

The Program Manager is responsible for developing a comprehensive approach to identifying capacity gaps in downstream partners, designing activities and programmatic interventions to fill those gaps, and monitoring performance over time to gauge the extent of capacity development in each downstream partner. S/he will support in ensuring that the capacity building activities are tailored to the needs of each partner as different partners may have different capacity gaps.  

Essential Job Responsibilities

PARTNER MANAGEMENT

• Work with the Deputy Team Lead and other key staff to offer partner management and technical support.
• Design and deliver tailored, unified capacity building activities for each partner. Such capacity building activities include thematic and operational areas, systems/process as well as skills development of team members to deliver for the program.
• Coordinate, manage, and provide technical support through the mobilization and empowerment of partner organizations to identify, plan, and address priority needs.
• Support the development of institutional strengthening plans for partners that respond to organizational and programmatic priorities, and which draw upon a range of capacity development approaches.

PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

• Provide program guidance and technical support to the CREATE Kenya partners including support to field staff and partner organizations as required, in coordination with the Deputy Team Lead.
• Ensure that beneficiaries are targeted effectively according to established vulnerability criteria.
• Participate in the selection of appropriate downstream partners, offering a balanced view of their capacity and potential.
• Work with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team to support partners to monitor implementation and impact of the programme.
• Organize feedback sessions for stakeholders during the implementation of program activities.
• Work with the MEL team to monitor and evaluate the impact of program activities and respond appropriately if changes are required in implementation to improve impact, in consultation with the Deputy Team Lead.
• Ensure that activities and outputs are completed adequately and within a reasonable timeframe.
• Ensure program implementation is on time, target, scope and budget, using effective Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems to reach desired impacts.
• Compile monthly, quarterly and annual reports from the program teams for submission to the Deputy Team Lead.
• Play a key role in the development of systems and mechanisms to ensure the successful implementation of the program while ensuring that program progress tracking records up to date.
• Ensure program implementation is on time, target and budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts.
• Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum (PM@MC) Standards based on the organization-wide guidelines.
• Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards.

 COLLABORATION AND REPRESENTATION

• Maintain productive working relationships and ensure close coordination and sharing of information with relevant downstream partners and other program stakeholders.
• Participate in P/CVE and conflict-related coordination meetings and professionally represent the program in these meetings; as needed.
• Liaise with relevant government officials and institutions, stakeholders and community members relevant to the Program and Operations in Mombasa County.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Supervise and provide support in the development of team members’ professional skills and conduct staff reviews as appropriate.
• Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
• Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• 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.
• Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.

  FINANCE MANAGEMENT

• Oversee and monitor program spending in appropriate program areas on a monthly basis; ensure that the program spends within budget at all times, and report any anomalies in a timely manner.

Supervisory Responsibility:

Program Officers.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Deputy Team Lead

Works Directly With: Deputy Team Lead, Program staff & Partners, MEL team

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.

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences or related discipline. Master’s Degree is preferred.
• 5 years working experience in development programs with an INGO, UN agency or other relevant institution.
• Project Monitoring and Evaluation experience is desired.
• Experience in capacity building, training and organizational capacity assessment. Regional experience is a plus.
• Experience working on peacebuilding, conflict and governance programmes.
• Experience working with diverse project stakeholders such as private sector, government, youth and women groups.
• Strong analytical and report writing skills.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully initiate and maintain positive relationships with local NGOs is vital to effective performance.
• Expertise with tools and innovations in Information Communication and Technologies. Proficiency in English language oral and writing skills is also required.
• Ability to adjust and work in dynamic and complex environment/situations.