Chief of Party, Rural Resilience Activity - Nigeria

Description

About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. 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
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and its influence spreads across the continent. Yet, inequality and insecurity have consistently undermined Nigeria's development. Mercy Corps Nigeria was established in 2012 to respond to these challenges. The Nigeria team is headquartered in Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with programming across 16 states of Nigeria. Mercy Corps works together with communities to build economic opportunities, enhance water security, drive peace and good governance, and ensure food security. In 2022, Mercy Corps reached more than 600,000 Nigerians directly and more than two million through indirect impacts. Our activities aim to build resilience through an integrated approach, helping communities–and the most marginalized within them–cope, adapt, and thrive in the context of numerous shocks and stresses. With a strong and growing team, Mercy Corps works to achieve the vision of a Nigeria in which all people are empowered, engaged, resilient and secure. The Rural Resilience Activity (RRA) is a five-year, $49 million USAID-funded program in Nigeria’s northeast. The purpose of the Rural Resilience Activity is to sustainably move people out of chronic vulnerability and poverty. The Rural Resilience Activity will enable individuals and communities to engage in strong and sustainable market systems rather than continuing to rely on humanitarian assistance and faltering with each new shock. To achieve this purpose, the Activity has five components and five cross cutting elements:

• Component 1: Provide up-to-date evidence for selection of market systems, livelihoods and employment opportunities that contribute to inclusive and resilient growth and improved nutrition.
• Component 2: Stimulate market systems growth and diverse economic opportunities (Pull activities).
• Component 3: Build capacity to take advantage of market systems opportunities (Push activities).
• Component 4: Sequencing, layering, integrating (SLI), and collaborative learning to improve activity effectiveness, sustainability, and scale.
• Component 5: (Add-on) Supporting Market Resilience to COVID-19 Shocks.

The Position
The CoP will provide overall leadership, management, and strategic vision to the final phase of implementation of the Rural Resilience Activity, to ensure that the program meets its targets and deliverables within the remaining completion time. The CoP will leverage the program’s established partnerships platform towards consolidating program impacts. In addition to progress towards program goals, the COP will focus the final eighteen months of the program on finalizing and leveraging strategic learning, knowledge management and dissemination, ensuring the successes and lessons learned from the program are effectively captured with evidence, communicated, and used to influence policy makers and implementers. The CoP will supervise program staff and ensure accountability to Mercy Corps policies and donor rules and regulations. S/he will be the primary program representative to donors, relevant government entities, partners, other implementers, and stakeholders.
Essential Job Responsibilities Strategy & Vision

• Recognize and leverage the existing opportunities for scale and impact in the program to drive sustainable impacts beyond program close.
• Action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives.
• Oversee the development of annual, integrated strategic work-plans, learning agenda, knowledge management, and strategic influence plans for the program.
• Integrate a resilience lens to team decision making, proactively analyzing evidence to predict trends and respond accordingly within the program scope.

Program Management

• Oversee program management and administration of teams across various field locations.
• Lead the development of detailed implementation plans, flowing from annual strategic workplans, and ensure the delivery of the same.
• Lead program close out in Year 5, ensuring compliance with USAID and Mercy Corps close out processes.
• Lead the development and implementation of the learning agenda and knowledge management and communications strategy, ensuring the program is generating evidence against priority research and learning questions, and documenting and disseminating successful, scalable models for impact for strategic influence with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead the communications strategy of the program with Government of Nigeria stakeholders, ensuring necessary approvals and collaboration, responsiveness of program strategies to government priorities, and influence of government stakeholders to support program objectives and sustainability of impact.
• Ensure that beneficiaries are effectively targeted according to established vulnerability criteria.
• Integrate climate-smart, gender and conflict sensitive and capacity building elements into all activities as appropriate.
• Provide managerial and programmatic oversight to partners and sub-grantee(s), including an extensive network of private sector partners.
• Ensure partners operate in line with Mercy Corps and donor principles and adhere to safety and security minimum standards.
• Provide quality assurance to all donor deliverables, leading on weekly reports, check-ins, program performance reports, regular success stories, etc.
• Oversee the M&E systems for the program and ensure effective, accurate data capture for integration into adaptive management decisions.
• Ensure collaboration and integration with the country portfolio, contributing to management decisions, communities of practice, and strategic direction.
• Lead the effective and efficient delivery of the program within budget, ensuring that USAID expectations and program Key Performance indicators are met and exceeded.
• Develop and execute overall project strategy, work plan, and leadership for the successful implementation of the project.
• Manage the development of, and monitor, work plans and budgets; ensure appropriate levels of technical assistance in program operations; oversee and coordinate with key stakeholders and partners; and ensure appropriate program monitoring and reporting.
• Build good working relationships with USAID, partners, and other key stakeholders to assist with program delivery and closeout.
• Implement effective stakeholder management plans for the consortium ensuring sound and proactive communications with Mercy Corps Nigeria, partner organizations, Mercy Corps headquarters, USAID, Government of Nigeria authorities, and colleague agencies.
• Conduct frequent field visits to all project sites – spend up to 30% of time in the field.

