Senior Program Officer (Applications will only be accepted if submitted through the link provided)

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

As a result of the Syrian civil war, there is a major humanitarian crisis. Mercy Corps, along with national and international partners, is working to address urgent humanitarian needs wherever they arise and supporting partners to implement longer term sustainable interventions.  This program will be implemented through local and/or regional partner NGOs and will be managed remotely from the Beirut office, Lebanon.

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The Senior Program Officer’s role is to support the management of large multi-sectoral programs/grants, including sectors such as livelihoods, food security, protection, and non-food items (NFIs). Under the direct supervision of the Program Manager, the Senior Program Officer is responsible for coordinating and assisting partner-led projects. The position holder will work closely with implementing partner(s) to ensure smooth, efficient, and effective implementation of the program, including providing leading role in the design of new projects. The position encompasses a wide range of project activities, including planning and coordination of high-quality interventions, monitoring, supporting budget and proposal development, collating information collected from partners, arranging trainings with partners, and mentoring of specific partner staff where appropriate.

The Senior Program Officer also plays a key role in the implementation and overseeing the safety and security procedures throughout the program implementation while providing input for proposal development and expanding the programs in the targeted areas.

The Senior Program Officer should keep up-to-date knowledge on the context in Syria and the Middle East Region, and be proactive in understanding contextual shifts and how they impact current and future projects.

As with all members of the team, the Senior Program Officer should also be invested in capacity development of local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

Relevant technical sectors the Senior Program Officer will be involved in include but are not limited to: livelihoods and economic resilience; protection, food security, and NFIs.

The position holder will work closely with the Program Manager and Program Director, who will seek to expand the skills of the Senior Program Officer and delegate more responsibility during the duration of the contract.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Program Support

• Provide leading role in supporting partners to design and set-up projects.
• Ensure that the partner project targets are met according to the project work-plan. This includes being responsible for the quality of periodical reports/updates and grants tracking system by ensuring that sub-grant records are kept up to date.
• Closely follow the implementation of partner activities from the design phase through to implementation and close-out.
• Assist the program manager in the sub-granting and modification processes for projects.
• Lead on narrative reports review from partners and on the reconciliation process with the finance department.
• Coordinate internally with finance, compliance, Humanitarian Access Team (HAT), M&E, and program development teams, ensuring a consistent approach to project design, implementation, and close-out.
• Maintain well-organized and consistent filing system tracking systems for all project documentation and information.
• Supervise monitoring activities to assess the quality and effectiveness of projects. Provide follow-up recommendations and solutions where there are problems in implementation.
• Help design project frameworks/objectives with local partners/LNGOs, and ensure that the projects funded meet set criteria and standards.

• Organize and participate in the facilitation of meetings/workshops/trainings to help increase the capacity of local staff and implementing partners in planning and implementation of emergency response programs.
• Support local partner organizations throughout the process and respond to their requests.

• 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.
• Keep up-to-date with all contextual changes and the impact on current future projects.

• Assist in any other task or duty assigned by the supervisor.

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:

• Participate in staff training, helping to build technical capacity of staff, operators and partners in the area of protection and livelihoods, including periodical reflection and analysis of program monitoring data;
• Mentors and coaches colleagues and team members building their capacity to enable them to obtain high quality results and impact
• Helps in development and execution of context specific solutions to improve collaboration, coordination and performance;
• Work with partners to strengthen linkages with other actors to enhance organizational learning which directly impacts staff performance and productivity;

Accountability to Stakeholders: Mercy Corps’ team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our participants and to the international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging participant communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. Highlights:

• Ensure that participant communities are adequately informed about programs through partners, 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;

Supervisory Responsibility: None

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 one or more of the following technical: livelihoods, food security, and protection.
• 2-5 years of experience working in Non-Governmental Organizations.
• Desired demonstrated expertise in implementation of humanitarian projects.
• Experience in implementing humanitarian programs with preference for remote management and partnerships.
• Good understanding of structures and processes in NGOs.  
• Demonstrated experience in programming in highly insecure environments.
• Commitment to local capacity development 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 CSOs.
• Good organizational and advanced 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.
• Knowledge of humanitarian standards and codes, including SPHERE and HAP, is an asset.
• Working understanding of procurement, administration, and finance systems.
• Demonstrated familiarity with the MS Office Suite 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 in the region 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 authorities, NGOs, and CSO 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, and will have an interest and ability to travel and work in insecure environments. 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, as is a commitment to working with community members to make concrete improvements to their livelihoods and living conditions. 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 Mercy Corps’ 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.