General Position Summary

The program Coordinator will oversee the implementation of all support water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and Cash activities throughout Kandahar Province. This position with supervisory and managerial responsibilities, including direct project management responsibilities for the WASH and Cash activities in Kandahar province. Reporting to the Multisectoral Program Manager, s/he will oversee and develop the high-quality design and implementation of emergency response activities to effectively address the humanitarian gaps and needs while building a base for later activities of early recovery. S/he is responsible for ensuring that activities run smoothly by providing technical leadership, supervising, training, and mentoring the WASH and Cash team members. 

Essential Job Responsibilities:

Program Management

• Manage implementation of the WASH, Cash, vouchers, and NFI activities in Kandahar province;
• Manage and update WASH and cash project management monitoring trackers and tools for Kandahar as part of the master trackers and tools for the entire country.
• Oversee the successful implementation of WASH and cash project activities, ensuring that teams are following work plans, that activities are on schedule, and those project deliverables are completed according to the grant agreement.
• Create and manage procurement requests for WASH and cash activities, follow-up with support functions including finance and payment requests.
• Manage contractors and suppliers to ensure compliance and project success.
• Support market assessments, mapping, beneficiary selection, Post Distribution Monitoring (PDM) surveys, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) and other surveys to inform program design and implementation.
• Work closely with both WASH and Cash & NFI specialists.
• Contribute to effective budget management, forecasts, work planning, and regular field monitoring of project activities and project impact, per Mercy Corps Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning and in accordance with existing related guidelines; (HAP, SPHERE and donor regulations).
• Support cross-cutting interventions including protection, gender, and cash and market programming.
• Actively participates in the preparation of tender and contracts, including technical specifications of works to be performed by contractors.
• Ensure monthly reporting of the project achievement internally (weekly and monthly) and externally through the cluster system activity info.
• Ensure protection mainstreaming in implementation of Cash program activities.
• Assist in proposal/concept note development and report writing as necessary.
• Ensure that communities are informed about our projects and what we do, are aware of their entitlements, are comfortable giving feedback and that feedback is used to improve the quality of our projects.
• Engage community members and local partners in the verification of beneficiary households that promote accountability.
• Manage the distribution of hygiene kits, dignity kits, and other NFIs that are an integral part of the project.
• In coordination with WASH specialist and Multisectoral Program Manager to identify the locations for hygiene kits and other WASH kits for the distribution.
• Lead teams for WASH and cash assessments prior to the interventions and ensure MOUs are developed and signed prior to any intervention,
• Liaising with local authorities and relevant sectorial departments to clarify project details and roles and responsibilities, 
• Ensure all records including meeting minutes, field visit reports, trackers, donor correspondence, project pictures, BOQs, distribution lists, and other project documents are uploaded on the share drive.
• Adhere to all Mercy Corps areas of operations and transport/logistics information related to programming.
• Carry out any other task as requested by the supervisor.

Team Management

• Ensure staff are provided with timely and constructive feedback to improve their performance and enable them for future growth,
• In coordination with WASH and Cash Specialists provide support and technical oversight to the field teams and mentor field staff in the planning and implementation of WASH and cash activities.
• 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;
• Hire, Supervise, train, and mentor the new team members as necessary;
• Provide team members with information, tools, and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives;
• In coordination with WASH and Cash Specialists provide technical direction and advice in emergency response in an insecure environment, and develop work plans in collaboration with the team;

Finance and Compliance Management

• Ensure WASH and cash forecast sheet for Kandahar is timely updated,
• Updating procurement plan at the inception of the award and on a quarterly basis,
• Ensure procurement plan and forecast sheet are in line against approved budget,
• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming;
• Ensure internal and donor compliance through strong knowledge of rules within grant agreements;
• Ensure all necessary purchase requests are accurately prepared and submitted on time;
• Ensure documentation and filing of project activities in compliance with Mercy Corps policies and procedures.

Influence, Representation & Coordination

• Represent Mercy Corps at local coordination meetings, regional WASH cluster meetings, regional Emergency Shelter and NFI cluster, regional Cash and voucher working group, and other relevant meetings.
• Ensuring activity info and FTS are fully updated,
• Representing Mercy Corps in WASH, Shelter and NFI technical workings groups.
• Develop and maintain working relationships and coordinate with relevant international and local agencies active in the water and sanitation, Shelter, NFI and cash sectors of emergency response, and, other humanitarian and human rights organizations, local authorities and local partners,
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met
• Liaise with local officials including the Local and the Directorate of water, Municipality, Directorate of Health, local NGOs and project partners, community leaders and other community members to ensure support for and acceptance of Mercy Corps projects in the AOR;

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership;
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies;
• Stay informed of incidents as they arise through the field and are raised through the program coordination mechanism.
• Liaising with operations and liaison teams for access letters and relevant approvals,

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards, guiding relief and development work, whilst actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: WASH officer, Program officers, and Assistants.

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Multisectoral Program Manager.