Program Coordinator at Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps, International Humanitarian Organisation is looking for candidates to fill in the vacant position under the humanitarian aid response in Gombe State. We are looking for motivated individuals, members of targeted community ready and willing to work in dynamic team.

Position Title: Program Coordinator

Location: Gombe

Program/ Department Summary:
Mercy Corps is starting a new emergency response program in Gombe state. This one-year program will incorporate relief work and livelihood in order to support displaced people and host communities in Gombe State. To support activities, Mercy Corps is looking for talented and dedicated Program Coordinator.

General Position Summary:
The Program Coordinator provides oversight of all aspects of emergency program implementation in Gombe State and is responsible for supporting the implementation and monitoring the delivery of emergency assistance for internally displaced and host community households within Gombe state. The position includes daily management of program activities and program staff; supporting the Abuja based Head of Emergency Programs to ensure that the program and operational systems and support mechanisms are in place to track, analyze and report on results.

The Program Coordinator will be supported by a Mercy Corps field (program and operations team in Gombe and supervised by the Head of Emergency Programs. The program will consist of a mix of distribution modalities from physical commodities to market-based approaches as well as trainings and other activities building capacities of local communities. S/he will be a strong leader, effective communicator and is able to work with a diverse team to achieve common objectives.

Essential Job Functions:
Program Management:

• Contribute to the development of program implementation strategies and ensure that all activities and interventions are implemented accordingly
• Work with the program team to identify and quantify the emerging needs of displaced and host families and report them to the PM
• Plan weekly activities with program teams; assist /Head of Emergency Programs in designing monthly plans. Ensure plans are in line with overall program plans.
• Contribute to establishing a clear and straightforward beneficiary selection process and support the documentation of the same.
• Conduct regular field visits to monitor all activities and report on findings.
• Generate weekly field progress reports, contribute to the Quarterly Reports.
• Ensure all project activities are conducted in timely and qualitative manner and dignified way, in accordance with principles of protection and humanitarianism and that activities meet Mercy Corps and donor requirements of transparency and accountability;
• Work closely with M&E team to ensure the reconciliation of distribution lists and proper filing of project documents.
• Continuously asses needs of vulnerable local and displaced population and report needs to Mercy Corps Nigeria senior management.

Team Management

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence;
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews
• Oversee program team day-to-day work, ensuring activities are implemented according to the developed strategies and planning
• Support the team in problem solving, ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes
• Conduct probationary and annual performance reviews of the project team and contribute to the development of performance plans

Representation

• Liaise with local authorities, program stakeholders and other community members, to ensure all parties are informed about project strategies and progress, as well as take part in the coordination of the activities.
• Attend field and Abuja coordination meetings, if required

Program Support Operations

• Coordinate with program, finance, operations, and administration staff to ensure effective systems are in place to support field activities including logistics (transport, warehousing and asset management), procurement, security, administration and human resources.
• Ensure transparent and honest operational practice and behavior of all Gombe staff.

Security

• Work closely with the country team and security focal point in supporting and adhering to policies that support the safety and security of the team.
• Actively promote a security conscious culture amongst the team, and assist with compliance issues.
• Ensure that all team members are checking in on time with the dedicated person.

Other

• Act as the main focal point for disseminating information to authorities, communities and partner organizations.
• Work closely with Mercy Corps’ support staff and other project staff to ensure that program activities provide maximum impact in target areas
• Identify any apparent issues in the program and report them to the appropriate personnel;
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission;
• Other duties as assigned.

Organizational Learning
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 towards 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: Program Officers (2-3), Program Assistant (1), M&E Assistant (1), Finance Officer (1) Procurement & Logistics Assistant (1)
Accountability: Beneficiaries and other stakeholders
Reports Directly To: Head of Emergency Programs
Works Directly With: M&E and technical teams, program support, finance and security in Abuja

Knowledge and Experience:

• University degree in international studies, social sciences, economics or other relevant field; MA/S preferred
• Minimum of five years of progressive work experience in program implementation preferably with an international organization and preferable minimum one year experience in emergency assistance
• Previous experience from cash-based, market oriented interventions will be an asset.
• Understanding of the social, political and economic context of N-East Nigeria
• Previous supervisory experience is essential.
• Ability to work effectively as part of team in an emergency, cross-cultural and politically sensitive setting.
• Ability to work independently and prioritize tasks.
• Ability to collect, interpret, and synthesize data collected from field teams.
• Excellent people management skills; including the ability to motivate, train staff and distribute workloads between team members.
• Knowledge of sphere standards and gender sensitive programming.
• Willingness to learn and to progress professionally.
• Excellent IT skills and command of Microsoft Office (mainly Word and Excel) in addition to email.
• Excellent English language skills, fluency in Hausa are required.

Success factors:
All positions require high motivation, positive attitude, and willingness to work with multi-cultural and multi-ethnic team. Successful candidates should have cheerful personality, be able to work after hours, if need.

Application Closing Date
10th of October 2014.

How To Apply:
Interested candidates are encouraged to submit CV and Cover Letter, addressing the position requirements to: [email protected] . Please note that a candidate can apply for 1 position only.

All applications must include the position title in the subject line. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

We are an equal opportunity organization and we encourage women to apply to these positions.