Mercy Corps Director of Program Performance and Quality for Africa Jobs in Kenya

Mercy Corps Director of Program Performance and Quality for Africa Jobs in Kenya

General Position Summary

The Director of Performance and Quality for Africa is a senior leader providing significant programmatic direction and quality support to Mercy Corps 15+ country programs and complex programs across the continent.

S/he ensures transformational change occurs through the combination of: programmatic impact in our communities; the ability to influence change makers at local and global levels; and a restlessness to innovate in search of better solutions.

The Director will champion Mercy Corps’ Program Management Policy and its associated minimum standards and the agency’s quality standards to ensure that the teams are driving transformational impact in the region through executing programs that are of the highest quality, with the latest program designs and generating documented evidence.

Essential Job Responsibilities

1. Strategy & Planning

Work with the regional Senior Leadership Team to articulate an ambitious and compelling regional strategy for Mercy Corps in Africa aligned with Mercy Corps’ global strategy.

Act as key partner for the RD and DRDs to achieve an effective regional management team that delivers programmatic excellence and significant impact and influence in the region.

Work with regional and HQ-based teams to develop regional research and learning priorities that are connected to regional and global strategic priorities.

Serve as a member of “PaQPlus,” or the group of regional program performance and quality counterparts who work with the PaQ Unit at HQ to design and advance shared program quality processes and systems.

2. Team Management

Supervise the Regional Program Quality teams and provide operational support to Country teams.

Ensure that members of this team have a deep understanding of their roles, coordinate closely in their work, are connected to relevant stakeholders across the agency

Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on one meetings and performance reviews.

Ensure sound performance management and staff access to high quality learning opportunities, with a special emphasis on national team member development.

Ensure dynamic engagement mechanisms across the region and globally to ensure every voice matters.

Participate in the recruitment, selection, orientation and training of key Mercy Corps staff in the region.

Encourage a climate of idea generation, open discourse, and honest communication, creating a trusting, inclusive team.

Design and oversee coherent mechanisms to reach, train, collaborate, and build consensus with key program quality counterparts in programs and portfolios in the Africa region

Working with regional leadership and PaQ HQ, advise portfolio and program teams on optimal performance and quality position definitions and staffing structures

Devise and oversee effective onboarding mechanisms for team members joining in performance and quality roles at the program or portfolio levels throughout the region.

3. Complex Program Support

Work closely with the Chiefs of Party who manage Complex Programs to ensure they have the support needed from regional and global teams to execute their programs with highest standards of quality and deliver impact.

Working with the Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) in PaQ HQ, develop common processes to support the success of Complex Programs in the region

Step in (or delegate others to step in) to provide course correction support to specific Complex Programs as needed, ensuring that all Complex Programs in the region meet basic performance expectations.

Use Complex Program reporting, TolaData, Minimum Standards Reporting (MSR) data, and qualitative data to assess how Africa’s portfolio of Complex Programs is performing,

Coordinate with the global Strategic Leadership Team on leadership continuity needs

Oversee information sharing and learning mechanisms among Complex Programs

Working with country and regional leadership to assess satisfaction with Complex Program implementation or progress and to guide actions as a result of feedback received.

4. Promoting Quality & Integrity (P AQ, CARM, GDI)

Develop systems to ensure that all programs in the

region receive support and have the necessary resources to achieve the highest possible impact

Work closely with headquarters support units to ensure continuous quality improvement of field programs, and that teams are working towards achieving excellence, especially during rapid growth.

Lead efforts to build the culture of adaptive management, evidence and learning in each country in the region.

Support all countries in the region to adopt and adhere to Mercy Corps’ program accountability and CARM and Safeguarding policies.

Coordinate with PaQ and TSU to ensure that countries access relevant technical support.

Support countries with the implementation of PM Policy procedures and standards, overseeing efforts to conduct gap analyses, develop action plans, contextualize implementation, continuously improve implementation, and coordinate and track participation in associated global or regional training programs

Use data sources to assess PM Policy adherence and guide training and support plans accordingly.

Oversee efforts to ensure that all programs in the region adopt and use recommended program filing structures

Lead efforts with country leadership to adopt global Gender, Diversity and Inclusion (GDI) policies within country programs and teams.

Support and facilitate key objectives of the Safe, Diverse and Accountable workplan and help countries in integrating gender and social inclusion considerations throughout programs, operations and teams

5. Influence & Representation

Develop and nurture strong external relationships and networks to support program success.

Identify and pursue areas for thought leadership, including building connections

Act as a key liaison between headquarters, the regional team and country teams

Help to ensure timely and targeted communication and information flow that highlight Mercy Corps’ regional and global impact.

Connect teams to ideas, partners and resources to drive creative solutions for greater program performance, quality and impact.

6. Supervisory Responsibility

Regional Program Advisors (PaQ, MEL, CARM). Work closely with Chiefs of Party and country leaders

7. Accountability

Reports Directly To: Regional Director, Africa

Works Directly With: Country Directors, Senior Management Teams, Regional Program Team (RPT), and supplemental support teams based at HQ in locations such as Portland, OR, Washington DC and/or Edinburgh, Scotland

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders


Knowledge and Experience

BA/S in international development, social science, business administration or other relevant fields required, MA/S or equivalent years of experience strongly preferred;

10+ years of experience in senior management roles, involving team management, program execution, monitoring and evaluation, engagement with multiple actors internally and externally;

Confident communication skills applicable to donor relations, media outreach, and inter-agency coordination;

Demonstrated ability to think strategically, and solve complex problems at an organizational level;

Significant experience in strategy development, program design/development and planning;

Demonstrated experience with private sector is essential;

Successful and proven negotiation and communication skills;

Demonstrated understanding of the critical humanitarian and development issues in Africa and significant experience with the challenges of operating in the region;

Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.

Fluent in French and English required.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Nairobi, Kenya or Dakar, Senegal and it requires up to 40% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited

Deadline: 22nd September 2022

How to Apply: Mercy Corps Director of Program Performance and Quality for Africa Jobs in Kenya

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