GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:
The Senior Program Officer (SPO) supports strategic, impactful, high-quality programming in the Middle East. S/he supports Country Directors in aspects of their country program and grant administration. S/he plays a key role in connecting the field to HQ resources and represents the country/regional interests internally with various HQ teams as well as with external stakeholders. The SPO provides the secondary check and supports the field (ultimate point of responsibility) in adhering to internal and external policies and regulations. The SPO is responsible for managing overall desk support to the region. S/he mentors and oversees the Assistant Program Officer(s).
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: (ranking in order of importance)
- Program & Grant Administration: The SPO is the HQ point of responsibility for overall monitoring on grants/programs for both external/donor requirements as well as Mercy Corps’ internal policies and requirements. S/he provides ongoing monitoring of the status of programs and completes regular check-ins on grant requirements (such as co-financing/match, BVA, data aggregation, etc). S/he supports country teams adherence to Mercy Corps internal policies ad Program Management minimum standards. As identified, they also support adherence to Mercy Corps’ Complex Programs management standards.
- Proposal Development: The SPO leads HQ coordination for proposals (unless designated otherwise). Throughout the proposal process, the SPO monitors the timeline, status of proposal and communicates to the relevant parties as appropriate. The SPO reviews final draft for coherence and manages submission to the donor. He/she may be appointed a different role in the design process and travel to field if needed.
- Partnership Development & Management: The SPO coordinates partnership negotiation & development, ensuring the necessary teams are engaged, to help further program, country and regional interests.
- External Representation: The SPO represents regional interests and programs with external stakeholders, in concert with the field teams.
- Strategy, Planning & Learning: The SPO supports country teams with strategy development and planning and may travel to the field to support facilitation of the process as requested. The SPO facilitates learning across country portfolios and regions and shares lessons learned and knowledge of agency resources/tools/best practices/etc.
- Recruitment: As needed, The SPO participates in the interview process, providing contextual information on Mercy Corps’ programs and realities of the position, and selection for key positions as identified with the recruiting team. For senior management field positions, the SPO participates in Mercy Corps’ LEAP process and supports the process as needed.
- Internal Communication: The SPO oversees the APO with internal communications and ensures knowledge management systems are up to date and accurate to support communication with other teams. The SPO plays a greater and more direct role in internal communication management during periods of disaster response.
- Knowledge Management: The SPO oversees the APO for management of agency systems and adherence to HQ-related Program Management minimum standards, etc.
- Security: The SPO provides relevant security documents to travelers and provides security orientations/briefings in preparation of travel. Communicates country/regional security posture to staff/new hires as needed and supports country teams, in coordination with the RPD and GSA, as issues arise.
- Orientation: For new-hires visiting HQ, the SPO provides briefings on context, country strategy and programs prior to their departure as initial step in the onboarding process. As requested, the SPO supports supervisors with onboarding of new expatriate team members.
The SPO role requires travel to the field to support any of the above and to fill-in during leadership gaps.
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: Oversees the APO (s)
ACCOUNTABILITY:
REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Deputy Regional Program Director – Middle East
WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Other HQ Program units and other departments, including Resource Development, Finance, Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness, Legal, Policy and Advocacy, Mercy Corps Counterparts at MC HQ offices in Europe; MC donors and partners.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
- BA/S in relevant field required; MA/MS/MBA or equivalent preferred.
- 3 – 5 years of field-based experience in international relief and development – ideally in the region; demonstrated knowledge of relevant sectoral and/or operational areas
- 3 – 5 years of experience managing the development, implementation, administration and compliance (especially of US Government-funded grants); general program management experience required
- Experience with proposal development including support and writing with various donors, particularly US Government, private foundations and corporations.
- Experience with monitoring and evaluation and other learning efforts.
- Experience representing the organization and its interests to a diverse range of local and international government officials, local civil society organizations, other international organizations, the media and the public – required
- Proficiency with MS Office software required (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
- Preference given to candidates with prior work experience in the Middle East
- Proficiency in Arabic preferred
SUCCESS FACTORS:
S/he demonstrates the skill, professional maturity and finesse required to manage the desk team to provide excellent, timely support to the Middle East Region (Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, West Bank/Gaza).
S/he is a problem solver, who is adept in successfully dealing with issues of complexity.
S/he demonstrates the ability to serve as a mentor for the Assistant Program Officer(s).
S/he is a skilled communicator, able to develop and utilize strong relationships with staff, partners and donors. S/he will coordinate with his/her supervisor, the Regional Program Director, and be skilled at building highly effective working relationships with Country Directors and their teams. S/he will harness the expertise, experience and ideas of Mercy Corps’ diverse program support teams, including members of the TSU, Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness and Social Innovations teams and channel them into impactful partnerships with country programs and the region at large. S/he will work with country teams to ensure that we learn from experience, thoroughly research and analyze context and develop high impact strategies. S/he will be a skilled writer and synthesizer of diverse and complex information, helping teams generate new insights into their work, the needs of their countries and the region, and how program impact can be scaled. A robust sense of humor is greatly appreciated.
LIVING /ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:
The position is expected to travel up to 35% of the time -sometimes on short notice- to areas with limited access to medical facilities and amenities. Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
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