Emergency Response Programs Director – Gaza

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

The Program / Department / Team

Since 1986, Mercy Corps has helped Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza access critical services and become more economically self-sufficient focusing its interventions on WASH, community crisis resilience, economic opportunities, and cash programming. With funding from BHA and ECHO Mercy Corps has been able to work together with communities in the West Bank and Gaza to respond to these needs. The escalation of conflict that began on October 7, 2023, has sharply exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the region. Mercy Corps is actively working to respond to the crisis and restart our humanitarian programs in Gaza where team members there are committed to significantly ramping up much needed lifesaving aid as soon as it is safe to do so.

General Position Summary

The Emergency Programs Director is a key person within the Gaza Emergency Response team, who ensures the emergency programs and projects are implemented, managed, monitored, and reported according to Mercy Corps quality and donors’ standards in an efficient and effective manner. The Emergency Programs Director plays a key role in the overall leadership of the Gaza Response under the guidance and management of the Emergency Response Team Leader.

As a member of the Gaza Response Team, the Emergency Programs Director shares the overall responsibility for the direction and coordination of the Gaza Emergency Response’s program activities under the direct supervision of the Emergency Response Team Leader.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY AND VISION

• Participate in Mercy Corps Gaza Strategy and Emergency Response Plan.
• Help develop and organize activities to secure resources for programs and encourage stakeholders to provide support.
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Oversee program start-up and ongoing program management and administration of teams across various field locations.
• Oversee partners and service providers engages and contracted in the response.
• Ensure program participants are effectively targeted according to established vulnerability criteria.
• Develop and oversee program implementation strategies, including partnership frameworks, participants targeting, distribution process as well as WASH, Psychosocial and capacity building of partners as needed.
• Ensure program implementation is on time, target and within budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts.
• Provide innovative solutions and systems, in collaboration with regional and global team members, to ensure the response is as compliant and of high quality as possible in a remote setting and highly insecure environment.
• Maintain systems that ensure effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in restrained access contexts, in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Fulfill Mercy Corps Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Manage the program team in Gaza at location and use remote tools when required.
• As needed, recruit and induct new program team members.
• Lead, manage and support the program team in the implementation of the response.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
• Provide team members with information, tools, and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• 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.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.
• Help maintain operational systems that ensure proper administrative support for programs.

REPRESENTATION & COORDINATION

• Coordinate closely with peer agencies, and relevant clusters on programmatic matters and program partners, to ensure consistency in the response strategy and package and avoid program duplication, gaps and overlaps.
• Represent Mercy Corps programs with national, international stakeholders and donors as required.
• Attend relevant meetings and coordination platforms.

SECURITY

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

Supervisory Responsibility

Manages: The Gaza emergency program team leads; WASH PM

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Gaza Response Director

Working Directly with Emergency Program Leads, Emergency Field Operations Director, Emergency Technical Director, WBJ, Global Procurement and Logistics Team.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• BA/BS degree in a relevant field.
• Minimum of 5/7 years senior management experience in a corporate or an INGO sector, including experience in program management including emergency response.
• Sound knowledge of donor standards and procedures.
• Proven supervisory ability and/or technical skills combined with leadership.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues in a diversified multi-cultural and multi-ethnic working environment.
• Skills in managing, organizing, planning, and implementing assigned tasks under pressure of frequent and tight schedules.
• Strong ability to apply good judgment and decision-making skills in difficult and complex working environments.
• Demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills in handling management and coordination issues at country program level.
• Effective verbal and written communication, organizational, prioritization and Microsoft Office applications.
• Excellent oral and written English skills required.
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.

Success Factors

The successful Emergency Programs Director will be good at problem solving and can work out methods to deliver successful programs while demonstrating excellent stewardship of donor funds and compliance with Mercy Corps and donor regulations. They will maintain strong cooperative relationships with other departments and interact effectively with international and national personnel both in a Directorial as well as training capacity, while demonstrating the ability to multitask, meet deadlines and process information in support of changing program activities. They will be able to live and work closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly intense and fluid work and security environment and be willing to travel regularly to Mercy Corps field offices and project sites. 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

The position is based in Gaza (security permitting), and it requires up to 50% travel across Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Egypt to support teams and country programs, which will include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. Housing for this role is in shared housing, access to medical care in Gaza is extremely limited, but adequate medical services are available when traveling outside of Gaza.

This is an unaccompanied position. Currently when not in Gaza the position is working from Ramallah.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside 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 always and in all in-country venues.

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 and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. 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 elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

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