Team Management

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Promote accountability, and evidence-driven and inclusive culture, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
• Supervise and manage all program staff to ensure day-to-day activities are implemented in a coordinated fashion according to schedule, budget and quality.
• Supervise and manage all program partnerships to ensure sound coordination in the context of an overall program strategic and resilience-building framework.
• Manage and help with the recruitment, orientation, professional development and ongoing training of staff to ensure they are of the quality and technical capacity necessary to ensure the successful implementation of activities.

Finance & Compliance Management

• In collaboration with the country program’s operations and finance departments, ensure proper financial management, procurement, administration, human resources, and logistics (including transport, warehousing and asset management) needs of the program are conducted within Mercy Corps’ policy and with the maximum benefit to the program.
• Monitor adherence to grant agreement, Mercy Corps’ policies and procedures and relevant external rules and regulations, including those of the government of Nigeria.

Influence & Representation

• Liaise with and represent program to USAID and other cooperating sponsors and stakeholders.
• Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO, and other events relevant to RRA, in close coordination with the Country Director.
• Ensure close coordination and information sharing with consortium partners, sub-grantees, local government, and other implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.
• Establish and maintain relationships with communities and local government.
• Utilize the evidence generated by RRA to contribute to Mercy Corps’ strategic learning, influence and advocacy goals, ensuring team contributions to key national fora and coordination platforms, such as food systems reforms, CBN inclusion committees, implementing partner coordination fora, and others as relevant.

Security and conflict sensitivity

• Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to ensure a team culture of security and adherence to all safety and security protocols.
• Ensure that programs are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security and community acceptance, integrating conflict sensitivity and do no harm principles into all implementations.

Supervisory Responsibility The COP has overall accountability for the RRA team of approximately 60 staff with line management of eight staff. The COP also retains overall supervisory responsibility for partnerships with international and national program partners. Accountability
Reports Directly To: Director of Programs Works Directly With: Finance and operations teams, HQ Regional Program Team, HQ Technical Support Unit, and Partner Organizations Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward 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. Minimum Qualifications & Transferable Skills

• Master’s degree or higher in agriculture, economics, business administration, or related field.
• A minimum of ten (10) years of significant international experience and of being a Chief of Party in managing large (preferably $15 million and above) livelihood, agricultural development activities, with knowledge of market systems development and resilience programming in the African context preferred.
• Prior experience with close out of large USAID awards.
• Proven excellence in strategic learning, knowledge management and dissemination, combining excellent communications skills, stakeholder management expertise, and a keen eye for strategic information flows for advocacy and influence.
• At least five years of field-based work in a conflict-prone environment and/or active insurgency environment.
• Familiarity with climate sensitive programming, with preference for climate sensitive agriculture.
• Demonstrated ability to be collaborative across activities, and with other programs / support departments while utilizing strong communication and interpersonal skills, with evidence of the ability to productively interact with a wide range and levels of organizations (government, private sector, other activities, NGOs).
• Demonstrated capacity to manage complex teams, including problem solving skills, and capacity to meet deadlines and deliver quality deliverables to meet objectives; and
• Very strong written and verbal communication skills (proficiency in English).

Success Factors
The successful CoP will combine exceptional management skills and experience in maintaining donor and partner relationships. 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 large program close out and knowledge management processes, ensuring lessons learned are used to influence key partners, government, and other stakeholders to ensure sustainability of achieved outcomes. 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. Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The CoP is based in Abuja with frequent travel to program locations in Borno, Adamawa, Gombe, and Yobe states. Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. 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 in all in-country venues. Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment. 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. 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 e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.