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.

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have a long-term impact.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Project Manager, Strategic Leadership

Location: Any Mercy Corps Location globally (restrictions apply)
Position Status: Full-time, Regular

The Program / Department / Team

• The Program Performance and Quality (PaQ) unit supports effective, efficient and equitable program performance through a culture of quality management, to achieve greater impact for those that matter most — our program participants. PaQ enables the delivery of high-quality programs by establishing and maintaining standards, championing an evidence-based practice to improve program performance, and supporting portfolio and program services and strategic program change management.
• The PaQ team oversees several business processes including monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL); program management standards; program data management; community accountability reporting mechanisms; infrastructure, cash, and goods programming quality assurance; country operations support; strategic change management; and facilitating the complex program process.
• The Strategic Leadership Senior Project Manager is a member of the Strategic Leadership sub-Team (SLT) within the PaQ Unit. The SLT supports Mercy Corps country teams and agency initiatives during times of change to achieve high program performance and quality.
• The SLT has three focus areas:
• The SLT takes a holistic approach to leadership continuity by proactively supporting new senior leaders and helping Senior Management Teams to strengthen their cohesion, efficiency, and effectiveness. The SLT is also responsive to leadership transition needs by helping country teams source internal and external leadership support when needed.
• The SLT provides support to Complex Programs by providing the necessary framework and resources to ensure that these programs are successfully implemented and are set up to achieve significant impact while appropriately managing risks.
• The team serves as an agency resource to collaboratively lead strategic agency initiatives. Examples include program expansions; opening or closing of a country operation; consolidation of learning and development of strategic knowledge resources; restructuring projects or mergers and acquisitions; and response to unforeseen challenges.

The Position

• The Strategic Leadership Sr. Project Manager is an accomplished project manager who is comfortable leading and managing complex and multi-stakeholder projects.
• They are a flexible facilitator and problem-solver with a clear commitment to operational excellence and program performance.
• This role will focus on leading special projects that support PaQ priorities with a particular focus on leadership continuity and support to Complex Programs.
• The Strategic Leadership Sr. Project Manager will work to maintain effective, coordinated and organized business processes that support implementation of the departmental strategy while improving coordination and promoting efficiency across the whole of the Program Department.
• The Strategic Leadership Sr. Project Manager is a highly adaptable manager who will have variable supervisory responsibility within project teams when assigned, and when deployed on specific assignments (as needed).

Essential Responsibilities
Special Projects & Change Management:

• Manage the Essential Talent Pool Pilot, a project to design and test an effective, efficient, equitable and transparent talent pool that addresses essential time-bound talent needs.Collaborate closely with agency stakeholders to design, prioritize, and implement the project. Ensure lessons learned are adequately captured and lead stakeholders after action review and post-pilot planning.
• Identify, prioritize, coordinate and manage team, department, and/or agency change initiatives. Lead and/or contribute to the definition and implementation of cross-departmental change management projects to improve the efficiency and accountability of field programs and operations.
• Coordinate Strategic Leadership Team adaptation to organizational policy and structural changes, facilitating the interpretation and prioritization of the changes. Update or develop business processes, as necessary, to adopt the change.
• Support and/or lead change scenarios such as country start-up/close down, start-up of new programs (e.g. complex programs), and identify and implement solutions to management challenges.
• Facilitate integrated planning, coordination and management across teams and departments in support of special projects and in pursuit of program excellence.
• Ensure strong coordination mechanisms and processes are established and maintained for SLT and PAQ-led special projects and change management initiatives.
• Support urgent change scenarios in partnership with regional and country office leadership, such as support for the start-up of new complex programs, covering leadership transitions, or engaging remotely with field teams to rapidly assess circumstances and provide recommendations.
• Support capacity-building efforts by leading, facilitating, and/or designing training opportunities & materials, to support priority change management initiatives.
• On-field assignments, support full and proper implementation and adoption of agency policies, procedures, and systems.
• Support adoption and accountability of Mercy Corps’ Program Management Policy.

Influence & Representation:

• Contribute to the development and delivery of a clear Strategic Leadership Team vision and strategy.
• Maintain productive relationships with all stakeholders.
• Connect country teams to other cross-agency technical expertise, resources, and teams to identify and implement prompt action and leverage creative solutions to manage operational risk and improve effectiveness.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.

Supervisory Responsibility:

• The position has supervisory responsibility over possible short-term employees, interns, or consultants.

