Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to employing a diverse workforce. Qualified women, minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply.
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DEPARTMENT SUMMARY
Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness Unit: The achievement of Mercy Corps’ mission to build secure, just and productive communities is dependent on the talents, skills and knowledge of our team members and partner organizations. They must be able to navigate and solve problems in highly complex and challenging environments with a spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship, openness and courage. Within that overall frame, Mercy Corps’ Conflict Management Group (MC/CMG) works towards building the capacity and competency of humanitarian leaders in the art of negotiation and conflict management.
GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY
The Director of MC/CMG will lead Mercy Corps efforts to promote understanding and use of state-of- the-art negotiation and conflict management methods. We believe these are essential to the process of finding and implementing enduring solutions to complex problems of poverty, injustice and conflict. The Director is charged with building and growing this revenue-generating business, including expanding our services, identifying and engaging new clients in the relief and development community and other relevant sectors, and actively managing and deepening relationships with them. S/he will direct Mercy Corps efforts to design and implement an integrated set of services that builds competencies that can transform leaders.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
Leadership, Vision, and Strategy
The Director will lead the development and implementation of the MC/CMG business plan. Included in this are:
Communicating the vision to internal and external constituents and clients Formulating a growth strategy based on the business plan, with specific and measurable goals Ensuring that all elements of the strategy are completed on time and on budget
Achieving revenue targets
Ensuring the MC/CMG strategy aligns with the overall strategy of Mercy Corps and our work in transitional countries
Coordinating with MC technical units such as the Civil Society and Conflict Management team to identify areas of opportunity to share lessons, materials, methods, staff and new client opportunities
Marketing and Relationship Management
The Director is primarily responsible for marketing MC/CMG services to a range of market sub-sectors, including UN agencies, international NGOs, corporate partners, government agencies and donors. S/he will:
Develop systems for collecting client feedback and identifying new market areas
Identify strategic partnerships with other organizations to take advantage of new program opportunities
Ensure marketing materials such as brochures and corporate capacity statements are up to date and present MC/CMG as a highly professional and experienced organization in the field of negotiation and conflict management
Collaborate with our Corporate Partnership and Communications team to build stronger donor relationships and commitment to Mercy Corps
Present our work at professional conferences and workshops to strengthen our position as a leader in the field Work with Country Directors and senior staff to create a coordinated marketing strategy that utilizes our field presence, and taps in to technical knowledge and leadership skills from throughout the agency
Service Delivery
The Director will deliver program services such as negotiation training, facilitating and coaching and will guide the upgrading of existing MC/CMG services and the development of new services to meet emerging market needs. This will include:
Revising the existing training material and curricula, developing new training products
Moving towards an integrated approach to service delivery that utilizes training, consultation, facilitation, coaching and other methods to meet the specific needs of clients
Building on the rich experience of CMG activities over two decades and the strong foundation of the Roger Fisher legacy Ensure a robust monitoring and evaluation process to measure and improve the quality of services and the impact on our clients
Management and Supervision
The Director will ensure that the finance and administration operations comply with Mercy Corps, client and donor policies and procedures. S/he will: Supervise MC/CMG staff (2) and is responsible for performance management and staff development Take the lead on developing and maintaining excellent business relationships with our adjunct contractors to ensure they represent MC/CMG interests, deliver high quality services and have a deep sense of commitment to the MC/CMG vision
Organizational Learning
As part of Mercy Corps’ agency-wide Organizational Learning Initiative, all team members are invited to spend 5% of their work time in formal and/or non-formal professional learning activities. The Director will endeavor to share her/his work experience and learning with MC colleagues and with external audiences when appropriate.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY
MC/CMG staff and adjunct consultants
REPORTS DIRECTLY TO
Director of Staff Development and Learning
WORKS CLOSELY WITH
Resource Development, Technical Support Unit members, Country Directors and Regional Program Directors, Finance and Administration, and the LOE team
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
MA/S in Law, International Affairs, or related field or equivalent required. Ten years experience with negotiation and conflict management methods, tools, training, coaching and advising, including experience with assessments, monitoring, evaluation, and training design preferred.
Proven ability to sell services in a complex market.
Demonstrated success in grant writing.
Experience running a business, including public speaking and media relations, marketing and product development and leading diverse teams, highly preferred.
Project management experience, including budget oversight, grants management, proposal development and relationship building.
Demonstrated effectiveness and success working in multi-cultural environments.
Five years of resident international work preferred.
Spanish, French, and/or Arabic language abilities preferred.
SUCCESS FACTORS
The Director must communicate a clear vision and strategy to internal and external audiences. S/he needs a professional, yet personal touch with clients that engenders trust and builds lasting relationships. The job will require strong strategic thinking and decision-making skills. A genuine enjoyment of marking and developing new relationships will be essential. The Director must build strong cross-departmental relationships in Mercy Corps to leverage the wealth of experience and expertise of the organization.
Given the importance of wining grants and contracts, excellent proposal writing and presentation skills are essential. Commitment to achieving high quality service will be a critical to creating a leading position in the field. The Director should enjoy complex challenges and have an innovative streak. A sense of urgency will be required to execute a successful business plan.
LIVING/WORKING/ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
This position will be based in Cambridge, MA and requires approximately 40% travel within the US and to international locations. International assignments may include locations that are insecure and have limited accommodations.
Please apply to our jobs board:
