Team Lead - Market Systems Development (MSD)

TEAM LEAD - Market System Development (MSD)

The position is pending funding.

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have a long-term impact.

Resilience building is an agency priority and involves using a systems-based approach that builds on proven solutions, accesses new ideas and information, and integrates multiple sectors and partnerships to strengthen food and water security, economic opportunities, and climate change adaptation. Southern Africa continues to experience recurrent environmental and economic shocks that affect the well-being of its communities and undermine development investments. Mercy Corps will continue to contribute to the well-being of communities by building household capacities and strengthening systems and institutions.

The Program / Department / Team

As part of itsstrategy in Zambia, the Embassy of Sweden is exploring Programme ideas that can contribute to achieving the strategy result: “Increased productivity and competitiveness of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the agricultural sector,”. This initiative aims to boost enterprise development and employment creation for the rural poor including, women, and youth.

The anticipated five-year Market System Development (MSD) programme includes a 12-month inception phase. The inception phase shall include a comprehensive sub-sector selection analysis, in-depth Market System Analysis (MSA), thorough environmental analysis and gender analysis.

The Position

Reporting to the Country Director, the Team Leader will oversee all aspects of the anticipated Sida-funded Market Systems Development (MSD) program in Zambia, including planning, organizing, staffing, leading and managing all programmeactivities. The Team Leader will ensure accountability to our partners, programme participants, our donor, and key stakeholders, including government authorities. The Team Leader is responsible for ensuring that programming is on-time, on-scope and on-budget. The position holder will provide MSD technical leadership on the strategic development and management from inception to implementation and close out.

Essential Responsibilities

PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT

●Provide effective leadership in the management of Mercy Corps’ anticipated MSD programme in Zambia

●Ensure programme meets targets, is on time, on scope and on budget. This responsibility includes collaborative workplanning that keeps all team members and partners accountable, ensuring accurate budget forecasting and analysis of monthly budget vs. actual reports, and proper procurement planning in collaboration with operations team members

●Lead day-to-day donor communications on status of programmeactivities.

●Prepare high-quality monthly, quarterly, annual and final project reports in collaboration with the programme teams and the Knowledge Management and MEL team.

●Ensure oversight and backstopping for all team members, including in particular market research, intelligence, assessments and feasibility studies; building private sector partnerships and engagement plans; liaising with labor market actors to find strategic leverage points for co-investment; and designing systemic interventions in response to root causes of market ineffectiveness and exclusion of women and young people.

TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP

●Ensure assessment, design and implementation meets the standards of an MSDapproach;

●Ensure operational systems enable a diversely-skilled team to implement an MSD programme – including standard operating procedures on engaging and contracting with the private sector, enabling intervention or concept design; guidance for adaptive management; and compliance with Mercy Corps and donor requirements.

●Follow analysis of the Zambia socio-political and economic context, ensuring that this analysis is recognized and incorporated in programming.

●Contribute to the development of the country strategy, particularly on MSD components.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

●Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.

●Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance discussions and strong performance management protocols.

●Supervise, hire and orient new team members as necessary.

●Train and mentor staff in MSD approaches to ensure successful program implementation.

●Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.

BUDGET MANAGEMENT

●Support in the development of financial management tools and the monitoring of budgets.

●Cross-check detailed transactions and review budget versus actual (BVA) spending reports to determine status of programme burn rates.

●Work with the Country Finance Manager to ensure spend-down plans and cash projections are developed and monitored.

●Lead programme input on any budget revisions or programmatic input for financial reports.

PROGRAM MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING

●Work with the Knowledge Management and MEL team to ensure the finalization of the program-specific framework and plan and any relevant procedures with clear designation of roles and responsibilities between the Programme and MEL teams.

●Ensure that robust monitoring and evaluation, quality data collection and analysis systems are in place, adhered to and used as a decision-making tool, in coordination with MEL team.

●Ensure appropriate attention to program learning and integration of lessons learned and knowledge sharing

Supervisory Responsibility

All programme team

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Country Director

Works Directly With: Department Heads, Programme teams, finance and operational staff; HQ Regional Program Team; Technical Resources and Quality Team; Resource Development Department

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our programme 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 international development, international relations, business management or other relevant field highly preferred;
• 7-10 years of field experience in MSD programming with a focus on thin markets required; At least 5 years of experience in management roles;
• Experience directly building partnerships with the private sector to increase employment opportunities;
• Strong strategic thinker with demonstrated capacity to translate concepts into action, with proven ability to be accountable for all components of the programme;
• Ability to think diversely from ensuring all aspects of a workplan are complete to talking strategic visioning with a donor partner;
• Pluses for additional background in financial inclusion, tech-based employment or gender transformative MSD programming;
• Competent in building networks, strong problem-solving skills, and ability to influence with effective listening, persuasion, negotiation and other techniques;
• Persuasive written and oral communication in English, including report writing;
• Prior work experience in Zambia or Southern Africa is highly desirable.

Success Factors

The successful candidate is expected to be a high performer in fast-paced project cycle management, MEL, quality assurance and team and budget management. The Team Leader will have a strong technical understanding of MSD in thin markets such as Zambia. The Team Leader will have excellent writing and analytical skills, as well as the ability to build such capacity in national team members. The Team Leader will be able to meet deadlines with minimal effort. The Team Leader will have an entrepreneurial attitude to figure out challenges as they come up in a way that fully engages the wider team. They will take energy from solving program implementation challenges. They will have a strong ethical center and a commitment to safeguarding. They will be an influencer, able to connect with diverse audiences from a young petty trader to a private sector employer to a high-ranking government official.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The Team Leader is based in Lusaka. The location is accompanied and secure. Housing is individual accommodation with unlimited freedom of movement beyond the house/office. Staff has good access to services, medical, electricity, and water, etc. International schools are available. This position requires up to 40% of travel to field offices in secure environments. This position is not eligible for hardship and/or R&R benefits.

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. 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.