Mercy Corps Nigeria Recruits Program Manager - Economic Nigerian Girls in New Enterprise (ENGINE)

Mercy Corps is an international NGO that is dedicated to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. Our core values includes: building intrinsic value and dignity of human life. And are awed by human resilience, and believe in the ability of all people to thrive, not just exist, that all people have the right to live in peaceful communities and participate fully in the decisions that affect their lives.

We value stewardship of the earth's health, pledging to accountably and efficiently preserve and manage its resources and believe that it is our duty to be effective stewards of the financial resources entrusted to us.

We are currently recruiting for the position of:

Job Title: Program Manager - Economic Nigerian Girls in New Enterprise (ENGINE)

Tracking Code: 218358-927
Location: Abuja

Job Description
This position is contingent upon funding and donor approval of the successful candidate.
Previous work experience in Nigeria is a must. This position does not offer expatriate benefit.

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

The ENGINE Program Manager will lead the initiation and implementation of a proposed 3-year program to reduce financial and education barriers for marginalized Nigerian adolescent girls and young women. The goals of the ENGINE program are to increase girls’ and young women’s access to (1) financial education and life skills; (2) peer to peer networks and mentors; and (3) direct assets (materials and savings). ENGINE will integrate young women into value chains as well as conduct other market-driven employment opportunities. ENGINE will also work with girls in formal and informal education to increase their learning opportunities and outcomes to prepare them for future economic activities. ENGINE will be implemented in the Federal Capital Territory/Abuja as well as in Kano and Kaduna States and at least one additional state in the North. Mercy Corps will serve as a sub-awardee to a large international company and will collaborate with other stakeholders for the implementation of the ENGINE program, including the Nigerian Ministry of Education and Central Bank, as well as private sector actors.

Position Summary

• The Program Manager will provide overall leadership, management and strategic vision to the implementation of the ENGINE program, managing staff, international and national partners and resources to ensure that the program meets performance-based targets on-time and within budget, per DfID requirements. The Program Manager will coordinate with other donor funded programming to link marginalized girls with ENGINE activities. The Program Manager will ensure program funds are spent efficiently and maximize Value for Money per DfID requirements.
• The Program Manager will supervise and build the capacity of key program staff and ensure accountability to Mercy Corps policies and donor rules and regulations. S/he will be the primary ENGINE representative to donors, relevant government entities, public and private sector partners, Nigerian diaspora groups, and external stakeholders.

Job Functions

Vision and Strategy

• Develop overall vision and strategic plan for ENGINE program, in collaboration with ENGINE consortium members.
• Review and revise strategic plan, in light of new opportunities, particularly for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Play an active role in identifying new initiatives that foster and/or improve strategic objectives of the country office, whether utilizing existing resources or requiring program/ project development, in coordination with the Country Representative, Regional Program Director, HQ Program Operations team and other relevant personnel and counterparts.

Program Implementation

• Ensure effective implementation of the ENGINE program, including meeting deliverables on time, within budget, and according to MC and DFID standards.
• Ensure that ENGINE is responsive to marginalized Nigerian girls, their communities, state and non-state secondary schools, vocational school, and other skill-based centers. This also includes implementation partners and aligned with Mercy Corps principles, values and strategic plan.
• Ensure the ENGINE team adheres to DfID’s Value for Money principles (i.e. economy, efficiency, effectiveness and equity).
• Monitor adherence to grant agreement, Mercy Corps and DfID policies and procedures and relevant external rules and regulations.
• Oversee performance of consortium partners and sub-grantees and conduct frequent field visits to all project sites in Middle and North Nigeria.
• Problem-solve with partners when needed.

Personal Leadership

•  
• Demonstrate flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure.
• Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.
• Demonstrate an awareness of his/her own strengths and development needs.

Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) and Reporting

• Facilitate the achievement of performance-based targets and outcomes and lead efforts to design effective, proactive, and iterative M&E systems following DfID’s logical framework.
• Oversee the production of high-quality reports on all aspects of the ENGINE program in a timely and efficient manner.
• Ensure that M&E team members focus on assisting programs to generate practical information that can be used for ongoing program decision-making while also capturing results at the impact level.

Representation

• Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO and other relevant events in the field, in close coordination with the Mercy Corps’ Nigeria Country Representative.
• Coordinate activities with consortium partners, subgrantees, local government, private sector actors and as well as with other Mercy Corps programs in Nigeria.
• Proactively form relationships with private sector actors to complement DfID funding.

Team Management

• Implement performance planning and management systems, establish performance expectations with team members, and regularly provide constructive feedback on team members’ performance.
• Promote accountability by conducting staff annual performance reviews and ensure that supervisory staff does the same.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.

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.
• Help design operational policies and practices as needed and in accordance with DFID and Mercy Corps regulations.

Security

• Work closely with Mercy Corps Nigeria country team’s security focal point to develop and maintain systems that ensure the safety and security of the team in all aspects of its work.
• Ensure that ENGINE activities are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security management priorities for Mercy Corps staff, ENGINE participants, and implementing partners ensuring Do No Harm principles are followed.

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
As part of Mercy Corps’ agency-wide Organizational Learning Initiative, all team members are responsible for spending 5% of their work time in formal and/or non-formal professional learning activities.

ACCOUNTABILITY
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.

Knowledge and Experience

• Master’s degree or equivalent in education, management, international development or other relevant field;
• A minimum of 7 to 10 years of experience, including 5 years in a senior management position, with experience in Middle or Northern Nigeria strongly preferred;
• Experience operating large, complex programs in an insecure environment is required.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Strong understanding of DfID compliance issues; experience managing contracts and performance based payments is desired.
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English required, including report development, writing and editing. Hausa language skills strongly preferred.
• Strong management skills, with good understanding of relevant cross-cultural issues in high security environment. Experience managing a multi-organizational team (international and national partners) is a plus.
• Experience managing large-scale secondary education or school to work and especially targeting marginalized girls or young women programs required. Prefer expertise in at least one of the following areas: accelerated learning programs, Islamic and/or community-based education targeting community acceptance of girl’s education, increasing economic assets through savings clubs and links to financial institutions. Experience using SMS for training or messaging preferred.
• Experience coordinating with private sector actors to leverage complementary funding and increase scale of activities.
• Demonstrated experience working with country-level ministries and government officials, Ministry of Education and/or Central Bank of Nigeria experience preferred.

Living/Environmental Conditions
The Program Manager will be based in Abuja and will manage activities throughout the country. The Program Manager will travel frequently to program locations, where security may be particularly difficult at times. Security in Abuja is generally good, although petty crime is a problem. Housing, health care, water, electricity and consumer goods are all reasonably accessible and there are good international and domestic travel options from Abuja Airport.


Application Closing Date
27th December, 2012

Method of Application
Qualified and Interested Candidates should submit applications which will include a one-page cover letter with salary requirements, CV with references, original transcripts, degree certification and NYSC Certificate
Click Here To Submit Application Online

Only Shortlisted Candidates will be Contacted