Humanitarian Project Coordinator at Mercy Corps

The Position Summary 

Working closely with a diversity of county- and Nairobi-based team members, the Project Coordinator is responsible for implementing and coordinating Mercy Corps’ drought response programming in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). S/he will forge partnerships with a range of relevant county government departments, private sector actors, community members and other key stakeholders to ensure Mercy Corps’ activities remain coordinated and responsive to needs. Mercy Corps is responding to the drought conditions through a variety of interventions, including multi-purpose cash, WASH and supporting  pastoral livelihoods. The coordinator will directly implement such activities and coordinate and support other programs and teams to maximize impact of such interventions. The role has significant facilitation/facilitative role with private sector, county governments and other organizations to ensure that intervention and impact is sustained.

Essential Job Responsibilities 

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Manage assigned technical interventions to ensure program activities are responsive to the on-going drought conditions throughout the ASALs and are in line with the programs workplan and budget
• Carry out assessments to assess the current drought response interventions and identify resources, needs and potential complementary activities 
• Ensure an integrated approach to program implementation that maximizes resource utilization and synergy between the staff and different MC programs.
• Manage allocated intervention budgets ensuring all expenditures are legitimate and accounted for with correct budget coding; support the country team in costing drought response interventions and budget preparation
• Provide direct and ongoing field support to the county team, including the provision of advice and technical review in areas related to drought response 
• Recommend program priorities and explore, evaluate, and present new opportunities that leverage impact and/ or complement core activities; participate in designing interventions that address gaps

COLLABORATION / NETWORKING

• Introduce the program(s) to relevant stakeholders including local government, private sector actors, livestock traders, pastoralists and other community members in order to foster ongoing positive cooperation with the program activities
• Establish and maintain productive working relationships with local government departments, representing Mercy Corps in coordination meetings and soliciting their participation in all activities where appropriate and as directed
• Ensure close coordination and sharing of information with relevant stakeholders such as local government departments and NGO’s as appropriate 

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

• Work in close liaison with the M&E team in data gathering and documentation of program activities.
• Comply with M&E systems that will be established to measure program impacts and desired results.
• Analyze project implementation strategies to identify constraints to program success and provide timely recommendations.
• As required, submit reports that will be indicative of program progress during implementation. 
• Where needed, support external evaluations by research partners and other organizations.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

• 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.  
• Ensure that Community Accountability Reporting Mechanism (CARM) is operationalized within the program. Designate a CARM focal point for the program. 
• Develop a CARM sensitization plan for feedback channels, in coordination with CARM and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) teams, to ensure the harmonization of messaging. 
• Ensure that program stakeholders are proactively informed of the program CARM feedback channels. 
• Ensure that appropriate action is taken for all programmatic feedback Grades 1-4 and that it is appropriately incorporated into program activities and overall implementation strategy. 

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• University degree in an appropriate field of study and at least 5 years relevant experience in a relevant technical role 
• In-depth familiarity with the ASAL region of Kenya is critical
• Experience working on drought response interventions a must 
• Willingness to travel throughout Kenya
• Ability to interact effectively with a wide variety of people. 
• Skills in networking, team-working, and community consultations. 
• Superior reporting, communication and representation skills.
• Good spoken and written English. Fluency in Swahili is required.  Somali language skills will be an added advantage
• Proficiency in MS Office applications i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Project a must

Success Factors 

The successful candidate will have an ability to interact effectively across multiple departments. S/he will be able to support programmatic objectives with timely and meaningful insight, guidance, advice and leadership. S/he will have a demonstrated ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and process information in support of complex program activities. The individual must be willing to travel regularly to project sites, working closely with a variety of implementing partners, businesses, government agencies and other actors. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.