Career Opportunities at Mercy Corps

Program / Department Summary 

Mercy Corps is seeking a Programme Support Assistant for an FCDO-funded Border Security Programme.  Irregular migration and associated criminal activity in East Africa remain a complex and escalating challenge which leads to significant exploitation of vulnerable people on the move.  The Border Security Programme will take a multifaceted approach – integrating ‘prevention’, ‘prepare/protect’ and ‘pursue’. An important purpose of this Programme is to support the pursuit of human traffickers and smugglers who are exploiting vulnerable populations on the move.  Initial interventions will take place in the Kenya border regions, with planned and phased expansion to Uganda, Ethiopia and possibly Somalia border areas.  

General Position Summary 

Program Support Assistant will provide general administrative support for Border Security Programme (for program leadership and technical teams based in the country office/Nairobi) and across overall program operations and liaising with the National and County government in managing government agreements and other requirements. 

The position holder will provide targeted support for all BSP teams where central teams are organizing activities, events or processes, overall program support tasks including daily administrative workflows, logistical support for conference & meetings, compile periodic program reports and follow closely the procurements, finance and P&C needs of the project - as well as broader engagement with government as stipulated in detail in the job function section. 

Essential Job Responsibilities

General Project Administration:

• Manage the daily administrative workflow of the Border Security Programme under the Team Leader. This includes providing basic administrative support, including scheduling meetings, taking notes, managing letters and invitations, updating the team calendar with events such as training, completing forms, updating program documents, and streamlining BSP processes and procedures. 
• Conference/Meeting Logistics Support: Assist with the logistical coordination and planning of meetings and conferences (which includes venue arrangement, workshop materials, event participant travel & accommodation) working closely with Program team and Operations team.
• Procurement: Assist Program Operations Officer in procurement processes including procurement planning, raising PR and following closely with Procurement Coordinator the progress of ongoing procurements.  
• Travel: Assist travel arrangement for Border Security Programme team, including reserving and booking flights, booking accommodation, preparing TARs and other travel details as necessary.
• Coordinate with procurement, logistics, security, finance, administration, and People & Culture teams to ensure operational systems support field activities.
• People & Culture Support (Hiring): Assist Border Security Programme Team Leader in recruitment process - which includes raising PRF for open vacancies and following closely with P&C for a timely recruitment process.
• HR Support (Team Movement & Leave Balances): Track Border Security Programme team leave plans and, working closely with P&C, update team leave balances. Also, provide a periodic summary update of team leave plans and balances with the Border Security Programme Team Leader & Component Leads. 
• Support assessments, evaluations, and monitoring surveys relevant to BSP component including support in the development of scope of Work, survey tools, training, and management of data collectors.
• Provide administrative support in preparing procurement and expense requests, following up with relevant departments for field activities.
• Prepare accurate and timely monitoring and field reports on a weekly basis and other project documentation as required  

Team Coordination Support: 

• Support cross-team administrative coordination: with the SLT, Field, program, operations, and finance teams to ensure timely operations support for BSP Program activities implementation.
• Meeting Management and Notetaking: Manage the organization and record the BSP Leadership Team BSP meetings. This includes producing agenda documents (where required) and taking notes during team meetings and disseminating them in a timely manner, always highlighting action points. Support following up on action points as necessary.
• Filing and Folder Tracking: Support BSP with structuring, updating and overall maintaining a filing system accessible to all program stakeholders. Ensure key files are appropriately maintained including, agreement documents with various NGO and Private sector partners, reports, research documents, discussion papers, videos, posters, etc.

Communications Support: 

• Team Communications: Assist the SLT in managing communication flows within and across program teams, including across Nairobi and county-based teams. Ensure communication flow protocols are in place.  
• Product Communications: Support communications team to publish, produce and distribute internal and external communications to facilitate learning throughout the project. Keep track and manage dissemination plans and progress against them. Procure graphics. Facilitate connecting with HQ digital library and posting on internal and external sites.  Ensure BSP information held within the site is accurate and up to date, creating communications resources when requested,

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.
• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values always and in all in-country venues.

Safeguarding responsibilities  

• Actively learns safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.
• Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.
• Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.

