Technical Director ( Nawiri)

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a global team of humanitarians working together on the front lines of today’s biggest crises to create a future of possibility, where everyone can prosper. In more than 40+ countries around the world, over 5,400+ team members work side by side with people living through poverty, disaster, violent conflict, and the acute impacts of climate change. We’re committed to creating global change through local impact — 84% of our team members are from the countries where they work.

We bring a comprehensive approach to every challenge, addressing problems from multiple angles. And we go beyond emergency aid, partnering with local governments, forward-thinking corporations, social entrepreneurs, and people living in fragile communities to develop bold solutions that make lasting change possible.

General Position Summary

The Technical Director/TD is part of the Nawiri Leadership Team responsible for setting and driving a coherent, integrated technical vision and strategy for the Nawiri program,and ensuring high quality technical implementation of Nawiri’s approach in order to meet the program’s goal of sustained reduction of persistent acute malnutrition. Tasked with creatively managing and developing sustainable, multi-sector technical programming that is accountable to Government, participants and donors, the for Technical Leadership will oversee, guide, mentor and effectively support a high-performing team of senior technical experts across the programs core components (Resilient Livelihoods, Health and WASH, Water Systems, and Gender and Youth Social Inclusion and Systems Strengthening). S/he will ensure technical strategies are appropriately integrated across program systems and processes, reflect best industry standards and practice, and are responsive to participant needs and contexts. The TD will be responsible for working across the Nawiri Senior Leadership Team to ensure technical approaches are effectively reflected in implementation processes (under the Director of Implementation) and program performance standards (under the Program Performance, Quality and Learning Director), effectively guiding team members to delivery on high quality technical implementation plans and program performance standards.

The TD will support the CoP in representing the program’s approach, technical strategy and results to donors and government partners, including through regular field visits and technical updates at Nairobi-level. S/he will facilitate and finalize high quality technical inputs into all donor processes, working closely with the Program Performance Director to ensure that PREP, Annual Results Report, and other ad hoc donor milestones reflect the highest technical standards and metrics. S/he will ensure a culture of learning and adaptive management across their team, ensuring technical strategies are regularly updated based on data and learning. S/he will effectively facilitate cross-component technical reflection processes and support the Chief of Party in communicating the technical vision and related progress to donors, government and other key stakeholders.

Reports Directly To: Chief of Party

Supervisory Responsibility: Resilient Livelihoods Lead, Health and WASH Lead Gender and Systems Strengthening, Water Systems Lead,

Works Directly With Program Performance Director, Director of Implementation, Strategic Learning Lead, the M&E team, partner agencies, local government, support departments (Finance, HR and Operations). Coordinates with HQ Technical Support Unit.

Key responsibilities

Technical Strategy and Vision

• Provide overall technical leadership, vision and strategy to the Nawiri program.
• Ensure program technical approach reflects learning and best practices, including Mercy Corps’ approaches in food security and nutrition, food systems, market systems, water security, resilience, and gender and social inclusion.
• Facilitate shared understanding of Nawiri’s technical approach across the program.
• Ensure that cross-cutting aspects of the program such as gender equality, social inclusion, youth, climate adaptation, and resilience are included and well-integrated into the program technical strategy and approach.
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed; promote and model a culture of learning and adaptive management.
• Identify areas where additional technical support is needed and facilitate linkages to the team.
• Ensure program technical approach leverages Mercy Corps, USAID and government investments in counties of operations, to support sequencing, layering and integration.
• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives that contribute to the program’s overall purpose of reducing persistent acute malnutrition sustainability.
• As part of the Nawiri Leadership team, facilitate coordination across implementation and program performance components, to ensure effective integration and roll out of programs’ technical approach.

Program Management and Implementation

• Provide overall technical guidance and leadership, mentoring, quality control and coordination to strengthen program outcomes.
• Lead and guide technical team to develop quality program standards, technical standard operating procedures and concept notes, and provide informed review and feedback aligned to Mercy Corps’ and Nawiri’s lessons learned and best practices
• Ensure high quality technical guidance informs the program cycle management process including work planning, (SOPs, concept notes, activity reports, review and reflection meetings, and sense-making sessions; co-facilitate processes for technical inputs.
• Facilitate technical team’s high quality and timely inputs into all program performance systems (led by the Program Performance Director), including reporting, PREP processes, review and reflection meetings, etc.
• Foster technical team’s input into and adherence to all program performance systems and standards (led by the Program Performance Director), including Mercy Corps’ minimum standards as outlined in the Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, CARM, participant accountability standards, quarterly reporting.
• Ensure technical implementation approach is responsive to communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan.
• Guide and lead technical team to effectively partner with the Implementation team and county-level tech leads for high quality delivery of all program activities.
• Effectively coordinate, facilitate and document technical team meetings, and ensure decisions and areas of deliberation are shared in a timely way with relevant team members.
• Provide and consolidate high quality technical inputs across program functions and components, to ensure their responsiveness to high quality technical standards.
• With Finance and Implementation Director, provide timely, accurate inputs into budgeting processes for program activities as required, make regular projections and track activity spending through BvAs.
• Regularly coordinate with Implementation Lead and Mercy Corps’ support departments (Finance, Operations, HR etc.) to support technical delivery of program approaches.
• Effectively support and where delegated, lead Nawiri leadership meetings, in absence of the CoP.
• Where delegated by the CoP, effectively socialize and communicate the program’s technical approach and vision with Government stakeholders, USAID, and at country-level.

