Current Job Openings at Mercy Corps, 5th April, 2018

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Mercy Corps is a leading global organisation powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we collaborate 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 operates in over 13 states focusing on key thematic areas of humanitarian response, conflict mitigation and adolescent girls’ empowerment. We are recruiting to fill the position below:     Job Title: Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Intern Reference Number: ABV/DEVPRGGM/2018/00005 Location: Abuja Position Status: Intern Duration: 12 months Reports directly to: Senior Project Officer Project Description

• Mercy Corps’ through funding from the Gerald A. and Henrietta Rauenhorst (GHR) Foundation will implement TARE (which stands for “together” in Hausa) an inter-religious peacebuilding program. TARE aims to reduce participation in violence in Northern Nigeria through engagement of religious actors in interfaith and policy dialogues.
• Mercy Corps will use two unique approaches in three target states. In Borno State, Mercy Corps will engage male and female Christian and Islamic religious leaders to develop and implement community action plans to prevent violent extremism.
• This work will be done in cooperation with community leaders, civil society, and local and state government officials.
• While in Kaduna and Plateau States, Mercy Corps will work to strengthen collaboration between community religious leaders and institutions to promote interfaith dialogues and learning exchanges, resolve resource-based conflicts that fall along identity lines, and support linkages to formal governance processes at the state and local level.
• By evaluating and comparing the impact of each of the two approaches, the research generated during the TARE program will be used to inform future inter-religious peacebuilding programs in Northern Nigeria.

Position Objective/Purpose

• The Project intern will be an integral member of this team during the period of engagement.
• S/he will work closely with the TARE Senior Project Officer by assisting with data entries and analysis, update violence incident trackers, electronically impute resolve dispute story and any other work assigned.
• The intern would also support field level activities (expected to travel to project location) as directed by the Senior Project Officer.

Responsibilities It will include:

• Support the team in keeping up-to date track record of incidences in the incidence report tracker
• Data collection and entries for the Project
• Analyzing relevant data for the project
• Support the project in tracking project performance indicator
• Electronically imputing resolved dispute stories for project monitoring.
• Support the TARE project in ensuring project files are kept and stored according to Mercy Corps minimum standards.
• Support the TARE project with beneficiary count and differentials analysis
• Provide Monitoring and Evaluation support and participate in surveys and research activities
• Provide administrative support to the TARE project team.
• And any other task assigned by the TARE project team.

Qualifications and Personal Attributes

• Qualifications in the fields of the Social Sciences, Economics, Statistic, Conflict and Development Studies and other related fields
• Proven skills in the use of mobile device for data collection
• Experience in conducting quantitative and qualitative research in Northern part of Nigeria
• Excellent computer skills (Ms word, Ms excel, google sheet) Knowledge of SPSS is an added advantage
• Knowledge on data collection, entries and analysis.
• Strong and positive attitude to learning and team work.
• Possess a degree of flexibility to work and availability to respond to comments and questions in a timely and appropriate manner.
• Strong command of English and Hausa, especially ability to write high quality, clear and concise reports.
• Ability to work under stress and multi-task
• Willingness to travel to field locations if required.

    Job Title: Senior Project Officer Reference No: MDG/HUMOPS/2018/00008 Location: Maiduguri, Borno Program / Department Summary

• For years, the Northeast of Nigeria has been, plagued by insurgency and a dire humanitarian crisis. The intense focus on humanitarian and counter-violence activities, coupled with increasingly complex conflict dynamics in the region, has exposed gaps in the international community’s response to new and emerging sources of violence.
• Tensions between IDPs and host communities, resistance of communities to accept former fighters and their victims, fear of IDPs to return home and face tensions with those who stayed behind – these are just several evolving sources of conflict. If these issues are not addressed in a timely manner through locally- owned solutions, they have the potential to intensify and worsen the on-going crisis in the NE.
• The North East Conflict Management and Stabilization Initiative is an expansion from a pilot phase implemented by a consortium from August 2016 to March 2017. The project will result in increased peace within and between communities and increased confidence in government and security institutions to address the root causes of conflict and violent extremism in Borno State.

