Program Quality (PAQ) and Reporting Manager

General Position Summary 

The PaQ and Reporting Manager plays a pivotal role in the management and oversight of our BHA-funded program, being responsible for the comprehensive narrative reporting of the grants and for providing significant programmatic quality support to the whole program.

As part of the GAINS PaQ Unit, the PaQ and Reporting Manager will work under the supervision of the Program Performance, Quality and Learning Director and in close collaboration with the Local Partnership Manager to ensure high quality and timely reporting to BHA or as per Mercy Corps procedures including, but not limited to, bi-weekly program updates, monthly sector reviews, and quarterly, annual, and final program reports. S/he will also oversee the management of the Community Accountability Reporting Mechanism (CARM), to ensure accountability to beneficiaries and to flag any potential fraud or protection issues.

Under the supervision of the Program Performance, Quality and Learning Director, s/he will play a key role for ensuring capacity building for program staff to ensure a culture of providing training, coaching and integrating effective tools and techniques to improve program quality. 
Lastly, the PaQ and Reporting Manager will champion and provide tangible technical support and guidance around Mercy Corps’ Program Management Policy and its associated agency’s quality standards (PM@MC) to ensure that the teams are driving transformational impact through executing a program that is of the highest quality.

Essential Job Responsibilities

REPORTING

●    Lead the coordination, review, approval and submission of Program and MEL reports in adherence to the grant agreement and timelines. Create and maintain effective systems ensuring timely and informative reporting.

●    Ensure FR-ENG / ENG-FR translation of key documents, including reports, as needed.

●    Oversee the development of quality narrative reports, reflecting the progress and status of the program in a transparent, timely and professional manner, in liaison with program managers, the Program Performance, Quality and Learning Director and finance, which will contribute ultimately to steady cash inflow.

●    Liaise with the finance and operations teams when preparing reports, esp. with finance to ensure greater coherence between financial and narrative reports by cross checking the matching of data in the narrative and financial reports.

●    Work in close relation with the MEL team to incorporate MEL data (incl. data on outputs, outcomes and impact indicators, lessons learnt and best practices) in reports.

●    Contribute to the design and drafting of communications material (annual report, social media, talking points, program updates, newsletters, success stories, etc).

●    Provide capacity strengthening of program staff for reporting, to support developing high quality communication and reporting products.

●    Work closely and in coordination with Mercy Corps offices in the US and in the Africa region, establishing a strong working relationship with HQ program officers to support the program implementation.

●    Ensure program information shared with stakeholders is presented in languages, formats, and media that are appropriate for, accessible to, and can be understood by the target population. 

Community Accountability Reporting  Mechanism (CARM)

●    Support CARM team to ensure the MC GAINS program adopts and adheres to Mercy Corps’ program accountability and CARM policies.

●    Supervise the work of the CARM Officers and their team for the effective roll-out and maintenance of the Community Accountability Reporting  Mechanism (CARM), raising to the program leadership potential investigation of cases.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

●   Organize with GAINS Finance Manager and coordinate monthly “Budget versus Actuals” (BVA) to review spendings and projections with COP, DCOP, Purpose Leads and other partners’ leadership teams.

●   Work with Program Managers and Program Performance Director to maintain effective systems ensuring timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.

●   Collect and organize key project management tools and documents and manage grant administration, including overseeing electronic filing systems for key program documents (donor agreements, proposals, approved budget, work plans, etc.) ensuring it meets PM@MC standards and sending reminders when needed.

●    Ensure compliance with donor regulations and inform program staff of key compliance requirements for program implementation. 

DONOR REQUESTS COORDINATION

●   Draft and review program updates and respond to information requests for donors and other key stakeholders.

●   Organize and conduct site-visits to the program sites and host visitors and donors, as needed. 

●   Act as day-to-day representative of Mercy Corps to organizations as requested by the Program Performance Director including attending key internal and external meetings. 

Supervisory Responsibility: Grant Officer, CARM Officer

Accountability

Reports Directly To:  Program Performance, Quality and Learning Director 

Works Directly With: DCOP, Technical Leads, M&E and Learning teams, HQ Technical Support Unit, Local Partnership Manager. 

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 projects.

Knowledge and Experience / Qualification and Transferable Skills

●  MA/S or equivalent experience in social science, political science, international development, or another relevant field.

●    A minimum of 3 to 5 years of experience in the development sector (international or national).

●    A minimum of 2 years’ experience with managing USAID programs, with significant strengths in grant management, coordination, and donor reporting.

●    Strong understanding of BHA regulations, compliance requirements, and guidelines related to grant management in humanitarian settings is crucial.

●    Strategic planning skills to identify potential risks in grant implementation and develop effective strategies to mitigate them.

●    Strong attention to detail and the ability to maintain accurate records of all grant-related activities.

●    Understanding of livelihood, economic development, and market systems programming

●    Demonstrable ability to produce high quality deliverables at speed and with minimal direction

●   Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, and the capacity to work at a strategic level with senior leaders (both internal and external) is essential

●    Ability to multi-task and juggle several tasks and relationships at one time, with little to no direction

●    Proven ability to work effectively in multicultural teams and with technical and administrative staff and consultants.

●    Fluent in both English and French.

●    Ability to work in a hardship environment with moderate to high levels of insecurity and significant restrictions on personal movement.