About this role
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Location: Monrovia, Liberia
Position Status: Full-time
Risk Level: ☐ 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.
The Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps has worked in Liberia since 2002, initially responding to the humanitarian impacts of the country's civil conflicts and subsequently evolving its programming to address the changing needs and priorities of Liberian communities. Over the past two decades, Mercy Corps has implemented a diverse portfolio of programs focused on food security, agricultural livelihoods, nutrition, financial inclusion, youth economic empowerment, renewable energy, water and sanitation, and community resilience, supporting sustainable development and improved opportunities across the country.Mercy Corps Liberia works across multiple counties and sectors to address evolving development needs and humanitarian challenges. In collaboration with government, communities, donors, and other partners, Mercy Corps implements programs that support food security, livelihoods, economic opportunity, and resilience. The country's program is supported by operational and technical teams that help ensure effective, accountable, and compliant program delivery.
General Position Summary
The Technical Director serves as the senior technical lead for a school feeding and education program in Liberia, providing strategic oversight of technical design, implementation, quality assurance, and sustainability efforts. Working closely with the Chief of Party, the Technical Director ensures the effective integration and delivery of interventions that strengthen literacy, school participation, nutrition, health, and food security outcomes for school-age children. The position leads the program's technical vision, promotes the use of evidence and learning to improve program quality, and ensures activities are aligned with national priorities and best practices.As a member of the senior management team, the Technical Director provides leadership and mentorship to technical staff, fosters collaboration with government ministries and implementing partners, and supports capacity strengthening at national, county, school, and community levels. The role promotes sustainable approaches that strengthen school feeding and education systems while encouraging local ownership and long-term results. The Technical Director serves as a key technical representative with government stakeholders, technical working groups, and partners, and may act on behalf of the Chief of Party as delegated.
Essential Job Responsibilities
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND TECHNICAL DIRECTION
• Lead implementation of the program's overall technical strategy and ensure achievement of program objectives and results.
• Provide technical leadership across all program components, including school feeding, literacy, nutrition, health, agriculture, and hygiene promotion, social and behavior change, community engagement, access and participation, and sustainability.
• Ensure technical approaches are evidence-based, contextually appropriate, and aligned with donor requirements and Government of Liberia priorities.
• Work closely with the Chief of Party to refine program strategies based on emerging evidence, learning, and stakeholder feedback.
• Promote integration and coordination across all technical sectors to maximize program outcomes.
PROGRAM QUALITY AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT
• Ensure the technical quality of all program activities and deliverables.
• Ensure school feeding interventions are integrated with literacy, school health and nutrition, and community engagement activities to maximize educational and nutrition outcomes.
• Provide technical oversight for interventions that strengthen linkages between school feeding and local food systems, including school gardens, local procurement approaches, and community participation in school feeding sustainability efforts.
• Establish systems and processes to monitor implementation of quality and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Use monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning findings to strengthen programming and support adaptive management.
• Lead technical reviews of work plans, reports, assessments, studies, training materials, and other program deliverables.
• Ensure that safeguarding, disability inclusion, and sustainability considerations are integrated into all activities.
• Work closely with the M&E team to ensure robust systems for measuring program performance and impact.
• Support baseline, midline, endline, and special studies, assessments, and evaluations.
• Promote data-driven decision making throughout program implementation.
• Contribute to work planning and technical reporting and ensure accuracy and quality of technical documentation.
PARTNERSHIPS AND REPRESENTATION
• Provide strategic technical leadership and guidance for engagement with national, county, district, and school-level stakeholders to strengthen government systems for school feeding, literacy, school health and nutrition, planning, supervision, and service delivery.
• Support implementation of the program's graduation, transition, and sustainability strategy, including strengthening government ownership, local capacity, and institutionalization of key program functions.
• Foster coordination across education, health, nutrition, agriculture, and local government stakeholders to support integrated service delivery and sustainable outcomes.
• Represent the program in donor meetings, technical working groups, sector coordination forums, and stakeholder consultations.
• Build collaborative relationships with consortium partners, local organizations, research institutions, and other implementers.
• Share program innovations, lessons learned, and best practices with internal and external audiences.
TEAM LEADERSHIP AND CAPACITY BUILDING
• Supervise and mentor technical team members, fostering a culture of excellence, collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, and professional development of technical staff.
• Conduct regular performance management and coaching.
• Strengthen the capacity of program staff and partners through training, mentoring, and technical assistance.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration among technical, operations, finance, and M&E teams.
COMPLIANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT
• Ensure technical activities are implemented in accordance with donor regulations, program agreements, and organizational policies.
• Support risk identification and mitigation related to program implementation.
• Ensure all staff understand and adhere to safeguarding, protection, and ethical standards.
• Maintain compliance with security policies and procedures during program implementation.
Supervisory Responsibility:
Program Advisors and Government Partnerships Director
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Chief of Party
Works Directly with: County-based senior management teams, Program Manager, Technical staff, program, MEL, and partner teams
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.
Knowledge and Experience
• Master's degree in education, nutrition, public health, food security, international development, agriculture, or a related field with at least 7 years of progressively responsible experience; or Bachelor's degree with at least 10 years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading large, multi-sectoral donor-funded programs in areas such as education, school feeding, nutrition, public health, food security, agriculture, community development, or related sectors.
• Demonstrated experience strengthening government systems, institutional capacity, service delivery structures, and community-based implementation mechanisms.
• Strong understanding of education systems, school feeding programs, school health and nutrition approaches, food security, or related development sectors in Liberia, and a history of productive involvement with decentralized government processes and service delivery systems.
• Demonstrated experience managing large-scale, geographically dispersed programs involving multiple partners, technical sectors, and levels of government.
• Strong leadership skills, proven experience in strategic planning and ability to effect and manage change effectively.
• Experience managing programs implemented through partnerships with government entities, local organisations, and communities.
• Demonstrated experience supporting program learning, adaptive management, and use of data for decision-making.
• Ability to balance strategic leadership with practical implementation problem-solving in a complex multi-stakeholder environment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to lead and work effectively in team situations.
• Experience managing USG funded, including planning, reporting, compliance, and performance management requirements.
• Fluent oral and strong analytical, written English communications skills are required.
Success Factors
The successful Technical Director will be an inclusive and collaborative leader who can translate strategy into action while maintaining high standards of technical quality. They will possess strong relationship management skills and the ability to build consensus among government stakeholders, partners, and multidisciplinary teams. The successful candidate will demonstrate innovation, sound judgment, adaptability, and a commitment to achieving sustainable improvements in education, nutrition, and food security outcomes for children and communities in Liberia.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in Monrovia, and it requires up to 50% travel to support the program, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited.
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 ([email protected]).
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Candidates are therefore encouraged to apply early, as the position may be closed before the final application deadline.