New Job Openings at Mercy Corps Nigeria, 12th Sept., 2019

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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

 

Job Title: Liaison and Safety Officer

Reference Number: MDG/HUMOPS/2019/00083
Location: Biu – Borno State

Program / Department Summary

• Mercy Corps has been present in Nigeria since December 2012, focusing its interventions on adolescent girls’ empowerment, economic development and conflict mitigation. In mid-2014 Mercy Corps has decided to address the rising humanitarian needs among displaced households and vulnerable host communities by in the north east Nigeria and started its humanitarian program.
• With funding from humanitarian donors including OFDA, FFP, EU and ECHO the humanitarian program has been focusing on food assistance, non-food items distribution, protection, livelihoods support, WASH and capacity building of humanitarian response actors.
• All Mercy Corps interventions in Nigeria are implemented in a conflict and gender sensitive manner.

General Position Summary:

• Reporting to the Country Safety & Security Manager (CSSM), the Liaison & Safety Officer will be responsible for the security analysis and strategic planning support required by the team within the geographical locale in which operations are situated. The Liaison & Safety Officer is responsible for ensuring security protocols are in place at the responsible field sites, maintaining security information networks and assisting all the responsible personnel in operational, programming security and liaison activities. The post-holder will likewise be responsible for outreach and coordination to local NGO networks, as required, to support coordinated engagement work within the relevant geographical locale.

Essential Job Functions
Security Analysis & Operational Security:

• Work with the Country Safety & Security Manager, Field Managers, Team Leader and field teams to monitor the security environment in the designated areas of Nigeria, with particular focus in the program areas of operations.
• Stay informed (through media, social media, contacts, etc.) about the safety and security situation in Central & Northern Borno on daily basis.
• Liaise with security counterparts in other parts of the state and the country in order to understand how security situations in other areas affect
• Verify acquired information through secondary sources.
• Maintain regular contact with field teams about the safety and security situation in their area
• Produce advisories (longer term), incident reports, security updates and other work products as directed for CSSM review and dissemination to staff
• Produce immediate security advisories to be put out on various security channels in order to ensure staff safety
• Review staff movement to the field and give advice in order to mitigate risks as necessary. Produce road assessments, etc. for dissemination to staff
• In conjunction with the CSSM prepare and deliver relevant security trainings for relevant staff (i.e. guards, drivers, program staff, etc.)
• Vehicle & Staff Tracking: Track vehicle movements where and when required until the safe, arrival
• to destination. Give advice regarding road movement as needed prior to movement (i.e. identifying safe areas, sharing road assessment, etc.
• Provide initial analysis of relevant security development and communicate them to the CSSM
• Update Local Area Security Plans, Contingency Plans, Security Bulletin Boards and other documents on at least a quarterly basis or as directed by the CSSM. Ensure plans are shared with and disseminated to relevant staff.

Reporting:

• Daily Risk Ratings per location
• Monthly Go / No-Go for key roads and districts
• Incident Reports and Incident Log – always up to date (provide incident analysis for CSSM review)
• Risk Assessment – quarterly minimum
• Flash Reports – immediate dissemination of critical incidents in our area of work

Details

• Prepare weekly security brief and share with all staff in the meetings
• Be readily available at all times to the applicable field teams to give feedback on relevant security developments
• Alongside the relevant operational focal people, ensure that relevant staff members have and are able to use this equipment, including radios, satellite phones, fire extinguishers, etc through regular training and orientations for new staffs.
• Alongside with the relevant operational focal people, conduct comprehensive security/risk assessment in potential new program/field sites in Northern & Central Borno and elsewhere as directed by the CSSM.
• Work with the relevant program and operational focal people as well as the Team Leader, on community acceptance messaging and other operational strategies in the area of operations in Northern & Central Borno and other locations as directed.
• Gain movement clearances through INSO as required.

Liaison Activities:

• Stay abreast of political developments and humanitarian trends in Nigeria, with an emphasis on the humanitarian crisis in the NE, informing the CSSM.
• Ensuring sufficient capacity and knowledge to support policy analysis and strategic planning around the humanitarian architecture and operational issues.
• Collaborate with the Operations Manager, Team Leader and CSSM to act as official representative at meetings with external engagement targets.
• Identify and liaise with external partners
• Develop a calendar of upcoming lobby opportunities to be tapped into.
• Liaise with leads from relevant international coordination structures
• Engage with peace building and resilience working groups, through calling for meetings, drafting action-oriented meeting notes, support in sourcing for presenters and developing agenda for the meetings.
• Ensure collaboration with the OCHA-chaired Humanitarian Communications Working Group.

