Program Support Manager

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long-term impact.

The Country Program

Mercy Corps has been operational in the Central African Republic (CAR) since September 2007. With offices in Bangui, Bouar, Bambari, Berberati 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 and gender-based violence, civil society capacity building, water/sanitation, social cohesion and socioeconomic activities. Funding has come from a range of donors including USAID, the European Commission, OFDA, UNICEF, OCHA, AFD and private foundations. By addressing a number of overlapping and associated needs within a wide range of sectors, Mercy Corps CAR takes an integrated approach to ensure the greatest possible impact.

The Position

The Programs Support Manager will work closely with the Director of Programs, the MEL and Program Managers, to implement the country program strategy by supporting the development of proposals aligned with the country strategy and national priorities, support the day to day management of the program portfolio and provide support to the program teams as needed. They will be a focal point in seeking new funding opportunities including the drafting of concept notes and contributing to larger proposal development efforts. They will ensure high quality and timely external and internal reporting for the CAR mission. The Programs Support Manager will facilitate internal coordination, providing support to the Country Director and the Director of Programs as well as other members of the Senior Management Team as needed. The incumbent will also support the MEL team in preparing surveys and studies reports and will contribute to the implementation of the mission’s communication strategy.

Essential Responsibilities

PROGRAM REPORTING

• Responsible for overall coordination and submission of all donor and other stakeholder reports – ensuring they are of a high quality and submitted on schedule;
• Draft program updates for donor and other key stakeholders as required;
• Lead on capacity building on internal report writing and information management for program staff;
• Ensure all program activities are documented and that reporting tools are being used;
• Review all reports and factsheets before publication to ensure compliance with donor requirements (Program, MEL, and others);
• Support the MEL team in drafting reports for studies when required;

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

• Coordination with technical support units, program managers, MEL manager, HQ and DOP for the development of new funding proposals and concept notes;
• Provide inputs as needed for the development of new concept notes and proposals;
• Work closely with the DOP identifying and pursuing new funding opportunities to implement the country program’s strategy.

GRANT MANAGEMENT

• Work closely with global program teams in MC Support offices in Portland and Edinburgh to keep donor, grant and information tracking (GAIT) databases up to date with most current proposals, concept notes, partnership agreements and reports ;
• Keep the Program files up to date as per Mercy Corps policy on archiving;
• Work closely with the global program teams to ensure that all donor requirements are met by the deadlines;
• Play a leading role in Grant Kick-Off and Close-Out meetings to ensure that all grant information, including deadlines, donor priorities and requirements, are communicated to and understood by the team;
• Support on-going efforts of the audit management response plan.

COMMUNICATION AND ADVOCACY

• Contribute to the design and drafting of communications material (MC annual reports, social media, press releases, website content, newsletters, success stories, etc.);
• Contribute to the mission’s effort on advocacy to donors and other stakeholders on humanitarian and development needs witnessed in the country.

PROGRAM QUALITY MONITORING

• Support programs to meet Mercy Corps (PM@MC) minimum standards for program management ;
• Work with the PaQ to set up and maintain a strong program documentation system, ensuring that documentation meets PM@MC standards and folders are archived accordingly;
• Develop a thorough understanding of relevant MC internal and donor policies, regulations and procedures and train team accordingly;
• Ensure the monitoring of the grant agreement for compliance with Mercy Corps policies and procedures as well as donor/government/external rules and regulations, particularly with regards to subgrants and partners.

Supervisory Responsibility

None.

Reports Directly To: Director of Programs

Works Directly With: Country Director, Program teams, Operations Manager, Finance Manager, M&E and PAQ teams, regional and headquarters program officers, donors, NGO partners and humanitarian agencies.

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.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Master’s degree in one of the following: Public Policy, Governance, International Development, Economics, Communications or other related fields.
• 2-5 years of experience in the humanitarian/development sector including demonstrated experience in proposal development.
• Excellent oral and writing skills in French and English.
• Ability to deliver high quality reports within short deadlines.
• Excellent analytical, writing and reporting skills.
• Knowledge of internal Mercy Corps policies and procedures is an advantage.
• Demonstrated proficiency with the MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required.

Success Factors

Excellent writing skills are essential. A successful candidate will be conscientious, with excellent thoroughness, attention to details and respect of deadlines. The candidate will show creativity, solution-oriented mindset, proactivity and strong coordination skills. Multi-tasking, prioritizing and excellent communication are essential. The candidate will have proposal development and communication skills and the ability and willingness to support program teams on the field as required. An interest and ability to travel and work in very remote environments, awareness of and sensitivity to muti-cultural international development work is required. An even temperament and a good sense of humor are always appreciated.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Bangui, Central African Republic and will require up to 25% travel to field offices to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. This position is unaccompanied for spouses and/or children. The security situation in CAR can be very volatile with pockets of violent outburst in various areas of the country. Bangui is generally more stable, however, carjacking and targeted looting do occur on occasion. Hospitals and access to quality health care are very limited. Malaria is prevalent. It is estimated that 7-8% of the population may be HIV positive. Suitable group housing is available. Electricity, clean water and internet can be at times subject to shortages.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to theInteragency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and

values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.