Senior Director, Peace and Conflict at Mercy Corps

Job Description

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Mercy Corps is a global humanitarian aid agency engaged in transitional environments that have experienced some sort of shock: natural disaster, economic collapse, or conflict.

The Position

Mercy Corps is hiring a Senior Director, Peace and Conflict to advance realization of Mercy Corps’ P2P Peace & Governance outcome within Africa, supporting the design, high-quality delivery, and elevating learning across our portfolio of peace and governance programs. A dynamic, visionary and collaborative leader, the Senior Director will work in close partnership with country and regional leadership, and technical and program teams to develop and execute a vision for how Mercy Corps works with communities to drive long-term peace and governance outcomes in selected geographies. The Senior Director will lead portfolio growth, provide supervisory oversight to high-value, high-impact or strategic programs to align resources towards program delivery and impact, advance a coherent evidence agenda linking context and program monitoring, evaluation and research, drive thought leadership, foster partnerships, and further a strategy for resource mobilization. The Senior Director will work closely with the Africa regional and country teams as well as regional and global TSU, PaQ and Research to ensure alignment of technical, MEL, research and program management resources to help drive the peace and governance vision for P2P realization in Africa.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

Work with country, regional and headquarters teams to drive a shared strategic vision for Peace & Governance programming in Africa, building on our organizational distinctives in Africa and globally. Lead a participatory process to foster shared ownership of the strategic vision by country, regional and technical teams and to inspire team members to engage with the strategic vision. Build strategic partnerships and relationships with civil society, donors, research organizations, private sector and other actors to achieve the strategic vision and inspire partnership. Engage in regional and country strategic planning processes to ensure that country-level outcomes are squarely aligned to the regional P&C strategic vision and opportunities to advance the vision are prioritized in country planning processes. Partner with the (D)RDs and Africa Technical Director to identify opportunities and priorities for the regional team to engage in advancing the P&C vision. Develop processes to enable continued adaptation and evolution of the vision based on programmatic learning and evidence as well as changes in context. Strategically engage with senior leaders across the TSU, PaQ, Research and Learning, and Policy & Advocacy teams around the vision and models to facilitate alignment of resources and to share and scale lessons-learned.

PROGRAM DELIVERY & IMPACT

Oversee a portfolio of high-value, high impact P&C programs in Africa aligned with P2P outcomes, including direct line management of Program Directors/Chiefs of Party for key portfolio programs or leadership of Complex Program Boards, with a dotted line to the relevant Country Director. Ensure programs remain accountable to country and regional collective vision, and closely partner with and engage country leadership and operational structures Ensure that programs are on time, on scope and on budget and implemented to the highest technical standards and are aligned with donor and community needs and expectations Partner with country operational structures and global teams (TSU, PaQ, MEL) to ensure alignment and allocation of resources that help advance program delivery and impact, as well as compliance with key standards (PM@MC, Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, etc.) Oversee the development of a coherent evidence approach across the portfolio, including context monitoring, portfolio-level program monitoring, evaluation and learning plan and tools to enable Mercy Corps to generate evidence of the impact of its P&C programs, with the ability to aggregate impact indicators at the portfolio level. Ensure programs are responsive to contextual changes, such as emerging P&C dynamics, or emerging opportunities to deepen impact, and advocate for resources that support program pivots.

