Program Officer (GIRL-H) at Mercy Corps

Supervisory Responsibility: None
Reports Directly To: GIRL-H Program Manager
Works Directly with: Lagos local implementing partner and GIRL-H MEL officer

Program / Department Summary

• Girls Improving Resilience through Livelihoods and Health (GIRL-H)is a three-year, multi-country program beingimplementedin Kenya, Uganda, Haiti and now expanding to Nigeria. In Nigeria, the program seeks to improve the well-being of adolescent girls, boys, and young people with diverse identities, which makes them have unique and distinctive needs and capabilities, by increasing their access to skills and knowledge, health resources, formal education, and economic opportunities.
• GIRL-H also fosters an enabling environment by working with communities to transform unhealthy social norms and create opportunities for adolescent girls, boys, and young people to access education and economic opportunity through an integrated approach to programming.
• Key to GIRL-H is a robust learning and research agenda that reaches across four focal countries to contribute to the evidence-based on what works to secure access to opportunities for adolescent girls, boys, and young people within the most marginalized communities and to better understand their contribution to household resilience.
• This evidence and learning will be shared to elevate Mercy Corps’ influence in the program participant’s space and to bolster fundraising efforts to scale the model. In coordination with the local partner organizations in Lagos and Lagos states of Nigeria, the GIRL-H Program Officers will support the GIRL-H Program Manager in the routine implementation of the GIRL-H program activities.

General Position Summary

• Under the direct supervision of the GIRL-H Program Manager, the GIRL-H Program Officer will support a local partner organization in Lagos state in conjunction with community leaders, safe space mentors, and community structures to ensure that eligible adolescent girls, boys, and young people are attending weekly safe space sessions where literacy, numeracy, life skills, and financial literacy modules.
• TheGIRL-H Program Officer will build and maintain essential relationships with a local implementing partner, state actors in both public and private sectors, relevant community stakeholders, and program participants.
• The GIRL-H Program Officer in conjunction with the local implementing partner’s Program Officers, will work directly with Safe Space and Other Mentors, strengthen their capacities to ensure quality and timely implementation of GIRL-H activities.

Essential Job Responsibilities
Program Implementation:

• Provide leadership and daily oversight for planning and implementation of GIRL-H activities including mentorship to the local implementing partner in Lagos.
• Support the GIRL-H Program Manager in the development of activity plans and reporting format for activity implementation and ensure that every activity reported is supported with evidence.
• Support the GIRL-H Program Manager in advocacy and maintenance of effective partnerships with the relevant departments of the state and local Government to elevate GIRL-H objectives.
• Support the GIRL-H Program Manager in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the program activities.
• Contribute to the development of training manuals, safe space guide, program tools, and Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials; facilitate GIRL-H related training for safe space mentors.
• Supervise the activities and performance of local implementing partners; conduct routine team meetings, adhere to performance reviews timelines, troubleshoot challenges, and standardize
  implementation approaches.
• Identify and document best practices and lessons in the GIRL-H program and provide timely feedback to the Program Manager.
• Work with the Finance team and local partners to ensure that activity budgets are prepared, and payments processed promptly.
• Ensure timely and consistent submission of program reports, success stories, and other relevant data to the MEL Officer and the Program Manager (weekly, monthly, and quarterly reports).

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Provide ongoing mentorship to the local implementing partner team on quality data collection processes for completeness, accuracy, and timely submission.
• Oversee the governance structures filling system in the GIRL-H program implementation wards, districts, and communities, and ensure that information is organized according to the reporting and auditing needs of the program.
• Work with MEL officer to ensure accurate data collection including Sex and Age Disaggregated Data (SADD), data validation, assuring quality control measures, and timely data submission.
• Through the local implementing partner’s field staff, the Program Officer will support and mentor community group leaders as partners and structures on data collection and use.

Influence and Representation:

• Support and coordinate field learning visits in the state, in collaboration with GIRL-H Program Manager.
• Support the GIRL-H Program Manager in coordination and communication of field activities with other non-governmental organizations, state, and local government partners for effective synergy, thereby avoiding service duplication, but enhancing support for an enabling environment for GIRL-H program interventions.
• Establish and maintain a productive working relationship with the GIRL-H Program Manager, Lagos State local implementing partner, stakeholders, and work in unison to develop complementary joint monitoring, evaluation, and adaptive management structures where possible.

Ethics and Integrity:

• All Mercy Corps staff are expected to behave ethically and demonstrate the highest integrity in their professional and personal life. Mercy Corps has zero tolerance for any form of fraud, corruption, abuse, harassment, or exploitation. Any breach of our policies or misconduct will lead to disciplinary action or may lead to termination.

Security:

• Ensure data protection policies are adhered to, establishing security controls for software, hardware, and archive beneficiary databases.

Organization 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 Program Participants:

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging participants' communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of our field activities.

Knowledge and Experience

• A Bachelor's Degree in Social sciences, Public Health, or in a related field
• 3-5 years of related professional experience in adolescent girls programming, youth, women empowerment, or livelihoods.
• Demonstrated skills in data collection, verification, and documentation.
• Proven skills in networking, team building, community consultations, and organizational development.
• Excellent reporting, communication, and representation skills
• Willingness to consider new perspectives, promote gender equality and engage in gender training.
• Proven knowledge and capacity in using computer basic applications MS Word, Excel, and internet
• In-depth knowledge of the social, cultural, and economic context of Lagos is a plus
• Experience in capacity building of sub grantees.
• Fluency in the local language (Yoruba) prevalent within the operational state of Lagos is highly desired.

Success Factors:

• The successful candidate will have an excellent team and interpersonal relationship skills, with demonstrated ability to work effectively in complex environments.
• S/he will combine strong communication skills, creativity, initiative, participatory leadership, and tactful decisiveness to assist in program implementation. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem-solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential.
• S/he must have the confidence and humility to work effectively with a diverse group of people – as well as be sensitive to political and cultural nuance. S/he must be able to consistently apply excellent judgment to a variety of demanding and fast-changing situations while working as part of a team and coordinate with program personnel, and utilizing data to inform activity implementation and program learning.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

• This position is based in Lagos with significant travel to field locations in Lagos
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed. Team members are expected to conduct themselves professionally and respect local laws, customs, and Mercy Corps policies, procedures, and values always and in all in-country venues. Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision.