Youth & Protection Sector Manager

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY Mercy Corps exists to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive, and just communities. The agency pursues its mission through emergency relief services, sustainable community development, civil society and economic development initiatives. Mercy Corps has been present in the Middle East since the 1980s and currently has offices in Yemen, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Libya. Working in Lebanon since 1993, Mercy Corps has implemented community development programs focused on promoting economic development and increased opportunity for disadvantaged communities, while responding to emergencies as they emerged in the country.  In 2012, the program portfolio shifted in response to the massive refugee influx from Syria and Mercy Corps in Lebanon recognizes the disproportionate impact of the crisis on youth, as well as the pivotal role of youth to stabilization and sustainable development in Lebanon, Mercy Corps has prioritized youth as a cross-cutting 'sector' and placed youth at the core of FY16 targets aimed at advancing good governance, livelihoods, protection and conflict management, education, food security and enhanced access to WASH. Mercy Corps anticipates launching new to serve socially marginalized, inadequately educated and un/under-employed youth to counter risks of extreme violence while supporting youth to lead secure and productive lives.              GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY The Youth & Protection Sector Manager will be responsible for the overall leadership, strategic direction, and technical and operational management of the integrated Youth and Protection Sector portfolio as well as new business development initiatives. S/he will be accountable for the formulation, design, planning, implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of Mercy Corps Youth and Protection Sector work in Mount Lebanon, South Lebanon, Tripoli, and the Bekaa regions. S/he will also provide leadership and direction to ensure that youth and protection issues are integrated in all of the program and advocacy work in the Lebanon country office. S/he will ensure the quality of rigorous data collection and analysis to inform evidence based integrated programming and hard-hitting advocacy for greater impact.  S/he will directly supervise Youth and Protection Program Managers, Senior Technical Advisors and other key staff supporting the Youth & Protection Sector portfolio. The Youth & Protection Sector Manager will play a key role in establishing and maintaining strong relationships with relevant donors, government actors and other relevant stakeholders.   ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES Strategic Direction, Portfolio Quality and Growth Provide overall strategic direction and vision, leadership, technical and operational management of the Youth and Protection Sector portfolio; Lead integrated sector design processes in order to converge existing and new programming on youth and protection to deliver maximum joint impact, and integrate protection into the design of other sector programs;   Carry out effective oversight of an estimated $10m portfolio comprised of a range of multi-faceted, high-value donor-funded programs; Ensure that all interventions are in compliance with international norms and standards, national laws and policies, technical standards and organizational policies; Strengthen existing management and information systems to document achievement of measurable milestones and to ensure timely compliance with donor requirements; Develop rigorous M&E, accountability and learning systems for optimal program quality and local partner organization capacity strengthening; Contribute to organizational strategic planning and new program development for appropriate expansion and growth of Mercy Corps’ youth and protection sector portfolio;   Team Management Supervise Youth and Protection Program Managers and related staff to implement high-quality and integrated youth and protection programming; Ensure that teams fully adhere to international, technical and organizational minimum standards, including adopting gender, conflict sensitive, survivor-centered and participatory approaches to ensure that Do No Harm and other principles are fully respected; Supervise and mentor program managers to effectively manage programs, including workplan monitoring, budget forecasting and monitoring, accurate and timely reporting, and efficient use of resources; communicate clear expectations, set performance objectives, provide regular and timely performance feedback, and conduct annual performance reviews; Cultivate cross-sectoral synergies and linkages in relation to youth and protection, as well as linking to other aspects of the Lebanon portfolio, namely WASH, livelihood, conflict/ governance; Maintain a healthy and empowering office environment that encourages open, honest and productive communication among Mercy Corps staff and with local partners; Promote and monitor staff care and well-being and model healthy work-life balance practices;   Technical and Operational Management Drive operational excellence to achieve optimal efficiency and cost-effectiveness of all functions and activities of the Youth and Protection Sector portfolio;  Ensure staff compliance with financial and operational policies, procedures, and systems to deliver compliance with Mercy Corps and donor requirements; Ensure staff comply with coordinated budget monitoring processes for all programs; Identify opportunities to introduce efficiencies and eliminate redundancies in existing processes for streamlined sector operations; Maintain close coordination and communication with various focal points on safety and security concerns and issues that could adversely affect Mercy Corps Youth and Protection Sector operations;   Representation and Advocacy Cultivate strategic partnerships and maintain effective working relationships with key Government, IGO/INGO, civil society and private sector stakeholders to advance organizational sector strategies vis-a-vis youth and protection; Liaise with key stakeholders to coordinate responses and identify strategies to provide additional support to vulnerable communities with programmatic synergies; Develop and implement advocacy strategies to influence policy and practice shifts for youth and protection informed by evidence generated by the programs; Liaise with Global Youth Advisor and the Regional Gender and Protection Advisor to identify strategies to strengthen programming and to promote Mercy Corps’ thought leadership role on youth and protection in Lebanon and across the region; Ensure regular attendance in technical working group and task force meetings; Represent Mercy Corps in high level and strategic meetings on youth and protection issues; and Ensure Code of Conduct, Child Safeguarding Protocols, Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Policy, Gender Policy and Community Accountability Response Mechanism (CARM) guidelines and applied to programming; and Other tasks as needed. 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: Program Managers and Senior Technical Advisors ACCOUNTABILITY: Reports directly to:  Director of Programs   Works directly with:  Program, Operations, Finance, and Monitoring & Evaluation Teams   KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE 5-7 years of progressive experience and proven record of achievements in designing and implementing integrated youth and/or protection-related programs; Strong strategic thinker with demonstrable capacity to translate concepts into action; Demonstrated experience leading diverse teams towards a common vision; Experience in youth and/or protection programming required; specialized background in adolescent and youth protection and development, economic strengthening, gender-based violence prevention and refugee protection preferred; Strong organizational and management skills, including previous experience managing international teams to successfully plan and implement quality programming; Ability to build strong systems that enable timely and quality program delivery; Demonstrated ability to implement programs with rigorous deliverables and timelines in accordance with timeframes and donor regulations; Demonstrated ability to respond to multiple priorities in a timely manner, producing high-quality outcomes;  Knowledge of Lebanon, in particular issues facing refugee and Lebanese youth including protection risks and violations preferred; preference given to candidates with background in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region; Proven track record in staff and stakeholder training and capacity building, as well as mentoring and training; Ability and interest to work with a multi-ethnic team in a culturally appropriate manner; Proficiency in English essential and Arabic preferred   SUCCESS FACTORS The Youth and Protection Sector Manager will have extensive experience in leading teams, in both management and technical fields, with a proven track record of strategic planning, programmatic achievements, management competence, diplomacy and interpersonal skills.  S/he will be a decisive leader, exercise sound judgment, possess excellent communication, interpersonal and analytical skills and have a high level of integrity and flexibility to adapt to conditions of ongoing change. S/he is able to prioritize among competing tasks while also filling in gaps as needed to ensure success of the overall youth and protection sector portfolio. The Youth and Protection Sector Manager is a strategic and solutions-driven thinker with the ability to articulate and translate innovative ideas into solid programming and to build positive relationships with his or her team, and with key stakeholders at various levels.     LIVING CONDITIONS/ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS This is an accompanied position based in Beirut, Lebanon, a pleasant and cosmopolitan city on the Mediterranean, with frequent travel throughout Lebanon. The security situation is uncertain in Lebanon, with a possibility for rapid deterioration, particularly dependent on the Syrian conflict.  Though currently secure in Beirut, all security guidelines and protocols must be closely followed at all times.   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 Mercy Corps' policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.