 RESEARCH, LEARNING & EVIDENCE

Partner with Mercy Corps’ Research and Learning team as well as country and regional leadership to set a research and learning agenda related to our strategic vision. Work with P&C portfolio programs to develop robust context monitoring, program monitoring and evaluation, research and learning systems to ensure that programmatic evidence is being captured, disseminated and used to drive internal and external learning. Participate in and facilitate research efforts and compilation/production of learning products to ensure consistency of voice and messaging with Mercy Corps’ strategic vision and key advocacy messages on P&C. Establish platforms to enable country and technical teams to engage in regional cross-learning, Oversee the development of information management, coordination and knowledge management tools and systems to systematically track and capture Mercy Corps’ P&C programming impacts in each country, and enable regional-level reflection and synthesis. Help advance Mercy Corps’ portfolio of research and learning awards in the region.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP & REPRESENTATION

Collaborate closely with country leadership and program focal points to drive forward country level positioning and thought leadership to build support for P&C approaches and create opportunities to scale up our P&C portfolio. Position Mercy Corps’ strategic vision, research and evidence with donors, governments, partners, research organizations, private sector actors and other key stakeholders working on P&C issues in Africa. Partner with the Research & Learning team as well as portfolio program teams to generate and disseminate evidence and learning thought pieces on key P&C topics. Identify opportunities to engage in roundtables, policy dialogues, working groups and other events to share Mercy Corps’ vision, research and learning around P&C in Africa. Partner with the P&A team to identify relevant policy issues and forums within key donor departments and to shape messaging to influence key P&C-related policy decisions. Guide and oversee the development of external facing materials to communicate Mercy Corps’ positioning in partnership with regional, country, technical, policy & advocacy, and communications colleagues.

PORTFOLIO GROWTH & NEW BUSINESS

Engage with New Initiatives, TSU, Country and Regional teams, partners, and communities to design and secure resources for high-impact P&C programs that are aligned to community priorities and advance Mercy Corps’ P&C vision. Serve as Proposal Design Lead for key strategic P&C opportunities. Partner with the regional team and country programs in Africa to elevate Mercy Corps’ expertise and profile within the broader subregion, leading to strategic regional programming that works across borders and delivers impact across the subregion.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

Recruit, manage, motivate, and onboard an informed, skilled and efficient team to manage and support key P&C portfolio programs with an emphasis on high quality impact, inclusion and achievement. This includes senior program staff, as well as regional research, MEL and technical advisors. Encourage a team culture of growth, learning, creativity and innovation by incorporating a culture of continuous feedback, development and performance management. Establish credibility within the team by demonstrating personal accountability, flexibility, resilience and dedication to quality programming by creating positive relationships and having composure in complex situations. Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcome. Commit to preserving an organizational culture of trust, transparency, diversity, equity, and inclusion across the team and global organization. Uphold a culture of integrity through ethical decision-making, safeguarding and compliance with the Code of Conduct. Lead by role modeling self-awareness to foster an environment of mutual respect, diversity and inclusion so that all team members are included, supported and can thrive. Create a culture of accountability for highly effective communication systems and relationships to ensure every voice matters.

Supervisory Responsibility

Chiefs of Party/Program Managers of Core P&C Portfolio Programs [Currently IGAPP, Nafoore],

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Regional Director, Africa Works Directly With: DRDs, Africa Technical Director, Country Directors/Directors of Programs, Chiefs of Party/Team Leads, and Technical Support Unit, PaQ, and Research and Learning team members.

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 the relevant field required; MA/S preferred. 10 years of field experience in international relief and development programs, including demonstrable success in managing large, complex, P&C programs. 7 years of senior-level leadership, capacity building and field management experience. Successful and proven representation, negotiation, communication and organization skills. Demonstrated success representing complex programmatic objectives to diverse stakeholders in order to position Mercy Corps as a strong implementer and thought leader with donors, development partners, government and other stakeholders. Demonstrated success in securing funding from a broad spectrum of donors. Demonstrated success working effectively and respectfully with host country government, private sector, INGO, NGO partners and other stakeholders in complex environments. Proven skills in financial and grants management, including experience managing grants from USAID, FCDO, Foundation partners and other strategic donors. Experience in insecure environments, including managing programs or teams in complex emergencies. Experience in Africa is highly desirable. Knowledge of Mercy Corps processes, systems, and procedures is desirable. Experience effectively mentoring and training others. Excellent oral and written English skills required; French skills are a plus