Program Administration and Communications Officer at Mercy Corps

Program / Department Summary

• The Small-Town Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (STWASH) program is a five-year initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), covering the states of Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno in Northeast Nigeria.
• The goal of the program is to facilitate the economic recovery of these select crisis-affected communities and bolster the three state governments’ capacities to create and sustain enabling environments for Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Agencies (STWSSAs) and Water Consumers Associations (WCAs) and for these service provision agencies to increase their capacities to sustainably provide essential WASH services.
• The activity will directly benefit 140,000 individuals/beneficiaries in 20,000 households (based on average number of persons per household) across the three states.

General Position Summary

• The Program Administration and Communications Officer will support the development and implementation of a communication strategy for the Small-Town WASH Program, including the regular development of timely, well-written and accurate factsheets, press releases, articles, success stories and other resources as needed.
• The Program Administration and Communications Officer is responsible for ensuring the STWASH project documentation and communications requirements are up to date.
• The Officer will provide support on administration, government, partner and stakeholder reporting coordination, external communication requirements for the donors, and record retention.
• The position requires a detail-oriented individual who can independently manage multiple workstreams to completion, track many priorities at once, and deliver quality results on time.

Essential Job Responsibilities
Administrative Support:

• Organize meetings and take detailed meeting minutes and reports of project activities.
• Follow up with the project partners, keep track of project documents and maintain a reporting shared calendar.
• Review and update reporting, filing, communications, and contract documents of engaged consultants.
• Provide administrative and logistical support for the project.

Reporting and Record Retention:

• Work with the COP to develop systems to ensure timely submission of all Project deliverables.
• Ensure all project electronic and hard copy folders meet PM@MC standards and are populated accordingly.
• Support the coordination of kick-off and close-out meetings.

Communications:

• Prepare communications documents, including, but not limited to, fact sheets, situational reports, operational updates, and human interest/success stories for sharing within internal Mercy Corps’ channels and for external stakeholders, including for donor engagement.
• Collect and analyze information on project achievements in the form of photos and short videos, and draw upon that information to draft, edit, format, and disseminate a wide range of internal and external information products.
• Produce other communication documents on an a- hoc basis as necessary and requested by the supervisor.
• Consolidate and draft information for internal reports, such as the 3Is (impact, influence, innovation)
• Design and implement different information systems, including the production and dissemination of newsletters, infographics and application tools.
• Support all program administration as needed.

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.

Knowledge and Experience

• Degree in Communication, International Development, Gender or any related field.
• A minimum of 2 years of admin and communication work experience in international development required.
• Experience in written and audio-visual communication materials.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent computer skills, including experience with PowerPoint and Microsoft Word,
• Experience interfacing with media, corporations and stakeholder management is highly desired
• Fluency in written and verbal English and Hausa is required
• Possesses the skills that help foster a learning and collaborative environment, as well as capturing new knowledge in the most effective way.
• Excellent planning and prioritization skills with the ability to multi-task.
• Ability to provide practical solutions within set deadlines.

Success Factors

• To perform this job successfully, the individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or competency required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

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 the 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.