BRIGE Program Manager

Vacancy Announcement

Mercy Corps is an international, non-governmental humanitarian relief and development agency that exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping to build secure, productive and just communities. Mercy Corps began operations in Nepal in 2005, and since then has implemented projects in the sectors of agriculture, food security and nutrition, financial services, youth engagement, and disaster risk reduction/ climate change adaptation.

Mercy Corps currently invites applications from all potential Nepali candidates for the following position:

BRIGE Program Manager – 1 (Kathmandu based) (Women candidates strongly encouraged to apply)

Please refer to nepal.mercycorps.org for the full position description before applying.

“Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision, and we encourage people from all backgrounds, especially women and members of disadvantaged groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer”.

Interested candidates are requested to submit a CV and cover letter by December 05, 2015 to the address below. 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview. Telephone enquiries will not be entertained.

Attn: Senior Human Resources Officer

[Please mention the title of the Position on the subject of the e-mail while applying]

Email to: jobs@np.mercycorps.org

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Position Title: Program Manager, Building Resilience through the Integration of Gender and Empowerment (BRIGE)

Duty Station: Kathmandu, Nepal

Position Category: Full-time AND Regular 

Salary Level: 7

Current Employee: N/A

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

Mercy Corps began operations in Nepal in 2005, and since then has implemented projects in the sectors of agriculture, food security and nutrition, financial services, youth engagement, and disaster risk reduction/ climate change adaptation. To date, this programming has reached nearly over 1.8 million people in 43 districts. Mercy Corps Nepal works to build the absorptive, adaptive, and transformative potential of vulnerable individuals, communities and groups across Nepal. The goal is attained through a systems-based approach to market development, financial services, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and youth engagement.

The BRIGE Program is a 2-year program funded by the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation (MAC Foundation) that seeks to build community resilience by increasing Mercy Corps’ capacity to better respond to gender-specific needs and vulnerabilities during complex and chronic crises. The program, within Mercy Corps’ overall resilience framework, seeks to identify and empower those groups at the community level which can serve as inclusive ‘drivers of resilience’.

Disasters and chronic stresses can undermine the foundations of communities, but may also provide opportunities to begin to transform deeply entrenched inequality and inequities. Although men, women, boys, and girls are all vulnerable to the impacts of disasters, women and youth are often exposed to additional barriers – such as constraints on their mobility or insufficient access to land, education, and finance – that decrease their capacity to adapt to adversity and contribute to change. At the same time, women, youth, and other vulnerable groups often have critical knowledge and skills that can help their households and communities respond to and recover from crises. The BRIGE program will support the aid community to better identify and utilize these untapped resources while empowering women and youth to be part of household and community decision-making. Ultimately, BRIGE seeks to empower women and youth and the community level groups that have the greatest potential of more inclusively representing, supporting, and empowering them as agents of resilience, thereby increasing the coping capacities of households and communities to manage the impacts of recurring disasters, slow-onset crises, climate change, and poor governance.

