Congo: Head of Office: Beni Ebola Response-DRC

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization 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.
THIS ROLE IS PENDING FUNDING

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 and South Kivu, with the overall country goal to support vulnerable communities through crises, while fostering programs that build resilience and promote long-term change. Mercy Corps' national office is in Goma with sub-field offices in North Kivu and South Kivu. Mercy Corps' key programming areas include a combination of longer-term development and immediate humanitarian response programs in order to: 1) Improve water service delivery and ensuring equitable access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, in urban and rural areas; 2) Improve food security and nutrition; 3) Promote diversified livelihoods, economic recovery and development. Mercy Corps DRC's humanitarian programs aim specifically to assist populations affected by the conflict and crisis in Eastern Congo. With funding from humanitarian donors including ECHO, OFDA and UN-donors, the humanitarian portfolio continues to expand in order to provide multi-purpose cash assistance and emergency WASH to displaced and host populations. An Ebola virus outbreak has recently been confirmed in Beni area of North-Kivu province. Mercy Corps is working in close coordination with other actors and is getting ready to prepare a WASH response should the Health Division requests more support from partners. All Mercy Corps interventions in DRC are implemented in a conflict and gender sensitive manner.

General Position Summary

Reporting to the Operations Director, the Head of Office – Beni will supervise and support the day-to-day functioning of the Beni office, including operational responsibilities. S/He will also work in coordination with the Beni based programs and finance teams to ensure smooth working environment in the office and effective operational support. S/He will coordinate and collaborate with the HOOs in all other field offices to ensure smooth inter-office communication and support, e.g., inter-office travel, unified HR, Security and Operations policies and procedures. The Head of Office – Beni will help to ensure high quality program management and compliance with Mercy Corps' internal policies and procedures as well as donor regulations. S/He will represent the office to local authorities and work closely with the Director of Operations and Country Director to ensure smooth and productive relationships with the government and local authorities.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Team Management:

• Oversee the smooth flowing of routine, administrative work of the Mercy Corps office in Beni and program support operations
• Ensure adherence to Mercy Corps administrative procedures by support and program staff
• Oversee support to daily office and program activities – coordinate activities and needs with program managers
• Work daily with support staff, i.e., logistics, finance, transport and administration departments to ensure proper daily support functions and compliance with MC and donor policies
• Report daily on operational and administrative activities and security situation with Operations Director and Safety and Security Manager as per determined communication schedule
• Conduct weekly office management meetings and receive routine reports from support functions of the Beni office, as per MC policies, including assets, procurement and warehousing

Human Resources:

• Responsible for performing probation and annual evaluations for all operational staff supervised. Making sure that the evaluations are performed on timely manner and submit to HR for further processing. Making sure that both self-evaluations and supervisor review are done in line with the Mercy Corps core principles requirements
• Responsible for participating in all interviews for any operational postings. This includes shortlisting candidates, being part of the selection committee, maintaining proper notes and producing scoring sheets, and recommending any potential candidates to HR for further processing;
• Make sure that the position descriptions for the operations department staff are updated regularly and reflect the actual responsibilities of the staff;
• Make sure that operations staff are submitting their timesheets on time and review them in order to confirm proper allocation to the relevant active grants;

Representation:

• Liaise with government agencies as directed by Country Director, with specific focus on visa, residency permits and NGO registration issues
• Liaise with local NGOs and government officials, as required,
• Advise the Country Director, as required, on the government policies and procedures, taxation and on interaction with the government
• Represent Mercy Corps, at local government, donor and other meetings in Beni

Procurement:

• Daily coordination of MC procurement activities in Beni;
• Ensure that the procurement department supports the programs efficiently and compliantly
• Has a full understanding of MC procurement policies and formats. Provide training to staff on these policies
• Enforce proper use of procurement ceilings and approval procedure
• Ensure that Mercy Corps' procurement activities are legal and moral
• Assist Program and Operational personnel in regular procurement planning meetings
• Assist staff as needed on timely completion of purchase requests and other documentation
• Oversee the gathering of quotations and bids from the market for PR-s as per Mercy Corps standards and formats
• Interact with contractors, in coordination with the Program & Logistics team
• Ensures that the required documentation of supplies and transactions are completed to MC standards
• Preparation of status reports on deliveries for Program and office Management and recipient of supplies.
• Assist in the maintenance of thorough procurement files as outlined in the MC procurement policy
• Regularly produces purchase status and completed purchases reports using the Ongoing PR Masterlist and PR Masterlist
• Ensures that the procurement filing system is in place and in accordance with the Procurement filing procedures as outlined in the Procurement Manual
• Coordinate with the Warehouse on delivery of items including completion of Goods Received Notes, storage of items and transfer of items to field sites
• Coordinate with the Finance Department to ensure that payments to vendors are made on-time and without any unnecessary strain on the financial systems of MC
• Assists P&L Management with asset management. Identify assets during the course of procurement and notify the Asset Controller on receipts of assets
• Maintain file on market prices for commonly-bought items
• Establish preferred supplier agreements for commonly used items

Security:

• Work daily with project managers and receive regular updates of program activities- ensure activities are following security and contingency plans- as outlined by Safety and Security Manager and Operations Director
• Advise the CD, as required, on the government policies and procedures, taxation and on interaction with the government
• Assist as required, CD and Security Team in Baghdad in maintaining and advising on appropriate security systems and procedures and ensuring all staff adheres to these procedures;

Supervisory Responsibility

Operations staff.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Operations Director

Works Directly With: Director of Programs, MEL Director, Finance Director, Country Safety and Security Manager

Knowledge and Experience:

• BA/BS degree in a relevant field, masters preferred
• A minimum of 4-6 field experience setting up and managing administration, procurement, logistics, and human resource systems with humanitarian NGOs with supervisory responsibilities.
• Demonstrated understanding of complex emergencies, related security concerns and appropriate responses with experience in the Middle East and in insecure environments.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, following procedures, meeting deadlines and working and problem-solving independently and cooperatively.
• Knowledge of donor regulations including USAID, EC, DFID regulations.
• Excellent negotiation and representation skills.
• Effective verbal and written communication, organizational, prioritization and Microsoft Office applications.
• Excellent oral and written English skills required; proficiency in Arabic is a plus.
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment.
• Demonstrated understanding of complex emergencies, related security concerns, and appropriate responses to such emergencies.

Success Factors

The successful Head of Office will combine effective leadership of complex teams and the ability to lead by example and influence. Also S/he will be expected to have a proven ability to build internal staff capacity and competency and to provide program support services. Flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving, ability to understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details, proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative and be accountable for results, knowledge of security standards, precautionary measures, communication protocols and passion for professional learning and development are vital skill that we expect the Head of Office to have.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions This position is an unaccompanied position. Shared housing will be provided in Beni according to Mercy Corps DRC housing policy. This position is eligible to hardship and R&R. 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 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.

Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps' vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.

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