Program DIRECTOR (REGIONAL) – GROW AFRICA

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 Summary

Join a flagship, multi‑country initiative led by Mercy Corps, funded by Acumen and the Mastercard Foundation, to expand green, decent entrepreneurship and job opportunities for youth across Africa. The Green RISE Africa GROW Pillar aims to reach up to 400,000 rural and peri‑urban nano and micro‑entrepreneurs and create 112,000 Youth‑in‑Work outcomes, with a strong focus on young women. The program will support entrepreneurs through skills development, market linkages, mentorship, and access to green economic opportunities. Selected partners will co‑create, pilot, and scale innovative interventions across countries and will launch in April 2026. The role will be dependent on project confirmation. 

Position Summary

The Program Director provides overall vision, strategic leadership, and management for the program, ensuring high-quality implementation across the countries of operation. The Director leads the governance structures, manages program coherence and results, oversees technical and operational teams, and ensures safe, effective, and impactful delivery. The Director also represents the project with donors, governments, and regional partners, positioning the program for sustainability and scale.

Essential Responsibilities

Strategy & Vision

• Lead strategic direction and adaptive management in alignment with the core approach: supporting young women in entrepreneurship and employment journey by engaging an ecosystem of enterprise support organizations in providing relevant skills, networks, training, and overall capacity-strengthening.
• Facilitate Program Steering Committee meetings and ensure decision-making is evidence-driven.
• Ensure consistent alignment between country-level strategies and regional program goals.

Program Management & Quality

• Oversee regional and country implementation, work planning, reporting, and compliance with donor and Mercy Corps standards.
• Ensure all implementation is driven by comprehensive contextual understanding, gender transformative and market-based design principles, and is carried out to the highest standards.
• Champion program approaches and technical models that ensure the program reaches the target of 70% young women improving or creating decent and dignified self-employment or wage opportunities
• Develop and model a culture of data-driven decision-making and adaptive management, in collaboration with MEL and Technical leads.
• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed. 
• Lead the development of detailed implementation plans, flowing from annual strategic work plans, and ensure the delivery of the same.
• Ensure safeguarding, Do No Harm, GESI, and youth engagement principles are embedded.

Representation & Partnership Management

• Serve as primary donor representative for the project; lead reporting and communication.
• Actively engage with the donor on co-creation, review, and reflection, and adaptive management.
• Strengthen partnerships with private-sector actors, government bodies, financial institutions, and ecosystem enablers.
• Promote visibility and thought leadership on young women’s self-employment and job creation across Africa.

Team Leadership & People Management

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Supervise and support regional and country leads.
• Promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, and professional development across partner organizations.

• In collaboration with the country's operations and finance departments, ensure proper financial management, procurement, administration, human resources, and logistics (including transport and asset management) needs of the program are conducted within Mercy Corps’ policy and with the maximum benefit to the program.  

• Create and maintain systems to ensure effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with programme, donor and Mercy Corps’ needs.  

Security

• Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to develop and maintain systems that promote the safety and security of all team members.   

• Ensure that activities are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security.

 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. 

Safeguarding Responsibilities

●        Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.

●        Practices the values of Mercy Corp,s including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.

●        Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms, e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.

Supervisory Responsibility

All team members are working on the program, as well as partnerships with international and national program partners. The number of direct and indirect reports is to be determined. 

Accountability

• Reports Directly To: Mercy Corps Regional Director; accountable to the Steering Committee.
• Works Directly With: Mercy Corps Country Officers, partner staff, Regional Technical Director, Global Technical Resource and Quality Unit, and partners.

Knowledge & Experience

• Master’s degree in international development, economics, business, or a related field.
• 10+ years of leadership experience in complex, multi-country youth employment, market systems, or livelihoods programs.
• Demonstrated experience working through partnership models.
• Strong understanding of African labor markets and youth employment dynamics.
• Proven donor engagement and representation experience.
• Very strong written and verbal communication skills (proficiency in English). 
• Internationally recognized qualification in project or program management, or a commitment to obtain the qualification in the early months of work.

Success Factors

A successful Program Director is a strategic thinker with strong coordination, communication, and diplomacy skills. They will foster collaboration across organizations and cultures. They will bring an adaptive management mindset and commitment to learning. Proven ability to mentor diverse teams and deliver high-impact programs. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem-solving, and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential.  The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations. 

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The preference for this position is that it is based in Nairobi, Kenya, but it can be in other African locations where the project takes place – Uganda, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. It requires up to 40% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited.

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

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 different backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have a 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 adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([email protected]).