Youth Engagement and Governance Manager- DRC

** Pending funding with anticipated start of activities March/April Position duration for 1 year PROGRAM/ DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

Mercy Corps has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since August 2007, with a staff of over 150 people working in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri provinces. Mercy Corps national office is in Goma with sub-field offices in Bukavu and Kavumu/Katana (South Kivu), Kitchanga (North Kivu), and Bunia (Ituri). The current Mercy Corps strategy in DRC focus on the provision of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services and the coordination and distribution of cash-based assistance in camps and communities of internally displaced peoples (IDPs), 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 and is actively seeking and facilitating market-based solutions.

At present, Mercy Corps DRC seeks motivated and qualified staff to be part of its upcoming integrated youth development project (IYDA). Pending funding, but expected to be carried out in the provinces of North Kivu (Goma) and South Kivu (Walungu, Kabare, Kalehe and Bukavu), this three-year program funded by USAID and implemented in partnership with International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Overseas Security Consulting (OSC) aims to improve vulnerable youth' resilience to conflicts and violence in Eastern DRC. The three core objectives of the program are as follows: 1) to increase youth's access to basic education and to skills needed for Positive Youth Development, 2) to strengthen the capacity of youth-led and youth-targeting institutions and to improve community support in order to encourage positive youth engagement, and 3) to increase skills/access to resources for young entrepreneurs as well as the access that youth institutions have to markets.

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

The IYDA Positive Youth Engagement Manager (based in Mercy Corps' office in Bukavu) is a new position that will be responsible for managing a program component of youth-led and youth-serving organizations strengthening activities, as well as positive youth engagement activities, through capacity building and trainings, media engagement, community dialogue and caretaker support, and SBCC campaigns. S/he will oversee program planning, monitoring and management of the day-to-day implementation and operations of his/her component of the program, coordinate with the appropriate parties on sector-related developments, and contribute through high-standard technical inputs to ensure program quality. This includes, but is not limited to, predominately providing technical and managerial oversight on all objectives, strategies, and activities carried out as part of IYDA's Immediate Result 2 (IR 2).

The manager will have a background in supporting youth development and engagement, as well as civil society organizations in a development context, experience working with and managing projects and budgets (preferably USAID-funded initiatives), and will support the high-quality execution of such related activities across the component. The manager will be responsible for the achievement of program results on his/her component. S/he will supervise key staff and ensure compliance with Mercy Corps program management minimum standards, as well as donor rules and regulations. Throughout program implementation, the manager will be expected to work with community stakeholders as well as with civil society organizations (CSOs) and local and provincial authorities to ensure responsive government structures and participatory governance mechanisms for effective positive PYD/IYDA activity outcomes. Close coordination and collaboration with fellow Component Managers and teams, across the IYDA program and Mercy Corps DRC mission, as well as partner organizations, will be crucial in developing and maintaining an integrated and multi-sector approach. Finally, the Manager will play a key role in building capacities of IYDA national staff, and will be responsible for identifying a national Component Manager by the end of the first year of implementation, as well as handing over his/her program management responsibilities to him/her.

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

Vision, Leadership, and Strategy:

• Plan, coordinate and oversee the implementation of the IR 2 strategy and activities for the first year of implementation of the IYDA program.
• Demonstrate visible leadership and adherence to Mercy Corps' core values, principles and strategy.
• Oversee all youth development, governance, and civil society/community mobilization/engagement program and institutional capacity building activities, ensuring that team members are following work plans, that activities are on schedule, and that project deliverables are completed as planned.
• Coordinate with program team and other departments to ensure operational systems are in place to support all IR 2 driven activities including logistics, administration and human resources, etc.
• Manage collaborative partnerships, providing effective donor liaison, including identifying and building partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments, youth-led (YL)/youth-serving (YS) CSOs, key community organizations in targeted zones of intervention, and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.
• Ensure all program management minimum standards are met including risk management, issues management.

