Household Economic Strengthening Officer at Mercy Corps Nigeria

Mercy Corps is a global, non-governmental organization, which exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. Mercy Corps works in the areas of emergency relief, sustainable economic development and civil society. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided $1 billion in assistance to people in 94 nations. Mercy Corps Nigeria is collaborating with the Federal Government of Nigeria, the UK Department for International Development and USAID partners implementing economic development programs throughout the country, and opened its Nigeria Field Office in December 2012..

We are seeking to engage interested and qualified candidate for the position of:

Job Title: Household Economic Strengthening Officer

Location: Kaduna

Job Descriptions

• The Household Economic Strengthening Officer (HESO) will play an important role in the implementation of a five-year program in Northern Nigeria supporting the capacity of Nigerian institutions to scale up care and support services for Orphans and Vulnerable Orphans (OVC) households.

Essential Job Functions

Technical Support of partners:

• Coordinate identification of viable household economic strengthening (HHES) models, gather information on what models of HHES are available in the target communities, both formal and informal
• Based on the above, contribute to the design of flexible and adaptable economic strengthening models based on best practices and relevance to the northern Nigeria context, which can be feasibly rolled out in target communities.
• Training to the CSOs, community organizations and caregivers in modern agricultural production, marketing practices, as well as to conduct periodic market research and make recommendations along community value chains, market linkages and negotiate agreements between the key actors
• Support to train and guide CSOs or partners as they roll out HHES strategies in target communities, working with teams to plan and implement Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLA) program in project sites and other roll-out strategies.
• Provide ongoing support and mentoring to CSO staff and partners in implementing the HHES services in the communities, through field visits, refresher trainings, on the job training etc. Help CSOs ensure that services are relevant and useful to the beneficiaries and well integrated with other services provide by and through the STEER project.
• Help the project CSOs or partners by acting as liaison between community associations, agricultural extension & research institutes and relevant government offices and privet sector etc. to ensure that economic strengthening services are provided in line with STEER project strategies.
• Work in close collaboration with the M&E Coordinators, OD Specialist and other STEER Project stakeholders at the states and periodically monitor/reviews/evaluate the HHSE services, identify successes, and using lessons learned to make contribution to the overall HHES strategies of the project.

Operations and Management:

• Ensure the smooth flow of routine project operations in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures.
• Ensure effective and transparent use of financial resources in compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies and procedures.

Representation and Coordination:

• Liaise with private sector actors, local government officials, local NGOs and civil society organizations, local religious leaders and other notable stakeholders to ensure support for and acceptance of Mercy Corps’ programs.
• Maintain close working relationships with donors, other humanitarian and development organizations, and local partners (ADPs, agric. research institutes, training institutes and microfinance institutions), including representing Mercy Corps at local coordination meetings as assigned by supervisor.
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian and development mission.
• Other duties as assigned.

Security:

• Ensure that program is implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security management priorities.

Organizational Learning:

• As part of Mercy Corps’ agency-wide Organizational Learning Initiative, all team members are responsible for spending 5% of their work time in formal and/or non-formal professional learning activities.

Accountability to Beneficiaries:

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards 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.

Supervisory Responsibility:

• Manages HES volunteers in Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Plateau and Sokoto.

Reports Directly to:

• Mercy Corps Household Economic Strengthening Advisor (HESA) based at STEER Project in Kaduna State.

Works Directly With:

• Mercy Corps Nigeria team, STEER Project Team, civil society organizations

Knowledge and Experience

• B. Sc. Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, or related field plus 5 years post graduate experience in agriculture and rural development sector.
• Proven experience in agricultural technologies transfer and rural enterprise development
• Proven experience in community mobilization for economic development.
• Knowledge of micro-finance and financial Inclusion principles and practices
• Experience in business planning and market development.
• Good understanding of northern Nigeria economic, cultural and political environment.
• Proven knowledge of international best practices of household economic strengthening for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and OVC caregivers.
• Experience in market driven economic development, Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC) or Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) and value chain development.
• Fluency in English required, including report development, writing and editing. Fluency in Hausa language is a must requirement for this position.
• Demonstrated experience in training, capacity building of partners and team members.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required
• Highly developed computer skills with strong familiarity with Microsoft Word and Excel are mandatory.
• Candidate must be willing to work and travel in very rural communities in northern Nigeria and out of station as may be required.

Success Factors:

• A successful candidate will have strong diplomacy skills in working with a team with different backgrounds, abilities, and technical knowledge and will have contextual knowledge of Northern Nigeria. S/he will use effective communication and team-building techniques; have excellent organizational and strong interpersonal skills and display an even temperament and good sense of humour.

Location/Environmental Conditions:

• The Position will be based in Kaduna, Kaduna State Nigeria with regular travels to project communities in Kano and Sokoto and to other project states as directed.

Important Information

• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Application Closing Date
20th August, 2015

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV's to: [email protected]