Position Description Location: Kassala with up to 70% travel to support field offices
Position Status: Full-time, Regular
This position is contingent on donor funding approval.
Risk Level: x Level 3 ☐Level 2 ☐Level 1
(Level 3: Frequent contact with participants, direct contact with children, access to sensitive data, and/or high level of accountability.
Level 2: Some contact with participants; unplanned non-direct contact with children.
Level 1: Likely to have no contact with participants or sensitive data)
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 operational in Sudan since 2004 and currently leads humanitarian assistance and longer-term development efforts in conflict-affected South Darfur, Central Darfur, South Kordofan, North Kordofan, Kassala, Gedaref, Northern, River Nile and Khartoum States, supporting host communities, IDPs, returnees and refugees. Mercy Corps’ current areas of programming include food security and livelihoods, WASH, health, nutrition, peace building and protection, resilience, and Market Systems Development.
PROGRAM SUMMARY
The Sudan – Enhancing Community Resilience (THABAT) Project is a 130 million USD project funded by the Sudan Transition and Recovery Support (STARS) multi-donor trust fund, administered by the World Bank. The Project is expected to run until 2029 – but with an initial period of 3 years, ending in September 2026. The Project activities are planned for the first two years. The Project’s Development Objective (PDO) is to improve access to basic services and food security in Select Communities in the Republic of Sudan (“Sudan”), hence the project’s two main components: 1) Provision of Basic Services (US$74 million) implemented by UNICEF, and 2) Improving Food Security (US$56 million) implemented by WFP and Mercy Corps. The Project will be implemented in three States of Kassala, Northern, and River Nile in Sudan prioritizing secure localities but with higher numbers of IDPs. Component 2 of the Project will cover three value chains – sorghum, wheat, and horticultural crops (beans), and comprises the following three sub-components: 1) Increasing Agricultural Production and Resilience 2) Supporting Agricultural Value Chains, and Scale-up and Strengthening of Community Consumer Cooperatives.
GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY
We are seeking a Deputy Project Director – Private Sector Engagement to guide the technical design and implementation of agricultural and market systems activities under the Sudan – Enhancing Community Resilience (THABAT) Project. The role focuses on strengthening market-driven approaches to boost agricultural productivity, develop value chains, and enhance local markets in Kassala, River Nile, and Northern States. Key responsibilities include building strategic private sector partnerships, promoting private sector engagement, identifying market opportunities, negotiating mutually beneficial agreements to advance the project’s goals of improved food security and resilience as well as deputizing the Project Director as needed. Reporting directly to the Project Director, and under the overall technical guidance of Mercy Corps Sudan’s Market Systems Development Technical Lead, the ideal candidate will perform the below activities and possess identified attributes.
ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Technical Leadership and Program Management:
- Lead the design, implementation, and continuous adaptation of market systems development (MSD) approaches aligned with THABAT program objectives.
- Oversee market-driven agricultural interventions that promote sustainable, systemic change, ensuring technical quality and relevance to local market conditions.
- Conduct comprehensive market research and value chain analyses, including private sector landscape assessments and market system and actor mapping.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure MSD and agricultural activities are well-integrated into broader program work plans.
Strategic Planning and Development:
- Support the development of the project vision, design and execution of market systems strategies and portfolio of interventions/activities to enhance agricultural productivity, strengthen the selected value chains, expand end to end market linkages, and support SME growth.
- Conduct in-depth market assessments to identify systemic barriers and opportunities for agricultural market system improvements.
- Develop innovative, market-based solutions to improve smallholder and agribusiness access to finance, input supply, output markets and consumer/end markets.
- Continuously adapt strategies in response to field insights, market shifts, and emerging opportunities or constraints.
Identifying and Building Partnerships:
- Work with the project team to identify key market actors for the targeted systems and conduct due diligence to inform the design of interventions that catalyze private sector investment and engagement, and oversee the implementation.
- Lead co-design processes and contribute to technical writing and high-quality milestone development for SME partnership proposals aligned with Mercy Corps’ inclusive market systems approach.
- Support private sector partners in developing and delivering services that address market constraints and unlock economic opportunities in line with partnership agreements.
- Work closely with the team to ensure timely disbursements for milestones achieved and ensure no disruptions to the service delivery by SMEs.
- Develop and implement partnership intervention strategies, including identifying collaboration opportunities and managing relationships throughout the project lifecycle.
- Negotiate and manage partnership agreements to ensure alignment with program objectives and mutual benefit.
- Design and deliver capacity-building initiatives to strengthen the capabilities of private sector actors and foster more resilient market systems.