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.

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.

Accountability:

• Supervisory Responsibility: None
• Reports Directly To: Country Safety & Security Manager
• Works Directly With: Security Manager (Abuja), Liaison & Safety Officers, Field Managers, Operations Manager, Team Leader, Program Managers, Field Teams.

Knowledge and Experience

• University degree in related field.
• 2 years of security management experience is desired with a minimum of 1 years of security management experience in an INGO.
• Relevant work experience in policy analysis, influence, strategic planning, communications, research, media, data gathering and/or information management
• Demonstrated capacity to develop and implement strategies with clear theories of change
• Excellent writing, editing and analytical skills and ability to formulate well-targeted strategic documents
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced and often demanding environment
• Fluency in English required, with demonstrated writing skills
• Computer literacy in using Microsoft Office and email/internet.
• Demonstrated understanding of complex emergencies, related security concerns, and appropriate responses to such emergencies. Good context analysis skills.
• Excellent negotiation and representation skills and the ability to work comfortably with an ethnically diverse staff in a very sensitive environment.
• Effective skills in coordination, organization and prioritization as well as in Microsoft Office applications.
• Demonstrated attentions to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work cooperatively with team members.
• Experience living and working in Nigeria, and experience in the Northeast preferred.
• Knowledge of Mercy Corps systems and procedures highly desirable.
• English proficiency required; excellent written and oral skills.
• Ability to speak Hausa or Bura and any other North East local languages (desired but not essential)

Success Factors

• Critical to this job is the ability to carry out liaison & networking activities, think critically, keep abreast of security situations within volatile terrains, work out methods to deliver successful programs, be able to comply with Mercy Corps and donor regulations while maintaining strong cooperative relationships with other departments.
• The successful candidate will have the ability to interact effectively with national and international staff members and demonstrate ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and provide relevant advice and support in a fluid security environment.
• The candidate will also have to be able to demonstrate a high degree of professionalism and must be able to live and work closely with a diverse team of individuals in a highly intense environment.
• Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

• The position is based in Maiduguri, Borno State and it requires travel between field offices.

 

Job Title: Program Officer – Women Peace Building Council Coordinator

Reference Number: ABV/PRO/2019/0029
Location: Abuja, Nigeria (With an estimated 40% travel to other program locations)
Position Status: Full-time, Field-based, and Regular.

Program / Department Summary

• The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched one of its most comprehensive peacebuilding programs in Nigeria to date with Mercy Corps, a leading global humanitarian aid and development organization, which has been working with communities in Nigeria since 2012. The goal of the Community Initiatives to Promote Peace (CIPP) program is to prevent violent conflict in the most at-risk communities across 6 states and 24 local government areas (LGA) in Nigeria’s North West and North Central regions. CIPP builds on the accomplishments and deep contextual knowledge gained by USAID and Mercy Corps through their previous peacebuilding programs in Nigeria.
• Mercy Corps’ strategy has also expanded to address the root causes of the conflict and seek to build the long-term resilience of communities with integrated programs focusing on governance, protection of the vulnerable population, social cohesion, inclusion of women, youth and persons living with disabilities, and local conflict management.
• The CIPP program will be implemented in six Middle Belt & North-Western Nigerian states: Benue, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kogi and Plateau. CIPP will strategically build on the past four years of the Mercy Corps former peacebuilding programs to:
  • Improve local capacity and skills to manage disputes
  • Strengthen and enable more sustainable Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) mechanisms
  • Increase collaboration among communities with government agencies, CSOs, and local leaders to address the root causes of conflict
  • Strengthen women’s capacities to prevent and resolve conflict
  • Improve ability to address violent extremist recruitment tactics.

