Development and Project Management

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004. In partnership with civil society organizations, private sector, and the government, Mercy Corps Ethiopia has reached more than five million Ethiopians with interventions to save lives and build secure livelihoods. Our programs emphasize market-driven solutions, reinforce social bonds, and help communities build resilience to the impacts of climate change. Currently in six regional states – Afar, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, Amhara and South Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) – Mercy Corps Ethiopia is driven by the mission to contribute the emergence of a peaceful, resilient, and prosperous Ethiopia which is inclusive of youth and women. Our strategic directions focus in promoting inclusive and dynamic markets; promoting peace and social cohesion through strengthening formal/informal governance structures and citizen engagement; improved natural resource governance; and integrated humanitarian response.

              Position Title: -MSD OFFICER – LIVESTOCK/CROP

             Duty Station: Jigjiga 

             Open Position:  1

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps is implementing a five year, Feed the Future USAID funded Resilience in Pastoral Areas (RiPA North) aimed to improve the resilience capacities of households, markets and governance institutions across the Somali, Afar and Oromia regions, collectively contributing to enhanced food security and inclusive economic growth for targeted community.

RIPA includes a Crisis Modifier component that allows us to pivot our approach and respond to humanitarian needs in ways that support, not undermine, long-term development and resilience objectives. In relation to this, Mercy Corps is planning to implement a $10 million Crisis Modifier in response to the drought and Global Food Crisis impacting Ethiopia. This includes the following three objectives: 1) Improve short-term food security, nutrition, and WASH outcomes for vulnerable households; 2) Sustain and increase food production by farmers and livestock producers while fostering a shift to more resilient production practices; 3) Female and male youth TOPs have improved capacity to make a successful transition to alternative livelihoods.

General Position Summary

The Market Systems Development (MSD) officer is responsible to facilitate interventions and activities under RiPA and the $10 million Crisis Modifier response objectives that pertains to Intensified and Sustained Pastoral and Agropastoral Production and Marketing Component. She/he will be directly engaged with a wide range of actors and stakeholders including government, private sector actors and program participants with a focus on Livestock/crops production and marketing.  He/she will be a key member of Market Systems Development unit. 

The MSD Team uses a market-systems, community-led approach to stimulate economic growth to create wealth and jobs for the poorest while maximizing investment from the private and public sectors. The MSD Team is comprised of technical expertise in the areas of production, marketing, employment, input/output markets, post-harvest technologies and financial services. The focuses will be on supporting livestock/crop production activities, small and medium enterprises development, facilitating access and uses of production supporting inputs and output market development.

Essential Job Responsibilities

·       Provided technical facilitation support in the area of responsibilities for MSD activities to ensure the planned activists are implemented timely and with required deliverable quality.

·       Facilitate and coordinates markets systems assessment, organizing validation workshops and stakeholder platforms/events in in collaboration with MSD specialists and Coordinators across the cluster.

·       Facilitate capacity building efforts for market actors (i.e. private, public) on the MSD approaches, identification of the market system opportunities/constraints through conducting continues system analysis, develop approaches/modalities to support the establishment and/or expansion of the high potential small and medium scale private business enterprises in markets areas focused on last mile service delivery, access to livestock/agricultural inputs, support the delivery of market based animal health inputs, feed/fodder, agricultural inputs through market actors to targeted communities, facilities stimulating destocking and other related under RiPA component areas;

·       Facilities the development of short-term strategies and its implementation linkages creation between market actors (i.e., training providers, technology providers, inputs suppliers, producers, traders, processors, cooperatives and other related) to improve outreaches in the target community;

·       Engage in regular field visits to assess the activities implementation progress, give technical advises/mentor, and provide feedback(s) for further improvement.

·       Closely work with supervisor and M&E team during the development of monitoring tools/measuring indicators, milestones development, and monitoring/ reporting of output and outcome in his/her area assigned.

·       Ensures the program properly captures, documented and updated relevant information in Intensified and Sustained Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Production and Marketing of RiPA;

·       In collaboration with cluster MSD team, work to build and maintain close relationships with key government partners and local implementers;

·       Represent Mercy Corps professionally in cluster areas as to bring credit and to maintain its humanitarian and development mission;

·       Compile and submit regular updates/reports (weekly, monthly and quarterly); and

·       Other duties as assigned

Strategy & Vision

·       Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.

·       Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.

 Program Management

·       Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan.

·       Ensure that beneficiaries are effectively targeted according to established vulnerability criteria.

·       Develop partners’ MoUs and contracts & oversee a training program for program partners.

·       Develop program implementation strategies, including partnership frameworks, beneficiary targeting and distribution process as well as WASH, psychosocial and capacity building of partners.

·       Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate.

·       Ensure program implementation is on time, target and budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts.

·       Create and maintain systems ensuring effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with donor and Mercy Corps policies and procedures.

·       Fulfill Mercy Corps’ Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.

·       Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards.

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

GEDSI (GENDER, EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION)

·       Understand and aware GDI related priorities of the country office and contribute for the realization of priorities (continually work to understand and be aware of the gender diversity and inclusion priorities of the country office and contribute in the execution)

·       Promote gender equal and inclusive workplace culture in a day-to-day interaction with a team member, partners and program participants.

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

·       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.

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.

Knowledge and Experience

·       Minimum of bachelor’s degree in the areas: Animal/plant science, Economics, Agricultural Economics, Rural Development, Agribusiness, Marketing and other related subjects.

·       Minimum of 3 years’ experience in private sector and/or NGOs working focused on MSD (facilitation and providing technical supports), agribusiness and/or financial services.

·       Good understanding on the Markets4Poor approach and Markets development facilitation including coaching, relationship building, communicating, entrepreneurialism/business understanding and innovating.

·       Experiences in supporting privet sector lead business enterprises in pastoral/ agro-pastoral settings, providing business development supports, industries (public and private), institutions and stakeholders.

·       Knowledge of participatory analyses, action and results processing.

·       Experience/exposures to the location/region he/she applied for.

·       Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in humanitarian response preferred.

·       Knowing the local language of position applied is required (e.g., Applicant interested to works in Somali region should know Somali language)

Success Factors

Define the specific behavior and attitudes critical to success in the position at time of hire and as it develops over time in paragraph form (soft skills).

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