Adaptive Learning and Communications Officer (Re-Advertised) at Mercy Corps

Position Summary

The Adaptive Learning and Communications Officer, Baragoi is a critical member of the USAID Nawiri CLA and Communications for Learning Team and the consortium Program Implementation Team in Samburu County. The position is responsible for ensuring the integration of collaborative, adaptive learning principles and practices into field operations at the sub-county level; this includes ensuring insights and lessons learned are captured, organized, packaged, and promoted to enhance program influence and impact.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Collaborative Learning for Action

• Work with the sub-county teams to ensure an adaptive learning approach is infused in the design, implementation, and reporting on all activities. This includes supporting program teams to integrate sense-making and critical reflection moments in routine program activities.
• Work closely with the County Learning and Accountability Coordinators and collaborate with the SSBC team to support program teams to organize knowledge exchange fairs that bring together program participants, USAID Nawiri teams, and other key stakeholders to share knowledge and promising practices and animate uptake. Facilitate after-action review; document and promote lessons learned for subsequent knowledge markets. Work with the M&E team and SSBC team to assess the success of knowledge markets for catalyzing behavior change.
• Work closely with the County Learning and Accountability Coordinators to conceptualize opportunities and plan, organize, and coordinate learning exchange visits for multi-disciplinary teams designed to broaden perspectives, build relationships, and trigger innovative ideas and commitments through shared action and experience.
• Identify opportunities for and coordinate local communities of practice.
• Work with the M&E team to develop a framework and plan for monitoring and evaluating communications and adaptive learning efforts
• Support the optimization of Mercy Corps’ community accountability and response mechanism (CARM) to the local context, and identify innovative ways of elevating the community voice in programmatic decision-making.

Communications for Adaptive Learning

• On a quarterly basis, produce case studies that highlight how program staff and participants are applying the principles and practices of collaborative, adaptive learning to enhance collective action and amplify impact.
• Support technical working groups to package and promote insights and lessons learned through the execution of their learning agendas and adaptive learning plans, and work with the M & E team to monitor uptake.

Content Creation, Management, and Dissemination

• Work with the technical / program team to develop and manage content for input into USAID Nawiri’s regular newsletter and weekly reporting of progress (to the consortium and the donor), as well as the county monthly newsletter.
• Support the county reporting officer to track USAID Nawiri’s visibility in external platforms, and work closely with the County Directorate to disseminate content through county platforms and other media channels to create visibility for the program.
• Work with the county reporting officer to identify and develop content for USAID Nawiri’s traditional media and social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook etc.)
• Collaborate with journalists and media outlets (print, TV, radio, web etc.) to capture and share learning and promote uptake in order to amplify USAID Nawiri’s influence and impact within and beyond Samburu and Turkana counties.

Collaboration, Advocacy, Visibility

• Support the implementation and monitoring of program teams’ collaboration plans and facilitate learning sessions on the same
• Support program teams to work with identified CSOs, CBOs and champions to operationalize advocacy strategies, including through development of advocacy materials.
• Support the sub-county coordinator to conceptualize, organize, facilitate, and document joint donor and government monitoring and learning visits. This includes support to develop information packets, facilitation guides, and other materials.
• Ensure sub-county teams’ compliance with USAID Nawiri branding and marking requirements.

Other Duties as Assigned

Remain flexible and open to taking on new/different responsibilities USAID Nawiri evolves and progresses, especially as requested/ guided by the County Learning and Accountability Coordinator, Communications Advisor and Strategic Learning Lead. 

Minimum Qualifications and Transferable Skills

• Recognized qualification in Communications, Journalism, or a related field. Masters will be an added advantage.
• Minimum of 3-4 years of progressive experience working in communications or public relations, preferably with a focus on learning and rural development
• Excellent track record in content development, copy writing and editing, demonstrated through submission of a portfolio of quality products in a variety of formats (e.g. blogs, articles, op-eds, press releases, videos, etc).
• Proven experience in developing and executing communications plans.
• Excellent interpersonal skills including facilitation, fluent oral communication, with an ability to deeply connect and empathize with a range of individuals with broad backgrounds and expertise.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required.