Project Officer - Girls Opportunities for Advancing Literacy (GOAL) at Mercy Corps

Program/Department Summary:
Globally, Mercy Corps’ mission is to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. This occurs when public, private and civil society actors interact with accountability, inclusive participation and mechanisms for peaceful change. Our global strategy 1) takes an integrated, systems approach, 2) works in partnership with diverse actors, 3) is grounded in evidence and learning, and 4) uses a gender lens. Last year, we improved the lives of 19 million people globally. Mercy Corps manages programs in 43 countries. Working in Nigeria since 2012, Mercy Corps works across 11 states with a focus on the Middle Belt and Northern states through partnerships with USAID, DfID, GHR Foundation, Nike Foundation, MasterCard, and the Foundation for Partnerships in the Niger Delta (PIND). Mercy Corps links peace-building with economic development, focusing on vulnerable populations such as adolescent girls.

The Girls Opportunities for Advancing Literacy (GOAL) program is transformative. It addresses several challenges faced by girls in Nigeria by ensuring secondary education for marginalized girls is equitable and scalable by increasing girls’ learning outcomes and directly supporting girls’ increased control of economic assets. GOAL will increase financial literacy and labor-market relevant skills for 1,800 marginalized female junior and senior school students (ages 15 to 19) in Ministry of Education (MoE) and Islamiyya schools in Kano State. To ensure scale and sustainability, GOAL will support the Government of Nigeria (GoN) to operationalize the girl-centered financial curriculum in 30 schools.Mercy Corps has strong relationships with the MoE and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who are increasing financial literacy in secondary schools under the GoN’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy for 2020.

GOAL will accelerate innovation in Nigeria through the operationalization of a girl-centered curriculum at the secondary school level that will enhance employment-relevant skills for marginalized girls in Kano State, Nigeria with a focus on strengthened financial literacy skills and financial inclusion. GOAL will: 1) develop proof of concept of a tailored financial literacy curriculum for female students in junior and senior secondary schools and 2) enhance transferable and entrepreneurism skills relevant to the labor market. GOAL will be supported at multiple-levels by the GoN, specifically the MoE and CBN, to build an evidence base of strategies and tactics for teaching female secondary school students employment-relevant skills to inform a government-led scale-up of financial literacy curriculum while providing girls a supportive environment through a Safe Space model linked to their schools. Each aspect of the GOAL program is designed to be innovative and test new models for adolescent girls in Nigeria. GOAL will:

•     Integrate financial education at the school level. The Safe Space and GOAL financial literacy curriculum will be girl-centered targeting the lowest common denominator in the social and academic hierarchies - older adolescent girls.
•     Reinforce classroom learning with new technologies including SMS messaging groups.
•     Positively influence the GoN operationalization of the financial education curriculum.
•     Increase girls’ financial capabilities through direct savings and links with formal financial institutions.

GOAL will link with Mercy Corps’ existing ENGINE (Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises) program to provide girls with intensive business and entrepreneurship, leadership and life skills training. Under GOAL, Mercy Corps will allow girls who have graduated secondary school to enter into the 6-month business and entrepreneurship training program. The program will be weighted to the girls’ literacy and numeracy levels and will include business and entrepreneurial skills training and financial education comprising 75% of the time followed by leadership and life skills (25%). Once girls complete the 6 month business and entrepreneurship training course (4-6 hours per week), they will be eligible to opt-in to participate in the next stage of GOAL, starting their own microfranchise with either Coca-Cola or d.light solar lights. Girls who opt into one of the value chains will be provided additional product-specific training along with assets to start their microfranchise.
General Position Summary:
The Project Officer will support the implementation of activities for GOAL. This position will ensure GOAL implementation is responsive to marginalized Nigerian girls.

Essential Job Functions:
Program Support

•     Support technical aspects of school to work programming including linking girls to savings groups, providing support to girls regarding their future career aspirations, and helping girls to access apprenticeships, employment and internships.
•     Ensure implementation of activities is on time, target and budget.
•     Coordinate links with existing and planned donor interventions that target adolescent girls to identify girls on an on-going basis to participate in GOAL activities.
•     Advocate for the inclusion of marginalized girls and for girls to be active in non-traditional sectors at the household and community level and within Nigerian vocational and skills-based education.
•     Support girls as they develop skills and knowledge under the GOAL curriculum.
•     In collaboration with M&E staff, implement relevant surveys, need assessments, data and information collection for on-going monitoring.
•     Coordinate closely with other GOAL personnel to ensure all objectives of the proposal and activities are met.

Representation

•     Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.
•     Participate in education coordination meetings as requested by the GOAL Project Manager.

Supervisory Responsibility: N/A

Accountability
REPORTS DIRECTLY TO:Project Manager, GOAL
WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Other Mercy Corps technical and program staff and Mercy Corps’ implementation partners.

Knowledge and experience:

•     BA/S or equivalent in education, management, social sciences, international development or other relevant field. MA preferred.
•     A minimum of 5 years of experience in education, gender- focused, skills building program.
•     Experience managing large-scale secondary education or school to work and especially targeting marginalized girls or young women programs preferred.
•     Experience working in a multi-organizational team (international and national partners) is a plus.
•     Experience with private-sector led initiatives and DfID strongly preferred.
•     Strong written and oral communication skills in English required, including report development, writing and editing. Hausa language skills essential.
•     Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
•     Experience working with country-level ministries and government officials, Ministry of Education experience preferred.

Success Factors:
The successful applicant will combine exceptional planning, writing and organizational skills with a focus on innovative interventions to engage adolescent girls in increasing their savings. S/he will have skills in multi-tasking, prioritizing and problem solving. 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.

Living Conditions/Environmental Conditions:
This position will be based in Kano, where security may be particularly difficult at times.
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 MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.