Program Officer at Mercy Corps

Job Description

The Program Officer is a key member of the program team and will report to the Program Manager. She/he will provide the day-to-day support to the program team in the identification of the needs and opportunities.  The position holder will facilitate the program team’s ability to develop activity ideas, implement, report and monitor progress.

Essential Responsibilities
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

1. Work with the Program Manager and program partners to develop well-written, organized concept notes and reports that are in line with program outcomes and outputs; assist in the implementation of activities developed through these concept notes
2. Support with project implementation, including attending activities and events in the targeted locations
3. Provide updates and analysis of key developments in targeted conflict systems / locations.
4. Identify needs and opportunities and provide relevant information to facilitate the program team’s ability to develop activity ideas.
5. Under the direction of the Program Manager, develop and maintain relationships with organizations/ actors in key target sectors (e.g. faith organizations, youth groups, women’s organizations, CBOs / local NGOs, local government officials, security officials etc.).

MONITORING, EVALUATION, LEARNING & REPORTING

In conjuction with the country & Program-level monitoring and evaluation team:

1. Play key role in the development and review of intervention designs, sector strategies and M&E frameworks.
2. Validating and verifying core indicators against the different sources of information by taking part in regular data quality assessment.
3. Work with Program Manager to ensure that activities are implemented on plan and progress towards targets is not compromised
4. Meet regularly with the program team to evaluate project progress, identify and document successes, challenges and lessons-learned; and adjust practices as necessary to improve performance;
5. Prepare and submit to the program reports of specific periods, events, field trips and meetings;
6. Support the team in effectively utilizing established monitoring and evaluation formats / tools, and provide feedback for their improvement;
7. Support timely production of quarterly and annual donor reports based on agreed performance indicators.

PROGRAM ADVISORY

1. Maintain an active advisory role with the program team to help guide towards robust and relevant data for decision making.
2. Actively participate in all implementation, providing advice and feedback for quality results at any point.
3. Establish and maintain strong working relationships with partners and government departments

RESEARCH AND LEARNING

1. Take part in conflict analysis, research and learning activities, in conjunction with other relevant team members
2. Prepare practical reports for dissemination based on experiences from program implementation.
3. Together with the program implementation team, generate key learnings about the program’s implementation and approaches.
4. Regularly document and share all learnings from program implementation.
5. Support maintenance an up to date database that reflects progress and program indicators

Supervisory Responsibility

1. None.

Accountability

1. Reports Directly To: Program Manager

Works Directly With: County M&E Manager, Grants Manager, Finance and Operations Departments & local partners

1. Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
2. Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

1. Bachelor of Arts /Science or equivalent, preferable in Conflict/Peace Studies, Governance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Statistics, Development Studies or appropriate social science discipline.
2. 3 – 4 years’ program implementation and or monitoring and evaluation experience in related thematic areas combined with conflict sensitive programming.
3. Experience working with stakeholders including the private sector, CSOs, government, youth and women groups.
4. Ability to interact effectively with the diverse project stakeholders especially with the security sector and electoral bodies.
5. Must have strong writing, analytical and communication skills.
6. Good understanding and skills at data collection, analysis, database management with specific emphasis on beneficiary tracking.
7. Good knowledge and skills with the of MS Office applications such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Access;

Success Factors

1. A successful team member will be conscientious, with excellent judgement, capable of multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem-solving and attention to detail with strategic vision.  S/he must have the confidence, and humility, to work effectively with a large variety of people who will be diverse culturally, economically and in social status. S/he must be sensitive to political and cultural nuances and be able to consistently apply excellent judgment to a variety of demanding and fast-changing situations. 

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

1. The position is based in Nairobi, Kenya and may require travel to other counties, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited.  Staff will have access to good medical services.

Ongoing Learning

1. In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

1. Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.
2. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

1. Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.
2. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

1. Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Inter-agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.