Job details

Regional Community Accountability & Programs Standards Advisor - Latin America and the Caribbean - Colombia, Guatemala, Puerto Rico

Location: Colombia, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and US

Position Status: Full-time, Exempt, Regular

Salary Level: US Starting salary for this role will be $64,000 - $76,000 - commensurate with professional experience. The salary range will be based on local benchmark for candidates outside of the US and will be provided during the interview stage.

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.

The Department

Mercy Corps’ expanding operations in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region currently focus on the countries of Haiti, Guatemala, Colombia, Venezuela, and several Caribbean Island nations and territories. Mercy Corps LAC's strategic programmatic priorities encompass addressing issues related to climate change, human displacement, rural development, humanitarian response, and the inclusion and protection of LGBTQI+ individuals throughout the region. Mercy Corps LAC works with local leaders from civil society, government and the private sector to find and implement solutions that foster sustainable growth and thus contribute to Mercy Corps' global commitment of creating a better world for all.

In addition to serving a critical role on the LAC team, the Regional Community Accountability & Program Standards Advisor is also a part of the global Community Accountability and Technical Resources and Quality (TRAQ) teams, and will work closely with other Advisors and colleagues on global initiatives that support regional objectives and contribute learning and input into policy and tool development.

The Position

The Regional Community Accountability & Program Standards Advisor will serve in a technical advisory role to support country programs in the design and implementation of Community Accountability and Reporting Mechanisms (CARM) that result in the delivery of impactful programs that are responsive to community needs and feedback. They will support effective, efficient and equitable program performance through a culture of quality program management for those who matter most – our program participants. Serving as part of the LAC regional team, they will create and support systems and processes to enable all programs to be managed well. Additionally, they will provide a critical leadership role in supporting country teams to set a high standard in program performance and quality by strengthening an organizational culture of and providing the necessary capacities for community accountability. The role will work most closely with Program Managers (and other Program Leads), Directors of Programs, and country CARM focal points in the region.

The Advisor also champions and provides tangible technical support and guidance around Mercy Corps’ Program Management Policy, its associated minimum standards and the agency’s quality standards to ensure that the teams are driving transformational impact in the region through executing programs that are of the highest quality. The Advisor will collaborate with country teams to build and sustain highly performing programs while ensuring the regional portfolio is positioned to achieve quality in all programmatic functions across all countries. In collaboration with Country Teams and other Regional Advisors, the Advisor will lead and/or contribute to the integration of Program Management minimum standards including CARM, (program-related) Safeguarding, and GESI throughout the program life cycle.

Essential Responsibilities

SUPPORT TO REGIONAL COMMUNITY ACCOUNTABILITY

Contribute to the development, refinement, and implementation of the CARM tools and strategy for ensuring global adherence to the CARM standards and policy requirements, ensuring the needs and constraints of the LAC country and regional teams are well represented in discussions and revisions to the global Community Accountability strategy and tools

Support CARM in country by supporting the hiring process, selection and onboarding of new in country CARM staff as well as skills building and coaching of CARM staff

Provide remote and in-person technical support to country teams, through one-on-one country outreach, regional calls, webinars, program visits, etc.

Work with country teams to design and document their CARM processes and support the process of developing or revising CARM SOPs, and implementation of CARM into program proposals

Provide in-country technical support to high-risk country programs to guide them in designing and implementing their CARM

Lead teams in process mapping to identify gaps in their CARM

Identify countries requiring increased technical support and liaise with global CARMs team Track CARM progress at a regional level and establish quality assurance processes to validate progress

Support country programs to prepare CARM data analytics, prepare regional aggregations and reports and establish quality control processes

Support countries to adopt a global platform to automate their CARM systems, in alignment with the Global Community Accountability team.

Develop the region’s understanding of Community Accountability beyond CARM in coordination with the Global Community Accountability Team

SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND LEARNING

Support country teams’ Senior Management Teams to use CARM reports and feedback themes for quality programming both within programs but also across the country office.

Support country teams to establish processes for ensuring best practices from CARM feedback themes are reflected in future proposals and programs

Identify and compile case studies of CARM best practices, success, and lessons learned in country programs to facilitate cross-country and regional learning

Contribute to the development of additional CARM tools and resources

Create and lead a regional community of practice for country CARM focal points

PROMOTING INCLUSION AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT STANDARDS

Identify, develop and disseminate Program Management guidance, tools, and templates needed for country teams to meet and exceed the Program Management and minimum standards in coordination with the Global Program Standards Team, including CARM, (program-related) Safeguarding, and GESI throughout the program life cycle

Lead on the regional roll out and adoption of the Program Management Dashboarding App (PMD App) and support countries in establishing and maintaining good practice program filing practices.

Ensure the integration of GESI functions across Learning and Development, Guidance and Support, Policy and Direct Support initiatives

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COLLABORATION

Participate in regional Safe, Diverse, and Inclusive (SDI) working group to set the regional strategy for the integration of cross cutting functions, including GESI, Safeguarding, GDI, and CARM into the region’s operations and Program Management approach

Coordinate closely with global Technical Resources and Quality (TRAQ) and Evidence and Learning (E&L) team members to ensure CARM, GESI, and program-related Safeguarding guidance and best practice is well aligned with our broader performance and quality work, to share lessons learned, and to identify gaps in resources or support and propose solutions

Participate in both regional and global CARM and Programs meetings and planning

Coordinate CARM with other regional team members and units including Ethics and Assurance, Safeguarding, New Initiatives, and Regional Program Team (RPT)

Build and maintain positive working relationships across country programs

Represent Mercy Corps as needed with peer agencies and external accountability focal points

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES

Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work

Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members

Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Regional Technical Resources and Quality Director

Works Directly With: LAC country Program Managers, Directors of Programs, Country CARM Focal Points, Senior Global Community Accountability Advisors, global TRAQ and E&L teams, LAC RPT, and other regional and field team members.

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.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

BA in international development, organizational development or similar field of study and MA preferred.

4+ years of experience in international relief and development and incorporating evidence-based learning activities

2+years of field-based experience in international relief and development required, ideally in applied program management

Field-based experience with community feedback mechanisms required

Demonstrable experience in providing technical guidance and support, at program, country or regional level.

Knowledge of sector standards, norms and frameworks, such as CHS, Sphere. Familiarity with US and European donor guidelines on adaptive management, CLA and other frameworks.

Knowledge and / or experience of establishing strong global networks and internal communications

Knowledge and / or experience of coordinating with multiple stakeholders, with different perspectives

Proficiency with MS Office software required (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and Google suite (Google drive, docs, sheets)

Significant experience in facilitating mentoring and training skills across teams both in person and virtually.

Strong verbal and written communication skills in Spanish and English; French preferred.

Success Factors

The advisor will demonstrate a winning track record in program management and bring flexibility, creativity, and enthusiasm to every project they undertake. The individual must have change management skills and the ability to multitask, set priorities, pay attention to detail, and work under deadlines within complex team environments. They will contribute towards and establish the foundational systems and practices promoting learning within Mercy Corps. They will also be a skilled communicator, able to develop and utilize strong relationships with team members and departments internally, as well as with external bodies, and to facilitate process mapping and champion opportunities for improvement in existing approaches. They will have a positive and dynamic working style that enables them to adapt to contextual and other challenges as they arise. They will harness the expertise, experience and ideas of diverse Mercy Corps team members and external partners to strengthen accountability and program management systems and processes within Mercy Corps. Being aware and sensitive to international development issues and diverse cultures is critical.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in the LAC region, with periodic visits in the region up to 40% travel.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in 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 and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. 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.

Mercy Corps Glassdoor Company Review

3.9