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.

The program

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004, working in rural, peri-urban and urban areas in five regional states - Somali, Oromia, Afar, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples, Amhara - 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 communities.

Resilience in Pastoral Areas (RIPA) program is a five-year USAID-funded initiative that aims to improve the resilience capacities of households, markets and governance institutions across 22 woredas in the Somali, Afar and Oromia regions. RiPA is designed across four major technical themed components with targeted activities and a ‘Crisis Modifier’ which will allow implementation to pivot the adaptive management approach and respond to humanitarian needs in ways that support, not undermine, long-term development and resilience objectives.

Position Title: MARKET SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT (MSD) COORDINATOR

Duty Station: Jijiga, Somali Region

Open Position:  1

General Position Summary

The Market Systems Development (MSD) Coordinator is member of RIPA Market system development team and responsible to coordinate RIPA Component 2 (Diversified Economic Opportunities) and Component 3 (Livestock/crop production and marketing) in Somali region. He/she will oversee the RIPA Market system development specialists and activities in the region. The MSD Team uses a market-systems, community-led approach to stimulate economic growth creating wealth and jobs for the poorest while maximizing investment from the private and public sectors. The MSD Team is comprised of technical expertise in the areas of production, marketing, employment, input/output markets, post-harvest technologies and financial services. Its main sectors include livestock, crop/fodder, livestock products, energy, financial services, enterprises development and related sectors.

 ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Oversee and coordinate field level MSD team and activities to ensure quality and timely delivery of planned activities.

• Provide technical leadership to field team in planning, organizing, implementing, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of MSD activities;

• Advises the Cluster Program Manager on related MSD activities and supports to ensure better RIPA  overall implementation in the cluster;

• Manage relationship with relevant government stakeholders, public and private partners including key actors (inputs suppliers, producers, information service providers, and other appropriate actors) in the target area for better success;

• Facilitate private sector engagement in his/her respective responsibility in the region by bringing innovative ideas and initiatives to MSD team;

• Work closely with all RIPA  component team members ensuring activity integration and achieve overall RIPA  goal;

• Contributes to the key monitoring and measuring indicators, milestones and plans in close collaboration with MSD and M&E team, and be responsible for monitoring and reporting outputs and outcome indicators in each component;

• Ensures the program captures and updates information about market developments within the components;

• Compile and submit regular updates/reports (weekly, monthly and quarterly); and

• Other duties as assigned.

 REPRESENTATION AND COORDINATION

●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.

● Represent Mercy Corps professionally in the responsibility areas as to bring credit and to maintain its humanitarian and development mission;

Team management

●      Build effective relationships with program teams implementing production, marketing, diversified economic opportunities, based on mutual trust, collaboration, urgency and curiosity;

●Assist team members with information, tools and resources to improve performance & reach objectives;

●Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback informally and formally;

●Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence;

● Support hiring and orientation of team members with a focus on MSD;

 SECURITY

●Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.

● Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

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 program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. 

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact. 

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

GEDSI (GENDER, EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION)

• Understand and aware GDI related priorities of the country office and contribute for the

realization of priorities (continually work to understand and be aware of the gender diversity and inclusion priorities of the country office and contribute in the execution)

• Promote gender equal and inclusive workplace culture in a day-to-day interaction with a team member, partners and program participants.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.

• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

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.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

Job Requirements

Knowledge and Experience

● Experience in private sector is strongly preferred.

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

●  Minimum of 5 years’ experience in private sector or working with other agencies in program coordination, market systems facilitation, production, agribusiness and/or financial services.

 SUCCESS FACTORS:

• Fluent in English, Amharic and local language for the location applied: Somali (capable in all require basic skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing).

• Business minded, entrepreneurial, curious, great problem-solving skills, unafraid to ask questions, and results motivated.

• Excellent communication, presentation, facilitation, and networking skills with a wide range of actors across geographical areas.

• Computer literate especially in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)

How to Apply

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

All interested candidates are encouraged to apply for the position advertised. All applications must be submitted electronically including a CV, three references, and all relevant official documents.

CLICK HERE to apply

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 and young candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We are committed to empower women and youth.”

 DEADLINE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: 14 July 2023/ 4:00 PM