Program Management:

• Oversee program start-up and ongoing program management and administration of teams across the project intervention sites.
• Develop partner MoUs and contracts & oversee a training program for program partners integrating community approaches, gender and conflict sensitivity, and capacity building into all activities as appropriate.
• Develop program implementation plans including partnership frameworks, beneficiary targeting focused around PYD and capacity building of partners, such as CSOs and community organizations, as needed.
• Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Develop work plans in collaboration with national staff, as well as monitor implementation, program quality, and impacts of these activities.
• Develop monitoring systems (with technical support from the M&E team) and provide regular reports on program activities as required by the program.
• Lead the identification of local implementing partners for his/her component; develop and lead implementation of Capacity Development Plans (CDPs); monitor sub grantees' performance, report and address issues as appropriate in collaboration with IYDA DCOP and Subaward and Partnerships Officer
• Collaborate with evaluators and advise on evaluation and research questions relevant to youth engagement and development (IR 2) activities.

Reporting, Monitoring, and Evaluation:

• Oversee all aspects of design, monitoring, evaluation and learning, and ensure that all program aspects are documented (working closely with the M&E Manager and officers).
• Use reporting results to monitor program success, measure impact, and calibrate program strategy accordingly.
• Ensure documentation of achievements and lessons learned and ensure best practices are captured and disseminated in quarterly and final program reports, and shared with internal and external stakeholders as appropriate.

Team Management:

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
• Supervise, hire and orient new team members as necessary.
• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.

Learning:

• Keep up to date with developments in the sector, including best practice examples in-country and internationally, and ensure ongoing personal development and learning.
• Ensure the documentation and communication of new developments within the organization, with partners and other stakeholders.

Security:

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

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.

Representation and Coordination

• Liaise with relevant stakeholders including government ministries and local extension agents, donor organizations, humanitarian clusters, local NGOs, project partners, private sector partners and community members to ensure support for and acceptance of Mercy Corps' projects in relevant technical sectors.

Fiscal, Compliance Management and Accountability

• Collaborate with program, finance and administrative staff to ensure systems are in compliance with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• As appropriate, coordinate and manage relevant program budget lines within approved spending levels and ensure compliance with all donor and Mercy Corps' rules and regulations.
• Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and mercy Corps policies and procedures.
• Ensure adherence to Mercy Corps' polices as per internal/external audit requirements.
• Ensure accurate and timely program financial reporting to donors and Mercy Crops' headquarters.

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 projects.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY:

Direct supervision of: IR2 Component implementation team (including field officers), consultants

ACCOUNTABILITY:

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: IYDA Deputy Chief of Party

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: IR1 and IR3 Component Managers and teams, IYDA Grants Manager, IYDA M&E Manager, IYDA Gender and Inclusion Advisor, IYDA Conflict Sensitivity Advisor, partner organizations, other Mercy Corps DRC team members, and members of the Mercy Corps Technical Support Units

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• College degree in one of the following: Social Sciences, Public Policy, Governance, International Development or other related field (Master's degree preferred)
• 3-5 years of experience focused on youth development and engagement programming and/or civil society programs at community and/or national level. (Experience and knowledge of governance systems in DRC preferred.)
• Experience designing and implementing programs related to youth programming, governance, participation, and accountability (particularly in Africa).
• Demonstrated understanding of systems approach and/or systems thinking.
• Experience recruiting, training, and managing program teams.
• Experience developing and managing budgets.
• Experience collaborating with local authorities and leaders and YL/YS CSOs, community capacity building, and community mobilization.
• Previous experience working with international organizations required and history with USAID-funded initiatives desirable.
• Proven ability to work effectively in multi-cultural teams and with technical and administrative staff and consultants.
• Strong communication skills in English and French, with conversational Swahili 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 project planning. S/he will demonstrate flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving, and have a proven ability to learn quickly and achieve stated results and objectives. S/he will combine strong collaborative working skills with an ability to implement programs successfully. S/he will demonstrate adaptability, flexibility in approach and a strong sense of equity. In DRC, patience, diplomacy, tenacity, compassion, determination and a sense of humor are all success factors.

LIVING CONDITIONS/ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:

This position is an unaccompanied post based in Bukavu, DRC. Travel to field sites (particularly to other regions in the South Kivu province, as well as to Goma in North Kivu) up to 50% will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but may be basic.

While conditions in the country are improving, and security is quite stable in Bukavu, there are still pockets of violence and insecurity and petty crime is present. Mercy Corps' sub-offices experience variable levels of insecurity, with the situation closely monitored by UN peacekeepers. Years of conflict and corruption have badly damaged the county's infrastructure. Air travel is necessary to get from one end of the country to the other. Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available. Interne is limited, but 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 several evacuation options for serious illnesses. There is 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. 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.

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