Program Development & Reporting Manager – Ven Esperanza Consortium

Position description

Valid unrestricted work authorization in Colombia is required at the time of application for this position. We welcome applications from interested Colombians, Venezuelans and other nationalities. We will prioritize national candidates, but remain open to consider international applications (expatriates that can be based in Colombia). If so, Talent Acquisition will be in contact about the salary range during the interview process.

Position Status: Full-time, Regular

Salary Level: $15.710.000-17.140.000 COP monthly

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has worked in 17 departments in Colombia since 2005, impacting over 1,000,000 people, creating alliances and opportunities with the public, private and civil society. Led by Mercy Corps in partnership with Save the Children (Save) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) as well as national NGO partner Fundación Halü, the VenEsperanza Cash Consortium has operated since 2019 to deliver food assistance through multi-purpose cash transfers and complementary livelihoods support to more than 517,000 vulnerable People in Need (PIN): Venezuelan refugees and migrants (in transit and those who intend to stay in Colombia); pendular migrants who regularly cross between Venezuela and Colombia; Colombians returning from Venezuela; and host community members. VenEsperanza requires strong leadership and coordination in order to operate effectively and deliver on its promise as a premier mechanism for humanitarian assistance in response to the Venezuela complex crisis.

General Position Summary

The Program Development and Reporting Manager will support the Consortium in building and administering its current and expanding cash program. The Manager will assist in securing new programs by coordinating and leading proposal development processes and ensuring high-quality and timely donor reporting. S/he will know and advise teams on donor rules and compliance. S/he will work collaboratively with Consortium partner Program Managers, Finance and Compliance Teams, Field Office and Headquarters staff, including through facilitation and co-leadership of Consortium working groups, to advance common workstreams and maintain high program quality. S/he will support the Consortium’s thought leadership, advocacy, and communications agendas, and will represent the Consortium as appropriate in internal and inter-agency fora. It is critical that the Program Development and Reporting Manager is an excellent communicator, who is supportive and solution-focused. The Program Development and Reporting Manager needs to be highly motivated, self-driven and able to support complex programming with limited daily support and direction; s/he will be able to work remotely with internal and external stakeholders to achieve common objectives.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Program Quality

• Lead and/or facilitate consortium working group convenings, ensuring that the Programs/Technical Working Group, Communications, Safeguarding, Reporting, Steering Committee, and other relevant inter-agency advance in their workflows, and coordinate convenings as needed to ensure task follow-up and accountability.
• Establish systems for regular grant monitoring and facilitate regular bilateral and consortium-wide discussions with Program, MEL, Finance, Operations, Director of Programs/Country Director, and Consortium Director to ensure that performance is tracked effectively, risks and issues are flagged and action taken as appropriate.
• Develop and implement advocacy strategies to the Colombian humanitarian community and Government of Colombia to strengthen program management and response to participants, around issues such as allowable cash transfer values, needs-based approaches, and other relevant issues.
• Maintain close bilateral partnership with consortium member teams to ensure an open line of communication, troubleshoot agency-specific concerns, and provide other key guidance to ensure program management and harmonization.
• Provide regular management information to the Senior Leadership Team and Mercy Corps Complex Board on the performance of the VenEsperanza program.
• Maintain an online grant filing system, reporting and compliance tracker (ensuring compliance with PM@MC minimum standards), risk register, and other program management tools.
• Play a leading role in Grant Kick-Off and Close-Out meetings to ensure that all grant information, including deadlines, donor priorities and requirements, are communicated and understood by partner teams, and grants are closed in compliance with donor regulations.

