Disaster preparedness and community resilience program manager

DATORE: Mercy Corps - LUOGO: Haiti (Gonaives, Artibonite) - SCADENZA DOMANDA: 9 Dec 2013

Established in January 2010, Mercy Corps’ Haiti program assists communities develop their own ideas to solve Haiti’s most daunting problems by using innovative approaches to bring Haitians new social and economic opportunities and to make their communities more secure, productive and just. Our current strategic goal is to promote resilience and sustainable livelihoods in our target communities located in urban Port-au-Prince and the mostly rural Communes of St Marc, Arcahaie and Cabaret. Toward this goal, we are focusing on three main areas: Natural Resource Management & Alternative Energy Solutions, Nutrition & Food Security and Economic Development. Mercy Corps has a strong emergency response team and a depth of experience in over 40 countries responding to man-made and natural disasters. Supporting communities to be more resilient to hazards and reducing the risks of disaster is part of our country program strategy to promote resilience in our target communities and it is integrated across our programs. We have been actively involved in capacity building of several local organizations to implement disaster risk reduction-related soil and watershed protection projects in the mountains of Commune Arcahaie. In response to a call for proposals from USAID/OFDA and in line with continuing to deepen our work in disaster risk reduction, Mercy Corps developed the Konbit Kont Risk ak Desas – Latibonit (Together Against Risk and Disaster Artibonite) KKRD-Latibonit program.

The program seeks to build capacity and support the Civil Protection Department (Direction de la Protection Civile – DPC) in the Artibonite Department of Haiti so that communities are more resilient to hazards. The expected results of the program include:

• DPC members at all levels (department, commune and sub-commune) have improved skills and tools to manage emergency response;


• Department and commune level DPC members can effectively operate the Early Warning System (EWS) and communicate during a crisis;


• Increased public awareness of EWS triggers and appropriate public responses;


• DPC members at the department level and selected communal level DPCs learn-by doing to effectively select, plan, implement, monitor and evaluate communal mitigation projects; and


• DPC members capacitated to activate a rapid response mechanism.

General position summary:

The Program Manager will be primarily responsible for the management and successful implementation of the KKRD-Latibonit Program and will also work to design approaches, develop proposals and support activities to promote resilience across all of our programs. The successful candidate will have experience in disaster response, disaster preparedness, disaster risk reduction, working closely with government agencies, training and community mobilization. S/he will also be responsible for management of a field office in Gonaives in support of the implementation of the KKRD-Latibonit Program.

Essential job functions:

Program Management

• Responsible for overall leadership and strategic vision on the implementation, coordination and management of the KKRD-Latibonit program. Ensure that program implementation is responsive to government and communities and aligned with Mercy Corps’ principles, values and strategic plan.


• Monitor program’s adherence to the grant agreement, Mercy Corps policies and procedures including program management standards and relevant USAID/OFDA rules and regulations.


• Ensure a good working relationship will all levels of DPC, MINUSTAH, UN Agencies, other INGOs, etc. working in the Artibonite Department to ensure excellent integration of program activities into existing capacity building and disaster risk reduction activities in the department.


• Develop innovative training methods and adapt existing disaster risk reduction training materials to create a vibrant capacity building training program complete with training modules in English, French and Creole that will remain with the DPC for continued use in trainings conducted in the department.


• Ensure a detailed Program Work Plan (PWP) is developed and updated regularly, with the participation of the program team and relevant partners and program stakeholders.


• Ensure very strong communication and coordination with the program officer, with other departments and with senior management.


• Monitor program expenditures and undertake monthly forecasts and budget vs. actual analyses.


• Ensure an effective end-of-program transition.


• Manage a small team and field office in Gonaives, Artibonite Department with little direct supervision.

Staff Management, Professional Development and Team Building

• Manage the KKRD-Latibonit field office and directly supervise the program officer.


• Create a work atmosphere conducive to professional growth and development of excellent personnel.


• Implement and ensure all program staff effectively use the performance planning and management system, establish performance expectations and regularly provide constructive feedback to program staff and senior managers.


• Contribute to overall Mercy Corps Haiti’s team-building efforts and help ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision making processes.

