Program Manager -Food Security, Livelihoods & WASH

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 long term impact.

Mercy Corps works in places of transition, where conflict, disaster, political upheaval, or economic collapse present opportunities to build more secure, productive, and just communities. Mercy Corps has been operational in Syria since 2012 providing humanitarian assistance as well as implementing peace and conflict, and agriculture and livelihoods programming with a focus on resilience, early recovery and social cohesion.

Program/ Departement Summary

Mercy Corps programming aligns food security, livelihoods, and humanitarian efforts with Climate smart innovation and technologies providing food and livelihood support that empowers communities to recover from crises. This approach fosters inclusive economic opportunities and builds local capacities to manage resources sustainably and safely, ultimately contributing to a more peaceful and secure environment. With funding from diverse donor base Mercy Corps is currently implementing market-based interventions like cash and vouchers, agricultural support, business development and skills training for Syrian conflict-affected populations.

The Position

Mercy Corps Syria implements a diverse portfolio of humanitarian, early recovery, and resilience programming across Northwest and Northeast Syria. This includes food security and livelihoods (FSL), agriculture, market systems development, cash programming, WASH emergency services, and light rehabilitation of critical community infrastructure that enables safe access to basic services. With funding from GIZ, CDCS, ECHO, and other institutional donors, Mercy Corps supports conflict-affected communities through integrated interventions that improve access to water, strengthen household resilience, enhance livelihood opportunities, and ensure essential winterization, WASH, and cash assistance where needs are most severe.

The Program Manager will be responsible for leading a multi-sector portfolio that spans food security and livelihoods, WASH, cash assistance, and light infrastructure rehabilitation, in addition to supporting the design and implementation of upcoming program opportunities across Syria. The role provides strategic oversight, technical guidance, and operational leadership to ensure high-quality, integrated programming that responds to evolving needs across Syria.

Essential Job Responsibilities:

Strategy and Vision

• Lead the development of multi-sector strategies across FSL, WASH, cash, and basic services rehabilitation interventions. based on a strong contextual understanding of Syria and in line with Mercy Corps values.
• Ensure that climate-smart agriculture, market-based approaches, emergency WASH services, and integrated resilience models are embedded across programming.
• Contribute to mission-wide advocacy, technical positioning, and donor engagement in support of FSL and WASH priorities.
• Support the transition from emergency to early recovery where appropriate, while maintaining readiness for rapid humanitarian response.
• Ensure strong alignment and integration across Mercy Corps’ Syria portfolio—including linkages between WASH and FSL outcomes.

Design and Planning

• Lead design and planning for integrated multi-sector programs, ensuring they address priority needs and strengthen household and community resilience.
• Contribute to development of new proposals and budgets for FSL, WASH, cash, and infrastructure-related initiatives, including for ECHO, GIZ, CDCS, and other strategic donors.
• Ensure MEL approaches are integrated into program design, including participatory assessments and inclusive approaches for women, youth, and vulnerable populations.
• Maintain up-to-date analysis of humanitarian and early recovery needs across NWS and NES and adjust program strategies accordingly.

• Oversee budget planning and resource allocation across the multi-sector portfolio.
• Provides technical support to sub-grants to maintain strong partnerships in Syria.
• Ensure compliance with donor contractual commitments, extracting and implementing key learnings from project implementation

Implementation and Programs Coordination

• Ensure high-quality implementation of FSL, WASH, cash, and infrastructure-light rehabilitation activities, including site-level oversight of major components such as (Market-based livelihood interventions, Agricultural support and climate-smart practices, Emergency WASH and hygiene promotion, Water station rehabilitation (e.g., South Idlib), Cash assistance and winterization).
• Provide technical oversight and guidance to Coordinators and field teams across both sectors.
• Oversee timely assessments, activity planning, monitoring, and reporting across all grants.
• Strengthen partnerships with local NGOs and technical stakeholders, ensuring capacity strengthening and effective remote management where needed.
• Ensure that learning, adaptive management, and accountability systems are embedded in programming.
• Engage actively in relevant sector working groups (FSL, WASH, ERL, Cash Working Group).
• Manage multi-million-dollar grants while adhering to spending plans and donor rules. across different secured institutional funding and potential pipeline.

Team Management

• Lead recruitment, supervise, and build the capacity of team members in relevant technical and management competencies.
• 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 reviews.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify solutions, and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
• Lead collaborative partner relationships focused on mutual learning and capacity building as well as technical guidance in areas of Mercy Corps expertise.
• Develop and implement remote management capacity building approaches where relevant.

Influence & Representation

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with all stakeholders - including NGOs, Sectors, UN agencies, community-based organizations and Mercy Corps technical Advisors to enhance cooperation and coordination.
• Attend relevant coordination meetings and/or represent Mercy Corps in other relevant fora.
• Ensure that information from coordination meetings is shared internally and with other sectors, as appropriate.
• Coordinate the development of a quality framework for resilience approaches target communities.
• Represent and advocate for Mercy Corps approaches in the sectoral working groups.

Personal Leadership

• Consistently demonstrate flexibility, resilience and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances.
• Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.
• Demonstrate an awareness of his/her own strengths and development needs.

Strategy & Vision

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment of empowerment.
• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.

Program Management

• Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.
• Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards.

Finance Management.

• Manage the project budgets, financial projections and BVAs to monitor financial forecasting and ensure spending is on track.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures, SoPs and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

Accountability to Participants

• 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.

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Director of Programs, Whole of Syria

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILTY: Food security and livelihood Coordinator and WASH Coordinator, and program officers.

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Director of Programs, other Program Managers, Grants Management team, Syria Quality, Evidence and Learning team, and operational departments (Procurement, Finance, HR)

Knowledge & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required in a relevant field (agriculture, WASH engineering, environmental sciences, economics, development studies, or related). Master’s preferred.
• 5–7 years of experience managing multi-sector humanitarian and early recovery programs, preferably in Syria or similar contexts.
• Demonstrated experience in FSL, WASH, cash programming, and basic services rehabilitation.
• Proven ability to manage large, complex grants with multiple donors (e.g., GIZ, ECHO, CDCS).
• Experience supervising multi-sector teams, including technical coordinators. As well as remote management in a cross-cultural environment
• Strong representational, communication, and donor engagement skills.
• Excellent oral and written skills and computer skills
• Fluency in English, and Arabic languages skills is required.

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.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will have the ability to work closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly fluid work and security environment with a capacity to spark innovative approaches to programming and inspire groups to collaborate closely to implement high-quality programs. They will work effectively and respectfully with the host country's government and other authorities as well as NGO and CBO representatives. They will have an attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, and successfully meet programmatic deadlines, as well as anticipate program needs. They will demonstrate sensitivity to multicultural international development work and a commitment to working with community members to create safe, nurturing places for women and youth that foster greater inclusion in the community and productive livelihoods is critical. They will possess the ability to solve problems creatively, juggle multiple priorities under tight deadlines, and diplomatically manage unexpected and sudden events affecting program operations is essential

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.

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 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.

Employees Commitment towards Safeguarding:

• Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work including with external stakeholders and direct reports if applicable
• Practices the values of Mercy Corps as detailed in the Code of Conduct and safeguarding policies including respecting the dignity and well-being of community participants and fellow staff members
• Holds themselves accountable for making appropriate decisions that impact community members and team members
• Takes responsibility for their personal and professional behaviour
• Encourages openness, transparency and communication in their team; encourages team members to make any reports if they have any concerns using internal reporting mechanisms (i.e. Integrity Hotline, HR etc)

Demonstrates a high level of integrity and treats others with respect