Household Economic Strengthening Advisor (HESA) at Mercy Corps Nigeria

Mercy Corps Nigeria’s humanitarian program aims to provide assistance to populations affected by the crisis in Northeast Nigeria. With funding from humanitarian donors including OFDA, FFP, EU, and ECHO the humanitarian programs engage in several interventions including but not limited to food assistance, non-food items (NFI), protection, livelihoods, cash transfers, WASH and capacity building of humanitarian response actors. Mercy Corps is scaling-up and expanding its humanitarian response in Northeast Nigeria to reach more beneficiaries with additional assistance in a wider geographic area.

We are  recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Household Economic Strengthening Advisor (HESA)

Location: Abuja

Program/Department Summary

• The Household Economic Strengthening Advisor (HESA) 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.

General Position Summary

• The HESA will provide overall technical direction on Household Economic Strengthening of the program that is funded by USAID and managed by the lead grant holder - Save the Children.
• S/he will assist with the development of innovative economic strengthening strategies for vulnerable households to compliment other Nigerian government, private sector and international donor funded program interventions by strengthening the capacity of Nigerian entities (NGOs, CSO, local financial institutions).
• S/he will guide a portfolio of approaches and activities that mitigate economic vulnerability and enable targeted households to better cope with economic shocks allowing them to protect and grow financial, human and social assets.
• S/he will facilitate relationships between households caring for OVC and public and private sector actors by identifying economic constraints and ensuring appropriate activities that have long-term viability.
• Emphasis will be placed on market-oriented strategies to ensure sustainability of livelihood gains, including: private sector demand-driven job creation, enterprise development, financial education, value chain linkages and appropriate savings, credit and insurance services for various age groups.
• The HESA will work closely with Save the Children, counterparts with other donor funded programs, and private sector actors in designing and implementing innovative economic strengthening and livelihoods support approaches.

Essential Job Function
Program Management and Technical Oversight:

• Work closely with counterparts in other NGOs, donor organizations, and other stakeholder groups to re-design, plan, and implement a comprehensive OVC program.
• Provide technical support in one or more of the following areas: market-driven economic development, private sector engagement, microfinance, youth-focused financial services, financial education, village savings and loan associations (VSLA), micro-insurance, entrepreneurship development, and value chain linkages. Manage implementation of program activities, developing work plans in collaboration with counterparts in other organizations, monitoring implementation, and evaluating impact.

Operations and Management:

• Oversee 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 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 (banks, training institutes, insurance companies, and microfinance institutions), including representing Mercy Corps at local coordination meetings as assigned.
• 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.
• Other duties as assigned.

Security:

• Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to ensure that program is contributing to and responding to safety and security plans and procedures.
• 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:

• This position will manage several short-term consultants.

Reports Directly to:

• Country Director, Mercy Corps Nigeria; on day to day matters reports to STEER Program Director

Works Directly with:

• Mercy Corps Nigeria team, STEER/Save the Children Program Director, Organizational Development Director

Knowledge and Experience

• MA/S in Business, Finance, Economics, Agriculture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, or related field
• At least 5 years work experience with for profit organization, non-governmental organization (NGO) or for-profit agribusiness working with vulnerable, marginalized groups in West Africa, preferably Nigeria
• Proven knowledge of international best practices of household economic strengthening for OVC and OVC caregivers.
• At least 5 years proven experience in innovative value chain development or business models using best practices.
• Proven experience in one or more of the following: market-driven economic development, private sector engagement, microfinance, village savings and loan associations (VSLA), micro-insurance, entrepreneurship development, and value chain linkages.
• Fluency in English required, including report development, writing and editing. Strong desire for applicants with fluency in Hausa.
• Strong management skills, with good understanding of relevant cross-cultural issues.
• Previous experience in Nigeria, especially in Northern Nigeria.
• 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 required
• Highly developed computers skills with strong familiarity with Microsoft Word and Excel are mandatory.
• Candidate must be willing to travel and work throughout Nigeria.

Success Factors:

• A successful candidate will have strong diplomacy skills in managing a team with different backgrounds, abilities, and technical knowledge and will have contextual knowledge of Northern Nigeria. She/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.

Living Conditions/Environmental Conditions:

• The Economic Strengthening Advisor will be based in Abuja and work from the Save the Children Office, Nigeria with frequent travel to the states of Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, and Plateau, Cross River
• Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. 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
20th June, 2016.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to submit their CV's and Cover letter, addressing the position requirements to: [email protected]

Note: All applications must include the position title in the subject line. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.