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, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
Mercy Corps has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since August 2007, with a staff of approximately 500 people working in Eastern DRC. Mercy Corps’ national office is in Goma with sub-field offices in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces. Mercy Corps’ key programming areas include a combination of longer-term development and immediate humanitarian response programmes in order to: 1) Improve water service delivery and ensuring equitable access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services, in urban and rural areas; 2) Improve food security and nutrition; 3) Promote diversified livelihoods, economic recovery and development. The FARM programme, funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has been implemented in North Kivu since 2016 and works to improve access to, control over and utilization of land for 25,000 households in North Kivu and improve target market systems through increased cooperation between market actors in selected value chains, contributing to food security. FARM puts emphasis on improving access to land through improved service delivery and dialogue platforms for the benefit of the target population. In parallel, FARM facilitates linkages between farmers, agri-businesses, private sectors actors, cooperatives and government in order to strengthen and diversify the target market systems.
GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:
The FARM Programme Close-Out Director will provide overall leadership, management and coordination for the overall close-out of the programme, including finalization of activities implementation as per the NCE work plan, administrative close out and handing over of selected interventions. She/he will be the senior manager of the project, providing overall leadership to the programme team and representing the programme to the donor, partner organizations, the Government of DRC and other stakeholders. The Director will be responsible for ensuring that FARM meets its engagements towards local stakeholders and the donors on activities completion and handover and complies to Mercy Corps complex programme minimum standards requirements for close-outs and stated donor expectations and requirements, in close coordination with the relevant MC DRC support functions.
This person will oversee the whole FARM programme team and work closely with the PaQ Director, Director of Programs, HR Director, Operations Director and Finance Director and the MC HQ Programme Officer, Regional Finance Officer, and Senior Compliance Advisor to ensure an effective close-out in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies.
ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
Representation
Liaise with The Dutch Embassy in Kigali and represent the programme to other implementers, private sector partners, and other stakeholders.
Supervisory Responsibility
Direct Supervisor to 4 FARM staff, over 40 indirect.
Works Directly With: PaQ Director, Director of Programs, Component Managers, PaQ Manager, Operations Director, Finance Director, as well as MC HQ Programme Officer, Regional Finance Officer, and Compliance Manager.
Knowledge and Experience:
Success Factors:
The successful candidate will demonstrate a strong combination of team leadership, donor and local stakeholder engagement, reporting, as well as an ability to work well within and across Mercy Corps’ Programme Management policies and procedures, especially related to close-out and end of programme transition. The candidate should be able to coordinate and work effectively with a wide variety of people internally and externally to get things done. S/he has the ability to multi-task and process information into action in a timely manner. S/he should be conscientious with an excellent sense of judgment as well as interpersonal skills. Strong spoken and written English and French language skills are a must.
This position is an unaccompanied post based in Goma (DRC).
While conditions in the country are improving, and security is quite stable in Goma, there are still pockets of violence and insecurity. Mercy Corps' sub-offices experience variable levels of insecurity, with the situation closely monitored by UN peacekeepers. Air travel is necessary to get from one end of the country to the other. Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available. Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices. Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic. There are a number of health services available with evacuation options for serious illnesses. There’s reasonable access to most consumer goods, although they can be expensive.
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. Staff are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
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
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.
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.
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. 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 e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.