Project Manager

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Organization: Mercy Corps

Deadline: May 21, 2026

Job Description

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.

Mercy Corps has been present in Ethiopia since 2004 working to drive bold and transformative ideas, working closely with government, the private sector and civil society actors to build a more resilient country, ensuring that programs are responsive to and influenced by participants and stakeholders. With the launch of Mercy Corps Global Strategy, Pathway to Possibility, the country office is poised to operationalize its three-year strategy with a vision to enhance the resilience of climate- and conflict-affected communities through market systems development for improved livelihoods, access to food, and safe and clean water to thrive in the face of crises. Currently, we operate in five regional states – Afar, Oromia, Somali, Amhara and Tigray. Working with a diverse base of donors that includes United States Government, GAC, Hilton Foundation, United Nations, JOA, Sweden, EKN, and other foundations, Mercy Corps Ethiopia empowers people to recover from crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good.

Location: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Position Status: Full-time

Safeguarding Risk Level: Level 3

The Program Summary

Mercy Corps is implementing a three-year program focused on catalyzing transformation in Sharia-compliant and digital financial services across the lowlands and highlands of Ethiopia. Building on the proven success of a first phase that reached over 350,000 users with inclusive digital and Islamic financial services, this second phase moves from piloting to institutionalization and system-wide scale-up. The program aims to increase incomes and enhance resilience for rural households, particularly women and youth, across implementation areas spanning Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Somali and Oromia regions.

The Position Summary

The Project Manager is responsible for the overall management of the program. He/she is responsible for providing strategic and technical guidance, providing guidance on program planning and implementation, ensuring effective implementation of all activities and being proactive to address challenges, monitoring and analyzing the program environment and progress, using applicable monitoring and evaluation and risk management tools, and advising on timely adjustments and corrective measures as necessary. He/she is also responsible for ensuring digital financial services (DFS) and financial inclusion are integrated across relevant Mercy Corps programs.

The Project Manager is responsible for the strategic planning and overall management of the program and reports to the Director of Programs.

Essential Responsibilities

Strategy and Vision

Lead the development of the program’s detailed implementation strategy for Phase 2, ensuring continuity and deepening of systemic financial inclusion approaches.
Ensure all program team members have a clear understanding of the program strategy and their role in contributing towards its delivery.
Provide strategic direction for scaling Sharia-compliant and digital financial services from piloting to institutionalization, incorporating climate-responsive and gender-transformative approaches.

Coordination and Collaboration

Build strategic partnerships with financial institutions, fintech actors, regulators and market actors to advocate, promote and advance organizational issues, priorities, interests and competencies for successful program delivery.
Coordinate and collaborate with clients, partners, and stakeholders to link and harmonize approaches and to promote common interests and achievement of results.
Provide direction and guidance to the program team(s)/responsible parties across all operational regions (Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Somali and Oromia).
Advise the Country Office on new proposal development which have components on inclusive and innovative financial services.

Program Management

Establish the work plan, activities, targets, budget, standards for measuring progress and results, and determine the processes, tools, and methodologies to be used to ensure effective and efficient program implementation and operations.
Provide overall strategic direction and support to integrate DFS and financial inclusion across relevant Mercy Corps programs.
Ensure gender integration and mainstreaming are incorporated into mission level strategic and annual planning efforts, ensuring a minimum of 50% of program participants are women.
Lead and support gender analysis processes to determine the needs of men, women, boys, and girls in target communities to inform program design and adaptive management.
Closely work with the MEL team to integrate gender and social inclusion in the program M&E system, tracking sex- and age-disaggregated data.
Monitor progress and identify risks for timely action and early resolution across five operational regions, including conflict-affected areas in Tigray and Amhara.
Advise Mercy Corps senior management and senior national government officials on the direction, strategies and technical issues of the program and lead discussion on innovative solutions, including climate-responsive financial products and consumer protection systems.
Ensure full compliance with Mercy Corps rules and regulations and policies on financial activities, financial recording/reporting systems and follow-up on audit recommendations.
Responsible for donor reporting and any other additional reporting required.
Responsible for financial management of the program and financial reporting, including oversight of sub-award arrangements and co-investment contributions from partner financial institutions.
Introduce innovation and best practices, access to knowledge and expertise, and promote their application, building on Phase 1 learnings related to Sharia-compliant finance, agent networks and VSLA digitization.
Actively support knowledge building, sharing, and application in the program, including contribution to national sector dialogues and learning events.
Closely work with a wide range of financial service providers (MFIs, Banks, Fintechs, VSLA groups) in establishing partnerships and managing relationships on a regular basis.
Oversee the implementation of the Green Market Systems Development (GMSD) approach, ensuring financial sector actors develop commercially sustainable models that do not rely on long-term donor support.

Leadership and Team Management

Ability to plan own work, manage conflicting priorities and work under pressure of tight and conflicting deadlines across a multi-region portfolio.
Work closely with team members and partners, to support capacity-building and gender integration into the programs.
Very good interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations with diverse stakeholders including regulators, financial institutions and civil society.
Very strong leadership capacities to guide a multi-cultural team operating in complex, conflict-affected and climate-vulnerable environments.
Lead the identification of program issues, challenges and risks, appropriate recommendations and implement them.
Mentor and coach team members as they perform their duties, including regional Financial Inclusion Officers and technical specialists.

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 Corps 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

Financial Inclusion Advisor and MEL Advisor

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Director of Programs

Works Directly With: Program team in Addis Ababa and in regional offices (Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Somali and Oromia)

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

BA degree in business, economics, finance and development, or related social science fields; advanced degree preferred.
At least 8 years of work experience preferably in inclusive financial services, product and strategy development; Islamic finance, financial and digital literacy.
Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-regional programs with multiple institutional partners, ideally in fragile or conflict-affected contexts.
Managerial and supervisory experience and demonstrated partnership management skills are required; experience managing financial institution partnerships and sub-award arrangements is an advantage.
Previous work experience in the private sector, particularly the financial sector, and in international development organizations is an advantage.
Understanding of Market Systems Development (MSD) and Green Market Systems Development (GMSD) approaches is required.
Familiarity with Sharia-compliant financial products (Murabaha, Musharaka, Takaful), digital financial services, and agent banking models is strongly preferred.
Understanding of gender-responsive programming and experience integrating gender and social inclusion into financial inclusion programs is required.
Experience with monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) frameworks, including adaptive management approaches such as Adopt-Adapt-Expand-Respond (AAER).
Willingness and ability to travel frequently to program sites and field locations across all five operational regions, including conflict-affected and insecure environments, is required.

Success Factors

A successful Project Manager will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members of varied work styles, follow procedures, communicate timely and responsibly with stakeholders and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem solving. S/he will have a proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results, understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details, work within a complex security and political situation and to follow strict security protocols. A willingness to relocate for short-term as necessary within coverage regions, based on programmatic needs, work independently and as part of a team are essential. Strong computer literacy, especially in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), and familiarity with digital data management tools (e.g., Kobo, Power BI) are 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

Team Engagement 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 committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

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.

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 (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).

How to Apply

Application Process

All qualified individuals are invited to apply for the advertised position. All applications, including a CV, three references, and all applicable official papers, must be sent electronically through this: >> LINK.

Only candidates that are short-listed will be acknowledged and called for interviews.

“Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer promoting gender, equity and diversity. Qualified female and young candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We are committed to empower women and youth.”

DEADLINE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: May 21^th, 2026