Program Officer

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 Program Summary  

Mercy Corps has been responding in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war in February 2022. The team is providing emergency assistance to refugees in neighboring countries and people displaced inside Ukraine so they can meet their basic survival needs. We also fund local organizations that know their community best and are working quickly to address their most urgent needs.

Building on the successes and lessons learned of the original Locally led, Inclusive and Versatile Emergency Support to Conflict Affected Populations in Ukraine and Poland program (LIVES), under LIVES 2.0 Mercy Corps will continue to work with CSO partners to deliver a comprehensive package of emergency assistance to the most vulnerable conflict-affected individuals and communities in Ukraine. With a focus on reaching those most in need in frontline, recently de-occupied or hard-to-reach areas, Mercy Corps and our local partners aim to reach over 80,000 individuals with emergency cash and other humanitarian aid. Another principal objective of LIVES 2.0 is to support local partners with the resources they need to grow their knowledge of, leadership in, and capacity to deliver the humanitarian response. The overall outcome is “The most vulnerable conflict-affected Ukrainians are enabled to meet their basic needs through rapid, localized and appropriate humanitarian assistance, delivered in a gender, age, and ability responsive way.”

The Position

The Program Officer, under the leadership of the (Deputy) Program Manager, will support in the identification of suitable local partners for the LIVES 2.0 project and will work closely with the selected implementation partners to ensure smooth, efficient, and effective implementation of the program.

Essential Responsibilities

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Develop a weekly work plan to ensure that the program runs to time in an efficient and effective manner.
• Conduct assessments as needed (including population movements, needs assessments, market price surveys and market assessments).
• Identify, build, and manage collaborative partnerships with local partners, local governments, and other stakeholders.
• Ensure that Mercy Corps’ humanitarian mission and principles are clearly communicated and understood by all stakeholders and that fair and transparent program participant selection processes are established and shared widely.
• Work closely with local partners to develop work plans, including registration and distribution plans, as well as other program tools that guide project implementation.
• Review narrative reports of local partners to ensure implementation is on track and collaborate closely with subaward and MEL teams to track alignment of partners’ activities with expenditures.
• Conduct regular field monitoring of program activities and complete activity reports to record lessons learned and provide recommendations to improve programming.
• Deliver effective implementation of training and capacity building initiatives for local partners.
• Provide inputs for reports to the donor and/ or MC stakeholders at HQ or in the region.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: (Deputy) Program Manager LIVES 2.0

Works Directly With: Programs, Partnerships, MEL, CARM, Subawards & Compliance, Finance, HR, Operations and Security 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.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Diploma or University Degree in international studies, social, economic or other relevant field is desired.
• Minimum 3 years of relevant work experience; experience working in a non-governmental organization (NGO) or CBO focused on humanitarian assistance, relief or development work is desirable.
• Willingness to travel to field locations for program monitoring and partner support (pending security approval).
• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members in a cross-cultural environment is required.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills: Ability to interact effectively with project partners, local stakeholders and community members.
• Familiarity with the MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) is required
• Excellent oral and written Ukrainian and English is required.
• Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in humanitarian response preferred.

Success Factors

The position holder should have strong multi-tasking, organizational, and prioritization skills, as well as attention to details. Must be a strong collaborator with good inter-personal and relationship building skills. A demonstrated ability to work quickly, accurately, meet deadlines, and process information in support of changing program activities is necessary. Ability to coordinate with different members/levels of a team. Ability and willingness to travel within Ukraine, including in areas of program implementation in eastern Ukraine, security permitting.

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 based on 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.

Only pre-selected candidates will be contacted for an interview. 

People with disabilities and veteran status are welcome to apply.