Livelihoods Program Coordinator Echo

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY: Mercy Corps program addresses a large array of needs and gaps, going from urban and peri-urban scale projects to community level interventions, addressing food, livelihoods and NFI needs. The program will be implemented through local and/or regional partner NGOs and will be managed remotely from the Beirut office, Lebanon. This position is dependent on funding.   GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY: The Livelihoods Program Coordinator’s role is to support the management of an EC grant, as part of a larger consortium, as well as provide technical livelihoods guidance to an existing DFID funded grant.  Under the direct supervision of the Program Manager, the Program Coordinator is responsible for coordinating and assisting livelihoods programs through partner organisations in the program areas. The position holder will work closely with implementing partners to ensure smooth, efficient and effective implementation of the program and provide technical guidance to partners. The position also involves understanding how the collection of partner projects fits within Mercy Corps’ grant and Mercy Corps wider strategy, with support and guidance from the Program Manager. The position encompasses a wide range of project activities, including planning and coordination of high quality interventions, monitoring and verification of activities, supporting budget and proposal development at partner and donor level, collating information collected from partners, reporting to donors, providing trainings on lvielihoods programming with partners and mentoring and coaching of specific partner staff where appropriate. .   Relevant technical sectors the Livelihoods Program Coordinator will be involved in include but are not limited to Livelihoods, Early Recovery and Cash based programming.   The position holder will work closely with the Program Manager, who will seek to expand the skills of the Program Coordinator and delegate more responsibility during the duration of the contract.  The Livelihoods Program Coordinator will likely have line management of a Program Officer, who implements day to day administrative tasks with the PC’s support and guidance.     ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:   Technical Support Support partners to conduct assessments in relevant areas, focused on key sectors, to analyze how markets are currently functioning and where Mercy Corps and partners could intervene to improve economic coping mechanisms; Support in Livelihoods proposal design Identify local partners to implement programs; Mentor and support partner staff to develop their capacity to identify and develop economic opportunities and livelihoods programming; Develop team capacity to support economic coping and recovery activities; Pilot test program options. Train other teams in market-driven mechanisms as relevant.   Program Support Ensure that the programs targets are met accordingly to the implementation work-plan. This includes being responsible for the quality of periodical reports/updates and grants tracking system by ensuring that subgrant and grant records are kept up to date. Liasie with other relevant Consortium members as needed. Provide recommendations to the Program Manager on projects to fund. Ensure that the review and pre-monitoring process is fair, transparent and well-coordinated. Closely follow the implementation of partner activities from the design phase through to implementation and close out. Pay close attention to issues, trends or concerns that arise from partner reports, updates and meetings. Alert the Program Manager of these on a regular basis and offer possible solutions. Maintain positive and professional working relationship with partners. Be responsive to their needs and challenges and report to Program Manager as necessary. Coordinate internally with finance, compliance, humanitarian access and program development teams, ensuring a consistent approach to project design, implementation and close out. Help design project frameworks/objectives with local partners, and ensure that the projects funded all meet set criteria and standards and feed into the larger MC grant. Maintain well-organized and consistent filing system and tracking system for all project documentation and information. Ensure a good understanding of the Syrian conflict context and humanitarian need trends. 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. Provide professional guidance and support to the Program Officer. Assist in any other task or duty assigned by the supervisor. Recognize programmatic gaps either in current quality of implementation or potential future areas of implementation.   Representation and Coordination As required by the supervisor, represent Mercy Corps at donor meetings, and government and sectoral coordination forums/meetings. Under supervision of the Program Manager, develop and maintain working relationships and coordinate with relevant international and local agencies including humanitarian and human rights organizations, local authorities and local partners.   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. Highlights: Take initiative to find required trainings/on-line learning needed to improve his/her professional performance.   Accountability to Stakeholders: Support partners to ensure that beneficiary communities are adequately informed about programs, are aware of their entitlements, are comfortable to give feedback and that feedback is used to improve the quality of our programs; Integrate M&E and accountability systems that are compliant with HAP international benchmarks, SPHERE and other relevant standards, as well as to the Donors’ requirements; 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 or put the team, assets and mission at risk;   Other: •           Participate in and support internal office coordination and planning meetings and workshops; •           Ensure all activities are gender sensitive and follow Mercy Corps’ Gender Equity Policy; •           Apply Do No Harm standards to ensure activities do not have detrimental effects on vulnerable communities;   SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: Program Officer     REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Program Manager   WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: All Mercy Corps department and staff as well as staff from partner(s) organizations   KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: University Degree or Higher in field relating to humanitarian and development work or’ Degree relevant to Livelihoods and Economic Opportunities. 3-5 years of experience working in Non-Governmental Organisation, ideally focused on humanitarian relief. Experience in implementing and designing livelihoods programs is essential Experience with cash programming, including cash for work and cash distributions; Experience with emergency market mapping, value chain analysis, and other relevant market assessment tools; Experience infusing market-driven approaches into emergency programming; Experience of line management is desirable. Demonstrated experience in emergency response programming in highly insecure environments. Commitment to local capacity building and past experience of engaging and working with local stakeholders in project design and implementation. Demonstrated capacity to collaborate closely with INGOs, national NGOs and Community Based Organisations. Good organizational and project management skills. Proven ability to work cooperatively with colleagues from other departments in a team environment, and to lead a diverse group of people. Understanding of participatory methodologies for project design, implementation and evaluation. Demonstrated familiarity with the MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) is required. Show great initiative and be able to work well in a team and independently. Demonstrate knowledge of the Syrian conflict context and understands project needs. Commitment to high level of confidentiality with sensitive information. Arabic and English language written and spoken is essential. Excellent written English is desired.   SUCCESS FACTORS: The successful candidate will have proven experience working effectively and respectfully with NGOs and CBO representatives, and will have effective verbal and written communication as well as multi-tasking, organizational, and prioritization skills. S/he will have demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members. S/he should have excellent coordination skills, the ability to manage multiple deadlines and show initiative to improve program implementation. Sensitivity to multi-cultural humanitarian and development work and ability to train and facilitate dialogue among a diverse group of individuals with various skill sets and working styles are all critical. An ability to creatively solve problems, juggle multiple priorities under tight deadlines, and to calmly and diplomatically deal with unexpected and sudden events impacting program operations are also essential. Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours. 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 venues, in such a manner as to bring positive recognition to Mercy Corps and to not endanger Mercy Corps’ humanitarian mission.