Livelihood Officer (Agriculture & Livestock) at Mercy Corps

Program / Department Summary
With the insurgency affecting North-East Nigeria and displacing millions of people, Mercy Corps is to implement a multi-sector response that covers Nutrition, Food assistance, Agriculture, WASH, Shelter and Protection to support the conflict-affected population. The nutrition response supports both nutrition-sensitive and specific interventions that contribute to the prevention, detection and management of malnutrition. These include:

• Promotion of Maternal, Infant, Young Child Nutrition (via support groups, one-to-one counselling and community-wide SBC for IYCF);
• Provision of supplemental Nutrition Assistance i.e. distribution of Fresh Food Vouchers, backyard gardening and poultry production aiming at improving dietary diversity among targeted households;
• Nutrition surveillance activities i.e. community nutrition screening, nutrition surveys and assessments aiming at monitoring the nutrition situation of targeted vulnerable individuals;
• Management of children with uncomplicated Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) through established Outpatient Therapeutic Program (OTP) services, as well as support referral and follow-up of SAM patients with medical complications to Stabilization Centers (SCs) and children with Moderate Acute malnutrition (MAM) to Targeted Supplementary Feeding Program (TSFP).

General Position Summary

• The Livelihood Program Officer is responsible for the day to day implementation of the backyard gardening and poultry production activities.
• He / She will work closely with the Nutrition Team, FSL & Cash team, MEL team, and operations staff (including finance and operations) to ensure that activities are implemented according to schedule, budget and required quality.

Accountability:

• Reports Directly to: Senior Program Officer – Agriculture.
• Works Directly with: Nutrition & CASH team.

Essential Job Responsibilities
Strategy and Vision:

• Collaborate with other team members for effective integration between other services like Nutrition and health services
• Collaborate with local authorities and other partners to harmonize different efforts for better impact and sustainability.
• Able to learn and update his/ her information or knowledge to adapt to the changing situation and context

Program Management:

• Responsible for monitoring and supervision of the day-to-day implementation of backyard gardening and poultry production and ensuring it is in accordance with the agreed work plan.
• Coordinate with the MEL team to map, identify and register program participants.
• Train targeted beneficiaries on best agronomy practices, climate-smart agriculture and poultry production through formal trainings, on-job mentorship and supportive supervision.
• Identify any gaps or capacity needs within the team and ensure training and capacity building is incorporated into program planning.
• Coordinate and or supervise community mobilization and nutrition sensitization activities that promote increased consumption of nutritious diets
• Participate in planned food and nutrition security assessments/ surveys.
• Participate in periodic program monitoring and evaluation activities including baselines, end lines, midterm reviews, lesson learning exercises and compilation of success stories.
• Closely collaborate with other sector teams to ensure an integrated approach internally with MC sectors and externally with complementary activities implemented by other nutrition actors.
• Actively participate in area-level nutrition, food security and livelihood sector meetings.
• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with communities, local authorities and other stakeholders to create enabling environment and ownership.
• Ensure timely submission of quality weekly and monthly activity reports.
• Serve as technical focal person for all field level engagements.

Team Management:

• Identify technical gaps among staff line managed and in liaison with the line manager provide on the job training and/ support supervision.
• Participate in developing detailed project implementation plan and orient the line managed on agreed actions.

Finanace and Compliance Management:

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.

Influence and Representation:

• Creates and maintain a relationship with local health and other authorities to link services with the existing health structure smoothly,
• Upholds the image and values of Mercy Corps at all times,

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.

Supervisory Responsibility:

• Livelihood Assistant.

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 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.

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture or relevant field required.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience focused on food security, livelihood or Nutrition, including community mobilization, participatory planning and rural/community development.
• Prior experience implementing agriculture or livestock support programs is essential, preferably in conflict settings.
• Demonstrated strengths in analytical skills, monitoring and evaluation, and report writing
• Demonstrated skill in training and facilitation.
• Excellent oral and written skills and computer skills
• Willing and able to be based within remote areas, where services are limited.
• Familiarity of the intervention areas
• Fluency in Hausa, Kanuri and English.

Success Factors:

• He / She should be able to work independently
• Have good interpersonal and communication skills.
• He / she should have an understanding of humanitarian principles and their application to program implementation.
• Must be able to solve problems and multi-task on a range of administrative and programmatic issues.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:

• Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges.
• We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
• We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

• Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have a sustained global impact.
• We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all.
• We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, colour, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding and 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 the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary-General and IASC. 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 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.