Mercy Corps announces vacancy for Director of Programs – Nepal. Interested candidates can apply for the job. Read the full article below for the job details.

Knowledge and Experience

• MA/S or equivalent in international development, economics, agriculture, disaster management, political or social science, management or other relevant field.
• At least five (5) years of field experience in project/program management positions is preferred.
• Prior experience in South Asia is a plus, but not a requirement.
• Excellent spoken and written English and Nepali language skills and ability to interact effectively with international and national staff.
• Demonstrated technical understanding of at least some of the following sectors: agriculture, food security and  nutrition,  market  systems development,  disaster management,  humanitarian response,  gender equality and social inclusion, and social development.
• Demonstrated understanding of sound project management practices and protocols.
• Proven track record of bringing in new business, including innovative design and leading the proposal development process
• Excellent program conceptualization and development capacities, including the ability to convey these ideas convincingly in writing.
• A high level of personal efficiency, and the ability to balance multiple urgent or important tasks without undue stress.
• Good oral communication and representation skills.
• Strong representation and presentation skills.
• An impatience for ‘business-as-usual’, including the ability to clearly communicate a vision of success and help people to “operationalize” this vision and reach for improved results.
• A tolerance for ambiguity, and proven inter-personal and inter-cultural skills.
• Ability to maintain a consistent field orientation and performance orientation

Essential Job Responsibilities

Strategy & Vision – 10%

• Work with the Country Director, the senior management team (SMT), and other team members to maintain country program strategies and priorities, and to communicate this strategy to constituencies.
• Where appropriate, support the Country Director to conduct country office monitoring and reporting against the strategy.
• Work with the Country Director and Finance & Compliance Manager on country program consolidated budgets for the current and upcoming fiscal years, and to use this budget as a management tool to maximize resources and ensure sound fiscal management, especially for on- going programs.
• Serve as a member of the Senior Management Team, helping to formulate fair and affordable human resource and operations management policies and strategies.

Business Development – 30%

• Prioritize,  and  contribute  to  the  preparation  of,  concept  papers,  proposals,  and  other  funding opportunities for new projects/ programs. This could include working as the lead writer on such efforts.
• Drive a business development strategy to ensure the portfolio remains fully funded and aligned with country strategy
• Pro-actively identify new business opportunities and translate these into concepts
• Maintain a business development tracking system that captures priorities of key in country donors
• Ensure  that knowledge  management of  key  program documents,  publications,  evidence  and other resources is well organized, and materials are packaged for external distribution, published on the website (where relevant) and available to be used as marketing materials

Program Management – 55%

• Serve as the main accountability manager for grants in the country office portfolio, ensuring programs remain on time, on scope, on budget and that program managers are skilled, resourced and empowered to make adjustments and manage these processes as well.
• Lead project planning processes, ensuring that all projects/ programs have a clear and achievable design, integrating innovations where appropriate; and, fully comply with PM@MC and Gender Minimum standards.
• Supervise Project Managers/ Program Managers, ensuring that projects: follow sound planning processes; have high performing teams, with good performance management processes; focus on detail, quality, and results; have strong monitoring & evaluation frameworks; deploy cutting-edge technical approaches; and, that good participatory methods and stakeholder management approaches are used.
• Ensure  that  projects/  programs  receive  adequate  technical  inputs  by:  keeping  projects/  programs technically focused and iterative, yet responsive to emerging opportunities and trends; identifying and organizing trainings and exposure visits; encouraging self-directed learning; and, facilitating cross-learning and information sharing. Strive to create a project/ program environment in which ‘business as usual’ is not acceptable, and in which project/ program teams are constantly looking for approaches to maximize impact.
• Ensure that key cross-cutting themes, such as community participation, partner capacity building, good M&E, coordination, consultation with government, public/ private/ civic sector partnerships, inclusion of women, and inclusion of disadvantaged groups are emphasized and integrated into all projects/programs.
• Strive to create and use standardized tools and practices, where appropriate, across projects/ programs.
• Carry out systematized project/ program monitoring visits and provide structured feedback in a way that can improve project/ program progress and impact
• Working with the DM&E team, ensure that all projects/ programs produce professional quality reports and communications materials, that publishable results are disseminated, that Mercy Corp. 
• Nepal is a ‘thought leader’ in its technical areas, and that monitoring and evaluation results are used toimprove implementation
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.

Team Management – (% Integrated with Above Program Management)

• Support Project/ Program Managers in their efforts to manage strong project/ program teams.
• Supervise and monitor Project/Program Manager performance, taking corrective action as required.
• Work with operations team members, the Country Director, and the Finance & Compliance Manager to make sure that adequate operational support is in place for project/ program success, while at the same time minimizing overheads and maintaining a ‘projectized’ (or composite) structure that facilities project/ program success.
• Participate in the recruitment, selection, orientation and training of key project/ program staff, and other staff as requested by the Country Director.
• Help to facilitate team coordination and capacity building opportunities and events as required.

Finance & Compliance Management – (% Integrated with Above Program Management)

• Collaborate with program, finance and administrative staff to ensure systems are in compliance with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Support Program Managers to appropriately manage their budgets through regular budget vs actual reviews and follow up action items
• Draft and/or review scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants, including review for technical efficacy and contract budget.

Influence & Representation – 5%

• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments and other stakeholders.
• Ensure  that  all  programs  produce  professional  quality  reports  and  communications  materials;  that publishable results are disseminated strategically and effectively; and that Mercy Corps is a ‘thought leader’ in its strategic technical areas.
• Ensure effective, consistent and timely communication with donors and project partners
• Facilitate learning and collaboration internally with other Mercy Corps teams beyond the Nepal country office
• Maintain excellent relationships with donors, the host country government and local leaders, partner agencies, and other key stakeholders;
• Document and disseminate lessons learned and best practices to internal and external stakeholders, including at international conferences and similar forums.
• Ensure visibility of Nepal programs, both internally and externally

Security

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

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.

Supervisory Responsibility

Project Managers/ Program Managers; Technical Advisors who fall outside of project/ program management structures, if these positions exist; temporarily supervise consultants deployed to the country program to provide technical or project design support. 

Accountability

Reports Directly to: Country Director

Works Directly with: Country Director, Project/Program Managers, Finance & Compliance Director, Human Resources, Head of Operations, Chief of Party for Bhakari program, peer Directors of Programs in other Mercy Corps’ countries and with peer agencies within Nepal.

About Mercy Corps

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.

Click here to apply

Application Deadline: 1st Jun, 2022