Position is contingent on funding

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions
into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Now, and for the future.

We help people overcome poverty and conflict. Working with communities, we leverage local logic to help people transform their lives. To grow more food, earn higher incomes and ultimately advocate for their needs. We see global challenges as an invitation to pioneer innovative, sustainable solutions. During our 34-year history, our work has improved more than 170 million lives in more than 115 countries around the world. Mercy Corps Ethiopia invites motivated and qualified candidates to apply for the following vacant position.

Position Title:   Peace Building Advisor

Duty Station:  Addis Ababa

Open Position:  1

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been present in Ethiopia since 2004, and acts on behalf of people who have become disenfranchised and poor. We stand with Ethiopia to find and access opportunities, and to be part of lasting and meaningful transformation in the country. Mercy Corps seeks to be influential with government and development actors towards a more resilient and peaceful country where poverty is tackled through the eyes of those who understand it best. This translates into ensuring that the population is financially stable, healthy & nourished, educated & informed, and that natural resources are accessible, shared peacefully and utilized sustainably. 

Mercy Corps anticipates a multi-year, multi-million dollar USAID funded initiative focused on: stimulating increased production, productivity and marketing through more competitive livestock and livestock products markets; increasing communities’ resilience; improving alternative livelihood options through essential skills transfer; improving food security and nutrition, advancing social cohesion and long-term peace, and contributing to the wider knowledge on pastoral development.  The program will operate in multiple pastoral regions across Ethiopia.

General Position Summary

The PARA Peacebuilding Advisor will have primary responsibility to ensure that peacebuilding, conflict sensitivity and conflict management are integrated across the program’s four major components. As a senior leader of this complex, multi-million-dollar program, the Advisor will set and advance a vision around integrated peacebuilding and how the program will contribute to sustainable peace. The Advisor will lead peace and conflict assessments, design a peace and conflict approach linked to the four program sectors, support monitoring, evaluation, and learning of peace and conflict dynamics, and contribute to measurement of peace outcomes. The Advisor will be responsible for ensuring all program activities are implemented through a conflict sensitive approach, and ensure all team members are trained on peace and conflict approaches. The Advisor will bring energy and leadership to ensuring that the PARA program is working on the cutting edge of integrating peacebuilding and development approaches toward a more resilient Ethiopia.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

TECHNICAL LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

●        Provide overall strategic direction on peacebuilding, conflict sensitivity and conflict management across all project sectors, including nutrition, livestock market systems, alternative livelihood and employment, and disaster risk reduction.

●       Design, adapt and lead peace and conflict assessment tools relevant for the project context; ensure peace and conflict analyses are built into sector assessments; ensure assessment findings are effectively translated into activity design.

●       Support on-going monitoring and analysis of peace and conflict dynamics to feed into activity design, review and reflection meetings, and overall adaptive management process; facilitate analysis of peace and conflict data for program decision-making.

●       Design and develop activities and corresponding work plans specific to peace and conflict; facilitate co-design sessions across sectors to ensure peace-building and conflict sensitivity are integrated across all sector activities and work plans; review and sign off on each work plan and concept note

●       Provide direct technical support for critical peace-building and conflict management activities; develop facilitation plans for inter-group dialogue sessions, and provide onsite mentorship to negotiation and mediation processes.

CAPACITY-BUILDING

●        Design and lead technical training sessions on peace-building, conflict management, and conflict-sensitivity for Mercy Corps staff and local partners and providing ongoing coaching and mentoring;

●       Ensure all team members, across partners and geographies are trained and receive on-going mentorship in peace-building, conflict management and conflict sensitivity.

●       Build the capacity of regional government staff, civil society and key influential figures to facilitate inter-community dialogues through the training of local peace committees, traditional leaders, female peace agents and woreda-level government officials.

●       Promote Do No Harm training for other development actors, and support integration of conflict sensitive approaches into government and private sector policy and investment decisions.

MONITORING, EVALUATION, RESEARCH AND LEARNING

●        Inform the design of a monitoring and evaluation system to track the effectiveness of peace-building and conflict management activities, and conflict-sensitive interventions; ensure integration from MEL

●        Facilitate the development of a research and learning agenda linked to peace and conflict.

●        Participate in data collection linked to peace and conflict, including monitoring the quality of implementation

●      Design indicators and measurement tools or parts of tools specifically to capture PARA’s outcomes on peace and stability.

●      Lead processes around capacity building to implement these data collections tools.

●      Analyze data related to peace outcomes and lead collaborative data interpretation sessions, as part of ongoing conflict analysis and program learning and adaptation.

●      Support rigorous research and evaluation initiatives through close collaboration with other members of the PARA leadership team and Mercy Corps headquarters Research and Learning and Performance and Quality teams.

REPRESENTATION AND COORDINATION

●        Represent PARA’s peace-building and conflict activities to external actors; advocate for the importance of a peace and conflict approach as part of development programs

●        Liaise with local and international actors working on peacebuilding initiatives, and ensure coordination and sharing of lessons across key actors in PARA program sites and at the national level.

●        Represent Mercy Corps in external fora as needed, sharing lessons and best practices from integrating peacebuilding in PARA.

●        Liaise with local government officials, local NGOs and civil society organizations, local religious leaders and other notables to ensure support for and acceptance of Mercy Corps’ programs. 

●        Maintain close working relationships with donors, other humanitarian and development organizations, and local partners, including representing Mercy Corps at local coordination meetings as assigned.

●        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.

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

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

●        Strong facilitation and consensus-building skills, particularly in peacebuilding and conflict management

●        Strong understanding of peacebuilding and conflict management mechanisms and processes as part of economic development activities

●        Two-three years’ experience designing, implementing and/or monitoring conflict management and reconciliation activities, including in connection with development activities

●        Bachelor’s or Masters’ degree in social science/s, peacebuilding, conflict mitigation, international development, humanitarian response, dispute resolution, international relations or equivalent relevant field experience preferred.

●        Must be able to work independently while being a strong team player.

●        Formal training in, or ability to train in conflict sensitivity, negotiation approaches, and other conflict management/mitigation and/or social cohesion methodologies will be an added value

●        Experience in highly volatile security situations and a commitment to team safety.

●        Commitment to the principles of participatory team management and participatory, community-oriented development.

●        Effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational skills in English

●        Experience with integrated economic development natural resource management and peacebuilding interventions preferred.

●        Demonstrated ability to work respectfully and constructively with local partners and stakeholders to help build capacity and ensure quality programming.

●        Excellent communication, organizational and prioritization skills and the ability to multi-task and support and/or fill multiple positions at one time.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

A successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members of varied work styles, follow procedures, and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem-solving. S/he will have a proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results, understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details, work within complex security and political situation and to follow strict security protocols. A willingness to relocate for short-term as necessary within coverage regions, based on programmatic needs, work independently and as part of a team are essential.