Senior Program Manager at Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global relief and development agency saving and improving lives in the world’s toughest places.
In more than 40 countries, we partner with local people to put bold ideas into action, help them overcome adversity and build stronger communities.
We help communities survive and move beyond emergencies. When natural disasters strike, economies collapse or conflict flares, Mercy Corps is there.
Working with communities, we leverage local logic to help people transform their lives to grow more food, earn higher incomes and ultimately advocate for their needs.
We see global challenges as an invitation to pioneer innovative, sustainable solutions. Mercy Corps is looking for committed and dynamic individual to take up the following position.
Location: Nairobi
Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps implements high-quality, analytical development work in very difficult places.
We have been operating in Kenya since 2008 and are presently implementing development programs across the Central, Rift Valley, North Western and Northern Eastern regions of Kenya.
Mercy Corps plans to implement a Kenya Election Violence Prevention and Response Program (KEVP) which will work to mitigate the risk of escalation of election-related violence in the lead up to, during, and immediately following the Kenyan elections scheduled for August 2017.
KEVP will shore up ongoing efforts of Kenyan civil society organizations, including student organizations, youth bunges (parliaments) and the local private sector, religious groups, as well as current USG partners in Kisumu, Nakuru, Nandi, and when need arises, Nairobi, to ensure that youth and communities are able to remain resilient to political manipulation and ensure a peaceful election.
KEVP will work with these key stakeholders to create communications materials such as film to be used in workshop trainings and for public screenings.
The program will establish and strengthen existing local networks, including the 2013 Champions for Peace networks in Kisumu and Nakuru, establish county level Early Warning Early Response (EWER) Hubs, and link them to Uwiano platform, leverage different players and networks to preempt political manipulation by providing administrative and logistical support to enable them to monitor risks, and develop actionable plans for prevention and response.
General Position Summary: Under the direction of the Chief of Party, the Senior Program Manager will be responsible for the day to day running and overall planning and implementation of KEVP activities and will directly manage the program staff based in Nairobi to ensure activities are implemented according to schedule, budget and required quality.
Essential Job Functions:
- Ensure timely and efficient delivery of project results, coordinate partners, program planning and review, stakeholder engagement, financial and people management, and donor reporting;
- Supervise and provide technical guidance to project staff in a range of conflict transformation, peacebuilding and election violence interventions, ensuring synchronization and collaboration between Mercy Corps technical staff and local partners and working with them to bring ideas, findings, and lessons learned to project leadership and the donor agency;
- Document and disseminate program achievements and lessons in collaboration with partners and key stakeholders;
- Mentor and motivate staff for optimal performance, overseeing work plans, managing M&E and engaging consultants for curriculum development and technical support;
- Strengthen early warning/early response teams in projected election hot spot and connect the same to the national early warning/early response mechanism that play a major role in Kenya’s elections;
- Train young people on EWER mechanism;
- Manage any activities as may be assigned by the Chief of Party in Kisumu, Nakuru, Nairobi, Uasin Gishu and Nandi and in accordance with approved proposal, budget and timelines;
- Coordinate and share information with the COP to ensure overall program targets and donor obligations are being achieved;
- Provide direct and ongoing supervision and managerial support to KEVP staff in the Kisumu, Nakuru, Nandi Nairobi and Nakuru offices to ensure effective implementation of program activities;
- Oversee the development of program and staff work plans, and ensure regular one-to-one sessions and performance reviews to review progress and resolve any concerns or issues;
- Support and facilitate KEVP team development, encouraging active participation of team members and supporting positive relationships between members;
- Identify training needs and opportunities for KEVP staff to ensure that they have adequate resources to complete program objectives, and to enable learning and growth;
- Ensure that program staff have the necessary facilities and office equipment for the smooth functioning of the program;
- Visit project sites regularly to provide appropriate technical assistance, monitor and oversee activities;
- Support the Project staff to establish a system to monitor and evaluate program activities and impact on an ongoing basis. Ensure that program monitoring is being done on a regular basis and that adequate monitoring reports are prepared;
- Participate in peace, election and conflict-related coordination meetings and professionally represent Mercy Corps in these meetings;
- Support the development of partnerships with national and international NGOs, CBOs and other agencies involved in election conflict management initiatives and other Mercy Corps activities;
- Maintain close cooperation with the Finance and Administration departments and other staff to ensure that the program is in full compliance with all the established operational, administrative and financial procedures;
- Regularly meet with the COP and Kisumu Area Manager to discuss program achievements, especially when they deviate from the original plan;
- Participate in KEVP Team meetings as required;
- Work with the COP to organize and facilitate field visits for donors and Mercy Corps staff;
- Jointly prepare donor reports with the COP and other staff to capture program impact;
- Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission;
- Other duties as assigned.
Supervisory Responsibility: Area Program Managers
Reports Directly To: Chief of Party
Works Directly With: Local implementing partners, Program partners, Government, IEBC, NGOs and CBOs in Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu and Nandi, HR and Finance teams
Knowledge and Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in Conflict Management/Peace Building or another Social Science;
- Minimum of 6 years’ experience managing conflict management or other capacity building related projects preferably with NGOS;
- Experience managing teams and facilitating planning and program development processes;
- Financial and personnel management experience and knowledge;
- Experience in both community level programming and government focused capacity building;
- Leadership skills, and proven experience in developing effective teams;
- Demonstrated problem solving skills;
- Demonstrated experience in coaching, conducting workshops and community meeting facilitation;
- Excellent report writing and communication skills;
- Strong organizational and managerial skills;
- Excellent computer skills, including all Microsoft applications;
- Demonstrated skills to successfully initiate, communicate and maintain positive relationships with beneficiary communities;
- Excellent relationship management skills;
- Ability to communicate effectively in English both verbally and in writing
Success Factors:
- Excellent written and oral communication skills;
- Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and appropriate flexibility;
- Ability to effectively communicate with Mercy Corps target populations and partners;
- Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members;
- Willingness to travel frequently to other locations;
- Ability to quickly learn and implement new information/concepts.
How to Apply
Interested candidates who meet the above required qualifications and experience should submit a Cover Letter and detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three professional references (including a recent supervisor) to ke-hrkenya@mercycorps.org on or before Sunday 27th August, 2017.
The email subject line must clearly show the job title and location they are applying for.
Applications without an appropriate subject heading will be automatically disqualified.
Please do not attach any certificates.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
NB: We do not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process