General Position Summary

• The Senior Project Officer will provide technical, management, and strategic leadership at community level by collaborating with the partner project staff, beneficiaries and other key stakeholders, to ensure that the program meets performance-based targets on time and within budget, as per DfID requirements.
• H/she will ensure that the NEC MS implementation contributes to the re-building of community trust in the ability of the Local and State Government to address the root causes of youth participation in violence in Borno.
• Support the project management in ensuring the achievement of the overall goal and objectives of the project within the target communities.
• Provide technical oversight and leadership of the project in the LGA/s assigned to you.
• Implement the activities within the assigned target communities and LGAs according to the project log frame and work plan: ensure you have a well-developed activity level implementation work plan.
• Develop and submit weekly and monthly activity plans in time for review and prior to implementation.
• Plan, organise and conduct quality community trainings, sessions and document the process, content delivered and identify indicators that you will monitor.
• Support the work of NEC MS partner staff in implementing their activity plans, community sensitization, training and planning sessions
• Build capacity of the partners and target communities in the key components the NEC MS project
• Monitor and report on the project progress within area of assignment: submitting weekly, monthly, bi-annual and annual reports. Submit to the DPM and copy the sector advisors including the PM.
• Productively participate in planning sessions and reviews called by the sector advisors /pm and or sub-grant partners.
• Work with the target communities to develop community / LGA level action plans and reviews
• Participate and provide leadership to assessments, surveys and research within the LGA/s assigned to you.
• Provide technical input as a resource person during workshops organised by the project
• Participate at delegated coordination meetings or events relevant to the project and provide detailed report within a day of the activity.
• Support other Mercy Corps interventions within the LGA/s assigned to you.
• Perform any other duties asked of you that are relevant to the attainment of the project goal.

Essential Job Responsibilities Program Support:

• Participate in the planning, implementation and review of project, and adaptation of new initiatives and innovations.
• Ensure quality and integrity of implementation, including adherence to technical guidelines, administrative systems, and established deadlines
• Ensure implementation of activities is on time, target and budget, using effective systems to reach desired impacts in order to assess the project effectiveness and impact and propose recommendations for improvements.
• Implement and model Mercy Corps’ philosophy of social entrepreneurship and leverage Mercy Corps’ best practices.
• In collaboration with the Monitoring Evaluation and Learning team, implement relevant surveys, need assessments, data and information collection for on-going monitoring in the LGA assigned.

Team Management:

• Sustain a work environment of mutual respect you and other team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
• Provide other team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.

Finance & Compliance Management:

• Ensure compliance of sub-grantee partners with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to field programming.

Influence & Reperesentation:

• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with implementing partners, local governments and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure project implementation targets are met.
• Participate in coordination meetings and workshops at LGA relevant to the project and or State level as delegated.

Security:

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that you and other field team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies

Organizational Learning:

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries:

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

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)
• Minimum of four years working experience in a similar context
• Written and spoken fluency in English and Hausa/ Kanuri is an added advantage
• Willingness to learn and interest in conflict, governance, peace, economic and community development 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
• Experience in an NGO (local or international) or research institution

Success Factors:

• Commitment to achieve results in a timely manner.
• Trustworthiness and integrity.
• Committed to humanitarian and development values and principles.
• Strong people-management skills.
• Strong influencing and negotiation skills.
• Strong communication skills.
• Cultural sensitivity.
• Gender equity and protection sensitive.
• Creative solutions to problems.
• S/he will have an outstanding ability to develop, implement and manage innovative and complex programs within the current and future program structure of Mercy Corps in the region.
• Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential.
• The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours .
• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

    Job Title: Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Advisor Reference Number: ABV/DEVPRGGM/2018/00004 Location: Abuja Position Status: Full-time Duration: Yes Reports Directly To: Senior Manager, Knowledge Management Programme / Department Summary

• The second phase of the Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises (ENGINE II) Programme is an initiative to improve the learning outcomes and economic status of marginalised adolescent girls aged 17 - 23 years old in the Northern Nigerian states of Kano and Kaduna, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and the metropolis of Lagos, Nigeria.
• ENGINE through funding from the UK Department for International Development’s Girls Education Challenge, the Coca-Cola Company and other stakeholders supported over 18,000 marginalised girls to reduce education and financial barriers in its first implementation phase. In its second phase, ENGINE II will facilitate the transition of these girls into functional literacy, numeracy and scale up their business opportunities and linkages.
• ENGINE II will further increase the access of these girls and young women to (1) financial education and life skills; (2) peer to peer networks and mentoring; and (3) direct assets (materials and savings). Beneficiaries will be integrated into value chains and other market-driven employment opportunities.
• ENGINE II will also work with girls in formal and informal education to increase their learning opportunities and outcomes to prepare them for future economic activities and work in the policy environment and in this way, provide an enabling environment for girls to flourish in their chosen pathways. Mercy Corps Nigeria is leading the implementation of the ENGINE II programme with new and innovative solutions to scale up existing interventions aimed at delivering quality education and skills to the hardest to reach girls.
• Mercy Corps will collaborate with other stakeholders for the implementation of the ENGINE II programme, including the Nigerian Ministry of Education, Central Bank, National Youth Service Corps and as well as private sector actors.

General Position Summary

• The Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Advisor will provide leadership in all aspects of monitoring, evaluation, learning, research, and information management.
• The MEL Advisor will coordinate closely with the Senior Manager, Knowledge Management, Deputy Programme Director and other members of the MEL team to plan and implement activities that ensure adherence to Mercy Corps and DFID standards, including the use of standardised indicators and documentation methodologies.
• Throughout the life of the programme, s/he will be the leader responsible for a) cross-cutting programmatic information management within the framework of the programme; b) monitoring and evaluation; c) ensuring that information is shared and used for continuous improvement of ongoing programmes, and d) is incorporated into reports.
• S/he will have responsibility for leading research efforts, networking with research agencies, documenting programme impacts, and overseeing field-based M&E staff.

