Program Officer, People Experience - UK, Jordan, Kenya

Mercy Corps is a leading global 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.

THE TEAM:

The People Team ensures that Mercy Corps has the resources, systems, culture, and support in place to drive an ambitious global mission while ensuring our individual team members thrive. With the support and contributions of the individual units, the People Team seeks to foster and achieve fulfilled, equitable, inclusive, diverse, and high performing global teams. We do this through recruiting and retaining the best global talent and shaping this talent into our future leaders through equitable development opportunities, and then by driving strategic partnership at all levels of the organization. We steward the organizational culture through our systems, structure, and processes and align conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion, wellbeing, compensation, learning and leadership; and connect all of this to our core operations and overall mission.

The People Experience team, one of the five Centers of Excellent within the People Team, seeks to enhance our team member experience by fostering a safe, inclusive, and engaging environment where every team member can grow and belong. Our team proactively integrates programs that build and sustain high performing and engaged team members across Mercy Corps. We focus on helping the organization attract, grow and retain people who can achieve their goals while effectively championing Mercy Corps’ purpose, mission, and values.

THE POSITION:

As a Program Officer with the People Experience team, you will help manage the "People with Possibility" program. You will also support the implementation and management of other initiatives, such as launching the All Voices Global Engagement Survey and supporting critical workstreams related to the talent lifecycle, such as onboarding, offboarding, and performance management processes. In this role, you will leverage your time management, communication, stakeholder engagement, and administrative expertise to coordinate and enhance the delivery of these key programs aimed at enhancing organizational culture and employee experience. This position demands strong collaboration, consistency, and dedication. Agility is essential, as you will need to manage and support multiple initiatives and programs simultaneously.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

Program and Administration Management for People with Possibility Program:

●        Lead in managing and implementing the People with Possibility program, managing the delivery of the online program for globally dispersed teams.

●        Facilitate or support the facilitation of People with Possibility (PwP) kickoff sessions globally.

●        Maintain a system for tracking global participation and impact of PwP, proposing adaptive changes.

●        Support the integration of PwP into the entire Mercy Corps People Experience strategy, making connections across the People Team and to global strategic initiatives.

·          Track requests for changes in programs or content for regular updates to online tools and programs.

Program and Administration Management for People Experience:

●        Provide program management and implementation support for implementing key People Experience programs/initiatives, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, including People with Possibility, All Voices Global Survey, Onboarding, Offboarding, Performance Management, and other relevant People Experience initiatives and projects.

●        Provide support for the global roll-out structure designed to encompass all members of the organization for initiatives such as All Voices Survey, Onboarding, Offboarding, Performance Management.

●        Coordinate the maintenance of regional communities of practice for various People Experience initiatives, including liaising with regional focal points and creating additional content for online and in-person communities.

●        Identify opportunities for integrating best practices and principles across People Experience projects, fostering collaboration and synergy.

●        Collaborate with key People Team and People Experience team members to equip them to support and advocate for PwP and other key People Experience initiatives (including, but not limited to, external presentations, internal trainings, and kickoffs).

●        Support the integration of People Experience initiatives into the broader People Experience strategy, making connections across the People Team and to global strategic initiatives.

●        Track requests for changes in programs or content and conduct regular updates to online tools.

Communication and Partnerships

●        Use Workplace and other communication channels to effectively disseminate information about PwP, and other People Experience initiatives across the organization, fostering engagement and sustaining interest.

●        Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to ensure representation and promotion of key programs at strategically significant organizational events.

●        Maintain and distribute a database of PwP participants/graduates on a regular basis including ensuring that program graduates are recorded in the Learning Management System.

●        Maintain valuable relationships with key stakeholders and external partners in collaboration with program leads. Prepare drafts and outlines for internal and external reporting and proposals.

●        Design the communication outreach plan with PwP, including email, globe articles, Workplace, presentations, and other channels and tools.

●        Maintain and update SharePoint and intranet pages, and other channels as appropriate.

●        Work collaboratively with key stakeholders in support of People Experience at Mercy Corps.

Accountability

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Programs Manager, People Experience

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: People Experience Team, People Development Team, Global Human Resources, People Systems and Analytics team, Regional Leadership (RD & DRD) and Country Directors, All HQ and Global teams.

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.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

●        BA/S in a relevant field is required, or 4+ years relevant experience.

●        3+ years of directly related experience, preferably including organizational development or learning project management in complex international organizations.

●        Strong collaboration skills, with an ability to work effectively and build trust in a diverse team environment and with stakeholders at all levels of the organization.

●        Demonstrated project management experience; able to anticipate challenges and recommend changes positively and proactively.

●        Excellent communication skills, including in written communications and a commitment to fostering alignment and knowledge sharing at all levels of the organization, in person and virtually.

●        An understanding of and familiarity with internal communication practices that promote team member engagement within a culturally diverse international organization.

●        Commitment to Mercy Corps' values and a passion for people development.

●        Concrete experience in learning and development and online facilitation.

●        Experience using monitoring and evaluation tools to evaluate program impact.

●        Experience in rolling out and sustaining organization-wide initiatives and managing organizational change. 

●        Proven experience of advocacy and networking with senior leaders within an organization.

●        Ability to think creatively, to look at current practices and think differently and innovatively to design best methods for development utilizing technology.

●        Experience with Microsoft 365 (SharePoint, MS Teams) and demonstrated skills in database management and record keeping is preferred.

●        Multilingual is a plus. (English required; French or Arabic are helpful).

SUCCESS FACTORS:

You have a passion for learning and development, and Mercy Corps’ mission. You work effectively and collaboratively as a member of a highly visible, geographically dispersed team. You have experience facilitating training and supporting others to provide organizational training. You are highly organized, demonstrate attention to detail, have experience in overseeing organization-wide initiatives, and have the skills to track metrics and evaluate impacts. You thrive when building networks and relationships at multiple levels within an organization, supporting learning and engagement while championing your programs. You have a growth mindset and be able to effectively role model the practices that People with Possibility promotes.

LIVING / ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS: 

This position will be mostly remote, with occasional in-office time required. It requires minimal domestic and/or international travel. Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit 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.

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 elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.