Accountability:

• Reports Directly To: Director, Leadership Success
• Works Directly With: All PaQ team members. Works closely with key counterparts and representatives from other teams, including the Technical Support Unit, Finance and Accounting, the People Team, Compliance, and Humanitarian Leadership and Response. Has the potential to work with Global Field team members and Country Directors in deployment scenarios.

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 Qualifications & Transferable Skills

• Bachelor’s / Master’s Degree
• 5+ years of experience providing increasingly proficient support in the relevant field of expertise that includes:
• Demonstrated proficiency identifying, mapping, creating, and implementing process and/or change projects.
• Proficiency and experience with project management and change management initiatives involving multiple stakeholders.
• Experience building strong working relationships and working across departments with peers and other sectors.
• Experience successfully guiding, coaching, orienting and/or training colleagues to adapt and use new or updated business processes and/or systems.
• Using integrated approaches and applying systems thinking.
• Coordinating complex teams and large-scale initiatives.
• Managing information and developing new systems and processes.
• Willingness and ability to travel to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.
• Knowledge of Mercy Corps operations processes, systems, and procedures desirable.
• Knowledge of rules and regulations governing the compliance/regulatory management of grants from US Government, DFID, EC, and other donors is an advantage. .
• Professional project management certification required and agreement to get Program DPro certified within 6 months.
• Change management certification desired.
• Fluency in English is required; fluency in a foreign language is preferred.

Success Factors:

• Any skills you have gained through education, volunteer, work, or life experience that are relevant for the position will be considered.Be sure to fully explain transferable skills and success factors and how they apply to this position in your cover letter.
• The successful Strategic Leadership Sr. Project Manager is a self-starter who demonstrates leadership in communications, partnership development, systems design, and project management.
• They comfortably handle highly ambiguous circumstances and adapt to changing strategic and operational priorities. This role will have experience in developing systems and processes to help streamline complex work tasks. Multi-tasking with proven ability to manage competing priorities, follow procedures, and meet deadlines is required.
• The position must communicate and work with a variety of internal and external groups including private sector partners, Mercy Corps field teams, other internal Mercy Corps departments, academic institutions, and consultants.
• The Strategic Leadership Sr. Project Manager is flexible and creative in planning and problem solving, and has a proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative and be accountable for results. They possess exceptionally strong verbal and written communications skills and organizational skills.
• The Strategic Leadership Sr. Project Manager has the vision and drive to lead complex projects in the agency that seamlessly merges competing priorities from various departments, and that demonstrates understanding for the larger picture while remaining focused on and able to handle the details.
• The individual must have a high proficiency for working in a variety of cultural, political and religious environments and must be able to travel and work successfully in austere environments and maintain poise in stressful situations.
• The successful Strategic Leadership Sr. Project Manager will have high emotional intelligence, constructive mentoring skills and proven experience with capacity building and will be committed to managing risk and maintaining highly effective and efficient operational processes.
• Successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, passion for navigating complex change processes, thrive in evolving and challenging environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions:

• This position can be based in any Mercy Corps location globally. The position may involve travelling up to 20% to headquarters and field locations which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. Team members should be ready to travel in response to an emergency or crisis.

Ongoing Learning:

• In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

• Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges.
• We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
• We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

• Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have a sustained global impact.
• We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, colour, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics:

• Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary-General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.
• We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
• As a safeguarding measure, Mercy Corps screens all potential US-Based employees. This is done following the conclusion of recruitment and prior to assuming full employment.
• Our screening process is designed to be transparent and completed in partnership with new Team Members. You will have the opportunity to disclose any prior convictions at the conclusion of the recruitment process before the check is initiated. We ask that you do not disclose any prior convictions in your application materials or during the recruitment process.

Covid-19 Vaccine Policy for US-Based Employees

• Mercy Corps has determined that, in an effort to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all Mercy Corps employees working in the United States, all U.S.-based employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection status. This policy is necessary to ensure not only the safety of our workforce, but the ongoing functionality of the organization.
• This policy will be revised as needed to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, and to respond to changing guidance from public health authorities.
• For new employees this requirement goes into effect within 10 business days of employment. Team members that travel are expected to comply with host-country requirements, including vaccinations. Failure to comply may impact your employment. Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.

Salary
HQ 6 – Starting salary for this role will be $76,000 USD if US-based and will be commensurate with experience. This role will be benchmarked to the local scale if based outside of the US.

Application Closing Date
11th July, 2022.