Supervisory Responsibility. None 

• Accountability 

Reports Directly To: Border Security Programme Team Leader  

Works Directly With: BSP SLT, Programme Managers, Field/Area Coordinators, Operations, Finance, and HR Team members. 

Knowledge and Experience 

• 2-3 years of general administration or program support experience is required.
• A university degree or equivalent in a related field (community development, business, accounting, international relations, political science) is required.
• Excellent oral and written English skills are required.
• Proven interest and commitment to humanitarian and development issues.
• Excellent organizational skills: the ability to work independently & productively in a fast-paced environment and to effectively see projects through from start to finish.
• Flexible work attitude and demonstrated creativity: the ability to work productively in a team environment and the ability to problem solve creatively with minimal guidance.
• Excellent Computer skills (especially Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook)

Success Factors

• Must be confident, self-starter, an independent thinker.
• Strong organizational, interpersonal and communication skills 
• Team oriented; Demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse groups of people.
• Excellent communication skills, written and oral are required.
• Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and appropriate flexibility.
• Excellent organizational skills with ability to successfully manage multiple tasks.
• Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail are essential. 
• The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

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Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps is seeking a Senior Monitoring, Reporting, Evaluation, Learning and Adaptation (MRELA) Officer for the FCDO-funded Border Security Programme (BSP), in Kenya.  Irregular migration and associated criminal activity in East Africa remain a complex and escalating challenge which leads to significant exploitation of vulnerable people on the move.  The planned Border Security Programme will take a multifaceted approach – integrating ‘prevention’, ‘prepare/protect’ and ‘pursue’. An important purpose of this programme is to support the pursuit of human traffickers and smugglers who are exploiting vulnerable populations on the move.  Initial interventions will take place in the Kenya border regions, with planned and phased expansion to Uganda, Ethiopia and possibly Somalia border areas. 

General Position Summary

• The Senior MRELA Officer plays a key role in Mercy Corps' programme quality assurance, accountability, documentation, and learning function, providing direct support to the BSP programme. Reporting to the Programme MRELA Manager, the position holder supports the design and implementation of monitoring, reporting, evaluation, learning, and adaptation activities, including ensuring data quality, generating evidence for adaptive management, and supporting accountability to participants, partners, and the donor.
• The role combines hands-on data collection, facilitation of learning processes, and capacity strengthening of programme staff and implementing partners. Given the sensitivity of the programme's context and the vulnerability of its target population, the Senior MRELA Officer is expected to demonstrate a strong commitment to ethical and responsible data practices throughout all aspects of their work.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY SUPPORT AND MRELA SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

• Lead the development, testing, refinement and roll-out of MRELA tools and system components for the BSP programme, including data collection instruments, indicator tracking tools, and data management systems.
• Contribute to the development and review of intervention designs, sector strategies, and the MRELA framework.
• Provide technical inputs into programme logic, theories of change, and review documents, helping to refine approaches to reflect monitoring evidence and learning.
• Support the program teams and partners in ensuring adherence to Mercy Corps' MEL Minimum standards.
• Support the MRELA manager in translating MRELA strategy and framework into practical systems, tools, processes, and workplans across the BSP programme.

MONITORING & DATA MANAGEMENT

• Develop and maintain an accurate and up-to-date documentation of progress against agreed progress markers, including evidence of emerging changes.
• Validate and verify results data received from implementing partners and grantees against primary source documents while applying systematic data quality checks.
• Implement a Data Quality Assessment (DQA) plan; conduct periodic DQAs and document findings, tracking corrective actions through to resolution.
• Conduct monitoring visits to programme sites and partner locations, collecting supplementary data and qualitative information, both independently and as part of programme teams.
• Maintain a secure, well-organized data management system that enables timely retrieval, analysis, and aggregation of programme data, in compliance with Mercy Corps' data protection and responsible data policies.
• Ensure monitoring approaches are protection-sensitive and responsive to the confidentiality and safety needs of beneficiaries in a trafficking and irregular migration context.
• Work with the MRELA Manager and programme staff to ensure activities are on track against targets, surfacing data-driven concerns through regular planning and review meetings.
• Lead the design and implementation of quantitative and qualitative data collection, including development and testing of data collection instruments,configuration and management of digital data collection tools in CommCare, training and supervision of data collectors, data quality assurance, data cleaning, analysis and interpretation of findings.