Project Team Management and Capacity Building:
- Lead and manage technical and field teams implementing agricultural and market systems development (MSD) activities, building their confidence to engage with Private Sector Actors to co-design joint engagements and to manage them adaptively.
- Provide ongoing technical guidance, mentorship, and capacity building, including regular MSD-focused sessions with intervention leads.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and adaptive learning, promoting continuous improvement and responsive program delivery.
- Ensure effective coordination and communication between the MSD team and other program components, including M&E.
- Set clear expectations, provide regular feedback, and conduct performance reviews to promote accountability and professional growth.
- Build and maintain a respectful, high-performing team environment committed to excellence.
- Oversee recruitment, onboarding, and leadership of team members as needed.
Stakeholder Engagement, Collaboration and Representation:
- Facilitate consultations and build partnerships with local private sector actors, financial institutions, and government stakeholders to advance MSD objectives.
- Represent the project in external forums, meetings, and sector events, promoting market systems approaches in agricultural development.
- Cultivate and manage relationships with key stakeholders—including donors, government agencies, NGOs, and businesses—to align efforts and maximize impact.
- Lead dialogue with value chain actors (e.g., producers, traders, processors, service providers) to strengthen linkages and improve market access.
- Share program insights and best practices in relevant platforms to contribute to sector learning and influence policy and practice.
Monitoring, Adaptive Management and Reporting
- Monitor partnership performance and intervention outcomes, adapting strategies based on evidence and learning.
- Work closely with PD, PaQ and Technical Team to contribute to the development of the market systems and private sector engagement learning agenda through targeted assessments, research, and M&E activities.
- Report regularly on partnership progress, share updates with internal and external stakeholders, and document key lessons learned.
- Track and report incidents that may impact beneficiaries or pose reputational risks, ensuring timely resolution and follow-up.
- Participate in routine supervision and review of intervention implementation to ensure quality and relevance.
- Contribute to donor reporting systems and present MSD results and outcomes to donors and relevant stakeholders.
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.
Other duties
- Deputize the Project Director when out of office.
- Undertake additional relevant tasks as requested by the supervisor
Supervisory Responsibility:
Private Sector and Partnership Manager
Accountability
Reports directly to: THABAT Project Director
Works directly with: Grants Coordinator, MEL Manager, and at state level – Project Managers, MSD Technical Director
Knowledge and Experience
The Deputy Project Director focuses on building and managing strategic collaborations with private sector actors within a specific market system to drive positive change and achieve program objectives. This role involves identifying opportunities, negotiating partnerships, and ensuring mutually beneficial agreements.
The selected candidate is expected to have:
- Master’s degree in economic development, agribusiness or other relevant field is preferred.
- Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in international development or related field, including three years in a senior management position, managing large teams.
- Demonstrated experience leading implementation of medium-large MSD projects ($10-$20 million+).
- Proven financial management skills.
- Technical knowledge in market systems development/private sector engagement related work and in crisis contexts.
- Demonstrated familiarity with current trends in systems thinking as applied to market development – such as designing for systemic change, complexity-aware monitoring, analytical tools or consultation processes for getting to root causes, etc.
- Demonstrated experience in strategies for engaging the private sector, including partnership analysis, design, management, and evaluation.
- Demonstrable experience/skills in complex program management and demonstrated success building and managing private sector partnerships.
- Excellent writing and communication skills in English for reports, and research papers
- Excellent negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to manage tight deadlines.
- Experience in market research and analysis.
- Familiarity with monitoring, evaluation, and learning approaches
- Experience working in Sudan strongly preferred.
- Candidates with Sudanese citizenship strongly preferred.
Success Factors
The successful Deputy Project Director – Private Sector Engagement will bring strong expertise in market systems development and private sector engagement, with a proven ability to lead adaptive, market-driven programs in complex environments. S/he will be skilled in designing and managing systemic interventions that strengthen value chains, expand market access, and foster SME growth. Strong relationship-building and communication skills are essential for engaging private sector partners, government stakeholders, and donors. The ideal candidate will also be an effective team leader, able to mentor staff, promote collaboration, and drive continuous learning and improvement. Mercy Corps team members thrive in dynamic settings, think strategically, and are committed to inclusive, locally led development. This role requires a solutions-focused mindset, attention to detail, and a deep commitment to achieving sustainable impact.
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.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in Kassala and it requires up to 70% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. Housing for this role is in individual housing and staff will have access to good medical services and the living situation is of a high standard.
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 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 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.
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]).
