Regional Technical, Evidence and Learning Director (TEQ)- Africa

Position Summary

The Regional Technical, Evidence and Learning Director (TEQ) is a key leadership role within the Africa Regional Program Team, responsible for strengthening technical excellence, evidence use, learning, innovation and program quality across Mercy Corps' portfolio in Africa. The Technical Director works closely with country teams, regional leadership, technical advisors and global programs and support teams to ensure country programs have access to the expertise, resources and systems needed to design, implement and adapt high-quality programs that achieve meaningful and sustainable impact. The Technical Director leads the regional technical team and serves as the primary focal point for technical resources, program quality standards, learning and technical capacity strengthening across the region. The role promotes the use of Mercy Corps' program models, technical frameworks and programming commitments to strengthen program effectiveness, improve outcomes, generate evidence and support organizational learning. The Technical Director also provides senior technical leadership for strategic business development opportunities and supports Mercy Corps' efforts to position itself as a recognized leader in delivering innovative, evidence-driven and locally-led programming across Africa.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

• Support the development and implementation of an ambitious and compelling regional technical and evidence strategy for the consolidated Africa region, in alignment with the P2P framework, in close collaboration with regional and country teams across the region.

• Support Country Teams across Africa in the successful development and implementation of their country strategies and annual implementation plans.

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• Work as a key partner to the Regional Programs Director to drive and implement an impactful regional strategy across the consolidated region.

• Work closely with the Business Development Senior Advisors to ensure compelling proposals are submitted with high-quality technical input and designs that draw on Mercy Corps’ evidence base.

• Promote collaboration and close coordination between Technical, Evidence and Quality (TEQ) teams to ensure technical inputs feed into the Global and/or Regional Evidence and Learning Agenda, program strategies, program models and country learning priorities across the region.

TEAM LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

• Supervise the Regional Technical Advisors — including the Market Systems Development Advisor, GESI Advisor and MEL Advisors (x2) — and create a collaborative, accountable, high-performing regional technical team that delivers timely and quality support to programs.

• Develop efficient systems to identify support needs of country teams and ensure that programs access quality, relevant and timely support from Global and Regional Program Support teams.

• Line manage and support select Regional Programs to support high quality program start-up and delivery, consistent donor engagement and compliance, strategic business development and growth, and evidence generation and dissemination.

• Foster strong collaboration between country teams, regional technical resources and Global Programs & Support teams.

• Support succession planning and professional development for regional technical talent.

• Fill in as needed for either Regional Programs Director, Program Leadership, and field leadership during leave and/or leadership gaps as necessary.

PROGRAM SUPPORT & QUALITY

• Ensure country teams have access to technical support and resources to deliver quality-based and technically sound programs across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.

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• Ensure all programs adhere to minimum program management standards, technical standards and best practices, and disseminate and promote new tools and guidance developed by global teams.

• Promote consistent quality assurance processes and technical review mechanisms throughout the program lifecycle.

• Lead capacity strengthening and learning initiatives across Africa to ensure country teams continue expanding their technical knowledge and expertise over time, in close coordination with TEQ teams.

• Identify opportunities to scale promising practices, innovative approaches and proven models across country programs.

• Support country teams to strengthen program design, implementation, adaptation and scale through technically sound and evidence-based approaches.

• Foster stronger linkages between country programs, regional technical priorities and global technical leadership to maximize learning, consistency and impact across the Africa portfolio.

• Monitor trends in program quality across the portfolio and support targeted improvement initiatives where required.

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, DESIGN, AND IMPLEMENTATION

• Work closely with global, regional and country teams on any new business opportunities that require strong technical leadership, input, and review.

• Support regional and country teams across Africa to identify, explore, and pursue funding opportunities that support regional and country technical strategy objectives, including promoting Mercy Corps’ program models in design processes.

• Support — and when relevant, lead — the development of evidence-based technical concept notes, proposals, and other funding requests, ensuring quality submissions that maximize chances for success, including sourcing internal or external technical expertise to assist, in close collaboration with the Business Development Senior Advisors.

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• Position Mercy Corps for strategic funding opportunities that build on country and/or regional programmatic priorities and technical excellence across the region.

• Work closely with global program support units to ensure resources are available to country teams when needed and to facilitate continuous quality improvement of field programs, especially during rapid growth.

PREPOSITIONING, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & REPRESENTATION

• Play an active and visible role in prepositioning efforts across Africa, working alongside country and regional teams to engage donors and partners ahead of funding opportunities, strengthen Mercy Corps’ positioning, and build the technical credibility of the organization in the region.

