The program manager position will lead the overall management and is accountable for South Kordofan field office project implementation and coordination in line with proposals, strategies and donor requirements and Mercy Corps' Program Management Minimum Standards (PM@MC) guidelines to ensure timely and quality implementation of FSL, Nutrition, WASH and protection component including resilience building efforts as part of early recovery approach. Duty station will be South Kordofan office, with 60% travel to all  project intervention areas where Mercy Corps is operational, Ensure appropriate representation of field office (SKS) and good relationships with relevant internal and external stakeholders especially local gov't authorities/representatives, FSL clusters and technical working groups, UN agencies and other partners. Manage the project activities throughout the project cycle, directly lead in preparing and developing high-quality project plan, procurement plan, budget management (expenditure planning and expenditure monitoring) and periodic progress reports including Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) while building team and partners' staffs capacity to integrate gender and protection aspects into project activities.

In close coordination with SKS Team leader/ Head of Office in Kadugli (and potentially other sub-offices in case of extension):

• Ensure all team members understand and are compliant with Mercy Corps policies on safety and security, conflict of interest, and general conduct appropriate to an international NGO.
• Oversee and ensure effective and transparent use and documentation of financial resources by all staff in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures.
• Oversee and ensure that procurement is completed, documented and delivered to end-user in a timely manner, ensuring that items procured meet specifications of the end-user while adhering to donor and Mercy Corps procurement guidelines.
• Oversee all aspects of asset as well as stock management for the program items, including ensuring sound transfers between the program implementation sites
• Ensure quality and accuracy of the BoQs and Contracts, Cost estimates and any other project-related documentation needed for procurement, recruitment, HR and financial management.
• Complies with -and sets example for good practices regarding the respect of- security regulations

Program Management and Implementation

• Provide leadership and management of all aspects of program design, planning, implementation, quality and accountability.
• Ensure adherence to all minimum standards as required by Mercy Corps’ Program Management Initiative.
• Participate in the elaboration of program proposals and budgets.
• Build the capacity of all national team members with special focus to more senior positions, in program management, M&E, communication and reporting, and provide mentoring as necessary.
• Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities needs for FSL, Protection, WASH and Nutrition and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines (e.g. Cash-for-Work, Community Mobilization, Do no Harm, Good Enough Guide), principles, values, quality standards (e.g. SPHERE, Sudan all sector Cluster, Program Management Initiative) and MCE national and regional strategy and annual plans.
• Integrate community approaches, gender and disablement sensitivity, Do No Harm/protection mainstreaming, environmental sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate.
• Monitor adherence of program and all team members to grant agreements, Mercy Corps policies and procedures and relevant external rules and regulations.
• Establish, manage and coordinate work plans for all program activities, including making adjustments in response to any changes in the security situation in close coordination with the team leader/ Head of Office Kadugli and other  Program managers
• If applicable, implement a sub-grant system for local partners and ensure compliance with financial and programmatic requirements by local partners.
• Manage the program budget, including: approval of appropriate program expenses (within approval limit), tracking of program spending and financial obligations, verification of monthly budget-vs-actual reports, estimation of projected spending and submission of monthly cash forecasts, etc.
• Manage the monitoring and evaluation system for all program activities, including the planning and execution of any required evaluations, to ensure that accurate and timely information is available for the donor, clusters/working groups, or other actors.
• Document lessons learned and best practices and integrate into program activities as appropriate.
• Liaise regularly with Mercy Corps Operations and Finance departments to ensure the support necessary to carry out activities according to Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Conduct regular field visits to all program sites in order to ensure that programs are adapted to local needs, provide quality control assurance, and to conduct regular audits of program activities.
• Provide regular internal and external reports on program status, as required.
• With the support of the Team Leader, take a leading role in the design of emergency and transitional strategies and programs and related proposal development.
• Actively seek future programming and funding opportunities to further develop and expand on existing programming, with a view to implementing the emergency and transitional strategies as well as Mercy Nigeria’s long-term strategies.

Coordination and Representation:

• In discussion with the Team Leader, represent Mercy Corps to government ministries in SKS, HAC, NGOs and other relevant actors in SKS.
• Develop and maintain working relationships and coordinate with relevant international and local agencies active in the SKS, Site and Camp Coordination and Camp Management Working Group, and other cross-cutting sectors
• Document and communicate program implementation experience and lessons learned to support coordination and learning efforts.

Other

• Other duties as assigned.

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:

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.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:

This position requires supervision of Senior Officers for WASH, FSL, Nutrition, Protection etc

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO:  Team Leader

DIRECTLY SUPERVISORS: Program Staff. 

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Operations, Finance, Logistics and Procurement, M&E, Team Leader, and members of programming team in SKS.          

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

• MA/S university degree or equivalent experience in business management, Sociology, economics, development studies, or related fields to WASH, food security and livelihood.
• Minimum 5 to 6 years of solid practical experience from senior or middle level management position in integrated emergency and early recovery project interventions (design, implementation, and monitoring) focus on WASH, Food Security and Livelihood, Nutrition, gender, and protection components.
• A proven record of effective and complex management in a humanitarian response including managing budgets, staff, and funding of the program. This is to include excellent people management skills, with a good understanding of team development and proven financial management skills.
• Proven track record experience or specialist on any of the following: water, sanitation and hygiene promotion, cash and voucher program, Nutrition and Early recovery activities in humanitarian / recovery context.
• Demonstrable understanding of the gender dynamics of protection work, and ability to capture this in the analysis and design of protection activities, with a strong emphasis on the gendered aspects of conflict, violence, and abuse
• Leadership qualities and people management expertise to provide direction and effective support to a multidisciplinary and multicultural team.
• Ability to work well under pressure and in response to changing needs.
• Diplomacy, tact, and negotiation skills
• Fluent in Arabic and English language

SUCCESS FACTORS:

The successful Program Manager will be conscientious, with an excellent sense of judgment and commitment to integrity. S/he will have a strong understanding of the long-term implications of humanitarian work and the importance of incorporating the development of civil society and local partners into activities. 

S/he will be able to interact productively with partner and peer agencies, and demonstrate effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational, and prioritization skills.

Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required. S/he will have interest and ability to travel and work in remote environments and awareness of and sensitivity to multicultural international development work and ability to train and facilitate dialogue among a diverse group of individuals with various skill sets and working styles.

Finally, s/he will be able to creatively problem-solve, juggle multiple priorities under tight deadlines, and to calmly and diplomatically deal with unexpected and sudden events impacting program operations. Patience, tenacity, dedication to improving aid delivery and a good sense of humor are key for this role.

LIVING CONDITIONS/ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:

The position will be based in Kadugli town ( South Kordofan state) Sudan and it requires a substantial amount of travel between field locations within the state. Considering the frequent travel from/to different field locations.  Security in the field locations require additional vigilance and accessibility will be reassessed continuously.