Mercy Corps leads humanitarian assistance and recovery efforts in South Sudan mainly in areas affected by Sudan's 21-year civil war - the same areas where today's peace is most fragile. Mercy Corps' goal in South Sudan is to support the transition to a fair and lasting peace. Our team is working hand in hand with communities to facilitate the transition from relief assistance to development. Our recovery projects improve the capacity of communities to accommodate returnees and pave the way for their peaceful reintegration.
Mercy Corps operation in South Sudan includes Upper Nile State which is home to close to 110,000 refugees from Sudan. Given the equally fragile situation of the host community, Mercy Corps intervention in Maban will focus on the resident population and aims to improve the food security and livelihoods status of the vulnerable families through immediate cash/food assistance as well as disaster risk reduction (DRR) interventions and build communities resilience to future shocks. The proposed activities will assist 5000 Households through cash for work and food for assets activities. It also provides assistance to targeted households to practice vegetable gardening.
GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:
The Head of Office will manage community based cash for work/food for asset and horticulture production projects in Maban County in the Upper Nile state. The Head of Office will provide supervise and undertake capacity building of a team of up to 20 staff members from both program as well as the support function. S/he will provide technical oversight of the project activities to ensure compliance and transparent financial management. In addition to the Head of Office's role, the position also serves as the Program Manager for the program described above.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
Head of Office responsibilities:
- Supervise program and support staff in Maban sub-office on day-to-day running of the program activities and operational functions; ensuring efficient coordination to accomplish Mercy Corps' goals.
- Lead management meetings with Maban based staff to ensure pro-active participation in team decision making process.
- Liaise with finance and compliance manager for cash flow, financial monitoring/compliance and closeout procedures in compliance with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
- Recruit and manage an innovative, informed, motivated and efficient team with a particular focus on individual and team capacity development.
- Represent Mercy Corps to the community, the local government, INGO/UN agencies in Maban, Upper Nile State and organize field visits as required. Ensure pro-active and partnership approach in relationship management.
- Act on behalf of Mercy Corps South Sudan in Maban and act professionally and personally to bring credit to Mercy Corps and in no way jeopardize our humanitarian efforts.
- Be the security focal point for the Maban office and liaise with all required stakeholders on safety and security matters.
Program Management responsibilities:
- In coordination with the country office, ensure that Mercy Corps' program fosters ongoing positive cooperation with all stakeholders namely communities, local authorities, relevant humanitarian coordination clusters and other NGOs.
- Design strategy and modules for staff training to enhance their efficiency in result oriented program delivery mainly cash for work, Food for asset and horticulture production. Take a lead in design and development of future programs in coordination with the country office.
- Oversee emergency food security and livelihoods activities, making sure that they are implemented according to the work plan and donor regulations and within the specified time frame. Responsible for innovative and impact oriented program delivery and reporting.
- Design and maintain an M&E system for the program to demonstrate outputs, outcome, impact and lessons learned. Coordinate the project M&E with country M&E systems; ensure organizational learning to improve program quality and sustainability.
- Oversee and lead a team of up to 10 program staff. Build capacity of the national staff to ensure coordination and team vision. Chair Mercy Corps field office coordination meetings.
- Ensure donor compliance and budget management; provide oversight to ensure that project deliverable are achieved within approved spending levels and in accordance with donor rules and regulations.
Other duties as assigned
Organizational Learning
As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in line with 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 acceptable 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.
Effective Communication and Reporting
Efficient and timely communication/information exchange is vital for making effective operational decisions. The team member is expected to maintain regular contact with the country office. S/he is expected to submit Field Office Weekly Update (FOWU) for Maban sub office using a standard reporting format. This includes analysis of the local context (security, markets conditions, weather etc.), 3Ws and program/operational updates.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: Maban field office team.
ACCOUNTABILITY:
REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Deputy Country Director.
WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: M&E Manager, Finance Manager, Operations Manager & ICT administrator.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
- MA/S or equivalent in agriculture, development management or related fields preferred,
- 2-3 years' experience in international relief and development in Africa, preferably South Sudan,
- Experience managing cash for work and food for asset projects,
- 2-3 years' experience of staff team-building
- Financial management experience
- Experience with requirements of WBG and UN donors.
- History of working effectively and respectfully with host country government, INGO and NGO partners
- Experience managing program in politically volatile and post-conflict environments
- Demonstrated ability as a manager of complex programming and team leadership
SUCCESS FACTORS:
- Ability to effectively carry out duties as outlined in the position description
- Willingness to learn and work in accordance with Mercy Corps policy.
- Demonstrated ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities if necessary.
- A high professional standard of activity implementation, strong interpersonal and intellectual skills.
LIVING /ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:
The position is unaccompanied and will be based in Maban, Upper Nile state in southern Sudan. Living conditions are basic.
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 MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
How to apply:
