Proposal Coordinator - Bangui, CAR

CAR Proposal Coordinator

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.

The Program/Department Summary

Mercy Corps has operated in the Central African Republic (CAR) since 2007. With 120 staff and offices in Bangui, Bouar, Bambari, Berberati and Bangassou, Mercy Corps works to integrate short-term humanitarian assistance with programs to strengthen community resilience and support market-led economic development, with a cross-cutting accent on governance and gender. Mercy Corps takes a sustainable approach to its programming, seeking to change behaviors and create institutions to foster long-term development in the sectors of protection and gender-based violence, civil society capacity building, water/sanitation, social cohesion and socioeconomic activities. Funding has come from a range of donors including USAID, the European Commission, UNICEF, OCHA, AFD and private foundations. By addressing a number of overlapping and associated needs within a wide range of sectors, Mercy Corps CAR takes an integrated approach to ensure the greatest possible impact.

Mercy Corps is seeking a Proposal Coordinator to support the proposal development of an upcoming six-year USAID-funded Regional Peacebuilding and Anti-Corruption Mechanism. As part of the proposal development team, the Proposal Coordinator will work with the team on a technically sound and donor-responsive funding application. The proposed program will contribute to the national peacebuilding and stabilization process and address the conflict drivers that continue to exacerbate the crisis. The program will lay the foundations for peaceful coexistence by establishing and strengthening community peace structures, creating systems to enhance dialogue across communities in conflict and support peaceful conflict resolution, partnering with media and other platforms to disseminate information on the peace process, and promoting civic education and enhanced participation of the population, including young Central Africans, in the governance process.

The Position

The Proposal Coordinator is one of the main connection points between the HQ proposal development team and the CAR country office for inputs into the program proposal and annexes. They will work closely with the CAR team to provide organization and facilitate the gathering of information and inputs. They work with the team lead, ensuring deadlines are being met, and offering guidance to team members when needed. Candidates should have USAID proposal experience and excellent written and oral communication.

Essential Responsibilities

Key tasks for the coordinator will be assigned from the Director of Programs (DoP) and Team Lead and be detailed in the proposal roles and calendar. Duties are likely to include:

●        RFA ANALYSIS: Reads and analyzes RFA. Ensures donor requirements are understood including outlining annex and budget requirements from RFA.

●        TEAM: Works with DoP and PaQ Director to request and confirm CAR team resources. Leads updating of proposal workplan once RFA is released, working closely with team lead. Ensures the CAR team understands roles and deadlines.

●        INFO GATHERING: Leads gathering of lessons learned from across MC CAR and relevant global programs. Inputs on assessment scope and acts as coordinator for or conducts assessment work or information gathering in CAR. Assists Technical Design Lead in analysis of assessment information. Maintains stakeholder consultation registry (minimum standard). May support document gathering and resource library and assessment analysis. Assists technical team with information gathering requests as part of detailed design after RFA.

●        COORDINATION/COMMS: regularly checks with HQ and CAR proposal team on deadlines and tasks and flags issues for problem solving with DoP, PaQ director, and Team Lead. Supports Team Lead in regular all team email updates. Takes meeting minutes during all proposal related meetings. Maintains Google Drive of proposal documents according to PM@MC standards, working closely with Lead Writer, Technical Design Lead and Team Lead. Supports organization of and logistics for a design workshop and may facilitate exercises or parts of the design workshop.

●        PARTNER LIAISON: Supports partner scan and information gathering on potential partners. Once teaming agreements are signed, manages local partners, completes partner instructions, communicates expectations, and keeps partners informed throughout the proposal process. Support partner registration in USAID platforms. Communicates feedback to and consolidates feedback from partners on technical design issues. Works closely with Proposal Budget Manager on partner budgeting.

●        TECH REVIEW: reviews and comments on logframe and proposal in reference to the RFA.

●        ANNEXES: Assists with gathering of information for annexes. May author some annexes.

●        SUBMISSION: produces and maintains submission checklist with status of all deliverables in consultation with the Team Lead and CAR proposal team.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Director of Programs

Works Directly With: Will work closely with proposal development team including team members from CAR, Technical Support Unit, Regional Program Team, finance, partners

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 field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

●        2 years of experience with US institutional donors

●        Strong written English skills and ability to synthesize information and present it in a format which is suitable for the donor within short timeframes

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

●        Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills

●        Ability to multi-task and juggle several tasks and relationships at one time, with little direction

●        Proven ability to work effectively in multi-cultural teams and with technical and administrative staff

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

●        Proficient French desirable

Success Factors

A successful candidate will have experience in workflow coordination across teams, ideally on proposal development. They need to be able to work independently, be proactive and take initiative with tasks and self-learning, and be extremely well organized and a strong communicator both verbally and in writing. They should be an excellent writer, with an ability to interpret technical information and produce products which are clear and adapted to a donor audience.

They will live and work closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly intense and fluid work and security environment with demonstrated sensitivity to the people and issues in the region. The ability to demonstrate exceptional interpersonal, relationship and cross-cultural communication skills especially in high stress environments is essential for success.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This is an unaccompanied position. Shared accommodation will be provided in Bangui according to the Mercy Corps CAR housing policy. The security situation in CAR can be very volatile with pockets of violent outbursts in various areas of the country. Bangui is generally more stable, however, carjacking and targeted looting do occur on occasion. Hospitals and access to quality health care are very limited. Electricity, clean water and internet can be at times subject to shortages. This position is eligible for hardship.

Mercy Corps’ field offices experience variable levels of insecurity, with the situation closely monitored by UN peacekeepers. Air travel is necessary to get from one end of the country to the other. Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available. Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices, but limited in guest houses. Travel to other locations will be required where living conditions are clean and secure in basic conditions.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDT to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures and values et all times and in all in-country venues.

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.