Director of Program Performance and Quality for Africa at Mercy Corps

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Develop and nurture strong external relationships and networks to support program success.
• Identify and pursue areas for thought leadership, including building connections with donors, private sector partners, and other actors, promoting the Africa region’s capabilities, expertise, innovation, strategic vision and values.
• Act as a key liaison between headquarters, the regional team and country teams to effectively promote program performance and quality and inform adaptations to global standards as necessary.
• Help to ensure timely and targeted communication and information flow that highlight Mercy Corps’ regional and global impact.
• Connect teams to ideas, partners and resources to drive creative solutions for greater program performance, quality and impact.
• Supervisory Responsibility
• Regional Program Advisors (PaQ, MEL, CARM). Work closely with Chiefs of Party and country leaders

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Regional Director, Africa

Works Directly With: Country Directors, Senior Management Teams, Regional Program Team (RPT), and supplemental support teams based at HQ in locations such as Portland, OR, Washington DC and/or Edinburgh, Scotland

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.

Knowledge and Experience

• BA/S in international development, social science, business administration or other relevant fields required, MA/S or equivalent years of experience strongly preferred;
• 10+ years of experience in senior management roles, involving team management, program execution, monitoring and evaluation, engagement with multiple actors internally and externally;
• Confident communication skills applicable to donor relations, media outreach, and inter-agency coordination;
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically, and solve complex problems at an organizational level;
• Significant experience in strategy development, program design/development and planning;
• Demonstrated experience with private sector is essential;
• Successful and proven negotiation and communication skills;
• Demonstrated understanding of the critical humanitarian and development issues in Africa and significant experience with the challenges of operating in the region;
• Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.
• Fluent in French and English required.