Location: Kathmandu with frequent travel to the MRED working areas

Position Status: Full-time, Regular

Salary Level: M3

Current Team Member: N/A

Program / Department Summary 

Managing Risks through Economic Development (M-RED) project is a 2-year program with the goal to develop and implement a model for integrated disaster risk reduction (DRR) and economic development activities, building sustained and market-driven approaches to DRR that increase resiliency to multiple disasters. The program targets vulnerable communities in Nepal and Timor Leste, building on Mercy Corps’ experience in both countries, this program has been recently expanded in Indonesia. 

MRED promotes the system approach to preparedness, response and recovery working with stakeholder at community, sub-national to national level. Interventions at the community and household levels will be those that both mitigate disaster risks and increase income levels. Communities will increase their DRR knowledge and capacity. While at the same time, increasing their economic opportunities by engaging in the production, value addition, and sale of crops utilized for disaster mitigation with the dual purpose of increasing household incomes. The program will reinforce new or improved economic opportunities by enabling communities and households to access markets for inputs and sales of high-demand/ high-value commodities. By carrying out market assessments, and by facilitating linkages between household level producers and local markets, the program will work to overcome these obstacles.

General Position Summary 

The Program Manager will assume overall responsibility for the management and implementation of the M-RED Nepal program, coordinating with other Disaster Risk Reduction programs in Nepal, and takes leadership on program strategies, approaches and methods closely coordinating with the regional M-RED program being implemented in Indonesia and TImor Leste. They must be a dynamic and effective manager who has a sound understanding of both disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and market-driven programming (at a senior level); will be responsible to generate high quality outputs and results; and, will have strong stakeholder management, team management, communication, and representation skills.

As gender and social inclusion (GESI), governance and environmental compliance are cross-cutting and core components of the all MC programs, the Program Manager is required to own these components to ensure GESI sensitivity and integration, governance practices and environmental compliance are integrated into the MRED program

Essential Job Responsibilities 

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

Strategy Formulation and Project Management

• Lead the design and implementation of assessments to inform program strategies. Including the assessments for developing program proposals. 
• Lead and ensure integration of different program components; DRR, Market system development, financial services, livelihood and CCA to increase the resilience of the vulnerable communities and systems.
• Ensure program interventions are informed by a comprehensive and participatory community vulnerability and capacity assessments.
• Ensure local and sub-national markets are conducted to determine high-value/ high-demand crops and livestock, services or processes that are also suitable for disaster mitigation purposes. 
• Lead the project team to develop DRR strategies with market opportunities so as to mitigate risk and build resiliency in ways that are durable and sustainable through activities such as bioengineering and land/watershed management and other complementary approaches both as a means of increasing economic opportunities and for the protection of current assets and future investments.
• Work closely with the Country Programme Director, MRED-Program Director, Regional Resilience Director and MERL advisor to ensure synergy of strategies between the Nepal, Indonesia and Timor-Leste MRED, and ZFRM activities to capture learning from shared approaches, and from differences pertaining to each context.
• Ensure monitoring of project activities is on time, target and budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts in order to assess effectiveness and impact and propose recommendations for improvements.
• Develop Influence strategies for national level private and government stakeholders and engage them to expand the nexus interventions beyond the program area. 

Compliance, Coordination & Representation:

•  Develop good collaboration with the other Program Manager and team, and develop synergistic effect on the implementation of both the program and develop harmony among field team members.
• Develop program documents to meet the SWC compliance and maintain good relation with national level government and private stakeholders. 
• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with implementing partners, private sector partners, donors, local governments and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met; including among stakeholders in Nepal but also across the regional program in Timor-Leste.
• Participate in external meetings as requested by the Director of Programs/Country Director, and on behalf of the M-RED represent Mercy Corps’ learning from the ‘nexus’ approach of DRR, flood resilience and economic development.
• Take active role in strategic discussion to input in country, regional strategies for the integration of DRR and Climate CHange adaptation. 
• Work closely with the Finance & Compliance Director to create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and 
• Mercy Corps policies and procedures. This includes regular review and analysis of budget vs expenditure. 
• Share good practices from MRED with other program e.g. BHAKARI, ZFRA, contribute to the overall organization learning process on Resilience. 
• Participate in country level coordination, Senior Management/Manager’s meeting as needed.

