DREAMS Program Manager

Description

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is 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. 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.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been working in Tanzania since 2011 to build secure and productive communities, with programming focused on promoting peace and good governance, strengthening agriculture and energy value chains, and leveraging the power of technology to accelerate access to information and services for hard to reach communities. Mercy Corps is starting a new program called DREAMS (Delivering Resilient Enterprises and Market Systems) that will work with naturalized refugees in Tabora and Katavi Districts to reduce poverty and accelerate economic opportunities through an approach that combines poverty graduation and market systems development interventions to create sustainable pathways out of poverty for naturalized refugees and their host communities. A 4-year program, DREAMS looks to support the poorest households to access skills and capital to start small businesses while connecting to viable market opportunities to enable business success. Working primarily within agricultural value chains, the program will promote climate-smart and regenerative agriculture approaches to enable climate adaptation and nature-positive farming approaches. Market Systems Development interventions will strengthen the overall market ecosystem within these communities to accelerate private-sector led growth and crowding in of market actors.

The Position

The Program Manager is responsible for coordinating and implementing the delivery of DREAMS in Tanzania, including defining the technical vision and work plan of the program, strong collaboration with partners to ensure effective integration and delivery of program interventions, management of program activities and program staff, and ensuring appropriate systems and support mechanisms are in place to track, analyze and report on results. The PM is a strong team leader, able to develop and mentor team members in Tabora and Katavi and to build an effective team across a range of international and national partners. S/he is responsible for managing relationships with local and international partners, government and community stakeholders, and donor representatives, contributing to achievement of the program goals while fostering innovation and learning. The PM should be a results-oriented leader with a strong understanding of market systems approaches, poverty alleviation, agricultural value chain development and financial inclusion. S/he should have strong partner management skills, be a skilled communicator to build relationships with Government and private sector actors, and serve as an effective representative and champion of the programs’ objectives.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

• Set the direction of the program by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve program objectives, using an approach that engages partners and communities in a participatory and inclusive way.
• Engage with communities, government and private sector actors to establish a vision for economic transformation of the settlements and align partner interests to attract additional investment and resources.
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Hire and build a highly functioning team that is capable of efficiently delivering on program activities to a high quality standard.
• Ensure that team members have the technical, management and administrative skills to deliver on assigned responsibilities, and support team members to understand their roles, deepen their skills and develop their careers.
• Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance & reach objectives.
• 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.
• Build a collaborative, curious and results-driven team culture across Mercy Corps and partner team members that prioritizes impact, innovation and excellence.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Develop and maintain a program work plan to ensure that program implementation is on time, target and budget and using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts.
• Develop program management tools including activity plans, budgets, procurement plans, logistics plans, and M&E tools, and collaborate closely with program support teams to ensure that the program receives timely and effective operational and financial support.
• Ensure adherence to Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards, Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards based on organization-wide requirements.
• Implement and model Mercy Corps’ philosophy of social entrepreneurship and leverage Mercy Corps’ best practices.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.
• Demonstrate flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure.
• Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.

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

DREAMS program team, including field coordinators and program officers.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Tanzania Country Coordinator

Works Directly With: Finance, Operations, Human Resources teams in Tanzania; technical support teams on MSD and agriculture development.

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

• BA/BS or equivalent in economic development, agribusiness, economics, finance or other relevant field; MA/S preferred.
• Strong technical understanding of the Market Systems Development (MSD) approach and experience delivering MSD programming in Tanzania or other parts of Africa is essential. Experience building private sector partnerships to enable market growth is required. Familiarity with poverty graduation, savings groups, and women’s economic empowerment approaches is a strong advantage.
• At least 5 years of international relief and development program management experience, in agricultural market systems, private sector development, financial inclusion or poverty graduation programming.
• Established ability to manage and communicate effectively with team members of varied work styles. Experience managing consortia comprised of national and international partners is required.
• Demonstrated flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving.
• Proven ability to learn quickly, lead a program to achieve stated results and objectives.
• Experience with promoting ethical practices, upholding strong financial management systems and adherence to donor and organizational compliance policies.
• Strong communication skills and ability to effectively represent Mercy Corps and its interests to key stakeholders, including local and national government and private sector actors.
• Experience working to build partnership and consensus with host governments, national and international NGOs.
• Effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational and prioritization skills.
• Excellent oral and written English skills required; proficiency in Kiswahili is a plus.
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.
• Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.

Success Factors

The successful PM will combine strong technical skills in market systems development and poverty alleviation, excellent partnership management and diplomacy skills, and a restlessness to drive impact for populations affected by protracted displacement. The successful PM will bring exceptional management skills and experience in maintaining donor and partner relationships, and have a strong ability to build relationships with diverse stakeholders and manage sensitive situations with diplomacy and tact. S/he 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. Prioritizing, problem solving, ability to seize opportunities, 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

The position is based in Dar es Salaam and it requires up to 50% travel to field locations in Tabora and Katavi, the districts where the program will be implemented, and where access to services is more limited in some locations. 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.

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.