Program Manager - Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction

Programme Manager – Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction

Location: Qamishli.

Position Status: Full-time, Regular

Salary Level: As per salary scale

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action; helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps seeks to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression around the world. We recognize that instances of sudden change within a country or region are rare moments to enact significant, lasting change. Mercy Corps, with its global experience working in countries undergoing major transitions, brings knowledge, expertise, and strong management skills to position the agency as a partner of choice for progressive change in Syria. Mercy Corps has been operational in Syria since 2012 as a leading agency implementing triple nexus programming in one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises. Millions of Syrians remain displaced, essential services are degraded, and communities struggle with economic collapse, food insecurity, and limited access to healthcare, water, and protection services. At the same time, localized stability in some areas has created opportunities for early recovery and transition.

Mercy Corps humanitarian and development bridges emergency response with resilience‑oriented approaches, ensuring that lifesaving assistance continues while communities begin to rebuild systems, livelihoods, and social cohesion. Mercy corps is expanding its scope off programming to accelerate a shift by fast‑tracking critical support and strengthening local capacities for a sustainable humanitarian transition. Mercy Corps’ focus is to rapidly deliver lifesaving assistance to crisis‑affected populations in Syria while enabling a strategic humanitarian reset that strengthens local systems, enhances resilience, and supports a transition toward early recovery and stabilization.

General Position Summary

The Programme Manager – Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction is responsible for the overall day-to-day management and implementation of Mercy Corps’ Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction programme activities in Al-Hasakeh, as part of the wider consortium led by FAO.

The Programme Manager provides leadership to the Mercy Corps programme team and ensures that Mercy Corps activities are implemented effectively and in line with approved programme plans, budgets, donor requirements, Mercy Corps policies, and programme quality standards. The position is responsible for programme planning, coordination, team management, implementation oversight, monitoring of progress, risk management, reporting, and internal and external coordination as required.

As a member of the consortium implementation structure, the Programme Manager works closely with the Consortium Management Unit (CMU), FAO as consortium lead, and other consortium partners to ensure that Mercy Corps implementation is aligned with the overall consortium approach, programme framework, agreed methodologies, implementation timelines, and coordination mechanisms. The post holder will contribute to consortium-level planning, harmonisation, learning, and problem-solving, while ensuring that relevant updates from Mercy Corps are shared in a timely manner through the agreed consortium structures.

The Programme Manager will participate in the Operational Committee and contribute to relevant consortium working groups and coordination meetings, representing Mercy Corps’ programme implementation perspective and ensuring that decisions, actions, and agreed approaches are effectively communicated back to the Mercy Corps team in Al-Hasakeh.

The Programme Manager works closely with the DRR Technical Advisor and consortium partners to ensure that technical guidance is appropriately reflected in programme implementation.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Programme Implementation and Delivery

• Provide overall management and oversight of day-to-day implementation of Mercy Corps’ Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction activities in Al-Hasakeh.
• Work closely with the Disaster Preparedness and Risk Reduction Technical Advisor and other technical specialists to ensure appropriate technical input into programme implementation.
• Ensure activities are implemented according to approved workplans, budgets, timelines, contractual commitments, and Mercy Corps standards.
• Lead programme planning and regularly review implementation progress against agreed objectives, outputs, indicators, and milestones.
• Ensure Mercy Corps implementation is aligned with the overall consortium programme framework and agreed approaches.
• Identify implementation challenges and work with relevant Mercy Corps colleagues, the CMU, FAO, and consortium partners, as appropriate, to develop timely and practical solutions.
• Ensure effective sequencing and coordination of activities across programme components and with other Mercy Corps and consortium activities where relevant.
• Maintain a strong focus on quality, timeliness, accountability, and appropriate use of programme resources.

Coordination, Alignment and Harmonisation

• Serve Mercy Corps’ focal point for day-to-day programme coordination with the CMU, FAO, and other consortium partners.
• Ensure that Mercy Corps programme implementation is aligned with agreed consortium plans, standards, methodologies, tools, approaches, and implementation timelines.
• Work with the CMU and consortium partners to promote consistency and harmonisation across programme locations and interventions, while taking account of relevant contextual and operational differences.
• Provide timely updates to the CMU and relevant consortium structures on Mercy Corps’ implementation progress, achievements, challenges, risks, delays, and required decisions.
• Share relevant consortium-level information, decisions, guidance, and agreed actions with the Mercy Corps programme team and ensure appropriate follow-up.
• Identify opportunities for complementarity and coordination between Mercy Corps and partner activities and flag potential overlaps, gaps, or inconsistencies.
• Participate as the Mercy Corps programme representative on the consortium Operational Committee, as well as relevant consortium working groups, contributing to discussions, decisions, action planning, and follow-up.
• Coordinate closely with Mercy Corps’ technical, operations, finance, grants, MEAL, and senior programme teams to ensure effective programme delivery.
• Represent Mercy Corps in relevant programme coordination meetings and external forums in Al-Hasakeh, as delegated.
• Maintain constructive relationships with relevant local stakeholders, community representatives, and other programme actors, in coordination with appropriate Mercy Corps and consortium structures.

