Sudan: Program Director, SMART

Jul 11, 2024 | Mercy Corps
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About Mercy Corps 

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, it knows its teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. Mercy Corps welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that it can be stronger and have long term impact. 

Program / Department Summary 

Mercy Corps has been operational in Sudan since 2004 and currently leads humanitarian assistance and longer-term development efforts in conflict-affected South Darfur, Central Darfur, South Kordofan, North Kordofan, Kassala, Gedaref, and Khartoum States, supporting host communities, IDPs, returnees and refugees. Mercy Corps’ current areas of programming include food security and livelihoods, WASH, health, nutrition, peace building and protection, resilience, and Market Systems Development. 

General Position Summary 

Mercy Corps is leading a consortium with VSF Germany and three National Partners in a four-year, €12M Euro, EC-Funded food security program in the Darfur Region of Sudan. The program is designed to contribute to sustainable and resilient livelihoods and food security in rural communities most affected by food insecurity, climate change and conflicts in South & Central Darfur states. To align with the current humanitarian situation, the program shall also undertake multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) targeting the newly displaced, most vulnerable households. 

The specific objectives (SOs) of this program are as follows: 

  • SO1: To sustainably increase productivity and profitability of smallholder agriculture and livestock value chains using agroecological practices. 
  • SO2: To create sustainable and decent jobs for youth and women, including from IDP and refugee populations, with a specific focus on women in rural and food-insecure areas. 
  • SO3: To facilitate equal and sustainable access to natural resources in order to contribute to food security and mitigate conflicts and allow the voluntary return of conflict-displaced people. 

This program’s complex design, innovative approach, and risky operational environment make it a high-stakes program for Mercy Corps. This calls for program leadership with the right skill set to manage the program. Mercy Corps Sudan is therefore seeking to recruit a program director for the SMART program. 

Essential Job Responsibilities 

STRATEGY & VISION

  • Review existing program strategies and approaches based on changing contexts. Work with the Director of Programs to ensure linkages with other programs/projects and even sector strategies (Food Security, Livelihoods, WASH and Protection, etc). 
  • Design viable strategies that are both respectful with the local culture and sensitive towards the population.

IMPLEMENTATION AND PROGRAM COORDINATION

  • Ensure synergy with program plans, technical approaches, and commitments, and particularly those related to ensuring a strong foundation across all program areas (implementation, governance, MEAL, etc). 
  • Develop a detailed work plan and identify critical path and key milestones that must be adhered to during the program implementation period. 
  • Undertake review and make necessary adjustments of the program start-up roadmap/strategy in consultation with country and regional teams and cross-operations HQ teams. 
  • Work with the DoP to communicate the agreed vision and direction to the team and ensure a coordinated and coherent approach. 
  • Ensure tools and tracking mechanisms are in place to accurately assess and communicate progress against the program work plan, resources (budget and personnel), and issues during program implementation. 
  • Engage in proactive communication and collaboration with the country and regional directors, program implementation team, headquarters teams, and partners. 
  • Facilitate clear and regular communication between all in the program team, including partners. 
  • Review the necessary framework documents and file structure in accordance with PM@MC, while ensuring continuous review as the program evolves. 
  • Use lessons learned from existing programming, both that of Mercy Corps and of partners, to improve implementation. 
  • Revise work plan accordingly to ensure Mercy Corps sticks to strict timelines while ensuring the program is on time, scope, and budget. 

TEAM MANAGEMENT 

  • Provide team members with information, tools, and resources to improve performance & reach 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 mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
  • Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.
  • Provide coordination and supervision as needed to the program team accountable to the process. 

STANDARDS AND COMPLIANCE 

  • Ensure that all work related to the program is undertaken from an inclusive perspective, prioritising process over product and power sharing among consortium partners and the planned program participants. 
  • Inculcate Program Management minimum standards and best practices including PM@MC, Complex Program, Goods Distribution minimum standards; and all other relevant standards within the new team including partners. 
  • Foster a culture of compliance and accountability among the team regarding Mercy Corps, donor, and government laws, policies, rules, and regulations. 
  • Work with TSU/HQ and the PAQ and MEL teams in the country to establish a viable MEAL system. 
  • Support in essential communication with partners and sub-grantees to verify their systems and that they understand and follow all appropriate procedures and archiving. 
  • Take leadership in implementation of the procurement plan, in collaboration with the Operations Manager and other support staff. 
  • Work with finance compliance to mitigate fraud, conflict of interest and legal ramifications of Mercy Corps activities. This includes working with the Mercy Corps teams, as necessary to share tools, collaborate with staff and share information/support needs. 
  • Ensure that all program planning and implementation is in line with donor requirements. 

SECURITY 

  • Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
  • Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES 

  • Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work
  • Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members
  • Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options

ORGANISATIONAL LEARNING 

As part of its commitment to organisational learning and in support of its understanding that learning organisations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the women and men from the diverse identity groups and communities which it serves, it expects all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves. 

ACCOUNTABILITY TO PARTNERS 

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to its partners and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging participant communities and women and men of diverse identities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of its field programs. 

Supervisory Responsibility

Program agriculture and food security team on technical related works. 

Accountability


Reports to: Director of Programs 

Works Directly With: Market Systems Development Technical Lead, SMT, PMT, HR and TSU (when necessary), PaQ Director. 

Collaborates With: HQ teams, all MC logistics and operations team in the Sudan offices and at HQ** 

Knowledge and Experience 

  • BA/S or equivalent in a relevant field; an advanced degree is preferred. 
  • Direct experience in implementing market systems development programming and economic recovery. 
  • Experience of and commitment to working through systems of community participation and accountability. 
  • Prior experience in developing partnership with both private and public actors as part of program implementation in achieving projects desired goals. 
  • History of working effectively with host country governments, INGO and NGO partners. 
  • Experience facilitating workshops and multiple stakeholder meetings. 
  • Strong writing and report development skills. 
  • Demonstrated ability to work in complex programming and volatile environments and applying market-based approaches in fragile contexts. 
  • Demonstrated monitoring and evaluation skills. 
  • Proven capacity to supervise, train and coach staff. 
  • Oral and written English skills required. 
  • A minimum of 5 years field experience setting up and managing administration, procurement, logistics, and human resource systems with humanitarian NGOs with supervisory responsibilities. 
  • Proven understanding of complex development contexts, related security concerns and appropriate responses with experience in insecure environments. 
  • Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations in Sudan, including travelling to insecure environments, is required. 
  • Ability to work across departments to achieve results in a short period of time. 

Success Factors 

The successful candidate is an experienced critical thinker and leader with a thorough understanding of what it takes to deliver impactful programs in challenging environments. S/he is an excellent communicator who can inspire broad and diverse teams towards achieving a shared goal and drive a fast-paced and adaptive program. S/he is able to create a stimulating working environment encouraging quality, innovation and accountability. S/he should have good listening and diplomatic skills. S/he should be able to navigate complex team dynamics and stressful situations to deliver results. S/he should have excellent analytical and creative problem-solving skills, good organisational skills and ability to work independently. S/he should take initiative to contribute to innovative programs that respond to the achievement of the mission of Mercy Corps in Sudan. 

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions 

The position is based in Port Sudan, and it requires up to 40% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. Housing for this role is in shared housing and staff will have limited access to good medical services. This is a hardship post. 

Ongoing Learning 

In support of its belief that learning organisations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities it serves, it empowers all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development. 

See original posting for more on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Equal Employment Opportunity; and Safeguarding & Ethics.