Program Officers at Mercy Corps

Job Location: Maiduguri- Borno

General Program/Department Summary

• I-SING project is a 2 year funded project by the EU- Trust fund.
• The project’s focus is on adolescent girls and boys using the safe spaces model. The project works with IDPs, returnees and the host community.
• The overall objective of the program is to improve the safety, livelihoods and personal agency of adolescent girls in North East Nigeria.

General Position Summary

• The project officer will be responsible for supporting activities in the intervention communities of ISING program.
• S/He will be responsible for supporting the implementation of strategic, impactful, and high-quality programming.
• The project officer will report to the Deputy Programme Manager and work collaboratively with the Program Manager as well as fellow program staff.
• S/he will work extensively with other sectors to ensure that all program activities are implemented successfully and timely.

Essential Job Functions
Strategy/Vision:

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Develop and organize activities to secure resources for programs and convince stakeholders to provide support.

Program Management:

• Support in project start-up and ongoing project management and administration of activities including beneficiary identification, distribution site selection, planning and implementing the distributions, working with partners and facilitating
• Contribute to all fieldwork, including identifying beneficiaries and vendors, participating in distributions, monitoring and supporting beneficiaries during the shopping periods, coordinating with community leaders and other stakeholders and other field-based tasks as assigned.
• Ensure effective beneficiary targeting according to established vulnerability criteria.
• Contribute to program reporting, monitoring and evaluation systems for both internal and external use in coordination with the other program staff.
• Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate.
• Conduct monitoring and data collection as directed by the Program Manager/Deputy, assisting with specific surveys or assessments as needed.
• Contribute to providing the Deputy Program Manager with up-to-date information on the affected and targeted community and coordinates beneficiary lists and numbers with different stakeholders.
•  Adherence to all MC policies and procedures as outlined in MC policies and procedure manuals;
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian mission in country of operation;
• Other duties as assigned.

Finance & Compliance Management:

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.
• Responsible for expenditure tracking of  activities carried out in the field

Influence & Representation:

• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with the community, government and other stakeholder’s
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets are met.
• Security
• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.

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.

Knowledge and Experience

• Previous working experience with women and girls is required
• Knowledge of community participation approaches and conflict management skills
• Ability to manage community volunteers and effective conflict management skills
• Negotiation skills, especially while working with communities
• Ability to organize and prioritize work, as well as meeting strict timelines
• Experience in report writing is essential
• Experience working in an NGO is an added advantage
• Undergraduate Degree in any Social Sciences, Education etc is preferred.

Success Factors

• Strong Work Ethic, having the ability to learn the most efficient way of learning the most efficient way to complete tasks and finding ways to save time while completing daily assignments. Dependability and Responsibility, having theability to come to work on time, are there when they are supposed to be, and are responsible for their actions and behavior. Adaptability,being adaptable and maintaining flexibility in completing tasks in an ever-changing workplace.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours.
• 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.