Natural Resources Management / Livestock Advisor at Mercy Corps

Program / Department Summary

• Mercy Corps Nigeria was established in 2012 to respond primarily to growing humanitarian needs in the Northeast. 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), and several foundations, Mercy Corps empowers people to recover from crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good. In 2019, Mercy Corps was awarded a five-year, $30 million USAID-funded Rural Resilience Activity in Nigeria’s northeastern states.
• The purpose of the Rural Resilience Activity is to sustainably move people out of chronic vulnerability and poverty. The Rural Resilience Activity 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.
• The Rural Resilience Activity is a five-year, $45 million USAID-funded Program 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 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. To achieve this purpose, the Activity will have five components and five cross-cutting elements:
  • Component 1: Provide up-to-date evidence for the selection of market systems, livelihoods and employment opportunities that contribute to inclusive and resilient growth and improved nutrition.
  • Component 2: Stimulate market systems growth and diverse economic opportunities (Pull activities).
  • Component 3: Build capacity to take advantage of market systems opportunities (Push activities).
  • Component 4: Sequencing, layering, integrating (SLI), and collaborative learning to improve activity effectiveness, sustainability, and scale.
  • Component 5: Supporting Market Resilience to COVID-19 Shocks.

General Position Summary

• The NRN / Livestock Advisor will be responsible for the integration of the program’s climate change adaptation and natural resource management across the RRA interventions.
• S/he will provide technical advice on the livestock sector interventions.
• S/he will partner closely with technical advisors and program leadership to ensure Climate resilience-thinking supports the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation processes within and across interventions and supports greater impact.
• S/he will be the technical lead to ensure the integration of climate-smart activities 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.

Essential Job Responsibilities
Technical Leadership:

• Develop and document RRA climate change adaptation and MRN strategies, and advise on best practices with regards to climate-smart and resilient agriculture, tapping into Mercy Corps agency best practices and technical guidance on climate change adaptation.
• Support provision of overall strategic direction for the climate-smart and livestock interventions within North Eastern Nigeria; monitoring and quality assuring all intervention guides and resulting outputs.
• Identify new markets with the aim of contributing to the overall programme strategy; liaise with programme senior management team on potential markets and design effective implementation strategies for approved market interventions ensuring that they meet all donor and programme requirements
• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships within the market and play a lead role in managing all established partnerships.
• Guide climate change and livestock market assessments and studies ensuring that Terms of References (TORs) and expected outputs/deliverables are well defined, provides guidance on the technical approach to the assessments/studies, comments and provide input to improve quality of such studies and advises RRA on climate change and livestock intervention.
• Design and develop RRA climate change and livestock support approach and marketing products - presentations, briefings, etc. that will maximise RRA’s message, support programme objectives.
• Support Intervention Managers to undertake market-specific strategies for natural resource management, climate-smart agriculture, and the livestock sector.
• Provide support to Intervention Managers in designing identified climate-smart interventions. This will entail supporting the clarification of the pitch, elaboration of the results chain logic and the measurement plans, development of the interventions plans and where necessary, support the roll-out of interventions.
• Support scoping of new ideas and new partners - This will entail identifying potential markets/areas/partners of engagement, presenting a pitch for such ideas to the technical team, once approved, supporting the relevant Intervention Managers in designing and implementing the intervention.
• Advise RRA leadership on the Strategic and Technical fit of any agreed intervention, study and partnership as requested.
• Facilitate processes with team members that allow for 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 to 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 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 and 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 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.
• Supervisory Responsibility: None.
• Reports Directly To: Deputy Chief of Party
• Works Directly With: Chief of Party, MEL Team, Intervention Team Leader, 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

• M.A / M.Sc Degree or equivalent experience in Agriculture, Environmental Management, Social Science, Governance or other relevant field required.
• Minimum of five (5) years of relevant technical experience and experience in program management, design, monitoring and evaluation, with proven ability to coordinate and manage diverse, complex initiatives.
• A thorough understanding of resilience thinking and systems approaches to development, natural resource management and conflict sensitivity approaches is required. A 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 NRN / Livestock 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 field work.
• 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.

Diversity, Equity & 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 & 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.