Deputy Regional Director, Programs – West & Central Africa

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Department: Programs function – West and Central Africa

Location: Dakar, Senegal

Employee Type: Full-time, Regular

Reporting To: Regional Director, West and Central Africa

Supervisory Responsibility

West and Central Africa Country Directors, Awards Management Team Lead(s), Regional Technical Resources & Quality Director, Managers/Directors of Regional Programs. and other technical team members (as relevant). Regional MEL/Evidence & Learning Focal Point, Regional Institutional Fundraising Specialist(s) are also dual managed with global structures for associated competencies.

Budget Management Responsibility

Responsible for overseeing a departmental budget of approximately 2 million USD. Supporting the planning of country program budgets within the regional portfolio of approximately 400 million USD.

Position Summary

Mercy Corps expanding operations in West & Central Africa region consist of 9 countries including Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Liberia, Nigeria Central African Republic, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is a thriving and growing region with programming that covers all of Mercy Corps’ strategic pillars including food security, economic opportunities, water security, and peace and good governance. Mercy Corps’ programs in West Africa are undergoing both momentous humanitarian crises and significant development challenges that offer the opportunity to empower people to survive through crises, build better lives and transform their communities for good.

The Deputy Regional Director, Programs (DRD-P) is a senior leader who works closely with the Regional Director (RD) to ensure that transformational change occurs through the combination of: programmatic impact in our communities; the ability to influence change makers at local, regional and global levels; and a restlessness to innovate in search of better solutions. Working closely with the Regional Director (RD), they will provide strategic direction and support to regional and country teams to build an impactful portfolio that strengthens community resilience to conflict and climate shocks, aligning to Mercy Corps’ four P2P outcome areas: Food Security, Water Security, Economic Opportunity and Peace and Good Governance. The DRD-P is responsible for the successful delivery of high-impact programming that is responsive to donor commitments and adheres to Mercy Corps’ program management standards. They lead the Technical Resources & Quality, Evidence & Learning, Awards Management, and Business Development teams within the region, ensuring that technical resources are available and deployed in a strategic way to enable country and regional teams to deliver on P2P outcomes. They will work closely with the Regional Director to build and sustain a cohesive regional management team, ensuring the West and Central Africa regional portfolio is set-up to deliver programmatic excellence through established and responsive systems, and will serve on the Regional Management Team.

The Deputy Regional Director, Programs will support the accountable actors within the region and country programs with the operationalization and advancement of Mercy Corps’ five commitments in their region – climate smart, evidence-driven, innovative and creative, locally-led, and safe, diverse and inclusive. These commitments underpin the goals and outcomes of P2P across our operations and programs. They will collaborate closely with commitment sponsors, agents, working groups and team members at the regional, country, and program levels to advance commitment workstreams and integrate the commitments into organizational culture.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY AND PLANNING

Act as a key partner for the Regional Director to achieve an effective Regional Management Team, alongside the Deputy Regional Director, Operations,) that is positioned to deliver programmatic and operational excellence to achieve significant impact and influence in the region.
Provide strategic direction across the regional portfolio, supporting the development of compelling country-level strategies and annual implementation plans that integrate with a coherent regional strategy and are aligned with Mercy Corps’ Pathway to Possibility.
Provide overall programmatic leadership and oversee program performance across the portfolio, in close partnership with the DRD-O. Ensure that all programs in the portfolio achieve the highest possible impact through a focus on strong technical quality, sound program management systems and practices, a focus on innovation, and strong systems for evidence and learning. Partner closely with global TSU and PAQ teams to ensure that programs receive effective technical and program management support for program design and delivery and proposal development.
Work closely with the DRD-O to support effective program planning, budgeting and management.
Support oversight and accountability for complex and flagship programs of comparatively large budgets, ambitious scopes, and high visibility, within the region and engage as a strategic leader so that implementers remain accountable to delivery. Play a leading role on complex program boards in the region when necessary.
Lead the development and execution of a Regional Evidence and Learning Agenda, working with regional and Global-based teams to establish regional research and learning priorities that advance evidence, learning, and influence objectives within the region and are connected to global strategic priorities, underpinned by our evidence-based commitment.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