Collaboration, Learning and Adaptation

• In partnership with the Nawiri Leadership Team, facilitate a culture of learning and adaptive management across the program team.
• Regularly engage with program performance systems and standards (including MEL and the Strategic Learning Lead) to inform data gathering needs, review results, and facilitate adaptation of technical approaches based on new information.
• Work with Program Performance team to help ensure relevant information that is being used for ongoing technical strategic reflection, learning, program analysis and decision-making while also capturing results at the output and impact level.
• Work with Program Performance Director and Implementation Director to identify technical areas for learning and documentation and facilitate technical inputs into all learning processes.
• With MEL Lead and Implementation Director, support effective target setting based on targeting approach, and update figures as necessary. Ensure sound technical and quality logic and justification behind activity targets.
• Ensure the technical team adheres to all monitoring, evaluation and learning standards, and regularly uses data for technical decision-making, and to support implementation.
• Support Program Performance Director in designing quarterly review and reflection meetings and PREP processes, to ensure workshop design reflects the most timely and critical technical areas for consideration.
• Support and input into the documentation of achievements/impact, lessons learned and challenges of innovative program components of the program, in partnership with Program Performance.
• Produce written reports on program activities, capturing the impacts of activities.

Team management

• Oversee the technical team, including across partners, ensuring that all staff and consortium members are following work plans, activities are on schedule, and project deliverables are completed as planned.
• Develop the capacity of the team, deepen understanding of their roles and support with their career development in order to promote a culture of learning through reflection of research findings, M&E data, and lessons learned.
• Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance and achieve 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.

Finance and compliance management

• Ensure technical teams activities are compliant and reflect transparent use of resources in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies.
• Facilitate a solution-oriented mindset to achieve the program’s technical approach within Mercy Corps and donor rules and regulations.
• Ensures technical teams’ activities to ensure adherence to grant agreements, Mercy Corps’ policies and procedures and other relevant regulations, including those of the Government of Kenya.
• Review budgets and program expenses based on approval authority limits.
• Support and guide Technical Team on proper budget management, including forecasting, procurement planning, evaluating level of expenditures, and proposing rebudgeting as necessary..

Influence and Representation

• Systematically work with the P4 governance lead and Director of Implementation to ensure that technical approaches inform policy and influence plan, and support alignment of messaging.
• Contribute to program visibility and advocacy work by assisting in the dissemination of program data and learning and regularly reflecting program results.
• Represent Nawiri in technical donor meetings as required, including sharing program results, progress and critical reflections on lessons learned.
• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments and other stakeholders to communicate and advance program technical approaches.
• Actively build partnerships that support the implementation of the program’s technical strategy and approach, including with private sector stakeholders
• Communicate effectively across teams and partners to ensure the overall project technical approach is being met.

Personal learning and development

Develop and implement a learning and development plan for yourself to ensure continuous improvement and growth in line with your performance goals and Mercy Corps commitment to organizational learning that allow as you to dedicate 5% of your working time to learning.

Adherence to Policies and Procedures

Personal conduct should always be professional and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Accountability To Participants –

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to program participants and to international standards guiding international development work, while actively engaging ecosystem as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Diversity and Inclusion – responsibility to create a positive culture and to safeguard equity, inclusion, dignity, and respect for all. Each employee is expected to be a role model for others and ensure alignment with MC diversity and Inclusion values.

Knowledge and Experience

• Master’s degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field such as social sciences, development studies, nutrition, public health, food security, agriculture, agribusiness, agricultural economics etc.
• At least 10 years’ of progressively responsible experience in the successful implementation of international development activities working on programs of a similar scope and scale, with preference given to Food for Peace or Livelihoods programs.
• At least three (3) years must be in senior program management, including direct supervision of technical and support staff. (If Team Member does not have this experience, ensure clear metrics and support plan is in place to support success; regularly review performance against PD).
• Strong technical skills, including an understanding of multi-sector, multi-year systems-based approaches to food security and nutrition.
• Demonstrated technical understanding of resilience and climate change adaptation, and the practical relevance to the program’s aim of sustainably reducing persistent acute malnutrition.
• Demonstrated capability in adaptive management and learning.
• Strong budget management experience is a must.
• Seasoned partnership management experience is required.
• Demonstrated excellent team management skills are required.
• A strong passion for innovation, influence and sustainable impact to scale.
• Demonstrated systems thinker and ability to think outside of the box in the implementation of a unique program with experience in adaptive management and using research as part of program implementation
• Prior experience of working on USAID-funded programs preferred
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders, and to liaise with donors and HQ
• Fluency in written and spoken English.

Success factors/ essential skills:

• Initiative-taker, multi-tasker, and able to work effectively and respectfully with local government, private sector, civil society and donors.
• Demonstrated experience in setting up and managing systems and procedures as well as experience in building team commitment toward the achievement of program objectives.
• Team-player with positive attitude to problem solving and conflict resolution. Focused on team building and capacity-building of program staff and will be able to apply creative solutions to program quality.
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities under tight deadlines and to calmly and diplomatically deal with unexpected events impacting program operations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Nairobi, Kenya and it requires up to 50% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. This is an accompanied post. Accommodation is provided as per the region’s benefits policy. Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside 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.

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 on the basis of 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.