Location: Surkhet and Jumla. (please mention the preferred district in the application form)
Position Status: Full-time, Regular
Salary Level: M1
Current Team Member: N/A

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps is expected to begin a new program to enhance food and nutrition security, reduce future humanitarian caseload and improve the resilience of communities to recurrent shocks in the Karnali Province in Nepal, on or around October 1, 2020. The program will be a Multi-Year Emergency Food Security Activity funded by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Affairs, and implemented in 6 districts (Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot, Surkhet, Achham, and Dailekh, with cluster hubs in Surkhet and Jumla) in the Karnali River Basin area. The new program, called “Building Hope Along the Karnali River Basin (Bhakari)”, is somewhat built upon many of the successes of the Nepal team’s previous Food for Peace program which ended in January 2020, the PAHAL program, but with some new districts and a much heavier emphasis on emergency response. It includes program components of agriculture and market systems, disaster risk reduction, water for productive use, natural resources management, and a large emphasis on a gender and social inclusion approach, all with a highly integrated multi-sectoral approach.

General Position Summary

The Cluster Coordinator provides overall leadership and management support to the Bhakari program working districts (consists 3 districts Jumla, Kalikot and Mugu into one cluster and Surkhet, Dailekh and Achham into another cluster). S/he supports and manages a team of field professionals to ensure that Mercy Corps is implementing high quality, impactful programming with the necessary management and support structures to sustain program results. The role includes the supervisory responsibility of the District Coordinators and partnership management in the selected district. This position ensures appropriate systems and support mechanisms are in place to track, analyze and report on results as well as engaging with senior management on the strategic direction of the overall program management in the district. Specifically, this role will provide day to day administrative support to the Bhakari project’s cluster office and responsible to provide support to the district implementing partners in the cluster’s districts. The Cluster Coordinator will work closely with the Deputy Chief of Party, field technical managers, district coordinators and cluster officers, as well as local implementing partners, to implement the planned interventions under Bhakari project. S/he will also be responsible for providing technical inputs in communication materials and assist in the overall coordination and facilitation of program implementation. Particularly in coordination, Cluster Coordinator, with assistance from the program team and implementing partners, will map all appropriate coordination mechanisms in the region and the districts (government, donor, civil society, private sector actors and related programs, etc.) either attending or ensuring appropriate technical person(s) represents the program. S/he is expected to establish and maintain cordial, professional and productive relationships with all appropriate and relevant government, donor, LNGO/INGO, civil society and private sector stakeholders as needed. As gender and social inclusion (GESI), safeguarding, governance and environmental sensitivity are cross-cutting and core components of the all MC programs, the cluster coordinator is required to own these components and ensure these components are integrated into his/her work area.

Essential Job Responsibilities

The specific duties and responsibilities of the Cluster Coordinator include, but are not limited to, the following:

PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

•  S/he ensures the district implementing partner fully understands the program areas of implementation.
•  Facilitate and support the district implementing partners to fully implement the program activities on the ground.
•  Work with the district implementing partners to ensure they fully take ownership for the program and support them to build relationships with both local and government sector collaborating agencies and departments.
•  Maintain close and cooperative working relationships with the district implementing partners’ finance & program staff, provide inputs in the effective financial management, ensure the monthly and quarterly reports submitted to Mercy Corps are in timely manner, overseeing financial/accounting activities are carried out in accordance with sub award agreement and accounting principles.
•  Utilize personal knowledge, connections, and skills to build sustainable and productive relationships with and between diverse key stakeholders from the public, private and civic sectors
•  Ensure GESI and humanitarian principles are owned by the implementing partner and cluster team and implemented accordingly.
•  Participate in program planning events as and when required.
•  Support partners to take lead on and ensure the program is collaborating and sequencing with other similar programs in the relevant areas.

MONITORING, EVALUATIONS, AND LEARNING (MEL) AND REPORTING

•  Monitor program activities on a regular basis to ensure timely and effective program implementation.
•  Ensure monitoring of field activities to be on time, target and budget, and propose recommendations for improvements.
•  Ensure organization of regular Project Advisory Committee (PAC) monitoring visits and meetings to share program progress and receive feedback.
•  Coordinate closely with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team to generate and collect required information and data for measuring program intervention results.
•  Support implementing partners to prepare monthly/quarterly plans and reports.
•  Support implementing partners to generate weekly updates, quality progress reports and documents that capture program learning, good practices and success stories.
•  Ensure that innovative approaches, good practices, challenges, and positive results are documented to support agency learning.
•  Follow reporting requirements and report to the Supervisor as required.
•  Support the achievement of deliverables and overall quality of work of any internal or external evaluation or research partners in the field.
•  Ensure that M&E and all team members’ together focus on assisting the program to generate practical information that can be used for ongoing program analysis and decision-making while also capturing results at the impact level

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATIONS

•  Lead and Coordinate with District Coordinators, Technical leads and Officers for all field activities in the cluster/region.
•  Serve as a key focal point for problem solving at cluster and district levels as required and seek support from the DCOP/COP as required.
•  Work closely with representatives of Consortium and Local partners at the cluster and district level.
•  Coordinate and facilitate district/regional level events related to studies/assessments, workshops, training and orientation programs and formal/informal interactions with program participants, partners and stakeholders.
•  Facilitate monitoring of field level project activities to be on time, target and budget, and propose recommendations for improvements.
•  Follow reporting requirements and report to the supervisor through appropriate means as required.

