Job Opportunities at Mercy Corps

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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. In Nigeria, Mercy Corps has worked since 2012 by focusing its programming on adolescent girls’ empowerment, economic development, conflict mitigation, and humanitarian response. We are recruiting to fill the positions below:   Job Title: Peace and Security Network (PSN) Intern Location: Abuja Program/Department Summary

• The Peace and Security Network (PSN) was been established to enhance the effectiveness and coordination of interventions that are designed to reduce conflict, or to prevent the start or resumption of violent conflict in Nigeria.
• These activities may address the underlying drivers, neutralize potential triggers of violence, create a societal expectation for peaceful conflict resolution or stabilize society politically and socio-economically in the midst of crisis situations.
• The PSN will mobilize various actors currently involved in or who will soon be involved in peace and security in Nigeria to develop and employ collective strategies and approaches to enhance the overall effectiveness and efficiency of conflict management, CVE and peacebuilding initiatives throughout Nigeria.

General Position Summary

• This successful candidate will have a unique opportunity to test academic knowledge in real-life conflict scenarios, under the guidance of a highly professional team.
• The intern will further advance his/her knowledge in the program area and build interest in the field.
• He/she will also gain understanding of the skills and knowledge required for success in a global workplace.
• The intern will also develop decision-making and critical thinking skills, increase confidence and self-esteem.

Essential Job Functions

• The PSN intern will be a motivated learner and a passionate activist for the improvement of the peace and security situation in Nigeria and for the role of civil society in this context.
• This will be an opportunity for a committed worker to learn about coordination and the development sector in general, while developing research, analytical, communication and organizational skills.
• The intern will remain responsible for all costs associated with:
• Housing and personal living expenses
• Life and health insurance cover
• All other expenses not specified as a responsibility of the organization

Special Duties

• Facilitate communication between PSN members and follow up regularly for updates and contributions.
• Assist in mobilizing PSN members, preparing meetings and taking minutes.
• Organize logistics for trainings, workshops, events and other PSN activities.
• Update and maintain contact lists and knowledge sharing platforms.
• File and archive information and documentation of PSN’s activities.
• Maintain PSN calendars (internal and external).
• Draft agendas and circulate to the identified recipient lists.
• Compile links to relevant media, reports, assessments, etc. from identified key sources.
• Follow up pending action points within PSN members.
• Support in updating PSN Workplan and Advocacy Strategy.
• Engage with external partners on relevant topics.
• Under the supervision of PSN Manager, will work with external partners (NGOs, donors, Government, etc.) to plan/facilitate partnerships.
• Collect, organize and disseminate information from members of the PSN on peace and security issues.
• Research on key principles, standards and best practices in conflict analysis, conflict management, peace messaging, peacebuilding, C/PVE etc.
• Potential field visits to collect information on current and potential PSN members at field level.
• Mapping of project activities.

Knowledge and Experience

• Advanced University Degree in Political Science, International Relations, Journalism, Social Sciences, Peacebuilding, Conflict Management, International Development or related Technical field (minimum Bachelor's degree).
• Experience in an NGO (local or international) or research institution.
• Knowledge of and contacts in Nigerian NGOs.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and work assignments simultaneously.
• Ability to connect messages and content into stories easily understood by a broad audience.
• Regularly monitor conflict indices and events across the country and record them in the Mercy Corps Violent Incidents Tracker (VIT) for the conflict management program.
• Provide support in new program design and development.
• Written and spoken fluency in English. Knowledge of Hausa is a plus.
• Willingness to learn and interest in peace and security related fields.
• Excellent writing, editing and analytical skills and ability to formulate well-targeted documents.
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced and often demanding environment.
• Flexibility in terms of office hours.