General Position Summary

• The Program Officer- Women Peacebuilding Council Coordinator will ensure an intentional approach to engaging women in peacebuilding work through the program’s multi-level women councils, and enable women and vulnerable groups to participate fully in peacebuilding activities, including negotiation mediation and community dialogues.
• The Officer will provide necessary orientation and advise to all the implementing partners and agencies on engaging the Women Peacebuilding Councils on issues and policies, and engage with the partners in reviewing and support the Gender & Inclusion Officer with the provision of necessary inputs on drafting advocacy and policy briefs for women engagement in peacebuilding work.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Support the formulation and management of the Women Peacebuilding Councils at State and Local Government levels in collaboration with the Gender & Inclusion Officer, Program team and implementation partners
• Facilitate capacity building training and activities to strengthen the capacity of the Women Peacebuilding Councils across the six states
• Foster multi-level and interstate learning by facilitating joint activities specifically for the councils across the six states
• Support the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) team in establishing and implementing gender-sensitive monitoring, evaluation, learning and reporting systems
• Support the Gender & Inclusion Officer to develop the data collection and analysis tools for the baseline assessment to guarantee gender and social inclusion considerations.
• Assist the Gender & Inclusion Officer & M&E team in conducting a local gender assessment at the start of the program with an integrated gender and social inclusion analysis, to inform how CIPP address needs in different States
• Assist implementing partners to develop gender-sensitive and gender-responsive monitoring mechanism as well as engage with the Women Peacebuilding Councils in program activities;
• Work closely with the Communications Officer to support the documentation of successes, lessons learned and best practices and communicate with the Gender Officer & program team to contribute to global knowledge on gender and social inclusion in relation to conflict and peacebuilding
• Provide partner organizations with ongoing gender integration and social inclusion technical assistance
• Support the inclusion and representation of the most vulnerable and marginalized populations across all CIPP program components, including as staff members, project participants, trainers, facilitators, speakers, evaluators, and so forth
• Support the integration of gender and social inclusion considerations into operational research design and policy analysis
• Provide necessary orientation and advise to all the implementing partners and agencies on  gender and social inclusion issues and policies;
• Contribute to the production of resource materials addressing the issues of women in peacebuilding
• Facilitate policy dialogue on women and conflicts, gender and social inclusion, sexual and gender-based violence, gender-sensitive transitional justice with government through the Councils and other relevant stakeholders;
• Support the engagement of partners in reviewing and providing necessary inputs on drafting necessary advocacy and policy briefs for women engagement in peacebuilding work;
• Support the capacity strengthening of CSOs and government partners towards planning and implementing of project activities on women peacebuilding, gender and social inclusion in conflict management programs;
• Collaborate with the Monitoring and Evaluation team to make sure that the impact measurements focus on women and other vulnerable groups;

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.
• Team members are expected to conduct themselves professionally and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Accountability:

• Reports Directly To: Gender & Inclusion Officer
• Works Directly With: Program Team, Communications Officer, M&E Team, Staff of Partner Organizations, Operations team etc.

Requirements, Knowledge and Experience

• University degree in Gender Studies, Sociology, Peace Studies, International Development or related field required
• Minimum of Two (2) years of progressively responsible experience working in program management on gender and social inclusion issues within the community and civil society development programs, preferably with USAID or other U.S. Government programs
• Excellent knowledge of gender and social inclusion issues in Nigeria including social, political, and cultural gender norms and challenges
• Excellent knowledge of the status of vulnerable and marginalized populations within Nigeria and their engagement in social, political, and cultural realms
• Experience in conducting gender and social inclusion analysis, as well as integrating and implementing findings into program activities
• Experience building capacity of local stakeholders on gender and social inclusion issues
• Experience integrating social inclusion in community participatory engagement or advocacy preferred
• Demonstrated analytical and organizational skills
• Experience engaging local stakeholders, including CSOs, political leaders, and other local and national government leaders in gender and social inclusion initiatives
• High level of interpersonal, diplomacy and communication skills
• Ability to work well in a team environment, as well as work effectively with civil society organizations, donors, project staff, and other beneficiaries.

Success Factors:

• The successful Program Officer will combine exceptional implementation skills and coordination skills with a focus on innovative interventions to bring communities together.
• An ideal candidate will be conversant with the challenges inherent in peacebuilding, gender inclusion and will be a self-starter who has led grassroots development efforts.
• He/she will have an outstanding ability to support innovative programs within the current and future program structure of Mercy Corps in Nigeria. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem-solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential. The candidate must have excellent attention to detail.

 

Job Title: Program Officer

Reference Number: ABV/PRO/2019/0028
Locations: Abuja & Plateau
Position Status: Full-time
Reports Directly to: Program Manager
Works Directly With: Program Manager, Senior Program Officers, MEL Team, Communications Officer, Finance, Program and Operation teams

