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Job Title:   Senior Program Officer (REFINE Program)

Organisation: Mercy Corps

Duty Station:  Uganda

About US:

Mercy Corps is an international non-profit organization which implements high-quality, analytical development programmes in very difficult places. Mercy Corps has been operating in Uganda since 2006. It has and continues to implement programs in Acholi and Karamoja sub regions. Mercy Corps is taking a community-led, market driven approach to address poverty and food insecurity needs through interventions that get to the root causes and contributing factors of economic vulnerability.

Job Summary:  Reporting to the REFINE Program & Strategy Lead, the Senior Project Officer (SPO) will work both at the institutional and community level, in collaboration with the MEL Officer, to support implementation of program activities. S/he will provide technical and operational support to Financial Service Providers (FSPs) and Refugee Led Organisations (RLOs), ensuring that interventions are on time and within scope and identify opportunities to operationalize recommendations from ongoing context analyses. The SPO will remain the primary point of contact on the ground for all REFINE related activities and manage relationships with partner FSPs and RLOs in the program. S/he will also be responsible for working directly with the Program & Strategy Lead to operationalize the work plan while leveraging technical inputs from the REFINE MEL Officer.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Program Management

• Provide leadership and daily oversight for planning and implementation of activities including; mentorship and support to FSP and RLO team leads in the respective areas of implementation.
• Support in activity costing and the development of activity plans and reports ensuring that established objectives and targets are met.
• Support the program leadership in advocacy and maintenance of strategic partnerships with Kiva, Xavier Project and other stakeholders.
• Support the MEL Officer in coordinating the needs and market assessments and regularly monitoring and evaluating program activities, in accordance with REFINE objectives.
• Contribute to the development of the training curriculum, HCD toolkits, project tools, and setup of business clinics; facilitate trainings and capacity building sessions with the RLOs.
• Identify and document best practices and failures in REFINE programming and recommend the same to the program leadership
• Provide project management support to the implementation and technical teams of participating FSPs and RLOs to maximize use of resources and ensure coordinated programming.
• Be responsible for gender mainstreaming and proactive technical support to the ReFine Implementation Team
• Ensure adherence to program management minimum standards in carrying out his/her duties, advising and supporting other staff in the same as required.
• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations.

Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Reporting

• Ensure timely and consistent submission of project reports, success stories and other relevant data to the program leadership (i.e. weekly, monthly and quarterly reports)
• Support the MEL Officer in the data collection process involving the capturing of gender and age disaggregated data, data validation, assuring quality control measures, timely data submission
• Responsible for drafting timely weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports and work plans indicative of program progress during implementation.
• Provide inputs in the dissemination of program learnings and recommendations to team members, participants and other relevant audiences.

Influence and Representation

• Build and maintain a productive working relationship with the project partners and their downstream partners in both urban and settlement settings to ensure strong collaboration and development, complementary joint monitoring, evaluation and adaptive management structures where possible.
• Support the advancement of knowledge management, thought leadership and learning, and advocacy efforts within the program and among project stakeholders
• Support and coordinate visits from program partners, government agencies, regional and HQ based staff and external visitors, such as donors and media, in collaboration with other REFINE program staff (MEL), and the Program & Strategy Lead.
• Establish and maintain a productive working relationship with other NGOs and implementing partners, working in unison to develop complementary joint monitoring, evaluation and adaptive management structures where possible.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The ideal candidate should hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences, Microfinance, Management, Entrepreneurship, Economics or other relevant fields.
• Six years of related professional experience. Work experience with financial institutions and/or NGOs with focus on market facilitation or private sector led approaches or interventions preferred.
• Good understanding of financial inclusion fundamentals, with ability to understand a complex financial ecosystem and design interventions that will drive the growth and inclusiveness of financial markets for displaced populations
• A dynamic, “outside-the-box” attitude is required, with proven ability to think and act creatively in challenging environments.
• Demonstrated skills in data collection, verification and documentation
• Excellent project management, reporting, communication and representation skills
• Track record of effective management of complex multi-stakeholder projects
• Proven skills in networking, stakeholder management, community consultations and organizational development.
• Strong interpersonal, writing and oral presentation skills in English is required. Fluency in languages used by Refugees (Baari, Juba Arabic, Lugbara, and Ki) is an advantage.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (specifically Excel) required; familiarity with project management packages/tools a strong advantage
• The successful Senior Program Officer will be bright, energetic, hard-working and eager to learn. S/he will take a deep personal interest in financial inclusion matters, as well as humanitarian and development assistance issues.
• S/he will be attentive to detail and able to carry out assigned tasks in a timely manner and according to a very high standard of quality.
• S/he will be creative and flexible, contributing to developing and encouraging new and innovative solutions, while effortlessly adhering to systems and procedures.
• S/he will strictly follow all protocols related to safety and security, and hold him/herself self-accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Mercy Corps’ values.

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified and interested candidates should apply online at the link below

Click Here

Deadline: 15^th June 2022

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