About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization driven by the belief that a better world is possible. In times of disaster and hardship, Mercy Corps works in more than 40 countries around the world to put bold solutions into action, helping people overcome adversity and build stronger communities from within, now and for the future.

About the PROPEL program

PROPEL is a multi-country youth employment and market systems development program implemented across Uganda, Senegal, Liberia, and Tanzania.

The program uses a market-driven and private sector-led approach to address youth unemployment and underemployment. It places deliberate emphasis on reaching young people who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET).

PROPEL addresses systemic constraints to youth employment and supports the development of scalable and sustainable livelihood pathways. The program is implemented by Mercy Corps in partnership with Junior Achievement Africa.

About the position

The Program Manager – Market Systems for Employment (MS4E) will provide overall leadership for in-country implementation of the PROPEL program.

The role ensures that program delivery is adaptive, market-driven, and results-oriented. The Program Manager will translate regional strategy into context-specific implementation while embedding Political Economy Analysis (PEA), advancing private sector-led models, and applying targeted youth segmentation approaches, with a strong focus on NEET populations.

The position also ensures that interventions respond to local incentives and constraints, align with labor market demand, and generate sustainable employment outcomes at scale.

Essential responsibilities

Strategy and planning

The Program Manager – Market Systems for Employment (MS4E) will lead the development and execution of country-level strategies by translating regional priorities into context-specific interventions.

The role ensures that planning is grounded in a strong understanding of local market systems, institutional dynamics, and labor market realities to support adaptive and results-oriented implementation.

Program implementation and private sector engagement

The Program Manager will oversee implementation of program activities with a strong emphasis on private sector leadership as the primary driver of sustainable employment outcomes.

The role ensures that interventions are demand-led, market-oriented, and designed to crowd in rather than substitute private sector participation.

Youth segmentation and inclusion

The Program Manager will ensure that program delivery is informed by clear youth segmentation frameworks that enable targeted and effective interventions, particularly for NEET populations.

The role emphasizes differentiated pathways that respond to varying levels of vulnerability, readiness, and opportunity among young people.

Partnerships and ecosystem development

The Program Manager will play a central role in building and strengthening partnerships and market systems that support sustainable youth employment.

The role goes beyond individual partnerships and focuses on improving the overall functioning of the employment ecosystem.

Monitoring, evaluation, accountability, and learning

The Program Manager will ensure that robust MEAL systems are in place to track performance, measure system-level change, and inform adaptive management.

The role promotes continuous learning and evidence-based decision-making.

Financial and operational management

The Program Manager will oversee all financial and operational aspects of the program at the country level.

This includes:

• Budget management.
• Procurement processes.
• Administration of grants and sub-awards.
• Compliance with donor requirements.
• Compliance with Mercy Corps policies.
• Promotion of efficiency, accountability, and value for money in resource use.

Risk management

The Program Manager will proactively identify and manage risks associated with program implementation.

The role will use key stakeholder views and Political Economy Analysis to anticipate market distortion. Appropriate mitigation strategies will be developed and implemented to safeguard program integrity and ensure interventions remain inclusive, transparent, and aligned with intended outcomes.

Safeguarding responsibilities

The Program Manager will actively integrate safeguarding principles into all aspects of program delivery.

The role ensures that the dignity, safety, and well-being of participants and staff are prioritized. It also promotes a culture of openness, accountability, and adherence to Mercy Corps values, while encouraging the use of established reporting mechanisms for any concerns.

Supervisory responsibility

The Program Manager – Market Systems for Employment (MS4E) will provide leadership and management of the country program team.

This includes supervision of program and MEL officers to ensure clear accountability and strong performance management.

Accountability

Reports directly to

Regional Program Director – PROPEL

Works directly with

• Country Director.
• Regional technical teams.
• Finance and operations teams.
• PROPEL program lead at Junior Achievement Africa, the major consortium partner.

Accountability to participants and stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, especially to program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and international standards guiding relief and development work.

Mercy Corps is committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of field projects.

Minimum qualifications and transferable skills

Applicants should have:

• Master’s degree in economics, development studies, business administration, or a related field.
• Minimum of 7–10 years of progressive experience in market systems development, youth employment, or livelihoods programming.
• Demonstrated experience engaging and partnering with the private sector to design and implement market-driven interventions.
• Strong experience managing multi-partner, donor-funded programs, including implementation oversight and reporting.
• Solid understanding of labor market systems and youth employment dynamics, particularly barriers affecting NEET populations.
• Demonstrated leadership experience managing multidisciplinary teams and coordinating diverse stakeholders.

• Lead the development of annual and quarterly work plans aligned with PROPEL’s regional strategy and country context.
• Conduct and continuously update Political Economy Analysis (PEA) to understand incentives, power dynamics, and constraints affecting youth employment systems.
• Integrate PEA insights into program design, partner selection, and adaptive management processes.
• Align program interventions with labor market demand and private sector needs.
• Ensure strategic coherence between youth employment pathways, market systems development, and program outcomes.
• Lead day-to-day implementation of all PROPEL activities in-country, ensuring quality, timeliness, and delivery of results.
• Identify, engage, and manage partnerships with lead firms and private sector actors to co-create employment opportunities.
• Facilitate private sector-led models, including apprenticeships, job placements, and business service provision.
• Promote co-investment and ownership by private sector partners to ensure sustainability.
• Support a shift from supply-driven training approaches to demand-driven employment pathways.
• Apply structured youth segmentation frameworks to categorize target groups based on employability and vulnerability.
• Design and implement tailored pathways for NEET youth, including foundational skills, job readiness, and enterprise development.
• Prioritize inclusion of women, marginalized groups, and displaced populations where relevant.
• Establish systems to track youth progression across employment pathways and outcomes.
• Ensure interventions respond to barriers faced by NEET youth, including access, mobility, and skills gaps.
• Serve as the primary in-country representative of PROPEL in engagement with stakeholders.
• Build and manage strategic partnerships with government, private sector, training institutions, and financial actors.
• Strengthen ecosystem functions such as skills development systems, market information flows, and access to finance.
• Facilitate coordination with implementing partners and align interventions across stakeholders.
• Promote collaboration and alignment with national priorities and sector strategies.
• Oversee implementation of MEAL systems that capture both program outputs and systemic change.
• Track changes in private sector behavior, youth employment outcomes, and effectiveness of intervention models.
• Integrate learning loops informed by ongoing analysis, including updates from Political Economy Analysis.
• Ensure timely and high-quality reporting to regional teams and donors.
• Promote a culture of learning, reflection, and continuous improvement within the country team.
• Oversee all financial and operational aspects of the program at the country level.
• Proactively identify and manage risks associated with program implementation.
• Actively integrate safeguarding principles into all aspects of program delivery.
• Provide leadership and management of the country program team.

• Demonstrated experience engaging and partnering with the private sector to design and implement market-driven interventions.
• Strong experience managing multi-partner, donor-funded programs, including implementation oversight and reporting.
• Solid understanding of labor market systems and youth employment dynamics, particularly barriers affecting NEET populations.
• Demonstrated leadership experience managing multidisciplinary teams and coordinating diverse stakeholders.

• Master’s degree in economics, development studies, business administration, or a related field.