Program Management Senior Advisor, Learning & Process Improvement at Mercy Corps

The Position
The Program Management Senior Advisor:

• Leads on delivering Mercy Corps Program Management Learning Pathway
• Leads the process of reviewing, embedding and updating program management business processes
• Supports the creation of relevant, simple and adaptable program management guidance and templates
• Works with country teams to effectively implement program cycle management through the provision of direct and remote support utilizing Mercy Corps Program Management Change Model.
• Coordinates with other departments, functions and offices to identify and address challenges for achieving quality program management and to align and streamline business and system procedures and guidance.
• Engage other Mercy Corps functional teams in understanding and supporting quality program management
• Leads and/or contributes to new and ongoing agency-wide and/or PaQ-specific initiatives and projects.
• Engages with external fora and debates in the field of program and project management.

Essential Responsibilities
LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT AND CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD)

• Define the strategy for the Program Management Professional Development workstream;
• Develop and evolve Mercy Corps’ program management curriculum;
• Facilitate and support others to facilitate online self-paced, online social, and in-person project and program management training offerings;
• Track and report on key learning and development performance indicators;
• Lead on the improvement of onboarding resources, as well as onboarding support for key positions;
• Provide outreach and support for team members adopting the program management policy, tools and resources;
• Contribute to the facilitation of communities of practice related to program management and standards, or to other communication and coordination mechanisms that bring together program managers to improve information-sharing and program management practices.

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT & DIRECT SUPPORT TO COUNTRY PORTFOLIOS

• Map and maintain Mercy Corps Program Management Business Process flows
• Implement the Mercy Corps Program Management Change Model throughout the provision of direct support, prioritizing continued and sustainable support at depth over short term fixes.
• Apply Process Improvement methodology throughout country level support, using it as the framework to identify, diagnose and resolve program management issues
• Identify high-priority countries or programs that need increased program management technical support, both remote and in-country, using performance data and engagement with regional and country directors
• Utilize data from Mercy Corps systems and processes, specifically the global standards reporting mechanism, Tola Data and audit findings, to support in the diagnosis and resolution of program management issues
• Support country teams to develop action plans to improve adoption of the Program Management Policy.

GLOBAL PROGRAM MANAGEMENT POLICY ROLL OUT AND SUPPORT

• Support the adoption and institutionalization of the Program Management policy by embedding and building ownership across HQ, Regional and Country Teams
• Conduct strategic engagement at regional and country levels to increase buy-in of the Program Management Policy and create a thorough understanding of the minimum standards
• Contribute to a culture of learning and adaptive management
• Contribute to the roll out, familiarization, adoption and maintenance of an agency wide standards reporting mechanism
• Support the process of global quality assurance of standards reporting and engage with the analytics of standards and performance data
• Contribute to the revision process of the Program Management Policy

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT GUIDANCE, TOOLS AND RESOURCES

• Ensure that program managers and directors are oriented, trained and prepared to adopt the Program Management Policy, including support options and opportunities for learning and engagement.
• Identify, develop and disseminate Program Management guidance, tools, and templates needed for country teams to meet and exceed the Program Management and minimum standards
• Continuously update and improve Program Management guidance, tools and templates through identifying gaps, integrate new approaches and best practices, and ensure consistency with other departments.

DRIVE SPECIFIC PROGRAM STANDARDS AND PAQ UNIT PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES

• Identify, prioritize, manage and/or support agency-wide and/or PaQ-specific special projects and initiatives.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COORDINATION AND INFLUENCING

• Support cross departmental initiatives
• Engage members of additional HQ departments as needed to gain buy-in and technical insights
• Conduct external stakeholder engagement to strengthen Mercy Corps position as a thought leader in Program Management
• Incorporate peer learning into Mercy Corps PM@MC work.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• BA in relevant field required; MA/MS/MBA or equivalent encouraged;
• 10+ years of experience in international relief and development; demonstrated knowledge of grant-based funding models, emergency response and development strategies and operational challenges in the sector;
• 2-4 years of experience managing projects or programs;
• 2 years HQ experience desired
• Demonstrated experience managing enterprise-level projects and/or initiatives
• Proficiency with MS Office software required (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Experience of developing global procedures, processes and guidance for NGO program management
• Experience of providing professional development in program management through direct and remote support
• Knowledge and / or experience of establishing strong global networks and internal communications
• Knowledge and / or experience of coordinating with multiple stakeholders, with different perspectives