Resilence Advisor at Mercy Corps

Position Description

Location Yola, Nigeria

Position Status Full-time, Exempt, Regular

Reference Number: ABV/PRO/2019/0046

Program / Department Summary

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and its influence spreads across the continent. Yet, inequality and insecurity have consistently undermined Nigeria's development. Mercy Corps Nigeria was established in 2012 to respond to these challenges. The Nigeria team is headquartered in Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with offices throughout Nigeria. With a strong and growing team of over 200 staff, Mercy Corps is currently serving over 600,000 beneficiaries across the country with programming in Lagos in the South; Kaduna, Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau in the Middle Belt; Kano, Yobe and Borno in the North. Programs include girls’ education and financial inclusion, community peacebuilding, market-based livelihoods and a multi-sector humanitarian response that has a strong emphasis on WASH, Shelter, Cash and Protection. With the vision of a Nigeria in which all people are empowered, engaged, resilient and secure, Mercy Corps Nigeria focuses on the root causes of conflict, governance, humanitarian response, and market systems development.

Working with a diverse funding base that includes the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UK Department for International Development (DFID), United Nations (UN), European Commission (EC), European Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO), Global Affairs Canada (FKA DFATD), and several foundations, Mercy Corps empowers people to recover from crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good. Mercy Corps is starting a five-year, $30 million USAID-funded Rural Resilience Activity in Nigeria’s northeast. The purpose of the Rural Resilience Activity is to sustainably move people out of chronic vulnerability and poverty. The Rural Resilience Activity (RRA) will enable individuals and communities to engage in strong and sustainable market systems rather than continuing to rely on humanitarian assistance and faltering with each new shock.

General Position Summary

The Resilience Advisor will be responsible for the technical leadership and guidance on integration of resilience approach across the RRA. S/he will partner closely with technical advisors and program leadership to ensure resilience-thinking supports design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes within and across interventions and supports greater impact. In addition to strengthening technical approaches in resilience, working closely with the CLA Advisor, s/he will be responsible for guiding teams and capturing program successes, failures, and lessons learned and facilitating adaptive management and reflective processes to ensure learning improves programming. S/he will be the technical lead to ensure integration of climate-smart activities and conflict sensitivity across sectors and markets that the RRA is targeting. The position will coordinate closely with the M&E team to ensure that systems are in place to track, analyze and report results. The selected candidate will play a key role in the research activities of the project and keep abreast of the latest research and evolutions. Working closely with the CLA Advisor s/he will be the point person to lead coordination, collaboration and learning platforms and establish a productive working relationship with other implementers in North-East Nigeria.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Technical leadership

• Work closely with project leadership and technical team to set capacity-building priorities to ensure integration of resilience approaches into program design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning.
• Facilitate processes with team members that allow for the integration of resilience approaches to improve sector-based and cross-sectoral programming, and get to impact
• Adapt and develop context and program-specific guidance, tools and training to advance the integration of resilience-thinking and action into program systems
• Coordinate and deliver training workshops and sharing/designing tools and resources that facilitate team capacity-building in resilience.
• Provide technical support and mentoring to technical and sector leads and team members in ensuring high-quality, impactful implementation in resilience, documentation of lessons and taking initiatives to scale.
• Ensure technical compliance with USAID rules and regulations, and adherence to grant agreement
• Ensure quality implementation of Resilience intervention strategies using adaptive management approaches to inform and improve the program.

program quality learning and communication

• Work with MEL and implementing teams embrace the use of a resilience monitoring system, to track resilience outcomes and document lessons learned.
• Work with teams to set and oversee the delivery of research and learning priorities in resilience including measuring resilience at the systems level
• Identify opportunities that can demonstrate evidence and deliver compelling messages on what works best for resilience and NRM.
• Oversee support systems and structures that actively cultivate learning and exchange on resilience approaches team members and partner agencies; serve as technical lead on resilience across partner agencies
• Coordinate the development of high-quality learning products, program briefs and thought pieces articulating and sharing evidence and proxy indicators of success for building resilience
• In coordination with the MEL team, monitor the implementation of activities through regular field visits and assessments to ensure program quality and impact. Document approaches, successes and lessons learned.
• Coordinate with the CLA Advisor to organize program review and reflection processes to capture learning its use in programming

Influence & Representation

• Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO and other relevant events, in close coordination with the Chief of Party and country leadership.  
• Coordinate activities with the consortium and strategic partners, local government and private sector partners and other implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.

Security

• Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to develop and maintain systems that promote the safety and security of all team members.
• Ensure that programs are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security.

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.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Deputy Chief of Party

Works Directly With: Chief of Party, MEL Team, Markets and Livelihoods Specialist, Program Team, Technical Advisors, finance and operations teams, HQ Regional Program Team, HQ Technical Support Unit, Partner Organizations

Knowledge and Experience

• MA/S or equivalent experience in agriculture, environmental management, social science, governance or other relevant field required.
• Minimum five years of relevant technical experience and experience in program management, design, monitoring and evaluation, with proven ability to coordinate and manage diverse, complex initiatives.
• Thorough understanding of resilience thinking and systems approaches to development, natural resource management and conflict sensitivity approaches is required. Good understanding of food security, youth, urbanization, market systems development, and environmental programs is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to design and facilitate processes to use research and M&E to improve program learning and adaptive management.
• Strong representation, networking and facilitation skills. Proven ability to synthesize and communicate complex subjects/topics effectively to multi-stakeholder groups.
• Effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational, and prioritization skills.
• Demonstrated ability to transfer knowledge to diverse audiences through training, mentoring, and other formal and non-formal methods.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively with a diverse, geographically spread team.

Success Factors

The successful Resilience Advisor will be an intrepid relationship manager skilled at working across teams to achieve results. S/he will be conscientious, with an excellent sense of judgment and commitment to integrity. S/he will demonstrate effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational, and prioritization skills. Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required. The successful Advisor will have a sincere interest to see big-picture trends through various systems lenses and roll up his/her sleeves to put theory into practice in fieldwork.  Finally, s/he will have an ability to train and facilitate dialogue among a diverse group of individuals with various skill sets and working styles through innovative capacity building and facilitative techniques.

Method of Application

Applicants should their CVs and Cover Letters in one document, addressing the position requirements, reference number and location to: ng-recruitment.nigeria@mercycorps.org

Note

All applications must include the position title and reference number in the subject line
Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interview
We are an equal employment opportunity organization so women are strongly encouraged to apply for this position