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.
Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps Europe, formerly known as Mercy Corps Europe, has been operational in Sudan since 2009 and currently leads humanitarian assistance and longer-term development efforts in conflict-affected South Darfur, South Kordofan, White Nile, Gedaref, and Khartoum States, supporting host communities, IDPs, returnees and refugees. Mercy Corps’ current areas of programming include food security and livelihoods, WASH, health, nutrition, peace building and protection, and Market Systems Development.
General Position Summary
The Team Leader’s role is to support Mercy Corps Europe activities through a fast-paced period of new start-ups, and on-going programs and activities including sub-granting included in humanitarian and longer-term development programming. The Team Leader will provide the overall leadership, mentoring and management necessary for the effective implementation and timely delivery of all MC programs in Sudan. This individual must coordinate closely with the in-country emergency and development program leadership to ensure a consistency and prioritization in strategy, documentation and administrative standards across multiple grants. This position, in particular, will liaise with key, external contacts such as the state representatives, relevant line ministries, UN and other partner agencies to start-off and oversee these activities and get them on track with speed needed to achieve high quality results within the program timeline.
Essential Job Responsibilities
Strategy & Vision
● Support the country office with a portfolio of new programs. This includes new partnerships, technical activities and strategies in the broad sectors of WASH, FSL, MPCA, Health, Nutrition, agriculture and community development and peace-building.
● Support to program managers with technical expertise in these sectors and ensure any and all methodologies used by Mercy Corps and partners are consistent with local law and best international standards.
● Represent Mercy Corps with local authorities, and line ministries, as directed by the Director of Programs in order to align our vision, strategy and activities with emerging needs and strategy.
● Regularly participate in all coordination forums in South Kordofan State.
● Provide leadership and active management support to the Kadugli field office.
● Support the country leadership to design and execute a vision of humanitarian and development programming in to the country strategy. Support the writing of proposals and reporting, as necessary.
Technical Support – Program Management
● Hands-on support to the start-up of programs and on-going program activities such as WASH, FSL, MPCA and peace-building. In addition to technical program outputs, this includes liaison with Mercy Corps operations, with activities ranging from recruitment and onboarding of team members, secondment and payment mechanisms of professionals from the State Ministries, procurement and also monitoring plans.
● S/he will be onsite at Mercy Corps-operated/supported facilities/intervention areas and provide direct, hands-on oversight to program activities and outreach strategies core to the humanitarian work including the design and execution community campaigns and messaging. Ensure that all campaign materials and trainings are in total compliance with national Ministries’ and international/UN standards.
● Specific, technical oversight to all humanitarian and development work from the onset of the program: ensuring a consistent understanding and compliance across all staff and partners to standards established by local governments, donors, UN agencies and Mercy Corps.
● S/he will engage directly with workers and community mobilizers to establish a routine, cadence and flow of work so that the intended program objectives – and emerging needs of the locality – are met.
● Meet with local partners and support their quick adaptation to program activities, objectives and standards. Host and lead kick-off workshops (across partners and departments) for key activities and the shared vision that are at the core of programs.
● S/he will examine the paperwork and reports from each program/project to ensure the data collected is consistent with Mercy Corps and donor requirements and accurately portray the works and conditions.
● Liaise with partners and the line ministries as needed for administrative and technical issues to ensure these programs are totally in line with the government strategy.
● Provide guidance to the M&E team at the onset of monitoring and assessment strategies. Provide direct and technical support to the tools used in these programs so that they accurately capture the data.
● Compile weekly reports to SLT.
● Represent Mercy Corps at relevant Clusters, as required.
Organizational Learning and Capacity Building
● As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.
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
Managers and Senior Officers in SKS
Accountability
Reports Directly to: Director of Programs
Works Directly with: Country Director, MEL, Operations and Finance departments.
Knowledge and Experience
● BA/S or equivalent in development management or related fields required.
● 8-10 years’ experience in international relief and development in Africa, preferably in Sudan or other similar regions.
● History of working effectively and respectfully with host country governments, INGO and NGO partners.
● Experience with sub-granting procedures and monitoring under USAID or similar compliance. requirements.
● Demonstrated ability to work in complex programming and volatile environments.
● Experience and understanding Food Security and Livelihoods, WASH, Health and Nutrition sectors, and Sphere standards.
● Experience with monitoring and evaluation and report writing, and being involved in M&E.
● Strong communication skills; able to work in person and remotely with a geographically dispersed and culturally distinct teams.
● Fluency in English written and spoken communication required. Arabic is preferred.
Success Factors
The successful candidate should have the ability to apply high quality standards of programming in our teams, partners and facilities in remote and challenging environments. This requires patience, good humor while holding stead-fast to international standards in all activities. S/he must be able to work closely with a diverse team to adapt materials and methodologies to best meet the circumstances in targeted communities. S/he must work well across Mercy Corps teams who are not technical experts and are also critical to the success of these programs.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in Kadugli, South Kordofan State (Sudan) with significant travel to field offices. Kadugli is a large town city with basic amenities. There are limited threats (petty theft and operational hazards such as inadequate water quality). Kadugli is experiencing some political, tribal and social unrest following the recent popular movement that lead to significant political change, and due to worsening of economic situation. Protests are not uncommon but usually non-violent. Kadugli (and Sudan) experiences frequent power cuts and currently has some COVID-19 related restrictions in public buildings/places. This role travels to remote field offices in Sudan which are of higher risk more stringent security protocols.
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 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, color, 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 prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. 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 Corp 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.
More Information
- Job City kadugli, South Kordofan