  How to Apply Interested and qualified candidates should submit their CV's and Cover Letter in one document, addressing the position requirements to: [email protected] Note

• All applications must include the position title in the subject line and not more than 4 pages.
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
• We are an equal opportunity organization and we strongly encourage women to apply for this position

      Job Title: Consultant: Final Evaluation Assessment - Yes Project Location: Kano and Lagos Background

• Youth Empowered for Success (YES!) is a partnership with The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation (TCCAF) and Harambee which seeks to enhance employment for 25,000 young people in six African countries by 2018, and 500,000 by 2022.
• Mercy Corps is the lead implementer in Kenya, Uganda, Liberia, Nigeria, and Kenya.
• The program has three work streams:
  • Core YES! Model: Localizing the YES! model in 6 countries to improve the employment and entrepreneurship of 11,000 youth.
  • Innovation and Digital: Driving innovation in youth employment in Africa through business solutions including digital tools, reaching 14,000 youth.
  • Thought leadership: Research and learning on youth economic empowerment in Africa, building an evidence base enabling partnerships to scale to reach 500,000

YES! Program Description

• YES! began operating in Nigeria in 2017. YES! is unique in its focus on linking youth to employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, rather than just training. We are working to develop a low-cost and replicable model based around three processes:
  • Youth engagement through ‘hubs’ - natural convening points for youth - to efficiently and effectively reach youth;
  • Strong private sector engagement based on local opportunities; and
  • Facilitated linkages’ to enable youth to access these opportunities.
• In Nigeria, we are working with WAVE (West Africa Vocational Education) to scale their job-matching models for vulnerable youth:
  • Youth engagement: YES! works to reach the most vulnerable young people using WAVE’s extensive participant recruitment process, which sees their hunger and commitment as a strength to be channelled into entry-level jobs. We screen hundreds of youth to find the best fit for the program
  • Private Sector engagement: YES! leverages WAVE’s network of over 170 employers, and build new relationships with companies in the hospitality, retail and service sectors looking for keen, work-ready entry-level employees
  • Facilitated linkages: In order to prepare young people for the job market, YES! in Nigeria uses WAVE’s three-week intensive work-readiness training, building soft skills through a practical learning methodology including job shadowing. We then shortlist and support participants through the job-match process. Critically, we provide post-placement support and mentoring to ensure workplace retention and career growth.
• Through this partnership, YES! has established a brick-and-mortar Academy in Ajah and provided training to 250+ young people. YES! has established 4 partners to ‘replicate’ WAVE’s model, ranging from small non-profits to government institutions. Through the latter stream, YES! has facilitated the training of 2000+ young people; overall, the partnership has enabled 100+ participants to access new income streams, primarily entry-level jobs in the hospitality sector.

Objectives of the Consultancy

• So far, the program has not carried out any significant assessments to determine intermediate outcomes of our strategies. As YES! closes out its first phase, the program is committed to continue building its evidence base on what works and what does not in our current strategy to empower young people in Nigeria as well as to contribute meaningfully to the global conversation on youth economic empowerment.
• The YES! Program in Nigeria is seeking qualified consultant/s to conduct a final evaluation examining the outcomes and any impact of the program against the program plan, the effect of various strategic changes during the life of the program, as well as the sustainability of its actions.
• Key areas of inquiry to be investigated in this evaluation are outlined below; these shall be revised and refined in consultation with the successful bidder.

Learning and Livelihood Outcomes

• YES! employs a “mixed livelihoods” approach, which moves beyond a conception of employment as static and rigid, in the form of formal wage employment, to a more robust understanding of youth employment as complex and dynamic.
• YES! recognizes that neither youth ‘unemployment’ nor ‘employment’ are black and white in Africa; most young people have complex livelihoods, piecing together their employment from a combination of different income streams rather than through full-time salaried positions, which the local economies do not provide.
• YES! therefore measures its impact on youth employment in four domains of change:
  • Skills: includes work readiness as well as financial literacy skills
  • Security: indicated by the stability and/or diversity of work portfolios, as well as viability of youth businesses
  • Income and savings: indicated by the Net Additional Income Change (NAIC), and financial management capacity
  • Meaningfulness: indicated by work satisfaction and retention, confidence in employment and entrepreneurship potential, and presence of supportive environment
• Apart from assessing outcomes based on the above domains of change, the consultant/s will determine: to what extent YES! has reached ‘vulnerable youth’; the constraints and enablers of youth benefiting from the program; and the effectiveness of various program components in facilitated desired outcomes in participants.