Program / Department Summary

• The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched one of its most comprehensive peacebuilding programs in Nigeria to date with Mercy Corps, a leading global humanitarian aid and development organization, which has been working with communities in Nigeria since 2012. The goal of the Community Initiatives to Promote Peace (CIPP) program is to prevent violent conflict in the most at-risk communities across 6 states and 24 local government areas (LGA) in Nigeria’s North West and North Central regions. CIPP builds on the accomplishments and deep contextual knowledge gained by USAID and Mercy Corps through their previous peacebuilding programs in Nigeria.
• Mercy Corps’ strategy has also expanded to address the root causes of the conflict and seek to build the long-term resilience of communities with integrated programs focusing on governance, protection of the vulnerable population, social cohesion, inclusion of women, youth and persons living with disabilities, and local conflict management.
• The CIPP program will be implemented in six Middle Belt & North-Western Nigerian states: Benue, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kogi and Plateau. CIPP will strategically build on the past four years of the Mercy Corps former peacebuilding programs to:
  • Improve local capacity and skills to manage disputes
  • Strengthen and enable more sustainable Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) mechanisms
  • Increase collaboration among communities with government agencies, CSOs, and local leaders to address the root causes of conflict
  • Strengthen women’s capacities to prevent and resolve conflict
  • Improve ability to address violent extremist recruitment tactics

General Position Summary

• The CIPP Program Officer is responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the program. S/he will support the implementation of activities related to capacity building for farmers, herders, religious leaders, religious institutions and other appropriate actors.
• The Officer will support the facilitation and implementation of joint conflict prevention and PVE plans, and the facilitation of events related to advocacy initiatives.
• S/he will also provide support to all other activities related to the USAID-funded CIPP Program and will ensure smooth, timely, and compliant implementation across the six states. The Program Officer will liaise frequently with implementing partners, community members, conflict actors, religious leaders, and represent Mercy Corps at relevant meetings.
• The Program Officer will work closely with the Program Manager, Senior Program Officers, Communications Officer, MEL team, and Operations staff (including finance and operations) to ensure that activities are implemented according to schedule, budget and required quality.

Essential Job Functions
Program Support:

• Support technical aspects of the peacebuilding and conflict management program by assisting with the development of activities/agendas/curricula as appropriate
• Facilitate and co-facilitate community meetings, events, and training as required
• Ensure implementation of activities is on time, target and budget
• Liaise with CIPP partner organizations and potential resource persons as needed
• Support the Program Manager in overseeing the performance of project implementation by partners and conduct frequent field visits to program sites
• In collaboration with M&E staff, coordinate the implementation of relevant surveys, needs assessments, data and information collection for on-going monitoring
• Develop activity work plans and manage day-to-day activity implementation
• Ensure that program implementation is responsive to community needs, meets targets, and is carried out in line with best practices
• Establish and maintain effective program reporting and monitoring and evaluation systems (to track, analyze and report on results) for both internal and external use
• Integrate community approaches, protection mainstreaming, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate
• Ensure effective community engagement to create enabling environment and ownership
• Submit weekly program updates including success stories to supervisor
• Update Program Issue Log, Risk Register & Incident Tracker as appropriate
• Ensure program filing system is in place, adheres to internal and donor regulation and filing is regularly maintained
• Adhere to all MC policies related to security, operations and transport/ logistics information related to programming

Representation and Coordination:

• Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO, community meetings in close coordination with the Project Manager.
• Coordinate activities with implementing partners, local government representatives, religious leaders, other international and local organizations operating in the same geographic area, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs in Nigeria

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.

Finance & Compliance Management:

• Ensure compliance with all donor and Mercy Corps regulations

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:

• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and not jeopardize its peacebuilding mission
• Other duties as assigned.

Required Knowledge and Experience

• BA/BS or equivalent in Conflict Management, Social Sciences, International Development or other relevant fields
• A minimum of 5 years of experience working in the non-profit sector preferably on conflict management/peacebuilding and community development
• Experience working in rural areas in Nigeria, particularly in target states of CIPP
• Experience working in a multi-organizational team (international and national partners) is a plus
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English required, including report development, writing and editing. Knowledge of Hausa is strongly preferred
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members
• Experience engaging with State and Local Government authorities, religious leaders and local partners
• Experience managing community-based peacebuilding and conflict management interventions
• Strong training and capacity building experience
• Demonstrated understanding of the conflict dynamics in the Middle Belt & Northwest Nigeria
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions:

• The positions are based in Abuja and Plateau and require up to 30% travel to the program sites field and around the Middle belt and Northwest.

Success Factors:

• Must be able to work independently and show initiative. Strong leadership, communication, and management skills are essential.
• Understanding of peacebuilding principles and their application to program implementation is required. Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Must be able to solve problems and multi-task on a range of administrative and programmatic issues.
• The ability to interact effectively with international and national personnel is required. 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 professionally and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Deadline: 20th September, 2019.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should submit no more than 4 page CV and Cover Letter in one document, addressing the position requirements to: ng-recruitment.nigeria@mercycorps.org

Note

• All applications must include the position title and Reference Number in the subject line.
• CV and cover letter and should not be more than 4 pages.
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for an interview and we are an equal opportunity organization so women are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.