Capacity Development Manager (Applications will only be accepted if submitted through the link provided)

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading 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.

Now, and for the future.

General Position Summary

The Capacity Development Manager is a member of the Partnership Support Program (PSP) team, which supports partners working remotely in complex humanitarian crises. The Manager will coordinate closely with other departments on issues related to partners’ Capacity Development. Under the direct supervision of the Director of Programs, the Capacity Development Manager will be responsible for the planning, implementation, and oversight of the partners’ organizational and technical capacity development support. Mercy Corps sees greater potential for impact in the response to the ongoing conflicts in the region if the strengths and contributions of both the international community and local civil society groups are effectively leveraged.

Program/Department Summary:

Mercy Corps has been meeting the needs of conflict-affected communities in the Middle East since 2006. Mercy Corps currently operates in complex humanitarian crises across the region with an experienced team of staff and partners who are supported and led by a Regional Team based in Amman that ensures consistency and quality both technical and programmatically. 

Essential Job Functions:

STRATEGY AND COORDINATION

• Adapt existing Capacity Development guidelines and develop a Capacity Development Strategy for PSP to ensure its relevance to changing context.
•  Collaborate with other partnership programs inMercy Corps to ensure proper coordination, and liaison in terms of existing resources.
• Contribute to the development and promotion of best practice in terms of capacity development skills and approaches.
• Identify common areas of capacity development and support needed by partners as well as Mercy Corps staff to delivery relevant support, and work with stakeholders to make them available
• Train, advise, and mentor project staff the PSP team to gain and implement new skills and techniques for capacity development (training, coaching, mentoring, monitoring effectiveness). 
• Serve as a resource for technical tools - coordinating resource sharing and documentation with other Mercy Corps teams as well as external technical experts and online resources. 
• Responsible for having a wide understanding of the range of organizational, technical, and project management areas on all levels that local partners will need in order to be successful  (programmatic, operational, financial, donor compliance).
• To the extent possible, coordinate with other international organizations and partner agencies to harmonize capacity development efforts and streams. Ensure active and meaningful participation in relevant coordination meetings at different regional and country-level coordination forums.

implementation

• Facilitate the overall capacity development process of partners, organizing the various roles & responsibilities of a wide variety of Mercy Corps staff in all relevant departments. 
• Develop and maintain an annual Capacity Development Plan for each partner, which reflects the capacity development objectives, targets, inputs, and outputs as well as timelines.
• Support the implementation of the Capacity Development Plans for partners by providing two kinds of training: thematic and customized for each partner.
• Facilitate relevant sessions and workshops with partners to identify strategic priorities in terms of their organizational and technical capacity development needs.
• Seek out and/or develop tools and processes to assess partners’ existing capacities and identify capacity development priorities.
• Facilitate relevant sessions and workshops with partners to identify strategic priorities in terms of their organizational and technical capacity development needs.
• Develop and maintain a Capacity Development Plan for each partner, which reflects the capacity development objectives, targets, inputs, and outputs as well as timelines. .
• Facilitate the Mercy Corps and partners teams to identify the most appropriate source of input for each of the various capacities identified (using a range of consultants, on-line platforms, in-house trainers, etc). 
•  Serve as the project manager for each partners capacity development plan, ensuring that capacity development activities are on schedule, regularly following up and supporting PSP staff or external consultants to stay on schedule and target.

MONITORING AND REPORTING

• Work closely with the Program and Quality (PaQ) team to track and analyze the effectiveness of capacity development inputs, and to make necessary programming changes if required.
• Facilitate review sessions with partner and PSP teams to evaluate progress and learn from experiences
• Create (as needed) reports for donors on capacity development and / or reports to be used for lessons learned sessions with partners, lessons learned should be fed into each partners’ Capacity Development Plans. 
• Strengthen systems, mechanisms, and tools to facilitate greater efficiency of capacity development activities among Programs, Finance and sub-awards, Security and MEL Departments
• Develop and maintain systems and protocols to ensure coordination and effective communication between Mercy Corps and local partners.
• Coordinate with team members assigned on particular follow-up items in the Capacity Development Plan to locate and coordinate internal and external technical resources as needed.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary.
• Direct Reports include :Capacity Development Officer
•  Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development.
•  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.

Organizational Learning

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries:

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all effort 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 filed projects.

Supervisory Responsibility:

Capacity Development Officer

Accountability:

Reports directly to: Director of Programs

Works closely with: Partnership Capacity Strengthening Advisor 

Knowledge and Experience:

• University Degree or Higher in field relating to humanitarian and development work or a relatable field.
• 3-5 years of experience working in Non-Governmental Organization, with at least 1-2 years working through partnership approach preferably on Capacity Development.
• Desired demonstrated expertise in remote management or in emergency response programming in highly insecure environments.
• Good understanding of structure and processes in NGOs including a working understanding of procurement, administration, and finance systems.
• Demonstrate knowledge in the Middle Eastern conflict context and understand project needs.
• Commitment to local capacity building and past experience of engaging and working with local stakeholders in project design and implementation.
• Demonstrate capacity to collaborate closely with INGOs national NGOs and Community Based Organizations (CBOs).
• Strong organizational and project management skills, including experience in M&E and reporting.
• Experience in training or coaching or teaching is a plus
• Proven ability to work cooperatively with colleagues from other departments in a team environment, and to lead a diverse group of people.
• Strong facilitation skills and deep understanding of participatory methodologies.
• Knowledge of humanitarian standards and codes, including SPHERE, HAP is an asset.
• Demonstrated familiarity with the MS office Software (i.e., Word, Excel and PowerPoint) is required. Experience with SPSS and / or STRATA an asset. 
• Show great initiative and be able to work well in a team and independently.
• Arabic and English Language written and spoken are essential; excellent written English is desired.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

The successful candidate will have proven experience working effectively and respectfully with NGOs and CBO representatives, and will have effective verbal and written communication as well as multi-tasking, organizational, and prioritization skills. S/he will have demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members. S/he should have excellent coordination skills, the ability to manage multiple deadlines and show initiative to improve program implementation. Sensitivity to multi-cultural humanitarian and development work and ability to train and facilitate dialogue among a diverse group of individuals with various skill sets and working styles are all critical. An ability to creatively solve problems, juggle multiple priorities under tight deadlines, and to calmly and diplomatically deal with unexpected and sudden events impacting program operations are also essential.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours. Team members 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 venues, in such a manner as to bring positive recognition to Mercy Corps and to not endanger Mercy Corps’ humanitarian mission.