East and Southern Africa Regional Facilitator at Mercy Corps

Program / Department Summary

The East and Southern Africa Regional Facilitator is a position on the Implementer Led Design, Evidence, Analysis, and Learning (IDEAL) program—a $30 million-dollar program over 5 years, which is designed to provide strategic capacity strengthening to implementing partners of USAID's Office of Food for Peace (FFP), and other food security stakeholders. The IDEAL program is a global Leader with Associates (LWA) agreement, led by Save the Children. IDEAL is the successor to the successfully implemented Technical and Operational Performance Support (TOPS) Program, also funded by USAID/Office of Food for Peace. The stated goal of IDEAL is to contribute to improved design, implementation and overall effectiveness of USAID's FFP development and emergency food aid programs. It will accomplish this by improving the technical and operational capacity of implementing partners through promotion of best practices and support for peer-to-peer knowledge sharing.

General Position Summary

The East and Southern Africa Regional Facilitator will be responsible for advancing IDEAL's strategy and vision in East and Southern African countries that are targeted by USAID/FFP programming. By enabling implementing partners (IPs) to identify capacity development priorities, connecting them with resources and networks, facilitating peer-to-peer learning and holding consultations so that FFP better understands IP challenges and perspectives, s/he will ensure that IDEAL acts as a problem-solver for the food and nutrition security implementing community. S/he will work collaboratively with FFP-funded Associate Awards that are also building IP knowledge and capacity in emergency and development food and nutrition security issues in the region.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Program Management

• Work with emergency and development IPs to identify knowledge and skill gaps in the effective provision of food security programming and build awareness of the IDEAL program while linking them to the resources and support the program can offer.
• Facilitate peer-to-peer learning exchanges and identify opportunities for sustainable linkages among food security stakeholders.
• Conduct trainings and/or support subject-matter experts in the facilitation of a training or training-of-trainers in topics related to emergency or development food security programming;
• Identify roster of regional subject-matter experts and facilitators from IP community, academia, government and the private sector;
• Facilitate sessions at IDEAL knowledge sharing meetings and support the team in successful production of large-scale learning events;
• Actively promote small grants program to enable the submission of high-quality applications, and assist in review and selection of grant awardees as needed;
• Provide oversight and support to small grant launch, implementation and M&E in region as needed; and,
• Contribute to the monitoring of IDEAL's outputs, outcomes and impact through routine collection of indicator data for IDEAL activities in East and Southern Africa;
• Collaborate with IDEAL's M&E staff and Senior Management to interpret data and qualitative feedback and make recommendations to adapt activities or approaches for better outcomes; and
• Other duties as assigned.

Team Management

• Coordinate with procurement, logistics, security, administration and human resource teams to ensure operational systems support IDEAL field activities;
• Coordinate effectively with IDEAL leadership and other Regional Facilitators;
• Supervise and/or review the work of program consultants as needed;
• Maintain systems to ensure effective and transparent use of financial resources for timely and informative reporting in line with program, donor and agency needs,
• Other duties as assigned.

Finance & Compliance Management

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps financial and operations management regulations.
• Draft and/or review scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants, including review for technical efficacy and contract budget.Influence & Representation
• Establish effective communication channels with FFP and other US government, international organization and host country government stakeholders;
• Meet regularly with Regional FFP representatives, USAID Missions and IPs to solicit communities' priorities, convey the goals and activities of IDEAL, promote communication flows and foster a sense of partnership;
• Build brand recognition for IDEAL and promote the use of IDEAL's resources, including peer-to-peer exchanges, learning events, and the FSN Network website;
• Effectively coordinate with leadership and activities of FFP-funded Associate Awards, including REAL, SCALE and PRO-WASH;
• Participate in IDEAL and FFP workshops, consultations and other events held in the region; and,
• Facilitate the capture of additional capacity gaps, challenges, and promising practices to feed into IDEAL's planning and prioritization processes, ensuring that implementer perspectives inform IDEAL's global mission.

Security

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

• 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 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

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: The IDEAL Senior Food Security Technical Advisor

Works Directly With: The IDEAL Food Security Technical Officer, The Mercy Corps Senior Gender Advisor, IDEAL's Resilience and Adaptive Management Specialist, other Regional Coordinators within IDEAL, the IDEAL Learning and Capacity Development teams, the Monitoring, Evaluation and Research teams, as well as the technical focal points of IDEAL's other consortium members.

Knowledge and Experience

• A minimum five years of experience working on food and/or nutrition security programs. Direct experience implementing FFP-funded Development Food Security Activities (DFSAs) or Emergency Food Security Programs (EFSPs) is preferred;
• Experience in leading knowledge management and capacity development within the international development industry;
• Master's degree in a field related to international development or Bachelor's degree with minimum of seven years of experience working on food and/or nutrition security programs.
• Proven ability in project management and representation.
• Demonstrated expertise in food and nutrition security development priorities in East and/or Southern Africa.
• Verbal and written fluency in English and good communications skills.
• Ability to travel internationally as and when required.

Success Factors

The successful applicant will possess technical expertise in the food security sector combined with practical experience working within food security programs. He/She will have experience and interest in networking throughout the food security-focused development and humanitarian industry in east and southern Africa and in taking an active role in improving capacity among the industry. He/She will be self-motivated and able to think creatively about achieving capacity-building objectives for global, multi-organizational target audience. He/She will have good networking and relationship building skills and the ability to represent the organization at formal and informal functions and meetings, including interacting with senior officials from implementers and donors of food security emergency and development programs. He/She will be resilient and remain calm under pressure. He/She will have a high degree of flexibility and adaptability in order to respond to changing needs and comfort dealing with ambiguity. He/She will have a proactive approach to work and ability to identify and implement effective processes for achieving outcomes, and is a committed team player with strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position will be based in either Addis Ababa, Kampala or Nairobi and it requires up to 40% travel to regional locations and the USA.

Security in potential locations is generally good. Housing, health care, water, electricity and consumer goods are all reasonably accessible and there are good international and domestic travel options from well-served international airports.

Air and road travel is necessary to get to some field locations. Mobile phone services are widely available. Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices, although might be inconsistent. Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic. There is reasonable access to most consumer goods, although they can be expensive. Each potential location has a good number of schools with different education philosophies and curricula (including British, American and French). Each location is an accompanied location suitable for spouse/partners and/or dependents.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside 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.

Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps' vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.

FFP countries in the two regions include Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique and Angola.

• A minimum five years of experience working on food and/or nutrition security programs. Direct experience implementing FFP-funded Development Food Security Activities (DFSAs) or Emergency Food Security Programs (EFSPs) is preferred;
• Experience in leading knowledge management and capacity development within the international development industry;
• Master's degree in a field related to international development or Bachelor's degree with minimum of seven years of experience working on food and/or nutrition security programs.
• Proven ability in project management and representation.
• Demonstrated expertise in food and nutrition security development priorities in East and/or Southern Africa.
• Verbal and written fluency in English and good communications skills.
• Ability to travel internationally as and when required.

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