About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004, working in rural, peri-urban and urban areas in Six regional states: Somali, Oromia, Afar, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples(SNNP), Amhara, Gambela and the capital city of Addis Ababa. We engage in both development and humanitarian work, and seek to integrate approaches, programs and geographies as much as possible. Our partners include government, academic institutions, development and private sector actors, civil societies and participating public. Mercy Corps has a growing portfolio of programs in Ethiopia that focus on food security; agriculture and livestock market systems development; maternal and child health and nutrition; youth economic productivity; resilience and humanitarian response. In Ethiopia, some of our donors include USAID, SIDA, EU, DFID, and WFP.

Mercy Corps Ethiopia invites motivated and qualified candidates to apply for the following vacant position.

 Position Title: Livelihoods and Cash Advisor

 Location: Jijiga

 Number of Positions: One

General Position Summary

The Livelihoods and Cash Advisor will be responsible for the overall technical leadership of Somali Oromia Assistance and Recovery (SOAR2) program focused on Livelihood and Multipurpose Cash Assistance sectors to highly vulnerable IDPs/returnees/drought affected host community program participants to support them in meeting their basic needs. The incumbent will provide technical support to field team under Jigjiga and Negelle field offices in the set-up of livelihood and multipurpose cash assistance interventions in target woredas, ensure engagement of private sectors and government partners, help in monitoring and improve program quality and relevance, deliver quality training, and writing of periodic activity progress report. The position holder will monitor the context and implementation environment to ensure it remains conducive for livelihood and multipurpose cash assistance interventions for future expansion; and work with other sectors (WASH and Nutrition) for better integration and synergies to maximize the impact for program participants. This position requires an individual who is accustomed to the pace of emergency response programming, does not require close supervision or direction, and is flexible and highly responsive.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Team Management

• Provide overall technical leadership and guidance for Livelihood and Multipurpose Cash Assistance team on planning, implementation and monitoring of program activities
• Develop an up to date work plan according to project outputs and outcomes and to donor agreement
• Provide technical support and leadership for field team in the identification and engagement processes of relevant crop and livelihood market system actors (seed/input suppliers, wholesalers, Cooperatives, PVPs, CAHWs, feed/fodder suppliers, and Producers)and governance frameworks (formal and Informal);and all support markets and functions
• Prepare and update the cash transfer lists as per agreed work plan and template in liaison with finance department and county level cash minimum standard advisor and ensure Mercy Corps minimum cash standard operating procedures are followed
• Lead the identification effort of highly vulnerable families in the targeted areas and ensure the high quality of the data collected during the assessment
• Liaise with local authorities and NGOs in the field to avoid duplication and exclusion/inclusion errors and guarantee the continuous cross check of program participant list
• Support field based team and liaison with relevant government partner offices to identify, train, target households with the planned Livelihood and Multipurpose Cash Assistance activities
• Train and mentor staff in livelihoods and market systems approaches to ensure successful program implementation
• Ensure quality and timely field level implementation of program activities against set objectives, targets and work plans
• Advise and assist Livelihood and Multipurpose Cash Assistance team in developing project specific strategies, tools, systems and plans.
• Work closely and oversee partners, including private sector actors, government agencies, universities, and research entities.
• Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
• Ensure the capacity building of Livelihood and Multipurpose Cash Assistance team and partner staff through on-job training, technical guidance and coaching sessions
• Oversee the collection and timely reporting of data and statistics for all livelihood and multipurpose cash assistance activities in line with MC guidelines and according to donor requirements
• Actively monitor programs/projects through field visits, surveys and/or exchange of information with partners to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and take timely decisions to resolve issues
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
• Ensure that gender, environment, and other important cross-cutting concerns are taken into account; ensure that assistance is delivered to highly vulnerable families with specific needs e.g. elderly, pregnant women, children, and people with disabilities
• Stay up to date with all regional and country-specific response plans by donors active in the Cash Based Assistance sector, technical working groups and other key actors

Partnership and Engagement

• Lead identification of program partners(private and government institutions) and build and manage key relationships among partners, private sectors and other support agencies
• Work with program partners to structure technical engagements, including household identification, targeting and training in target woredas
• Work with program, Country finance and operation teams to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the program activities
• Support the development of procurement plans and operational analyses

Budget Management

• Support in the development of financial management tools and the monitoring of budgets
• Program Monitoring and Evaluation
• In coordination with country M&E manager, ensure that robust monitoring and evaluation, quality data collection and analysis systems are in place, adhered to and used as a decision-making tool
• Contribute actively in developing of key monitoring and measuring indicators, milestones and plans in close collaboration with supervisor and M&E team, and solely responsible for monitoring and reporting all output, outcome and impact indicators for the Livelihood and Multipurpose Cash Assistance activities;
• Conduct frequent field visits to project sites to assess activities and ensure efficient use of resources
• Adapt projects according to monitoring and evaluation findings
• Advise on and assist with project reviews conducted by the M&E unit.
• Together with the M&E team, ensure capitalization of best practices and lessons learnt for projects in the area of operations
• Ensure authentic data is provided by field teams for project progress updates

Program reporting

• Prepare periodic program activity progress report and support the development of technical reports to donors, as necessary

Job Requirements

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• Master’s Degree in Agriculture, Rural Development, Agricultural Extension, Livelihoods and other related field
• At least 8 years of experience in implementation of agricultural livelihoods, cash based assistance and market system development sectors
• Strong understanding of the humanitarian response programs in a market system development approach in the pastoral context will be an added advantage
• Strong management skills with a good understanding of relevant cross-cultural issues.
• Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Experience of leading and managing teams.
•  Skilled in partnering with the private sector and civil society organizations, public/government entities, local NGOs, etc.
• Fluency in written and oral English and knowledge of local languages (Afan Oromo and /or Somali languages).
• Knowledge and practical experience of implementation of voucher based agricultural inputs supplies and multipurpose cash assistance activities
• Ability and willingness to frequently travel to field
• Previous experience working in NGOs is an asset
• Ability to prepare program and activity reports 
• SUCCESS FACTORS:
• A strong understanding of Market systems development and livelihoods programming
• Skills in preparation of detailed activity plans and work plans, conducting assessments and evaluations, reporting, and proposal writing.
• Knowledge and experience of working in pastoral areas of Oromia and Somali region
• Excellent communication, facilitation and networking skills with a wide range of actors across geographical areas
• Fluent in English, Fluent in at least one of the following languages: Somali and Oromiffa
• Computer literate especially in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

 How to Apply

All interested candidates are encouraged to apply for the position advertised. All applications submitted to the Mercy Corps office include a CV, three references, and all relevant official documents. Applications will not be returned and will not be retained for future recruitment efforts. In order to ensure fairness to all applicant’s personal inquiries are not permitted.

 Only candidates that are short listed will be acknowledged and called for interviews.

“Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer promoting gender, equity and   diversity. Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We are committed to empower women.”

 DEADLINE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: 30 October, 2020/ 4:00 PM

 Please send non-returnable applications and credentials to one of the following address:

Mercy Corps Recruiter

Addis Ababa: P.O. Box 14319

Arbaminch: P.O. Box 33 , Jijiga: P.O. Box 225   

Negelle Borena: P.O. Box 116

Dire Dawa: P.O. Box 974