About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organisation 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.

Programme / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has a strong programmatic footprint across Africa, working in more than 15 countries to strengthen systems that drive job creation and raise incomes for youth, MSMEs, farmers, women and other groups, enhance food and water security, and promote peace and good governance. With more than 1,000 team members working across East, West, Central and Southern Africa, Mercy Corps responds to urgent humanitarian crisis while working to strengthen the systems that people rely on to promote peaceful, prosperous and resilient communities.

The PROPEL Program is a funding partnership between the Z Zurich Foundation and the Audemars Piguet Foundation to strengthen education and employment pathways for young people in Uganda, Tanzania, Liberia and Senegal. Working in partnership with Junior Achievement Africa (JAA), PROPEL will address persistent youth unemployment by combining demand-driven skills development with market systems strengthening, removing structural barriers that prevent young people (particularly underserved groups) from accessing dignified and sustainable employment. JAA’s interventions will work with TVET institutions in each of the 4 countries to ensure that training curriculum is aligned to labor market needs, and will work to embed entrepreneurship and employability training within core TVET curriculum. Mercy Corps’ interventions will work with local employers and government to strengthen the employment ecosystem in targeted communities by supporting the private sector to strengthen employment of young people, enhancing the overall policy environment to support employment incentives and pathways, and working with financial service providers to enable access to capital for youth entrepreneurs. Together, the program will directly support 41,000 youth with skills and entrepreneurship pathways and strengthen the institutions that influence employment systems for a further 200,000 youth indirectly

General Position Summary

The Programme Start-up Lead for PROPEL coordinates all the Programme Start-up activities across the 4 PROPEL target countries during the initial 3-month inception phase. This includes the development of an integrated and comprehensive work plan, coordination of inception deliverables, set-up of the PROPEL project in line with Mercy Corps’ programme management minimum standards (PM@MC), coordination of financial and personnel resources, and recruitment and induction of the programme team. The Start-up Lead bridges the gap between the programme’s start-up needs and the existing and available country and regional team’s capacity and resources, and at the end of the inception phase will hand over to the long-term programme lead who will oversee the implementation phase of the program. The Start-up Lead will set-up the relationship with JAA, working closely with them and the donors throughout the inception phase.

 

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QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS

 

●        BA/BS degree in a relevant field, including development economics, finance, business administration, or a related field relevant to technical education, employment, or private-sector development.

●        A minimum of 3 to 5 years managing programmes in the field for organisations like Mercy Corps with excellent knowledge of organisation structure, resources and processes, and demonstrated understanding of programme management, policies and minimum standards

●        Experience in TVET training, MSD4E, innovative financial products.

●        Experience of working with financial institutions (e.g. banks and Microfinance Institutions) to provide inclusive finance to underserved markets and customers

●        Strong organisational and work-planning skills.

●        Experience managing a consortium or operating within a consortium.

●        Demonstrated attention to detail, meeting deadlines and working and problem-solving independently and cooperatively.

●        Excellent leadership, negotiation and representation skills.

●        Experience working in Africa strongly preferred.

●        Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English. French fluency is a plus.

●        Ability to work across departments to achieve results in a short period of time.

 

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.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

 

HOW TO APPLY

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Deadline: Open until filled

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