M&E and Reporting

• Facilitate the achievement of program targets and objectives and lead efforts to manage/implement an effective Performance Monitoring Plan (PMP), including conducting baseline, capacity building needs assessments, and endline surveys in coordination with the KKRD-Latibonit team and other relevant stakeholders.


• Ensure that the M&E focal point collects timely, quality data and generates practical information that can be used for ongoing program decision-making while also capturing results at the impact level.


• Ensure effective coordination and the sharing of quality and timely M&E data between program stakeholders.


• Proactively manage internal and external communications, including writing program reports as well as develop in collaboration with the DPC innovative communications tools for community mobilization.


• Assist with the documentation and dissemination of institutional knowledge: case studies, lessons learned, and good practices in social innovation and economic development.

Program Development

• Research appropriate approaches to improving resilience across Mercy Corps Haiti programs


• Develop program proposals to fund resilience programming.


• Seek out funding opportunities and partnerships to expand the breadth and depth of resilience programming


• In case of disaster, coordinate collection of relevant data and develop proposals to seek humanitarian assistance to respond.

Coordination and Representation

• Ensure representation and coordination as appropriate with USAID/OFDA, DPC at all levels, government officials, UN Agencies, NGOs, other donors, CBOs, private sector firms, and business networks, Diaspora groups, international business networks, and the general public.


• Ensure coordination with the Department Technical Advisors (UNDP and MINUSTAH supported) that also work with the DPC at all levels.


• Network and cultivate relationships with a broad cross-section of private sector entities, enterprise development practitioners, organizations, and other stakeholders to elicit feedback on the program and assess the potential for collaboration and partnership.


• Ensure regular meetings and calls with program partners to ensure good communication, share challenges and promising practices, and inform any mid-stream adjustments that need to be made to programs.

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. Several of the activities mentioned above could be approached as organizational learning.

Accountability to Beneficiaries:

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 programs.

Supervisory Responsibility:

The KKRD-Lartibonit Program Manager will supervise the KKRD-Lartibonit Project Officer and may coordinate and supervise volunteers and interns to assist with administrative tasks and/or special projects.

Knowledge and experience:

• BA/S or equivalent, MA/S preferred, in resilience, disaster response, disaster risk reduction, international development, or relevant field with 4+ years of experience preferred in managing people and projects/programs.


• Experience managing programs in technical areas including disaster response, disaster risk reduction, resilience programming, emergency assessment and response, capacity building of government departments, training, community awareness and mobilization training.


• Professional experience working in Haiti preferred


• Proven ability to work independently and to take initiative with a “roll-up-the-sleeves” attitude


• Understanding of participatory methods for training, community mobilization and capacity building


• Excellent written and verbal English and French skills required. Creole language skills an advantage.


• Outstanding interpersonal, customer service and partnership development and relationship management skills.


• High level of proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.


• Proficient with information technologies, including social media, VOIP/Skype, and web- and mobile-based applications and tools.


• Excellent presentation, written, and verbal communication skills required.


• Proven ability to follow procedures, meet team objectives and work independently and cooperatively with team members and diverse groups of people.


• Demonstrated experience and ability to professionally and appropriately represent the organization and negotiate and defend Mercy Corps’ interests with a diverse range of government officials, local organizations and other groups.


• Exceptional multi-tasking, attention to detail, organizational and prioritization skills are necessary.


• Demonstrated flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving.


• Demonstrated commitment to develop, acquire, document and apply best practices in related fields, and apply solutions to obstacles.

Success factors:

The successful Program Manager will be a detail-oriented, but adaptable self-starter with the ability to build a high performance working relationship with the DPC at all levels and to implement a program that delivers outstanding results. Creativity and entrepreneurial spirit will be vital in leading and supporting new training and communication techniques that engage the population to reduce their risks to disasters. The Program Manager should be an exceptional communicator, with the ability to develop rapport with a diverse range of program participants, partners, local stakeholders and government officials, as well as produce clear, concise, and compelling communications. In addition, the ideal candidate will have a demonstrated interest in disaster risk reduction and emergency response programming and be dedicated to Mercy Corps’ mission of helping to build more secure, productive, and just communities.



Contract type
Full-Time/Regular


How to apply
 


Please apply online.


 


Additional information
https://mercycorps.silkroad.com/epostings/index.cfm?fuseacti...