Ventures Assistant Program Officer

Location: Portland, OR or remote

Position Status: Full-Time, Regular

Minimum Starting Salary: $46,000 DOE

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.

The Program / Department / Team

Mercy Corps Ventures (MCV) invests in and fuels high-impact enterprises that increase the resilience of people and communities in frontier markets. Founded in 2015 as the impact investing arm venture capital arm of global development agency, Mercy Corps, we’ve supported 30+ early-stage ventures to scale and raise over $125 million in follow-on capital. Our portfolio centers around solutions that build climate resilience and financial resilience, so those living in frontier markets can withstand disruption and plan for the future.

For more information, check out our 2020 Annual Impact Report and Website.

The Position

The Assistant Program Officer (APO) provides administrative and operational support to Mercy Corps Ventures team. They play a key role in supporting program management, including monitoring grants, contracts, procurements, invoices, and donor reporting. The APO effectively supports the Ventures team in adhering to internal and external policies and regulations and is responsible for administrative duties for the team.

Essential Responsibilities

GRANT ADMINISTRATION & PROGRAM MANAGEMENT:

• Support the Ventures team with administrative tasks such as maintaining required documentation, and knowledge management of the grant (copy-edit support of reports, etc).
• Support donor communications and meetings, including scheduling calls, sending calendar invites, preparing meeting agendas, drafting presentations, and documenting meeting minutes.
• Support the operational and administrative aspects of MCV initiatives, including but not limited to impact and financial reporting, donor compliance, procurement, and invoicing.
• Support ongoing monitoring of the status of programs/grants, including regular check-ins on grant requirements (such as co-financing/match, BvA, data aggregation, etc.)
• Maintain up to date grant information in Mercy Corps Ventures’ online knowledge management tools.

PROPOSAL COORDINATION:

• Provide administrative support for proposal development such as drafting grant proposals, budget narratives, and any other required documents, copy-editing, and final compilation for submission.

RECRUITMENT & HIRING SUPPORT:

• Support all recruitment and hiring processes for new hires, consultants, interns, fellows; Ensure necessary documentation has been submitted to relevant people; Coordinate any necessary follow up and contract monitoring/updates

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS & TEAM ADMINISTRATION:

• Proactively lead logistical support for the Ventures and headquarters teams, including scheduling meetings, coordinating updates to meeting agendas and documents, and following up with team members for feedback/input on various programmatic proposals, memos, presentations, etc.

SUPPORT TO THE SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR

• Support MCV Senior Managing Director in reporting duties, responding to information requests, preparation and compilation of briefing materials, presentations, as needed.
• Provide primary administrative support for the Senior Managing Director, including coordination and maintenance of appointment and travel schedule, expense reports, communications, planning, etc.
• Provide Senior Managing Director with support for other key projects as needed.

Supervisory Responsibility

None.

Accountability

Reports Directly To:, Mercy Corps Ventures

Works Directly With: Director of Operations & Strategy, Finance Manager, MCDH Board, IT staff, partner organizations, Technical Support Units, Ventures team members and consultants; Other HQ departments, including Resource Development, Finance, Accounts Payable, Legal, Policy and Advocacy, Mercy Corps counterparts at MC HQ offices in Europe; MC donors and partners.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

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.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• BA/S in International Development or related field highly preferred.
• Two years of demonstrated experience in providing administrative/coordination support.
• Proficiency with MS Office software required (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Prior NGO or international development experience preferred.
• Preference given to candidates with prior work experience in frontier markets..
• Excellent problem-solving and time management skills; superior communication and interpersonal skills; exceptional ability to get things done.
• A team-oriented, “low-ego” individual who works collaboratively in a high-performance environment.
• Experience building effective working relationships with multicultural and remote teams.

Success Factors

The Assistant Program Officer must be a detail-oriented multi-tasker who is able to communicate clearly and work under pressure. They must demonstrate patience, flexibility, and taking initiative to solve problems. Vital skills include communication (both written and verbal), as well as building and maintaining effective internal and external relationships. They must demonstrate the ability to understand and follow agency procedures, meet deadlines, and work both independently and as part of a complex distanced-based, multi-cultural team. An exposure to and interest in international development issues is important, and an understanding of the complex challenges faced by program teams operating in overseas environments is critical.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Portland, OR; Washington, D.C.; Remote, United States and it may require up to 20% travel domestically, this may be on short notice.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. 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.

Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.

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

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 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.