Program Officers (I-SING) at Mercy Corps Nigeria

Mercy Corps works in fragile and conflict-affected environments to build secure, productive, and just communities. We believe that transitional environments - countries affected by civil wars, economic and political crisis, or natural disasters – offer tremendous opportunities for positive change. Since the 1990s, Mercy Corps has managed over 100 peacebuilding projects in over 30 countries and regions, and currently implement 34 peacebuilding programs in some of the world’s toughest places.

Mercy Corps started its operations in Nigeria in 2012, and since then has been providing  humanitarian assistance in response to the crisis in the North East, helping adolescent girls’ in getting access to education and economic resources, ensuring vulnerable households have the skills needed to pursue economic activities, decreasing conflicts in the Middle Belt and other parts of the country.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Program Officer (I-SING)

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.

Application Closing Date
3rd May, 2017.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to submit their CV's and Cover Letter in one document, addressing the position requirements to: [email protected] All applications must include the position title in the subject line, be not more than 4 pages.

Note: Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.