Essential Job Responsibilities Strategy & Vision:

• Recognise opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcome.
• Set direction by prioritising and organising actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
• Develop and organise activities to secure resources for programmes and convince stakeholders to provide support.

Technical Leadership - MEL:

• Ensure that the ENGINE programme captures and reports high quality, verifiable data using valid and appropriate qualitative and quantitative tools that meet the requirements of both DFID and Mercy Corps.
• Adapt existing Mercy Corps and DFID monitoring tools, as well as propose new ways of measuring change through the use of both quantitative and qualitative data collection tools, analysis of secondary data, and, where appropriate, remote monitoring techniques.
• Establish and manage a database to track progress towards meeting project goals and objectives.
• Lead in the preparation of high-quality monthly, quarterly and annual reports.
• Coordinate internal and external reviews of information collected and lead the analysis of findings, with a strong emphasis on learning.
• Make performance results available to relevant programme teams so that they can be used for continuous improvement.
• Lead on collecting, aligning, and reporting relevant programme indicators as part of Mercy Corps’ global Mission Metrics initiative.

Communication And Capacity Building:

• Actively participate in meetings and processes to promote effective programme management (through strong MEL practices) across the entire country portfolio.
• Strengthen staff capacity in qualitative and quantitative monitoring and evaluation tools through comprehensive training and coaching.
• Problem-solve with others to address shortfalls in monitoring, evaluation and information management that affect programme implementation.
• Utilise internal Mercy Corps global online information-sharing resources to enhance organisational learning.
• Participate in M&E-related working groups and maintain close working relationships with MEL counterparts in other relevant international NGOs, local NGOs, and associations in Nigeria.

Research Coordination:

• Develop and manage effective longitudinal research methods to accurately track beneficiaries over the life of the project.
• Maintain regular contact with relevant research agencies, including through relevant research partnerships, and help to increase the skills and product quality of these organisations.
• Coordinate with Mercy Corps’ HQ-based Technical Support Unit (TSU) to guide process of ex-ante, ex-post and midterm evaluation from the design, implementation and documentation phases.
• Liaise with other research organisations to ensure coordination of efforts.

Team Management:

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
• Supervise, hire and orient new team members as necessary.
• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.

Finance & Compliance Management:

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.
• Draft and/or review scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants, including review for technical efficacy and contract budget.

Influence & Representation:

• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall programme targets and donor obligations are met.

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.

Organisational Learning:

• As part of our commitment to organisational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organisations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries:

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Supervisory Responsibility:

• Senior MEL Officer, MEL Officer and MEL Assistant

Works Directly With:

• MEL team, Finance and Compliance department and other relevant MC staff, members of MC’s global TSU and MEL staff.

Knowledge and Experience

• Postgraduate degree in development studies, social sciences, or relevant field, with a strong foundation in research methods, statistics, measurement, and evaluation.
• Preference is for candidates that have familiarity and experience with large-scale secondary education or school to work programmes and especially targeting marginalised girls or young women.
• Experience working in Northern States of Nigeria.
• Fluency in written and verbal English required.
• Minimum of 5 years of M&E work experience in international development required; ideal candidate will have both theoretical and practical background in M&E and skilled in qualitative and quantitative M&E methodologies and techniques.
• Knowledge of programme development, implementation, evaluation, and reporting.
• Experience supervising M&E teams and building team capacity to deliver high-quality results.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent computer skills, including experience with: Excel, PowerPoint, Epi-Info, SPSS, Access, and any other statistical packages.
• Demonstrated understanding of intermediate and advanced statistics and the ability to summarise, generalise, and make predictions from large data sets.
• Ability to conceptualise, plan and implement programme activities creatively, as well as possess the ability to analyse data and utilise lessons learned for the continuous improvement of programme implementation and to promote a culture of learning.

Success Factors

• The successful candidate will combine exceptional leadership, management and technical skills with a focus on innovative interventions to engage adolescent girls in informal education and skills building linked with private sector entrepreneurship and employment opportunities in a culturally and religiously conservative environment.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours .Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.
• S/he will have an outstanding ability to develop, implement and manage innovative and complex programmes within the current and future programme structure of Mercy Corps in the region. Multi-tasking, prioritising, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential.
• The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

    How To Apply Interested and qualified candidates should send not more than 4 page CV’s and Cover Letter in one document, addressing the position requirements and location to: [email protected]   Application Deadline  13th April, 2018.   Note

• All applications must include the position title and reference number in the subject line and should not be more than 4 pages.
• Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interview and we are an equal opportunity organization so women are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

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