General Position Summary

The Mercy Corps Central America Director is a growth-driven leader responsible for overseeing Mercy Corps’ day-to-day programs and operations in Guatemala, and leading the establishment of new program operations in Honduras and El Salvador. This person has held senior roles in managing operations and/or programming in fluid environments and formulating strategic direction across multiple contexts simultaneously. The Director has supervisory responsibility for the Guatemala country team leadership, and is responsible for ensuring the smooth functioning of the country program in compliance with local laws, Mercy Corps policies and procedures, and donor rules and regulations. They will also ensure that existing Mercy Corps Guatemala programs – and new programs established in other geographies – are implemented in accordance to PM@MC standards, ensuring a high level of program quality, and that programs are implemented on time, on budget, and on scope. This person will contribute to proposal development for multi-country, multi-sector programming, ensure accountability to program participants and donors, placing a high value on innovative solutions to humanitarian and development issues and creative partnerships. Ideally, this person will have experience in emergency response and rapid expansion of activities and support functions.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

• Plan and communicate a clear vision for the current and future state of Mercy Corps in Central America, including implementing Guatemala’s current three-year strategy and developing and executing expansion strategies into new country programs.
• Explore, evaluate and pursue new country initiatives and funding opportunities that leverage impact and ongoing activities in Guatemala; support and direct related fundraising activities with both institutional and private donors across all Central America geographies.
• In partnership with regional leadership, set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve program and agency objectives, and support team members and stakeholders that translates into concrete programs and work plans.
• Harness regional and global programmatic, operational, technical and other support needed to advance Mercy Corps’ expansion into Central America, through collaboration and development of strong relationships.
• Lead strategy development processes in new countries in alignment with the global Pathway to Possibility (P2P) framework.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Develop the capacity of the Guatemala team, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with career development
• Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance & reach objectives
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally via regular one on ones and performance reviews
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence
• Hire, orient and lead team members as necessary

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• In partnership with ​​​​Guatemala Senior Program Manager, oversee program quality and impact by ensuring programs are based on sound design principles and utilize Mercy Corps and donor required M&E systems.
• Ensure effective, transparent use of resources in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies/procedures.
• Oversee budget management of sub-grantees/sub-contractors, if applicable
• Build and maintain operational systems that ensure proper administrative support for programs, as well as segregation of duties between finance and operations
• Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide
• Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and community accountability standards.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

• In partnership with Program and Finance teams, ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations in all existing and new programs
• As needed, allocate resources to hire and manage any technical consultants
• Oversee and strengthen operational structures that ensure proper segregation of duties between finance, administration and logistics and fully support field programs

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Establish Mercy Corps’ presence in new geographies through actively participating in humanitarian and development networks, coordination mechanisms, donor fora, national and international media, and in community activities as appropriate.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with internal and external constituents such as private partners, local governments, foundations, the private sector, and donors.
• Anticipate needs, understand diverse donors and contribute to shaping donor’s views on Mercy Corps’ value add in Central America and development overall.
• Demonstrate flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure.
• Maintain high ethical standards, exhibit awareness of team strengths and development needs, treat people with respect and dignity, and promote adherence to core Mercy Corps standards, Code of Conduct, and safeguarding policies by all staff and stakeholders.

OPERATIONAL STARTUP

• As appropriate (in discussion and agreement with Regional Director and in-house legal counsel), serve as a representative for Mercy Corps in spaces that advance MC’s goal of establishing a presence in Honduras/El Salvador
• Provide regular updates to Mercy Corps staff about registration status, in collaboration with local counsel, as appropriate

RISK MANAGEMENT

• Collaborate with country leadership and global Emergency Response Team (ERT) to develop preparedness planning and response contingencies to major disruptive events such as natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies
• Coordinate with Guatemala country team and global Internal Audit (IA) team to conduct internal audits as scheduled, address findings, and ensure country team compliance with IA findings and recommendations;
• Engage with country level Ethics and Assurance focal points and global Ethics and Compliance department to track and manage individual cases of Fraud and Corruption, Safeguarding, and analyze trends, and ensure that adequate risk management systems are in place

SECURITY

• Liaise with the Regional Security Advisor, Senior Director of Global Security, and Regional Director on crucial events, high-risk periods, incident reporting and security policy changes
• Work with Guatemala Operations and Global Security teams to revise policies to ensure that security standards are maintained at all current operations, and to develop new policies for operations in new geographies

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES

• Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work
• Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members
• Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options

Supervisory Responsibility: Guatemala Senior Program Manager; Guatemala Operations Officer; Guatemala HR Office; Guatemala Finance and Compliance Manager; Central America Program Development and Reporting Manager

Accountability

Reports Directly To: LAC Regional Director

Works Directly With: Deputy Regional Director – Programs, Deputy Regional Director – Operations, Technical Director, Regional Program Team, International Finance and Grants Compliance, People team, Ethics and Compliance, Global Media and Communications, Global Policy and Advocacy, Emergency Response Team.

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

• MA/S or equivalent in social science, management, international development or other relevant field.
• 8-10 years of field experience in international relief and development programs, including demonstrable success in managing humanitarian, rural development, and complex development programs.
• 8-10 years of senior-level leadership, capacity building and field management experience.
• Capacity to respond to emergency and disaster response as appropriate.
• Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in emergency response preferred.
• Demonstrated success working effectively and respectfully with host country governments, private sector, INGO, NGO, local partners, and other stakeholders.
• Experience supporting legal registering and establishment of operations in new jurisdictions, preferred.
• Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.
• Proven skills in financial and grants management; prior experience with USAID, USAID/BHA, DOS/PRM, ECHO, UN agencies, private donors, and grant management is preferred.
• Strong interpersonal and supervisory skills, with a good understanding of and belief in diversity, gender and inclusion policies to ensure a work environment that is welcoming to all.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Successful and proven negotiation, communication and organization skills.
• Fluency in Spanish and English (oral and written) required.

Success Factors

The successful Central America Director will skillfully represent programmatic priorities and ideas to donors and regional partners while providing effective leadership to the Mercy Corps program team. There is a significant emphasis on new business development for both the Guatemala program and new programs across Central America, and hence a successful Director will be able to help stimulate new and winning program ideas based on their own experience or initiatives proposed by team members and/or local partners and allies. They will have high emotional intelligence, sound judgment, experience developing and maintaining deep partnerships with local partners, and proven experience with capacity building and will be committed to long-term program sustainability and the delivery of high-impact activities at the community level. Successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in dynamic and quickly-evolving environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Guatemala, and it requires up to 40% travel to support programs and expanding operations in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited.