Chief of Party (216825-927)
28 Oct 2009 13:51:00 GMT
Deadline date: 23 Nov 2009 |
| Organisation: | Mercy Corps |
| Location: | 218285 |
| Type: | permanent |
| Salary: | TBA (000's USD) |
| Description: | Note: this position is contingent on funding.
PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:
Mercy Corps began operations in Liberia in 2002 at the end of the civil war, by bolstering civic organizations and empowering communities to take part in the nation's improving social, economic and political environment in all 15 counties. With Mercy Corps' help, local community-based organizations have helped Liberian communities to build schools and community buildings, to revive agricultural production, to increase public access to information and to inspire people's determination for development and self-reliance. The agency also currently implements community-driven livelihood-based programs to enhance the social and economic capacities of rural farming households and communities, and improve their food security. Mercy Corps’ donors in Liberia since the program’s inception include USDA, the European Commission, USAID and private foundations. GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY: The Chief of Party (COP) will lead the implementation of a five year multi-million dollar program that makes measurable improvements in water supply, sanitation, hygiene and the enabling environment (for WASH) in target areas within six counties in Liberia and selected communities of greater Monrovia. The COP will provide overall leadership, management and strategic vision to the implementation of the WASH program, managing staff and resources to ensure that the program meets its targets and deliverables on-time and within budget. The COP will supervise key program staff and ensure accountability to Mercy Corps policies and donor rules and regulations. ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:Do This Program Implementation: Provide leadership in all aspects of project implementation, development and management. Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and partners, and aligned with Mercy Corps principles, values and strategic plan. Monitor adherence to grant agreement, Mercy Corps policies and procedures and relevant external rules and regulations. Oversee performance of consortium partners and sub-grantees. Conduct frequent field visits to all project sites. Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) and Reporting: Facilitate the achievement of program targets and objectives and lead efforts to design effective M&E systems related to this project. Oversee the scheduling and production of formal and informal reports on all aspects of the program in a timely and efficient manner. Ensure that M&E staff 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. Coordination and Representation: In close coordination with the Country Director, represent the project with government, donor, NGO and other relevant events in the field. Coordinate activities with consortium partners, subgrantees, local government and other implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs. Staff Management, Professional Development and Team building: Create a work atmosphere conducive to professional growth and development of excellent personnel at all levels. Implement, and ensure all project staff are effectively using, the performance planning and management system, establishing performance expectations and regularly providing constructive feedback. Promote accountability by conducting staff annual performance reviews with direct supervisees, and ensuring that supervisory staff do the same. Program Support Operations: Coordinate with program and finance and administration staff to ensure operational systems are in place to support project activities including logistics, procurement, security, administration and human resources. Security: Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to develop and maintain systems that ensure the safety and security of the team in all aspects of its work. Ensure that programs are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security management priorities. Organizational Learning As part of Mercy Corps’ agency-wide Organizational Learning Initiative, all team members are responsible for spending 5% of their work time in formal and/or non-formal professional learning activities. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: Direct supervision of: Project staff ACCOUNTABILITY: Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects. REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Deputy Country Director WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Country Director, Other Program Directors and program managers in-country, HQ Program Operations Team members, Regional Program Director, technical support unit. KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE: MA/S or equivalent in water engineering, science, management, international development or other relevant field. Seven years of overseas experience including three years in a senior management position. Strong understanding of USAID compliance issues Experience with market-led approaches to WASH infrastructure provision preferred Understanding of health and behavior change communication techniques preferred Strong written and oral communication skills in English, including report development, writing and editing. Strong management skills, with good understanding of relevant cross-cultural issues. Extensive experience managing multi-million USD WASH programs. Experience working in Africa necessary, preferably in Liberia. Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members. SUCCESS FACTORS: The successful COP will combine exceptional management skills and experience in maintaining donor and partner relationships. He/She will have an outstanding ability to develop, implement and manage innovative programs within the current and future program structure of Mercy Corps in the region. S/he will also have proven experience with cross-cultural team and capacity building, individual staff development, and strong mentoring skills. 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. 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. 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. LIVING CONDITIONS/ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS: This position is based in Monrovia and will require extensive travel to project sites. City power and water in Monrovia are very limited so residences are generally powered by generators and have private water sources. Liberia is still recovering from a war and has high rates of unemployment so crime rates are still high. This is an accompanied post. |