EVALUATIONS AND ASSESSMENTS

• Support the planning, design, coordination, and supervision of programme assessments, evaluations and thematic research.
• Take lead in developing core evaluation assets including Scopes of Work (SoWs), survey instruments, sampling methodologies, data collection protocols, and analysis frameworks for evaluations and assessments.
• Support in the recruitment and training of data collection teams and enumerators.
• Provide technical and operational oversight todata collectorion processes, ensuring  adherence to ethical and data protection standards.
• Support or manage the recruitment and day-to-day supervision of external evaluation consultants where required, ensuring deliverables meet quality standards and timelines.
• Contribute to and review evaluation reports, ensuring findings are evidence-based, clearly presented, and accompanied by actionable recommendations.

REPORTING

• Coordinate results reporting with consortium partners, tracking deadlines and ensuring adherence to reporting formats, indicator definitions, and quality standards.
• Consolidate, analyse, and synthesize quantitative and qualitative results data for donor and internal reporting.
• Contribute clear evidence-based narrative against agreed performance indicators.
• Review partner reports for data accuracy, completeness, internal consistency, and alignment with the programme's monitoring framework before consolidation and submission.
• Maintain well-organized documentation of all monitoring data, evaluation reports, and supporting evidence, ensuring all reported results are traceable to source documentation.

LEARNING, ADAPTATION, AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

• Maintain an up-to-date database that accurately reflects progress against programme indicators and learning outcomes, ensuring data is accessible to the programme team.
• Facilitate or co-facilitate regular programme reflection and learning events  to enable the team to analyse monitoring data and translate findings into adaptive management decisions.
• Document and support dissemination of programme lessons, good practices, and emerging insights in accessible formats for internal and external audiences.
• Contribute to the programme's learning and research agenda, supporting the identification of priority learning questions and the design of activities to address them.

CAPACITY BUILDING

• Assess MRELA capacity gaps among grantees and provide targeted training and coaching to build their ability to implement programme monitoring tools, manage data accurately, and produce quality reports.
• Support grantees in developing and maintaining effective MEL systems that meet programme standard.
• Build the capacity of all relevant team members to implement program-monitoring tools, accurately enter program data into relevant databases, and use monitoring evidence in programme planning and decision-making.
• Advise on and support the testing and adoption of appropriate digital technologies to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and security of MRELA functions.

STAKEHOLDER COORDINATION

• Maintain an active advisory relationship with the programme team, guiding staff toward robust, relevant, and ethical data collection practices at all stages of programme implementation.
• Establish and maintain strong working relationships with partner MRELA focal points to support coordinated MRELA activities.
• Participate in ongoing MRELA advisory and support activities for BSP programme staff and local partners, providing feedback on data quality and results at key programme milestones.
• Represent the MRELA function in programme planning and review meetings, presenting data-driven insights to support evidence-informed decision-making.

OTHER

• 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 or programming activities.
• Perform other relevant duties as assigned.

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES

• Actively learns safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.
• Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.
• Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.

Supervisory Responsibility

Enumerators from time to time.

Accountability

• Reports Directly To: Programme MRELA Manager.
• Works Directly With: MRELA staff, Programme leads; Programme partners

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

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   

• Bachelor's degree in social science, statistics, business administration, or a relevant field.
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in programme monitoring and evaluation in an international development, humanitarian, or related context.
• Solid understanding of MEL concepts and frameworks, including programme logic, results chains, logframes, theories of change, and participatory monitoring approaches.
• Demonstrated ability to implement quantitative and qualitative data collection tools and working knowledge of sampling techniques.
• Strong data analysis skills; ability to work with both quantitative and qualitative datasets.
• Demonstrate knowledge of at least one data statistical analysis package (SPSS, STATA, Python, etc.)
• Experience with digital data collection platforms (preferably CommCare and Power BI)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; ability to present complex data clearly and accessibly for diverse audiences.
• Experience working in counter-trafficking, migration, protection, or security-related programming is desirable.