Democratic Republic of the Congo: Program Accountability and Quality Manager (219804-927)

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

Mercy Corps has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since August 2007, with a staff of around 200 people working in North Kivu, South Kivu and Kinshasa, implementing emergency and longer-term development programs with funding from USAID/FFP, USAID/OFDA, DFID and private donors. Current Mercy Corps activities focus on the provision of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in camps of internally displaced people, but also large-scale WASH infrastructure and service delivery development in urban centers. Mercy Corps also has Food Security, Economic Recovery/Development and Governance programs, with an increasing shift towards transitional and integrated development programming. The DRC team has a strong commitment to providing entrepreneurial and innovative solutions to development challenges. Mercy Corps is actively seeking to improve performance across and among its programs and teams and to enhance the mission's ability to learn through quality monitoring, evaluation, accountability and information management systems that will provide robust evidence to use in strategic decision-making and programmatic design and re-design.

In light of the various and complex programs Mercy Corps is implementing in DRC and the high need for quality assurance and accountability to various stakeholders, the Program Accountability and Quality (PAQ) Manager is responsible to assure that programs are continually improving to deliver on their commitments to address beneficiaries' real needs in a sustainable manner, efficiently using resources and promoting effective partnership at all levels.

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The PAQ Manager is responsible for the overall development and integration of accountability and quality assurance mechanisms for all Mercy Corps DRC programs. S/he will be responsible to supervise the Accountability to Communities (AtC) Coordinator and oversee the management of two-way communication flows and complaints mechanisms between the organization and beneficiary/participating communities. S/he will advise and support the development and operationalization of a thorough accountability framework for the mission.

S/he will also be responsible for building the capacity of program teams to elaborate integrated and robust monitoring, evaluation and learning plans as well as facilitating and overseeing the creation of tools for the quality monitoring of activities. The PAQ Manager will build capacity of teams to monitor and evaluate their programs with a focus on the teams' ability to deliver on commitments, document and share information adequately and appropriately, and continually improve their programming through adaptive management. The PAQ Manager will also ensure that donor procedures and Mercy Corps' complex/program management standards are adhered to and complied with. This position will focus on institutionalizing mechanisms for program quality, and will work to increase staff capacity to ensure the mission continually improves their competencies to contribute to the organization's fulfilling its commitments. S/he will finally work to increase the AtC Coordinator's capacities for program accountability and the management of complaints and response mechanisms to continue this work in a self-sufficient manner.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Accountability Systems Supervision:

• Oversees the operationalization of the mission's accountability framework
• Supports effective functioning of the mission's complaints and response mechanism and advises the AtC Coordinator to update and adapt accountability and complaints management protocols, procedures and tools when necessary
• Supports the AtC Coordinator to inform/communicate and deliver trainings on humanitarian accountability standards and principles
• Makes sure community feedbacks and complaints are integrated into program design or re-design and are used to draw lessons for the organization
• Represents the Design Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (DMEL) department in the Complaints Management Committee, as assigned by the DMEL Director
• Oversees the quality of Mercy Corps' representation and participation to the inter-agency complaints mechanism for Protection/Sexual Exploitation and Abuse cases by humanitarian staffs

Quality Assurance:

• Ensures that programs have sufficient systems in place to meet complex/program management standards and comply with donor regulations and humanitarian quality standards
• Develops and implements a quality framework that states commitments, identifies key stakeholders in the quality assurance mechanisms and includes benchmarks and milestones for each commitment
• Develops capacity building plans/certification tracking for Mercy Corps staff and partners in coordination with program managers, identifies opportunities for training, and monitors the assimilation and use of new knowledge and skills
• Maintains a dashboard for quality assurance reporting to senior managers and executives
• Undertakes independent checks at key programs milestones, provides a thorough analysis and practical recommendations to address potential gaps and makes sure good practices are shared internally
• Conducts project site visits to assess program quality, draw lessons and recommendations to enhance quality management
• Provides hands-on training and mentoring to support the appropriation and operationalization of the mission's quality framework