Program Compliance

• Work closely with Finance, Complex Board, and HQ Compliance team to ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations (including PM@MC minimum standards).
• Liaise with Mercy Corps HQ to facilitate donor requests for review and approval of program activities (e.g. program adaptations, events), communications initiatives (e.g. press releases, reports, campaigns) and other initiatives that require donor approval within the parameters of the award contract.
• Ensure that program is executed in alignment with the donor agreement and the applicable donor regulations, staying abreast of changes in regulatory environment related to donor/grant compliance; updating partnership process, tools, policies and procedures as necessary.
• Communicate compliance expectations, donor policy updates/changes, and other relevant guidance to consortium partners and assist in the development of consortium-wide strategies to adhere to such guidance, as appropriate.

Program Reporting and Communications

• Lead all reporting workflows and processes between partner reporting and program teams and Mercy Corps Colombia and HQ to ensure the timely and quality development, review and submission of reports and other communication products.
• Coordinate, write, and submit high quality reports at donor-instructed frequency, including: monthly reports, semi-annual reports, FFP-modality reports.
• Work with M&E Manager to analyze, manage, and visualize indicator and monitoring data to effectively and creatively illustrate program progress and findings to donor/external actors.
• Spearhead opportunities for thought leadership and increased visibility on behalf of the consortium, including video/fact sheet production, position papers, thought leadership pieces, and other related initiatives leveraging evidence from programs.
• Provide timely, thorough responses to information requests from internal and external sources, such as Cash Working Group, GIFMM and sub-clusters, and Government of Colombia.
• Participate in donor meetings, providing requested inputs and contributing to discussions around program management and strategy.

Proposal Development

• Interface with Mercy Corps HQ (Americas RPT) to keep abreast of donor strategic priorities, specific requirements, and deadlines.
• Participate in the strategic evaluation process for new funding opportunities.
• Oversee proposal development processes, including drafting and producing high quality concept notes and proposals that support Consortium’s strategic programming goals. This involves developing, managing and sharing the proposal development calendar in-country and with headquarters, ensuring funding proposals are submitted in a timely manner.
• Coordinate funding opportunities with relevant Mercy Corps and consortium partner teams and facilitate discussions to design sound technical proposal ideas. Use partner inputs to lead on proposal writing, development, and submission processes to donor, ensuring partners’ compliance with established deadlines for providing technical input and comments.
• Facilitate administrative elements of the proposal development process, including Issues Letters. PAL/PML processes, and other relevant internal or donor requests as necessary.

Team Management

• Hire and supervise team member(s) responsible for administrative, reporting, and support duties for the consortium.
• Develop the capacity of the supervisee, deepen his/her understanding of their role and assist with career development.
• Assist Mercy Corps and partner team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Support Consortium Director and represent consortium on behalf of Director in internal or external capacity, as appropriate.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Assist in recruiting, orienting, and new team member onboarding as necessary.

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.

Safeguarding Responsibilities

• Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work
• Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members
• Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options

Supervisory Responsibility

None.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Consortium Director

Works Directly With: Consortium Deputy Director and M&E Manager, partner Program Managers, Consortium research consultant, Consortium communications advisor, Finance, Reporting, Safeguarding/CARM, and Compliance teams, Mercy Corps HQ Americas desk, Compliance, Finance, and Ethics teams

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 Qualifications & Transferable Skills

• Bachelor’s degree required. Masters or equivalent in a field related to Humanitarian or International Development or relevant fields is preferred.
• 5+ years of experience providing coordination or management support to program implementation in a relevant field of expertise that includes:
• Preparing writing and analysis on programmatic activities.
• Budget management experience.
• Managing work plans.
• Proposal and new business development
• Representing programs with donors and external stakeholders.
• Leading coordination between multiple stakeholders
• Experience working in Latin America and Venezuela’s humanitarian context.
• Proven ability to work cooperatively with internal and external stakeholders, and to play a leadership role in convening groups. Astute skills in relationship building and coordination and collaborative communication.
• Experience working with USAID/BHA required, DFID, EC, GAC, SIDA and other donors a plus.
• Understanding and experience of adaptive management.
• Extensive experience with monitoring and evaluation and other learning efforts.
• Excellent writing and communications skills required.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.
• Fluency in English and Spanish required.

 

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on tendersglobal.net