Program Sustainability The Consultant/s will also examine the sustainability of the program, specifically,

• The ability of the community and local governments to continue program initiated activities after Mercy Corps’ exit
• The capacity of local institutions for improved support
• The capacity of community structures to maintain the infrastructure developed in the program

Consultancy Objectives

• The consultant/s will develop their own approach, in collaboration with the YES! Results, Learning & Research Coordinator and the project team based in Lagos.
• They will employ research methodologies with sufficient rigor to generate actionable answers to the research questions within the resources and time frame available for this effort.
• They will have access to the monitoring data from YES! Implementation so far, but much of the research will require on-the-ground observation, interviews, surveys, focus groups, participatory activities and more.
• The tools will be submitted to Mercy Corps program staff for review prior to field testing or deployment. The assessment should actively and respectfully engage primary stakeholders throughout the research cycle.
• The consultant/s will deliver a final evaluation report that outlines the achievements, challenges and learning of the program, and will provide recommendations for future programming in the particular geography and technical area.
• A draft copy of the report will be reviewed for feedback by Mercy Corps for completeness and accuracy of program objectives and results.
• The report will be no longer than 35 pages excluding annexes.
• The target audience for the report is Mercy Corps, its partners, and other organizations operating in the region.

Consultancy Activities The Consultant/s will:

• Develop a sampling frame based on geography and program beneficiary numbers that justifies the methodology
• Develop qualitative and quantitative tools that will be reviewed by program staff before piloting and implementation
• Thoroughly test the survey tools before full field deployment
• Use survey tools to survey program participants and beneficiaries
• Travel to YES! Hubs in Nigeria to undertake data collection activities
• Use tested qualitative tools to conduct focus group discussions and key informant interviews with community partners, and key program staff

Consultancy Deliverables:

• The Consultant/s will deliver:
  • An inception report no more than one week after the signing of the contract including a detailed sampling frame
  • All survey and interview tools for review prior to testing and deployment
  • A draft final evaluation report for review by YES! management
  • A final evaluation report highlighting the results and achievements of the program in relation to its stated  objectives
  • The full raw dataset of surveys and interviews conducted for the evaluation
• The consultant/s will have responsibility for ensuring quality and rigor of the research findings.
• The work from start to finish is estimated to take 35 days. This contract will be deliverables-based and payment will be based on the successful completion and delivery of all components of the work.

Time Frame

• The consultancy will take place over 35 days

Resources Mercy Corps will be responsible for:

• Field logistics
• Access to program documents and key program staff
• Workspace while in the field

The Consultant/s will be responsible for:

• Travel to Nigeria/primary Mercy Corps site
• All field expenses (food, accommodation, communications, etc.)
• Any computer or software needed for the assignment

Qualifications The Lead Consultant should possess the following qualifications:

• Advanced University Degree in Education, Program Management or other development related fields
• Experience in applying qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods, with a minimum of 6 years, demonstrating a strong record in designing and conducting/leading evaluations, particularly in the area of education
• Experience carrying out participatory assessments in Western Africa; experience evaluating entrepreneurship or youth livelihoods preferred
• Excellent language skills in English (oral communication and report writing); knowledge of local languages preferred

  How to Apply Interested and qualified candidates should send their Technical & Financial Proposal and other document, addressing the position requirement to: [email protected] To apply, candidates are to provide the following: Technical proposal, of no more than 10 pages, containing the following:

• Understanding of the objectives of the study;
• Proposed methodology, including sampling frame calculation
• Implementation plan;
• Proposed final report structure;
• Team structure and CVs of team members; if applying as a firm, include legal firm registration documents and proof of tax compliance
• Details of proposed enumeration team;
• References, web links or electronic copies of two or three examples of recently completed evaluation reports. Candidates are also encouraged to submit other references such as research papers or articles that demonstrate their familiarity with the subject under review
• At least one reference from a former client.

Financial proposal containing the following:

• Detailed budget, clearly outlining each cost, the quantity, and the total anticipated project cost

Note

• Submissions after the deadline will not be taken into consideration.
• All applications must include the Position Title in the subject line
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
• We are an equal opportunity organization and we strongly encourage women to apply for this position.

  Application Deadline  2nd February, 2018.

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