Program monitoring, evaluation and learning:

• Supports the development and implementation of efficient program monitoring and evaluation policies, protocols, systems and tools
• Works with program staff to integrate quality monitoring and evaluation processes based on protocols into program implementation
• Makes sure monitoring and evaluation plans, systems and tools allow to generate accurate, timely and appropriate information and knowledge to document lessons learnt
• Ensures that program information and evidence emanating from M&E activities are appropriate for, accessible to, and can be used by the targeted audience
• Enhances, supports and facilitates program/process knowledge sharing between program staff, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders to capture lessons and provide recommendations for greater adaptive management
• Conducts project site visits to provide hands-on training to field staff on how to capture and organize information for accurate documentation and reporting
• Assists Mercy Corps M&E teams in punctual monitoring, evaluation and learning exercises (programmatic quarterly reviews, M&E workshops, etc.)
• Provides peer support as needed and hands-on technical advice/mentoring to Mercy Corps program and M&E team members in the accomplishment of their regular monitoring and evaluation activities (validation of methods and tools, analysis and reporting, etc.)

Other:

• Represents Mercy Corps in coordination meetings as assigned by the DMEL Director or Director of Programs
• Undertakes any other duty as assigned by the DMEL Director or Director of Programs

Accountability:

• 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 projects.

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.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: Accountability to Communities Coordinator

ACCOUNTABILITY/REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: DMEL Director

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: The Director of Programs, the Director of Internal Control, Division Directors/Chief of Party, Program Managers, M&E staff, and project staff

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• BA/S or equivalent in social science, management, or international development. MA/S preferred
• 4 to 6 years' experience working in program management, M&E or quality assurance and accountability within large development programs, with a preference for field experience in rural sub-Saharan Africa
• Experience with M&E processes, methodologies and tools
• Strong knowledge and experience of implementing humanitarian quality assurance and accountability principles and standards, and learning models is required
• Prior experience in staff development and training
• Experience working with USAID and/or DFID an advantage
• Excellent computer skills, including experience with: Excel, PowerPoint, Access, as well as statistical packages
• Demonstrated ability as a collaborator
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required
• Strong knowledge and experience of the context in eastern DRC is an advantage.
• Fluent written and oral communication in English is required; Intermediate to fluent French required; Familiarity with Swahili is a plus.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

A successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members of varied work styles and cultures, follow procedures, and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving. S/he will have a proven ability to learn quickly, multi-task, prioritize, take initiative, and be accountable for results, understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details, work within a complex and sensitive setting and to follow laws and security protocols. As a key technical position, this person should have a strong understanding of program quality and should be able to express and document his/her ideas clearly and convincingly. The most successful Mercy Corps team 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. In DRC, patience, diplomacy, tenacity, compassion, determination and a sense of humor are all success factors.

LIVING /ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:

This position is based in Goma, DRC with travel (estimated up to 40%) to other program sites and Kinshasa. This position is an unaccompanied post and will be housed within available individual housing. Living in Goma is comfortable, although water and electricity can be unstable. There is a reasonable selection of shops, markets, restaurants and activities. Health and some education services are available. Outside Goma, travel can be dangerous and unpredictable due to armed forces and rebel activity.

While conditions in the country are improving, and security is quite stable in Goma, there are still pockets of violence and insecurity. Mercy Corps' sub-offices experience variable levels of insecurity, with the situation closely monitored by UN peacekeepers. Air travel is necessary to get from one end of the country to the other. Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available. Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices. Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic. There are a number of health services available with evacuation options for serious illnesses. There's reasonable access to most consumer goods, although they can be expensive.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Staff are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps' policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Please follow this link to apply: http://www.aplitrak.com/?adid=dGNoYWJvdW5pLjkyMTk0LjM4MzBAbWVyY3ljb3Jwcy5hcGxpdHJhay5jb20