Team Management and Leadership

• Provide direct line management and day-to-day leadership to the Mercy Corps programme team in Al-Hasakeh.
• Establish clear roles, responsibilities, priorities, and performance expectations for team members.
• Ensure the team understands relevant consortium commitments, agreed approaches, and coordination arrangements.
• Support staff performance through regular supervision, coaching, feedback, and performance management.
• Promote effective teamwork, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving within the programme team.
• Identify capacity-building needs and work with relevant managers and technical specialists to support staff development.

Programme Quality, MEAL and Accountability

• Work closely with MEAL colleagues and consortium counterparts, as relevant, to ensure appropriate monitoring of programme progress, outputs, outcomes, and quality.
• Support the alignment and harmonisation of monitoring and accountability approaches across the consortium where agreed.
• Ensure monitoring findings, community feedback, and implementation learning inform programme decision-making and are shared through relevant consortium mechanisms.
• Ensure programme documentation and evidence are maintained to support learning, reporting, and programme adaptation.

Planning and Budget Management

• Lead Mercy Corps’ programme-level implementation planning, including detailed workplans, activity schedules, procurement requirements, and staffing needs.
• Contribute to consortium-level planning processes and ensure Mercy Corps plans are aligned with agreed consortium timelines and deliverables.
• Monitor programme expenditure in coordination with Finance and relevant programme/grants teams.
• Identify potential budget or implementation variances and support timely corrective action.
• Contribute to donor and consortium reporting by ensuring timely and accurate provision of Mercy Corps programme information to the CMU and relevant grant management structures.

Reporting, Documentation and Learning

• Ensure timely and accurate preparation of programme updates, internal reports, donor inputs, and other required documentation.
• Provide regular implementation updates to the CMU and relevant consortium structures in accordance with agreed reporting and coordination arrangements.
• Maintain up-to-date programme implementation records, including workplans, activity tracking, risk registers, meeting records, consortium action points, and key programme documentation.
• Contribute to consortium learning events, programme reviews, evaluations, and after-action reviews.
• Capture and share implementation learning with the CMU and consortium partners and support its integration into ongoing and future programme design.

Supervisory Responsibility

Program field staff

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Country Manager

Works Directly With: DRR Technical Advisor, CMU and consortium partners, the Grants Team, and support functions.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in program management, international development, humanitarian affairs, social sciences, or a related field. A relevant combination of education and professional experience may be considered.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience in humanitarian programming, focused on disaster preparedness, climate adaptation, early warning, anticipatory action or related programming.
• Demonstrated experience managing program implementation in complex and/or volatile operating environments.
• Experience contributing to joint planning, coordination meetings, working groups, programme reviews, and other collaborative decision-making or implementation mechanisms.
• Experience working with consortium management or coordination structures and/or donor-funded programs involving multiple implementing partners is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated ability to align program implementation with common approaches, tools, standards, and agreed consortium processes, while managing context-specific implementation requirements.
• Strong organizational skills and demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and competing demands.
• Ability to proficiently write in English and Arabic is essential.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will be a strong program manager and team leader who can translate program objectives and consortium commitments into effective day-to-day implementation. They will be comfortable operating within a multi-partner structure and able to maintain a clear focus on Mercy Corps’ responsibilities while contributing constructively to wider consortium objectives.

The position requires strong coordination and relationship-management skills. The post holder should be able to communicate clearly and consistently, share timely and accurate information, and ensure that decisions and agreed actions are followed through.

Organizational Learning

As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
  to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
• 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.
• Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards

Team Efficiency and Effectiveness

Achieving our mission starts with how we build our team and collaborate. By bringing together individuals with a variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives, we strengthen our ability to solve complex challenges and drive innovation. We foster a culture of trust and respect, where every team member is valued for their contributions, empowered to reach their full potential, and motivated to do their best work.

We recognize that building a strong and effective team is an ongoing process, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and growing together.

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.

Personal Consent:

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The organization participates in the Inter-Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (the “Scheme”) (www.schr.info/the-misconduct-disclosure-scheme). Accordingly, we request information from a job applicant’s previous employer(s) about any investigations which found that the applicant committed sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents of misconduct under investigation when the applicant left employment. By applying, you confirm your consent to the organization collecting your prior employment history under the Scheme as part of the application process. Your data will be stored for up to four years.

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