Documentation, Monitoring, Evaluations, and Learning Reporting

• .Lead the development and maintenance of all project planning documents and processes complying with Mercy Corps Program Management minimum standard. 
• Ensure the program strategies and research activities are in line with the program. Work with the Directors (MRED and Regional resilience) to capture these approaches from Nepal and assure lessons are shared with other MRED program countries, and other national and international platforms. 
• Ensure M&E system is in place to capture regular program data and impact.Ensure quarterly data review process is setup and analysis from data used for program redesign.
• Provide leadership for the application of research methods with the external research partner during Nepal site visits, ensuring rigor of research approach while maintaining feasibility for the local context.
• Take lead, working with the country M&E team and MRED M&E Advisor/Officer, to design and coordinate needs assessments, data and information collection for on-going monitoring.
• Coordinate closely with all project personnel, including partner staff, other similar projects within and outside agency and other related stakeholders to ensure all objectives of the proposal and activities are met, and project outputs are clearly documented and results used to produce high-quality, well written, donor and internal progress reports.

Team Management:

• .Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Motivate and support team to explore innovative ideas to improve impact at scale.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
• Recruit and supervise staff members, including setting program tasks to ensure the fulfillment of program goals.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance & reach objectives.

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.

Others 

• 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 by Program Director- M-RED for MRED and Director of Programs (DoPs) for Mercy Corps Nepal.
• Mercy Corps as a humanitarian agency is expected to respond as and when a 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.
• Other duties as assigned by the direct Supervisor and or Country Director

Supervisory Responsibility: Deputy Program Manager, MERL Advisor, DRR Advisor, Knowledge Management Officer, Social Accountability and Inclusion Advisor

Accountability: Country Director; Position Description; MACF grant agreement and policies; National staff policy handbook; Code of conduct and Mercy Corps policy and procedures. 

Reports directly to: Director of Programs (DoPs) for all; specifically, MRED Regional Program Director for MRED.

Works directly with: Local implementing partner(s); private sector partner(s); and Mercy Corps DM&E, Finance/Compliance, and Operations team members

Knowledge and Experience 

• BA/S is required or MA/S is preferred or equivalent in disaster risk management/Climate change, social sciences, international development or other relevant field.
• At least 7-8 years of relevant, professional experience in progressively responsible positions. At least 3 years in a senior leadership role in the sector DRR, CCA or Market System Development in Nepal. 
• Experience in people management e.g. senior technical advisor roles specifically in Disaster Risk Management, Climate Change, Market System/Livelihood development. 
• Strong management skill including supervising technical/field teams and implementing partners. 
• Strong team training/workshop facilitation and experience in strategy development. 
• Experience leading the implementation of DRR work with a vision of longer-term, multi-sector integrated projects, with a strong understanding of resilience approaches as well. 
• Experience managing large scale community based DRR and DRR systems strengthening including institutional capacity building for government and civic society actors. Relevant DRR experience should include:
• Familiarity with National DRM/CCA policies, strategies and working with Provincial and municipal government structures for DRR, EWS and climate and weather information and integration of DRR into formal planning processes and budgeting procedures.
• Flexible, demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members. 
• Excellent negotiation and representation skills and the ability to work comfortably with culturally diverse staff under tight deadlines and often stressful situations.
• Experience representing the organization and its interests to a diverse range of local stakeholders, private sector actors, Government and partners.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills; ability to develop good relationships with a wide range of actors required.
• Effective writing and organizational skills for report development, complete analyses and make presentations.
• Proficiency in computer skills. 

Success Factors 

A successful candidate will have the ability to live and work closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly intense and fluid work and security environment with a capacity to spark innovative approaches to programming and inspire groups to collaborate closely to implement high-quality programs. They will have proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results, with an ability and willingness to remain mobile for short?term and/or long-term as necessary within the region, based on programmatic needs. An ability to work independently and as part of a team, with curiosity about and sensitivity to new cultures, a desire and ability to learn and grow, both personally and professionally, and a great sense of humor.

The most successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations. Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/short-term assignment to a field posting. 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. Signatures

Ongoing 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.

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 & Integrity

All Mercy Corps staff members are expected to behave ethically and demonstrate the highest integrity in their professional and personal life. Mercy Corps has zero tolerance to any form of fraud, corruption, abuse, harassment or exploitation. Any breach of our policies or misconduct will lead to disciplinary action or may lead to termination. Mercy Corps has zero tolerance for abuse, sexual misconduct and sexual exploitation (PSEA) of the people we work with and our own staff members. All staff must commit to internal policies

Organizational Learning

As a 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

Shortlisting will be done on the basis of your answers while applying, please answer the questions carefully. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Telephone enquiries will not be entertained.