LIAISON, COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION

•  Manage good relationships with the Palika/municipality and District level project stakeholders, including local NGO partners, GoN officials, community officials, and colleague agency officials.
•  Represents Bhakari program and Mercy Corps at the local level, district and regional level and contacts the counterpart, I/NGOs, line agencies, communities and visitors as required.
•  Organize critical review and reflection meeting periodically to share plan, progress, issues and way forward
•  Act as key focal point of liaison, coordination and collaboration on behalf of Bhakari project cluster office, Mercy Corps and its partners.
•  Establish good coordination with humanitarian clusters, local, district and provincial governments, non-government stakeholders and other collaborating partners to prevent duplication of activities.

FINANCE AND COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

•  Ensure all internal control procedures are adhered to and that necessary measures are put in place to ensure high standards of accountability and compliance.
•  Work closely with finance/compliance to mitigate fraud, conflict of interest and legal ramifications of Mercy Corps activities.
•  Support and orient on MC Code of Ethics and uphold Mercy Corps’ Zero tolerance of corruption policy.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

•  As required by the program management at both district and province levels liaise with and represent the program to local government officials, humanitarian clusters, AIN forums, civil society/community leaders, political parties and other key stakeholders.
•  Ensure close coordination and information sharing with local implementing partners, local government and other implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.
•  Establish and maintain professional and productive relationships with communities and local government.
•  Serve as a key focal point for program related issues and problems in the ground and seek support from central level as required.

•  Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
•  Proactively ensure that team members and community operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

•  Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging participating communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
•  Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

OTHERS

•  Mercy Corps as a humanitarian agency is expected to respond as and when crisis and humanitarian situation engulfs. As an MC employee all staff are expected to be part of humanitarian and emergency response in addition to their regular roles and responsibilities.
•  Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
•  Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and not to jeopardize its humanitarian mission.
•  Other duties as assigned by his/her supervisor and or Country Director. Supervisory Responsibility: District Coordinators, Cluster office administrative functions

Accountability

Reports Directly to: Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP)
Works Directly with: Technical Component Manager, Advisor and Officers; and Partnership Manager, Cluster Office’s Finance, and Operations unit.

Knowledge and Experience

•  At least Bachelor degree in social sciences, Development Studies/Management, agriculture market livelihood, DRR or any related discipline. A Master's Degree is preferred.
•  At least 3-5 years of experience working with I/NGOs, and/or private sector organizations focused on food security, disaster risk management, agriculture & livelihood and humanitarian assistance.
•  Experiences working in partnerships, coordination among different stakeholders and organizations at district/province/national level is required. Prior experience working on USAID funded programs highlypreferred.
•  Work experiences and understanding on long term emergency assistance, M&E, cash and voucher programming, social protection, and SBCC will be an added advantage.
•  Demonstrated ability to work in complex environments under tight deadlines.
•  Strong coordination skills, including capacity to coordinate large teams remotely.
•  Strong organizational and logistical skills with demonstrated experience in strategic planning and ability to work independently are required.
•  Good writing and computer skills, including preliminary research and information gathering from the internet, MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint preparation are required.
•  Fluency in written and spoken English and Nepali required.
•  Effective writing skills to prepare reports, complete analyses and make presentations.
•  Negotiation, networking, advocacy, coordination and representation skills with key local actors is preferred
•  Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.
•  Proven ability to learn quickly, facilitate program implementation to achieve stated results and objectives;

Success Factors

The successful Cluster Coordinators will combine serious professional management/coordination skills and experience in the field either of food security, agriculture, disaster risk reduction, emergency response/assistance, M&E, cash and voucher programming, and SBCC as well as in building and maintaining government, community and partner relationships. S/he will have proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results, with an ability and willingness to remain mobile for field support and activity monitoring based on programmatic needs. S/he will have an ability to think creatively about contributing directly and measurably to program approaches, and have experiences in both community mobilization and government engagement. S/he will have proven experience with diverse teams and capacity building, individual staff development, and strong mentoring skills. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail as well as strategic vision are essential. The most successful staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbalcommunication a priority in all situations.

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 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 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.