Nigeria: Program Manager- Markets, Agricultural Livelihoods & Livestock

Jan 2, 2019 | Mercy Corps
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Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, they partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been present in Nigeria since 2012, focusing its interventions on humanitarian assistance, economic development, and conflict mitigation. With the ongoing insurgency in Northeast Nigeria causing the displacement of millions of individuals, Mercy Corps started its humanitarian response in 2014 to address the rising humanitarian needs. As the crisis has persisted, Mercy Corps' strategy has also expanded to address the root causes of the conflict and seek to build the long term resilience of communities with integrated programs focusing on governance, the recovery of markets and livelihoods, social cohesion and social protection, youth empowerment, and local conflict management.

General Position Summary

The Program Manager is responsible for the overall management and coordination of Market Systems based early recovery programs that are primarily focusing on agricultural, livestock and markets. The Program Manager provides technical leadership, supervises program staff, and coordinates the implementation of all program activities ensuring the programs are on time, on scope and on budget. The Program Manager will promote a culture of constant program improvement, mentor the program team, integrate monitoring and evaluation into program activities and ensure the delivery of high-quality program that delivers impact. She/he will also identify opportunities to operationalize recommendations from resilience analyses as well as ongoing context analyses. She/he supports program teams to adapt or develop program tools to better incorporate and measure market systems and resilience considerations, identifies and strengthens capacity gaps and scans for additional strategic private sector partnership opportunities to strengthen our approach. She/he actively feeds learning from this application of systems-approaches in the Northeast Nigeria context to Mercy Corps' larger body of growing evidence of what works to build resilience in complex crises.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Strategy and vision

  • Provide leadership and strategic vision in all aspects of the program's development, implementation and management.
  • Manage the day-to-day activities of the program in Borno State.
  • Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcome.
  • Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives and impact.
  • Support evaluation assessments and analysis to identify areas for program improvement.

Technical oversight

  • Manage all program activities, including providing support to agricultural and livestock producer groups, developing market linkages and value chains, building capacity of local producers, and supporting micro-projects;
  • Provide management oversight the implementation team, including development of work plans, monitoring implementation and impact, ensuring that program deliverables are completed, supervising implementing staff, and managing the program budget;
  • Develop monitoring systems jointly with the M&E department and provide regular, high-quality reports on program activities, both internally for Mercy Corps as well as for donors. Demonstrate progress of activities and capture lessons learned;
  • In collaboration with the M&E team, ensure monitoring, evaluation and analysis are integrated into program implementation to promote adaptive management and a culture of constant program improvement.
  • Support the design and implementation of relevant surveys, need assessments, data and information collection for on-going monitoring and learning.
  • Work closely with local partners and develop strategies to promote their organizational development and capacity-building;
  • Organize and conduct monitoring visits to the project sites and host visitors and donors, as needed.

Team Management

  • Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
  • Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
  • Guide program team and work with M&E staff to develop, document and implement adaptive management practices that lead to improved quality and responsive implementation.
  • Work with program and Mercy Corps Nigeria MSD 'Champions' to design and implement a strategic learning and influence agenda on MSD in Complex Crises.
  • Work with program and M&E staff to ensure high quality measurement on key performance indicators for MSD and resilience in priority programs.

Finance & Compliance Management

  • Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to the program.
  • Draft and/or review scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants, including review for technical efficacy and contract budget.

Influence & Representation

  • Represent Mercy Corps at partner coordination meetings and with external stakeholders as relevant to the programs.
  • Identify and engage with technical, private and public sector partnerships needed to execute program strategies and support the growth and formalization of partnership arrangements as necessary.
  • Participate in relevant strategic external working groups and fora to share Mercy Corps' experience and promote thought-leadership.
  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with early recovery and MSD stakeholders.
  • Identify strategic implementation, research and private sector partners that can contribute to Mercy Corps Nigeria's portfolio development, influence and impact.
  • 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.

Security

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

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 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.