Mercy Corps Nigeria Graduate Internship Programme 2016

Mercy Corps has been present in Nigeria since 2012, focusing its interventions on women’s empowerment, economic development and conflict mitigation. With the insurgency spilling over from the north east of Nigeria and causing displacement of thousands of individuals, Mercy Corps has decided to address the rising humanitarian needs among displaced households and vulnerable host communities by starting its humanitarian program. With current funding from OFDA, FFP and CERF and ongoing opportunities from other donors, all Mercy Corps interventions in the North East are implemented with plans for scale-up.

The current funding opportunity’s goal is to support economic opportunities and food security among conflict-affected populations in Gombe State, and to strengthen the capacity of humanitarian agencies and the quality of information gathering in Nigeria. Expansion into other affected states is also planned for the humanitarian response team.

We are looking for a motivated individual, who is enthusiastic about the work we do and is looking to work within a dynamic team, to fill the position of:

Job Title: ENGINE Program Intern

Location: Abuja, Nigeria

Project Description
We are looking for a suitable candidate to fill a very strategic position within ENGINE team in Abuja. The Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises (ENGINE) program seeks to improve the lives of marginalized adolescent girls aged 16-19 in Nigeria. The project which is funded through a grant to the Coca-Cola Company as part of the UK Department for International Development’s Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) is being implemented in Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, and the FCT. About 18,000 adolescent girls who are either enrolled in school or are currently out of school are the target beneficiary of the program. The ENGINE program is being implemented by a consortium which includes Mercy Corps, Preston Health Care Consulting and the Nike Foundation.

General Position Summary

• The Intern will support the implementation of activities that transition girls in school or in informal education into economic activities.
• This position will ensure ENGINE implementation is responsive to marginalized Nigerian girls, their communities, state and non-state secondary schools, and other skill-based centers.
• The Intern is responsible for delivering project activities covering in-school and out-of-school components in AMAC for (4) schools and (3) communities.

Deliverables
Program Support:
Ensure project activities listed below are implemented on time, target and budget:

• Work with ENGINE 3 Community/School volunteers to deploy training on delivery of ENGINE curriculum
• Write programmatic reports and ensure quick responses on report feedbacks through regular contact by phone, email and site visits to schools and communities
• Coordinate links with existing and planned donor interventions that target adolescent girls to identify girls on an on-going basis to participate in ENGINE activities.
• Advocate for the inclusion of marginalized girls and for girls to be active in non-traditional sectors at the household and community level and within Nigerian vocational and skills-based education.
• In collaboration with M&E staff, implement relevant surveys, need assessments, data and information collection for on-going monitoring.
• Coordinate closely with other ENGINE personnel to ensure all objectives of the proposal and activities are achieved.
• Lead in direct implementation of community level activities to targeted stakeholders to showcase progress and learnings so as to acquire more support from gate-keepers
• Achieve consistent advocacy to gatekeepers and stakeholders to ensure that marginalized girls enroll and complete learning cycle across implementation states.
• Support technical aspects of school to work programming for ENGINE program including increasing economic assets for marginalized girls through savings clubs and links to financial institutions.

Representation:

• Represent the organization in Community progress meetings, champion days and SBMC/CAC meetings and activities in designated schools and communities.
• Monitor Girl fora/Savings group activities and other project sustainability structures in the designated schools and communities.
• Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and donor obligations are achieved.
• Participate in education coordination meetings as requested by the ENGINE Program Manager.

Required Skills and Experience
Ideal Candidates Should Possess the Following Qualifications:

• BA/Sc or equivalent in Education, Social Sciences, International Development or other relevant field.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and cooperate with team members.
• Fluency in written and verbal English required. Hausa language skills essential.
• Must be computer literate with knowledge of Microsoft office packages (Word, PowerPoint and Excel).

Learning Objectives:

• The intern will have opportunity to acquire and/or improved on the following skills within the eight month of internship working with programs unit of the ENGINE project: community engagement in advocacy and sensitization, data collection and report writing, team work and interpersonal communication.

Application Closing Date
29th April, 2016.

How to Apply
Interested candidates are encouraged to submit CV and Cover Letter in one document, addressing the position requirements to: [email protected]

Note: All applications must include the position title in the subject line and not more than 4 pages. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. We are an equal opportunity organization and we strongly encourage women to apply for this position.