• Represent Mercy Corps in donor meetings, technical working groups, inter-agency coordination forums, and other external events as required, showcasing the organization’s technical expertise, evidence base, and program impact across the consolidated region.

• Build and maintain strategic relationships with donors, UN agencies, research institutions, private sector actors, and other partners relevant to Mercy Corps’ technical priorities in Africa.

• Support the development of technical positioning papers, capacity statements, and other materials that strengthen Mercy Corps’ profile with key donors and partners across the region while ensuring dissemination to these technical documents to the right stakeholders, both internally and externally.

• Provide technical input and leadership during proposal development processes, ensuring that BD submissions draw on the latest evidence, reflect programmatic learning, and demonstrate Mercy Corps’ distinctive technical value, in close collaboration with the Business Development Senior Advisors and country teams.

EVIDENCE AND LEARNING

• Oversee MEL technical support across the regions and serve as a key enabler for advancing the regional Evidence and Learning (E&L) Agenda and/or priorities and assessing program performance.

• Act as a bridge between technical and MEL functions, promoting integration and coherence in program design, implementation, and review.

• Lead coordination between technical advisors and MEL counterparts to ensure that programs generate, document, and use evidence effectively.

• Champion the use of evidence in business development opportunities, decision-making and adaptive management across all regional and country-level programs.

• Support regional technical and MEL communities of practice and joint learning initiatives spanning the region.

• Support and contribute to research-specific opportunities in the region, from design stage to implementation and evaluation.

• Champion evidence-driven programming and promote the systematic use of data, research and learning to improve program performance and decision-making.

• Foster collaboration and knowledge exchange across country programs to strengthen learning and replication of successful approaches.

• Support the generation, documentation and dissemination of evidence, lessons learned and promising practices from programs across Africa.

SYSTEMS & PLANNING

• Develop and implement internal systems for tracking technical support requests, priorities, and deliverables across the region.

• Maintain a detailed planning system to cost technical advisors appropriately across country and regional programs and oversee the development of all related administrative aspects (SoWs, Budgets, etc.).

• Work closely with the Regional Programs Director and regional operations teams to align technical resource planning and budgeting across the consolidated region.

REPRESENTATION & COORDINATION

• Ensure program coordination and information sharing within and between regional and country teams across Africa, to maximize efficiency and cross-learning.

• Represent the region in Global Programs & Support working groups, while amplifying regional and country technical needs to advocate for additional support.

• Identify and pursue areas for thought leadership, including building connections with donors, private sector partners, academia and other actors, showcasing Mercy Corps’ program impact and promoting the region’s capabilities, expertise, innovation, strategic vision, and values.

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.

2. Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.

3. 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.

Supervisory Responsibility

Regional Technical Advisors across Africa, comprising: Regional MSD Advisor; GESI Advisor; MEL Advisors (x2); and any other technical advisors joining the regional team over time. Supervise Regional Programs as assigned and agreed.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Africa Regional Programs Director.

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.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Detailed understanding of the finance, operations and administration mechanisms that support a grant/project implementation life cycle.

• Demonstrated ability to think strategically, and to solve complex problems at an organizational level.

• Confident communication skills applicable to donor relations, prepositioning, and inter-agency coordination.

• Ability to handle multiple issues at one time, especially in emergency situations, and to organize and prioritize accordingly.

Required Education and Experience

• BA/BS or equivalent in international development, political or social science, public administration, business management required; MA preferred.

• At least 7 years’ field experience in senior management related to technical support and advisory, and/or direct program development and implementation.

• Direct experience managing and supervising large, geographically dispersed teams, as well as mentoring and development.

• Demonstrated technical and/or evidence generation experience in one of Mercy Corps’ outcome or sub-outcome/distinctive areas of P2P.

• Demonstrated proficiency and experience with US, UK, EU, UN and other public and private donors, government grant and financial management requirements.

• Demonstrated experience in business development and donor prepositioning, including representation in donor-facing settings and contribution to competitive proposal processes.

• Demonstrated understanding of the critical humanitarian and development issues facing Africa, and significant experience with the challenges of operating in these contexts.

• An internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.

• Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in humanitarian response preferred.

• Fluency in written and spoken English required; proficiency in French or another language spoken in the region is an asset.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The role is open to both National and International candidates (where MC has an office). The successful candidate will be based in one of the countries in Africa where Mercy Corps has a presence. The role requires up to 30% travel within the region, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/short term assignment to a field posting. Staff 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.

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.

Team Engagement and Effectiveness

Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.

We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

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.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([email protected]).