Remote and Multiple Locations: Temporary Director Peace & Conflict-TSU

Oct 18, 2022 | Mercy Corps
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Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Program Summary

Mercy Corps’ Technical Support Unit (TSU) is a key part of the Program Department. TSU members help set agency strategy and work closely alongside program teams worldwide in areas such as assessment and design, and project implementation and results measurement. TSU team members provide critical technical leadership and support, facilitate information-sharing across country and program teams, share guidance on emerging trends and best practices, foster organizational learning, contribute to research, represent Mercy Corps to external audiences, and develop robust partnerships. The TSU is also integral to global business development and revenue.

The Position

Recognizing that violent conflict is the leading cause of suffering and extreme poverty, Mercy Corps distinguishes itself among leading international aid and development agencies by working to address the root causes of conflict in the world’s most difficult places. With Mercy Corps’ focus on reducing fragility and building community resilience and well-being, the Peace and Conflict team is a leading agency voice that both amplifies the peace and conflict work of our global peacebuilding leaders and contributes to program excellence and the lasting impact of our work.

Mercy Corps’ Peace and Conflict Director (Leave Cover) leads this team and is an experienced practitioner and technical voice in the sector who leads an influential, agile global team that, in partnership with global peace and conflict program leaders, advances technical excellence and challenges conventional peacebuilding wisdom through innovation and rigorous learning and evaluation. This position is a 3-month fixed term leave cover.

Working in partnership across teams and sectors, the Director is able to successfully navigate a matrix structure, design and implement integrated approaches, simplify complex strategies to gain buy-in, and meet strategic team and agency objectives. The Peace and Conflict Director sits on the TSU Leadership Team, and works across the agency to identify regional and global trends and keep innovative, adaptive, and field-tested practices flowing across the agency. The Director should bring deep familiarity with implementing Mercy Corps’ Peace and Conflict approach, understanding how Mercy Corps as an agency operates, and experience partnering with diverse teams to advance shared goals.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

  • Advance the established strategic vision for the Peace and Conflict sector, closely integrated with other agency approaches and departments.
  • Lead internal communications around sector strategy, and build agency-wide buy-in to support integration through regular work sessions and meetings across the agency and with partners.
  • Help socialize and advance the Good Governance and Peace outcome of the new agency strategy, ensuring its seamless integration with peace and conflict and other sector programs globally.
  • Lead directly, or through oversight, programming excellence and strategy under the following initiatives (and others):
  • Advancing peace in complex crises
  • Addressing the weaponization of social media
  • Addressing climate-related drivers of conflict
  • Reducing youth participation in violence, including violent extremism
  • Integrating psychosocial support into peace and reconciliation programming
  • Building social cohesion across communal and identity lines
  • Addressing the governance-related causes of conflict
  • Conflict sensitivity and Do No Harm

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT

  • Produce or support the production of strong, influential analysis and derive new insights from program results, field assessments and industry learning.
  • Build agency capacity to incorporate those results, best practices into new program designs and on-going implementation.
  • Provide technical leadership and support, coordinating the team to support/mentor field and regional teams in improving the quality of existing programming and priority programs, as it relates to peace and conflict.
  • Delegate lead proposal writing and proposal support duties across the Peace and Conflict team.
  • Lead-write select, strategic proposals, working closely with country teams.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

  • Assist team members with onboarding, information, tools and resources to improve performance and reach short, medium and long-term professional objectives.
  • Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
  • Create and sustain a work environment of respect where team members strive for excellence.
  • Ensure the upkeep and use of key Peace and Conflict database, tracking, and knowledge management tools, including the Peace and Conflict program portfolio, proposal pipeline, external events tracker, consultant roster, workplan, and more

MONITORING, EVALUATION, LEARNING AND IMPACT MEASUREMENT

  • Work with field teams in order to test theories and measure results and ensure indicators are relevant.
  • Supervise team members and consultants as needed to update and refine relevant program indicators.
  • Lead and support activities to assess and document the impact of our technical interventions, including those integrated with other key sectors.
  • Cooperate closely with the Research and Learning team to support learning objectives and produce rigorous evaluations of our Peace and Conflict work.
  • Work with field teams on adaptive programming that harnesses and scales successes for impact, increases regional/national influence and identifies emerging sector innovations.

INFLUENCE AND PARTNERSHIP MANAGEMENT

  • Elevate the representation and voice of global team members to share Mercy Corps experiences and insights in external fora.
  • Direct and input on technical team approaches, program results and research contributing to overall agency technical leadership and influence.
  • Develop and maintain strategic program partnerships with implementing partners, academic partners, think tanks, local networks, private sector partners, or other entities to enhance impact.
  • Maintain strong communication and nurture relationships with donors, agencies and influencers.
  • Lead and coordinate the technical team to represent Mercy Corps in relevant practitioner and learning networks, and build our reputation through external engagement.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward 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:

Peace and Conflict Advisors and Senior Advisors, as well as relevant consultants

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Senior Director - Peace and Governance

Works Directly With: TSU colleagues, agency leadership, HQ and field teams

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills

  • A./M.S./M.Sc. or equivalent or above in a relevant technical field is required.
  • 6+ years of experience in international development and peace and conflict sector including fragility and stability contexts.
  • 3 - 5 years of field experience direct management experience implementing field-based projects.
  • Prior Mercy Corps experience is a plus.
  • Proven proposal development and donor cultivation experience, including active donor networking experience.
  • Demonstrated success in building working relationships with a diverse public, private and civil sector actors.
  • 2 to 3 years of management and supervisory experience required.
  • Ability to work effectively on matrixed teams and in non-hierarchical settings.
  • Exceptionally strong verbal and written communications skills and organizational skills are required.
  • Familiarity with major donors such as USAID, DFID, the EC and foundations and corporations.
  • Knowledge of Mercy Corps’ systems, staff and structures is a plus.
  • Fluency in English is required; fluency in French is a plus.

Success Factors

The successful Director must be a self-starter who demonstrates leadership in communications, partnership development, and team management. Multi-tasking with proven ability to manage competing priorities, follow procedures, and meet deadlines is required. The Director manages their team to have an impact on revenue, program quality, overall strategy, and thought leadership. The Director leads and nurtures individual team member development and works effectively with different work styles. Additionally, the Director is a proactive collaborator who engages other technical teams and field program management. The position must communicate and work with a variety of external groups including private sector partners, peer agencies, government officials, academic institutions, and donors. The Director is flexible and creative in planning and problem solving, and has a proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results. The Director has the vision and drive to lead initiatives in the agency that are more than program development, that demonstrate understanding for the larger picture while remaining focused on and able to handle the details. The individual must have high proficiency for working in varied cultural, political, and religious environments, and must be able to travel and work successfully in austere environments and maintain poise in stressful situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position can be located in any Mercy Corps office or remotely.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside 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.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times.

As a safeguarding measure, Mercy Corps screens all potential US-Based employees. Any offers of employment or continued employment are dependent on the successful completion of the screens which include, but are not limited to our Background Check and Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme processes,

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our or ganization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Covid-19 Vaccine Policy for US-Based Employees

Mercy Corps has determined that, in an effort to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all Mercy Corps employees working in the United States, all U.S.-based employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection status.

This policy will be revised as needed to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, and to respond to changing guidance from public health authorities.

For new employees this requirement goes into effect within 10 business days of employment. Team members that travel are expected to comply with host-country requirements, including vaccinations. Failure to comply may impact your employment. Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.