About Mercy Corps

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.

The Program / Department / Team 

Mercy Corps has been operating in NWS since 2012. We provide humanitarian assistance and early recovery support in various sectors, including Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Shelter, Food Security & Livelihoods (FSL), and Peace & Conflict activities, through various modalities (Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA), in-kind). Mercy Corps directly implements in Idlib governorate (though our Dana-based team).  

Our interventions are led through our Amman-based team. We are committed to mainstream gender, diversity, inclusion, safeguarding, and conflict sensitivity throughout its intervention. Our funding comes from a wide-range of donors including institutional donors and other private donations. 

The Position  

The North West Syria (NWS) Director of Programs (DoP) leads the design and the implementation of Mercy Corps’ program strategy, and ensure effective program coordination, mobilization of resources, technical or otherwise to drive the delivery of programs on scope, on budget and on time. The position holder will play a critical role in maintaining donor relationships, supporting project design that reflects the realities of NWS, alongside the Deputy Country Director (DCD). S/he will work with a dynamic team of Program Managers and in close coordination with the Performance and Quality (PaQ) team to ensure effective program implementation in line with Mercy Corps’ global program policies and standards, and to design winning proposals and concept notes.

 The DoP provides support to program implementation teams across the sectors of WASH Shelter/Infrastructure, CVA, Livelihoods, Agriculture, Peace and Conflict, and ensure that Mercy Corps’ strategic commitments are mainstreamed throughout the ways we operate and program (Climate smart; Evidence driven; Innovative & creative; Locally-led; Safe, Diverse and Inclusive). S/he troubleshoots issues preemptively, mentors & coaches, and provides technical support as needed.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY AND PLANNING

• Demonstrate visible leadership and adherence to Mercy Corps’ core values, principles and strategy.
• Ensure that all programs are implemented to the highest standards that adhere to internal and external regulations and contribute to strategic goals, objectives and targets and are relevant to the evolving context in the country, all while working in a challenging environment.
• Drive program implementation and project design in line with the four pillars of Syria’s programmatic strategy to respond to immediate humanitarian needs, increase economic opportunities, improve social cohesion and inclusion, and increase climate awareness and action.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT & COORDINATION

Program identification, design and planning:

• Ensure that stakeholders are engaged and that the relevant analysis/assessments are conducted to support program design.

Program implementation:

• Overall responsibility to ensure quality implementation across the entire Mercy Corps NWS portfolio.
• Ensure timely implementation throughout the project life cycle.
• Oversee program management and implementation across various field locations including potential start-up of new programming and new locations.
• Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan.

Cross-cutting themes:

• Provide management and guidance to all Program Managers across all project matters, including working with the PaQ department to ensure monitoring, evaluation and learning and gender and protection mainstreaming are integrated across all programs.
• Continue to innovate and build capacity to ensure that systems enable transparent and effective implementation and use of financial resources in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Coordinate and oversee grant development and reporting deadlines working closely with relevant teams including but not limited to Grants, PaQ, Finance.
• Ensure that all programs have and regularly update essential program management tools (Budget forecast, BvA, procurement plan, workplan, staffing plan, etc.)
• Coordinate and oversee quality programming to ensure programs are meeting minimum standards and are quality and evidence driven across all stages of the programs cycle.
• Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ policies including but not limited to safeguarding, Do No Harm Principles, program management standards, gender mainstreaming
• Work closely with the Deputy Country Director in all areas and phases of the program cycle.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect and motivation where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular team meetings and performance reviews.
• Coaches, mentors and provides team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
• Support overall management of the hub alongside the Deputy Country Director including back-up coverage as requested.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

• Ensure compliance with donors’ and Mercy Corps’ regulations related to all programs.
• Recognize the high level of donor scrutiny imposed on Syrian programming and ensure continuing effective, transparent and responsive compliance mechanisms are in place.
• Maintain oversight of overall program budgets ensuring appropriate allocation of resources to meet program objectives, and to ensure programs remain on scope, on target and on budget.
• Work closely with all departments in ensuring financial streams and timelines are followed-up properly to avoid any delay in implementation and payments.
• Work across support service departments to build positive relationships that enable programming from ensuring timely and compliant procurement to appropriate use of operational assets.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Ensure detailed understanding of Mercy Corps projects to represent and communicate accurately with donors, other humanitarian actors and coordination bodies, and potentially local authorities,
• Ensure that Mercy Corps’ programs are responsive to community needs and are built and delivered to enhance community resilience.
• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with NGO partners, sub-grantees and other stakeholders as required.

SECURITY

• Maintain oversight of access provisions to ensure Mercy Corps’ continued ability to access our most vulnerable and hard-to-reach beneficiaries.
• Stay abreast of political and military dynamics across NWS and Syria in general
• Coordinate with the Security team and Deputy Country Director on crucial events, high-risk periods, and incident reporting.
• Coordinate closely with security that enables continued and safe access to Mercy Corp’s areas of implementation.

Supervisory Responsibility

• WASH & Shelter Coordinator
• FSL & Cash Coordinator
• Social Cohesion Program Manager

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Mercy Corps Syria Deputy Country Director (DCD)

Works Directly With: Extended Senior Management Team (ESMT), Operation, Safety & Security, HR, Finance, Sub-awards, PaQ, Grants 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 Qualification & Transferable Skills

• BA/S or equivalent in a relevant field required, MA/S preferred.
• At least 5 years of mid-level leadership and management experience in large and complex programs including humanitarian operations.
  • Previous work experience in the Middle East and insecure environments preferred.
• Relevant knowledge and experience of humanitarian and development programming standards.
  • Experience with transitional programing (Nexus, resilience-focused) preferred.
• Substantial knowledge of the international humanitarian system, institutions and donors, and of compliance requirements, accountability frameworks and best practices; prior experience with funding from USG, FCDO, GAC, ECHO, and other leading donors.
• Certification in Project DPro, Program DPro, Prince II, PM@MC is advantageous.
• Demonstrated experience in supporting project development that resulted in securing new funding.
• Experience in managing programs in relevant technical area(s) including WASH, CVA, livelihoods, agriculture, or peace and conflict programming is desirable.
• Highly-developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching.
• Experience of solving complex issues collegially, defining a clear way forward, and utilizing best practices in management to ensure shared success.
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills required, including influencing, negotiation and coaching.
• Advanced skills in using Microsoft Office suite are required. Appetite for using new technologies is appreciated.
• Positive attitude, and great sense of humor.

Success Factors

The Director of Programs will need to be able to work in a fast-paced complex environment, where needs, context, donor requirements change on a regular basis, and have the ability to strategize and adapt programming quickly. S/he will be able to manage multiple priorities engaging actively with various teams across different geographic areas. S/he will need to combine strong collaborative working skills with an ability to implement programs successfully. At the same time having strong leadership that continues to drive project implementation. S/he will demonstrate adaptability, flexibility in approach and a strong sense of equity. In meeting these challenges, s/he will be able to support their team to be able to self-develop and grow with the program. S/he will have both a strong coaching and mentoring capability and be able to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team. S/he should have an outstanding ability to coordinate, implement, and manage innovative programs that respond to current needs and support the future program structure of Mercy Corps in Syria.

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

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization 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.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

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. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct eLearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.