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The Nepal BRIGE Program Manager will have responsibility for the overall achievement of objectives, and the dayto-day administration and implementation of the MAC Foundation-funded gender inclusivity and resilience focused BRIGE program. This will include establishing close collaboration with the Program Managers and M&E Officers of participating Mercy Corps Nepal programs and assisting them in the identification, organizing, mobilizing, capacity building, support, and monitoring of up to 8 community-level groups with the greatest potential to serve as ‘drivers of resilience’ for their members and their wider communities with a focus on inclusivity, good governance, social capital development, and resilience building. These community groups will be followed, nurtured, and supported through local, area, and national development and representative within the larger resilience framework of Mercy Corps and fitting within the ongoing and iterative resilience research and learning agenda of Mercy Corps Nepal. The Nepal BRIGE Program Manager will manage on-the-ground support to Mercy Corps teams in Nepal for the implementation of the BRIGE program. The Program Manager, and his/her team, will conduct gender assessments and audits and lead organizational mapping activities with support from the US Based Program Director and Mercy Corps’ technical teams. The Program Manager and his/her team will craft gender and resilience tools; implement capacity building and action planning workshops; provide on-going coaching and mentorship; and document and share lessons learned.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Contribute directly to new program start-up and kick-off, working directly with the relevant program technical teams, Finance, Human Resources, and Operations, to develop and design tools including but not limited to assessments, results and logical frameworks, and inputs to proposals, Social Welfare Council (SWC) project agreements, and other design documents;
• Contribute significantly to project M&E planning and system development at program start-up, together with the M&E Specialist and the country-level Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Unit, including facilitation of thorough indicator plans, designing data collection tools and methodologies, and conducting secondary research to inform baseline assessments and measurement frameworks both with the BRIGE team and the participating other Mercy Corps Nepal Program Managers and their M&E staff for smooth integration;
• Collaborate with program, finance ,and administrative staff to ensure systems are in compliance with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures;
• Manage the Nepal assessment, audit, and organizational mapping process to understand how gender influences the needs, vulnerabilities, and capacities of community members and if current programs are adequately accounting for differential impacts of crises; Lead thorough and effective analysis of findings from the assessment and audit and compilation of data from organizational mapping;
• Ensure BRIGE assessment and audit tools are adapted and appropriate for the Nepal context;
• Ensure team training and capacity-building materials are adapted and appropriate to the Nepal context;
• Co-facilitate country workshops and action planning;
• Provide on-going coaching and support to teams during implementation of action plans and piloting of new activities;
• Ensure program implementation is on time, target, and budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts;
• Improve and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures;
• Increase staff capacity by designing and leading technical training sessions on gender integration for Mercy Corps staff and local partners and providing ongoing coaching and mentoring around conflict mitigation as a cross-cutting issue;
• Promote learning and knowledge management through documentation and knowledge sharing around best practices and lessons learned;
• 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.

Strategy and Vision

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives and contribute to country-wide strategy development.
• Develop and organize activities to secure support for and buy-in of programs from the varied stakeholders.
• Conceptualize and implement approaches for communicating the relevance of the program and its results to other Mercy Corps Nepal programs, peer agencies, donors, and Government of Nepal offices/officials, and how these results fit into, complement, and further the research, learning, and practical implementation around resilience writ large.

Representation

• Identify, build, and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local government officials, and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met, shared, and understood.
• Maintain good working relationships with the donor, the host country government and local leaders, partner agencies, and other key stakeholders.

Team Management

• Maintain and strengthen a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback via performance reviews.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options, and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
• Provide team members with information, tools, and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Supervise and regularly coordinate with program staff and support departments to ensure smooth planning, preparation, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of program activities.
• Supervise and support local partners and Mercy Corps team members on the sustainability plans and exit strategy of the program and its participants.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: BRIGE Nepal Program Officer

ACCOUNTABILITY

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: BRIGE Program Director and Mercy Corps Nepal Director of Programs

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: BRIGE Program Director, BRIGE program team, participating Mercy Corps Nepal Program Managers and their M&E Officers, country-level MEL Unit, including expatriate MEL Specialist

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.

Organizational Learning: As part of Mercy Corps' agency-wide Organizational Learning Initiative, all team members are responsible for spending 5% of their work time in formal and/or non-formal professional learning activities.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• MA in international development, Social Policy, women’s studies, gender or a comparable area of study or comparable real world experience.
• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience with positions of progressively greater responsibilities.
• Substantial background in gender and development work including experience developing and conducting gender training, gender mainstreaming, and engaging in gender advocacy.
• History of working effectively and respectfully with national government, L/INGOs, contractors, and other partners.
• Experience with international donor rules, regulations, and requirements is preferred.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Demonstrated experience working with country-level ministries and government officials, Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Federal Affairs and Local Development and/or Home Affairs experience is preferred.
• Experience working at national level required.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Nepali required.
• Strong public speaking skills required.
• Strong computer literacy with a full knowledge of office applications.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

The successful Program Manager will combine exceptional management skills and experience in building and  maintaining global team, national team, government, and partner relationships. S/he will have an ability to think creatively about improving inclusivity, community/group resilience, community development, and innovation. The Program Manager will have proven experience with cross-cultural teams and capacity building, individual staff development, and strong mentoring skills. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving, and simultaneous attention to detail as well as strategic vision are essential. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

SIGNATURES:

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