Program Manager, Vacancy at Mercy Corps Nigeria

Mercy Corps is a global aid agency engaged in transitional environments that have experienced some sort of shock: natural disaster, economic collapse, or conflict.

We are recruiting to fill the position of:

Job Title: Program Manager
Location: Abuja

Job Description

Program/ Department Summary:

• Globally, Mercy Corps' mission is to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. This occurs when public, private and civil society actors interact with accountability, inclusive participation and mechanisms for peaceful change. Our global strategy

1) takes an integrated, systems approach,
2) works in partnership with diverse actors,
3) is grounded in evidence and learning, and
4) uses a gender lens. Last year, we improved the lives of 19 million people globally. Mercy Corps manages programs in 43 countries. Working in Nigeria since 2012, Mercy Corps works across 11 states with a focus on the Middle Belt and Northern states through partnerships with USAID, DfID, GHR Foundation, Nike Foundation, MasterCard, and the Foundation for Partnerships in the Niger Delta (PIND). Mercy Corps links peace-building with economic development, focusing on vulnerable populations such as adolescent girls.

• In December 2013, Mercy Corps will launch a new initiative titled the Accelerating Savings and Strengthening Entrepreneurship through Training and Skill-building (ASSETS). The ASSETS Program Manager will lead and provide technical assistance and oversight for the implementation of an 18-month program focused on older, adolescent girls in Nigeria. ASSETS will strengthen girls' access to and ability to manage economic assets through Savings Groups and create links to formal financial institutions.
• ASSETS will also strengthen targeted girls' employability and entrepreneurship skills and facilitate access to internships, apprenticeships and direct employment.

General Position Summary:

• The Program Manager will provide overall leadership, management and strategic vision to the implementation of the ASSETS program, managing staff, national partners and resources to ensure that the program meets performance-based targets on-time and within budget.
• The Program Manager will coordinate with other donor funded programming to link adolescent girls with ASSETS activities. The Program Manager will supervise and build the capacity of program staff and ensure accountability to Mercy Corps policies and donor rules and regulations.
• S/he will be the representative to donors, relevant government entities, and public and private sector partners.
• The Program Manager will lead the development and implementation of activities that transition girls in school or in informal education into economic activities. S/he will proactively identify micro franchise opportunities in existing value chains of international and Nigerian-based companies and market-driven employment and entrepreneurship activities.
• S/he will facilitate internships/apprenticeships to empower girls to strengthen employable skills and facilitate access to industries of interest, and ultimately paid jobs and employ an SMS-based communication system to connect girls with these opportunities.
• The Program Manager will be responsible for conducting iterative market and financial resilience assessments and SMS Perceptions Surveys.
• S/he will build girls' economic assets by strengthening and establishing new Savings Groups. Groups are cost-effective, self-funding and do not require external capital. Groups can operate in remote areas where formal financial services are not cost-effective or available. ASSETS will organize 84 Groups of self-selected members of 15-20 girls.
• S/he will provide operational support to the Savings Groups including training staff from complimentary programs on best practices for girl-led Savings Groups.
• S/he will also work closely with formal financial institutions to allow girls to open formal savings accounts.

Essential Job Functions:

Program Implementation

• Ensure effective implementation of the ASSETS program, including meeting deliverables on time, within budget, and according to Mercy Corps and client standards.
• Ensure ASSETS is responsive to Nigerian girls and private sector actor needs. This includes implementation partners and aligned with Mercy Corps principles, values and strategic plan.
• Monitor adherence to grant agreement, Mercy Corps and client policies and procedures and relevant external rules and regulations.
• Oversee performance of any consortium partners and sub-grantees and conduct frequent field visits to all project sites. Problem-solve with partners when needed.
• Ensure implementation of activities is on time, target and budget, using effective systems to reach desired impacts in order to assess program effectiveness and impact and propose recommendations for improvements.
• Implement and model Mercy Corps' philosophy of social entrepreneurship and leverage Mercy Corps' best practices.
• Advocate for the inclusion of marginalized girls and for girls to be active in non-traditional sectors at the household and community level.
• In collaboration with the M&E Advisor, design and implement relevant surveys, need assessments, data and information collection for on-going monitoring.
• Maintains links and keep current on up-to-date best practices around innovative strategies of Savings Groups and promoting girls school to work transition; disseminate technical information and assistance where necessary.

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.
• Oversee the production of high-quality program reports 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 client 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, procurement, security, administration and human resources.
• Help design operational policies and practices as needed and in accordance with Mercy Corps regulations.

Supervisory Responsibility: Program Officer and coordinating with implementing partners.

Reports Directly To: Mercy Corps' Nigeria Country Representatives.

Works Directly With: Mercy Corps Finance department and Mercy Corps' complimentary adolescent girl programming, and HQ technical support units.

Qualifications and Skills

• Excellent oral, written, presentation and communications skills in English are required.
• MA/S or equivalent in education, management, social sciences, international development or other relevant field.
• A minimum of 7 years of experience including 3 years in a senior management or technical advisory role on large, education, gender- focused, skills building program. Experience in Middle or Northern Nigeria strongly preferred.
• Experience managing interventions in gender-related programming, in particular girls. Experience of training and building capacity on girl-centered programming. Prefer expertise in at least one of the following areas: increasing economic assets through savings clubs and links to financial institutions or transitions girls from school to work programming. Experience using SMS for training or messaging preferred.
• Deep understanding of the challenges facing girls in Nigeria.
• High attention to detail and ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines.
• Experience with private-sector led initiatives.
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English required, including report development,
• writing and editing. Hausa language skills preferred
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently
• and cooperatively with team members.
• Demonstrated experience working with country-level ministries and government officials, Ministry of Education or Central Bank of Nigeria experience preferred.

Sucess Factors:

• The successful Advisor will combine exceptional management skills and technical skills with a focus on innovative interventions to engage adolescent girls in increasing their savings and engaging with private sector entrepreneurship and employment opportunities in a culturally and religiously conservative environment.
• S/he will have an outstanding ability to develop, implement and manage innovative and complex programs within the current and future program structure of Mercy Corps in the region.
• Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential. The most successful Mercy Corps staff 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.

Living Conditions/Environmental Conditions:

• This position will be based in Abuja with an estimated travel of up to 50-60% 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.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY 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.

How To Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send cover letter and CV (MS Word) to: mercycorpsng@gmail.com with the subject "Program Manager"
Application Deadline Date
Closes by 18th November, 2013.