This Position is contingent

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is an international Humanitarian organization operating Water and Sanitation, Economic Development, Livelihoods, Capacity Building, Emergency Response, Health and Nutrition, and similar sectors in the regions of SNNPR, Somali, Oromia, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. Mercy Corps works with communities, public and private sectors to implement appropriate relief, recovery and development interventions. Mercy Corps Ethiopia invites motivated and qualified candidates to apply for the following vacant position.

Position Title:  Market System Development (MSD) Advisor

Duty Station:  Gambela, Ethiopia

Post Position: One

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps works in places of transition, where conflict, disaster, political upheaval, or economic collapse present opportunities to build more secure, productive, and just communities. Providing emergency relief in times of crisis, we move quickly to help communities recover and build resilience to future shocks, and promote sustainable change by supporting community-led and market-driven initiatives.

Globally, and in Ethiopia, Mercy Corps is a leading practitioner of market systems development (MSD) approaches to poverty reduction, with particular expertise in implementing MSD programs in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. This program will apply our market systems expertise to refugee and host community contexts in the Gambella region, with the objective of finding durable solutions to the protracted refugee situation. The position is currently covered in the inception phase and will likely be extended. This program is part of a broader portfolio of markets and refugee programming for Mercy Corps in Ethiopia. 

General Position Summary

Mercy Corps seeks an experienced Market Systems Development (MSD) Advisor with past experience of overseeing market systems development programs in refugee contexts.  The MSD Advisor will be responsible for leading, designing and implementing market system related activities of the project from assessment validation and activities selection and planning implementation of activities to scale up and roll out activities in the project sites in the next phase. The MSD Advisor will work under the direction of the Program / Area Manager and liaise closely the program team. S/he will be responsible for all MSD aspects of the program. This will include working closely with assessment leaders and developing a detailed implementation plan to ensure success in the next phase of the program. S/he will also play a lead role in representing Mercy Corps’ work externally, through participating in relevant coordination and learning events.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Program IMPLEMENTATION

• Participate in the different sector/ Market assessments
• Coordinate and organize market assessment validation and activities planning workshop which will involve all key stakeholders.
• Generate more understanding on market actors’ actions, behaviors, dynamics, functions, opportunities and constraints by conducting continued market system analysis for next phase.
• Ensure that market systems work captures and responds to up-to-date information about market developments within respective market systems and global best practices.
• Support MSD capacity building trainings for MC and partner staff.
• Manage all required documentation and reporting required by the donor.
• Lead synthetization workshop for partners on market assessment findings to provide recommendations for the next phase of the project.
• Regularly visit field to assess progress and provide formal and informal feedback.

·         Works closely with the program team and partners ensuring we adhere to humanitarian principles, Mercy Corps’ gender policies, Do No Harm principles and beneficiary accountability standards.

FINANCE AND COMPLIANCE

• Adhere to Mercy Corps, donor and government policies and procedures.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments and other stakeholders.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are met.

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.

Knowledge and Experience

·         Bachelor’s degree in economics, business administration, agribusiness, or other related field, or commensurate private sector or field experience is required.

·         Deep understanding and mastery of Markets4Poor (M4P) approach and Economic and Markets Development facilitation including coaching, relationship building, communicating, entrepreneurialism/business understanding and innovating.

·         Familiar with all aspects of the relevant market systems including key actors, micro-financial institutions (MFIs), banks, Insurances, information service providers, inputs suppliers, producers, traders, intermediary and terminal markets governance frameworks (formal and informal); and all support markets and functions.

·         Minimum of three years’ experience in private sector or working with other agencies in market systems facilitation, agribusiness or financial services.

·         Experience working in Gambella preferred, with strong contextual knowledge of relevant cultures and clans.

·         Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.

·         Experience effectively initiating and maintaining productive relationships with private, public, civil society and research sector partners.

·         Excellent computer skills, including all Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, Outlook & PowerPoint).

·         Excellent communicator in English with demonstrated excellent report writing and speaking skills, proficiency in Amharic and the local language(s) greatly advantageous.

·         Knowledge of Sphere standards and other training in humanitarian response preferred.

 Success Factors

The successful candidate will possess excellent technical and leadership skills. He/she will undertake innovative approaches. The ideal candidate will have a strong curiosity for understanding and working effectively within the complex cultural, political, security and social environment of Ethiopia. S/he will be an excellent communicator, multitasker, and able to work in ambiguous situations. S/he will be a tolerant and flexible individual able to work in difficult and stressful environments and follow procedures. The successful candidate will be focused on capacity building of team-members, have strong skills in monitoring and evaluation of programs and maintain a sense of humor. S/he should have excellent communication, facilitation and networking skills with a wide range of private, partner and NGO-sector actors.