In partnership with the Regional Director, motivate, empower, and guide teams towards excellence. Ensure a positive team culture and work environment. Fill in as needed for Regional Director and for field leadership. Directly supervise Country Directors as stipulated by the Regional Director.
Supervise the Awards Management Team and ensure that strong systems and processes are in place for the effective administration of donor awards. Ensure that teams across global support offices work together as a cohesive regional program support unit and collaborate closely with country teams to ensure effective grant administration.
Supervise the Regional Technical Resources & Quality team, including the Regional Technical Resources & Excellence Director and/or any additional technical or programmatic resources at regional level. Line management of regional programs as relevant.
Manage the regional Evidence & Learning team and partner closely with Global teams to ensure strong program-level M&E/evidence generation systems, as well as the production of relevant evidence and learning products that align to regional and global research and learning strategic priorities. This may include collaboration with the Crisis Analysis teams in specific countries.
Ensure that dual managed team members have a deep understanding of their roles and are connected to relevant stakeholders across the agency to inform and promote agency strategies and best practices.
Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on one meetings and performance reviews.
In the event of a major disaster or emergency in the region, work directly with Mercy Corps Emergency Response Team to coordinate an appropriate and timely response.

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT & PORTFOLIO GROWTH

Oversee Business Development functions in the region to ensure the submission of high-quality, strategically aligned proposals that lead to growth of the regional portfolio. This includes line management of regional Business Development team members, support to country offices with strategic positioning for new awards; and ensuring effective collaboration across teams for the submission of quality proposals.
Support country and regional teams to identify, explore, and pursue funding opportunities that support regional and country strategy objectives.
Oversee the development of concept notes, proposals, and other funding requests, ensuring quality submissions that maximize chances for success, including sourcing technical expertise and other resources to assist with proposal development.
Position Mercy Corps for strategic funding opportunities that build on country and/or regional programmatic priorities
Develop systems to understand regional Proposal Development metrics, including data analytics around win rates, analysis of monthly PRODEV BvAs, PRODEV ROIs, etc. and work with the regional team to analyze data and identify strategies to maximize the chances of success.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

Develop and maintain strong relationships with global and regional donors and partners and engage with prospective donors to shape and influence their strategies and funding priorities, in alignment with the Regional Director’s strategic vision.
Develop and nurture strong external relationships and networks to support program success, including regional coordination platforms and advocacy bodies.
Identify and pursue areas for thought leadership, including building connections with civil society leaders, government officials, donors, private sector partners, relevant diplomatic missions, academics and other stakeholders that center communities and people impacted by crisis and climate change. Work with the Regional Director to ensure that Mercy Corps’ evidence and learning agenda is aligned to regional influencing objectives.
Serve as a respected representative for Mercy Corps in the region, promoting the organization’s capabilities, expertise, innovation, strategic vision and values.

COMMUNICATION

Encourage program coordination and information sharing within and between countries and connect teams to ideas, partners and resources to drive creative solutions for greater impact.
Maintain close working relationships with counterparts in other regions, facilitating the gathering and sharing of experiences and lessons from other regions.
Represent Mercy Corps at external events to build voice, brand, and influence.
Along with the Regional Director, act as a key liaison between headquarters, regional management, and country teams to effectively publicize program innovations and successes.
Help to ensure timely and targeted communication and information flows that highlight Mercy Corps’ regional and global impact.

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES

Work with the Regional Director and the regional management team to lead the planning and preparation of regional gatherings, strategic meetings, program exchanges, learning events, etc.
Assist with the identification, location, set up and transition of Mercy Corps offices as necessary.
As a seasoned leader, the Deputy Regional Director, Programs will be expected to provide cover for the Regional Director, Country Directors within the region, or other strategic leadership gaps should they arise.
Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO BENEFICIARIES

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our program participants and to international standards guiding international humanitarian and development work, while actively engaging participant communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Confident communication and facilitation skills applicable to donor relations and inter-agency coordination.
Demonstrated ability to think strategically and solve complex problems at an organizational level.
Ability to handle multiple issues at one time, especially in emergency situations, and to organize and prioritize accordingly.

Required Education and Experience

BA/S in international development, social science, public or business administration or other relevant fields required, MA/S or equivalent years of experience strongly preferred.
At least 10 years field experience in senior management and direct program implementation; experience in complex/fragile environments is a plus.
Direct experience managing and supervising large teams, as well as staff mentorship and development.
Demonstrated proficiency and experience with US, UK, EU, UN and other public and private donors, government grant and financial management requirements.
Demonstrated understanding of the critical humanitarian and development issues in the region, and significant experience with the challenges and contexts of operating in the region.
Significant experience in strategy development, program design/development and planning.
Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in humanitarian response preferred.
An internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.
Fluency in written and spoken English and French is required.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Dakar, Senegal and it requires up to 30% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. Housing for this role is in individual housing and staff will have access to good medical services and the living situation is of a high standard.

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. Staff 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.

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 and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. 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.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org)