Officer at Mercy Corps

Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps has been operating in Kenya since 2008, focusing its interventions around four objectives:

1. Peace and Conflict Management;
2. Livelihood/Market Systems;
3. Governance (particularly at the county level); and
4. Youth Employment/Employability (including the social and economic development of adolescents).

The four objectives serve to increase community resilience to drought and other shocks and stresses, and to decrease fragility with a particular focus on Kenya’s Arid Lands. Mercy Corps’ vision for change requires the private sector, government and civil society to work together to create meaningful and sustainable change.

Under the Omo Delta Project – Expanding the Rangeland to achieve Growth and Transformation, Mercy Corps in collaboration with five other partners: VSF G – lead agency, VITA (RTI) Ltd, EPaRDA, CIFA and TUPADO seeks to address the drivers of instability, irregular migration and displacement so as to expand and maximize opportunities for communities living in the rangelands along the Kenya – Ethiopia border by increasing wealth of young people in particular and especially young women; accelerating national and cross-border trade and collaboration; and increasing stability to promote growth and project gains.

General Position Summary: The Youth Officer will support the development and delivery of a comprehensive youth internship, mentorship, apprenticeship and career counseling programs under the leadership of the Program Manager.

S/he will develop relationships with potential employers, screen and orient youth and employers to ensure successful matches and provide oversight of activities and communication related to all career development activities.

The Youth Officer will also support in the design and implementation of interventions that assist youth to access opportunities and platforms for internships, apprenticeships, job search activities including labour market and career information.

In addition, s/he will lead in the implementation of strategies and activities that promote youth engagement, particularly focusing on youth and women, and marginalized populations in order to access relevant employability trainings, markets, finances, jobs and other employment services.

Essential Job Functions:

Program Implementation:

• Provide career counseling, assessment, administration and interpretation, building the capacity of implementing partners to deliver the career development support services;
• Coordinate the internship and apprenticeship programs including the initial assessment, placement and monitoring and oversight of youth internships, apprenticeship, career, and labour market information needs.
• Develop and facilitate trainings on internship programs, skills development programs for informal sector productivity, and other ways of skills building for poor and vulnerable youth working closely with country offices;
• Coordinate with Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions and other service providers under Omo delta project to promote youth friendly trainings and assess opportunities for linkages.
• Support in management and development of relationships with private sector for provision of internship, apprenticeship and career counseling and youth mentorship providers and agencies.
• Promote coalition building and relationships to influence youth development and education policies, sectoral policies/strategies/programs, and promote workforce development and ecosystem approach to inclusive youth employment and economic productivity in Southern African countries;
• Assess business opportunities for granting and mentorship.
• Help to coordinate and participate in various events, activities and fairs on topics related to internships, apprenticeships, job placement as well as career counseling for youth

Collaboration and Networking

• Maintain productive working relationships with sub-county and county leaders and local government departments as directed by the line manager;
• Coordinate with counterpart agencies and organizations, especially EU-funded agencies, involved in markets systems and workforce development.
• Identify opportunities for social innovation and enterprise that could be launched through catalytic investments from public and private sector initiatives;
• Support events, exhibits, workshops that bring private and public sector entities together to collectively review and discuss technology developments and innovation and to examine private sector approaches to household and community challenges that can be incubated through public sector incentives;

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Gather and document natural resource management and market program activities.
• Comply with M&E systems that will be established to measure program impact and desired results. Ensure data is collected and monitoring occurs regularly.
• Analyze project implementation strategies to identify constraints to program success and provide timely recommendations.
• Submit timely reports as requested by the Program Manager.
• Support external evaluations and assessments.

Coordination and Representation:

• Attend key events, committee meetings, fora, seminars, etc. as they relate to the program.
• Support Omo Delta Project activities with consortium partners, local government and other implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.

Program Support Operations:

• Ensure close communication with field teams and consortium members regarding program activities and plans, challenges and obstacles to timely and quality implementation.
• Coordinate with program, finance, and administration staff for troubleshooting and problem solving.

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 at all times and in all in-country venues.

Accountability

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Reports Directly To: Program Manager

Works Directly With: Program Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Market Systems Officer, GIRL Officer and REAP Officer

Knowledge and Experience:

• A Bachelors Degree in degree in Social Work/Community Development preferably with specialization in economic policy management, labor dynamics and workforce or other related discipline.
• A minimum of three (3) years professional experience in implementation of poverty reduction, workforce development and social inclusion operations.
• Good knowledge and experience in socio-economic development policy, labour market issues, workforce productivity and gender equality, preferably in the design, development and implementation of projects/ programs.
• Local dialects spoken in Northern Kenya are also a plus.
• Ability to inspire, motivate, mentor and support people towards achieving their goals.
• Ability to build relationships and work collaboratively with a range of partners.
• Demonstrated flexibility, creativity and enthusiasm as well as a willingness to learn and to be continually adaptive within a dynamic and often self-directed working environment mandatory.
• Ability to focus on day-to-day tasks at hand while also working towards longer-term objectives with an understanding that these will change continuously.
• Willingness to spend significant time in the field and work closely with program target groups and consortium members.
• Good knowledge of MS Office software such as PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Access.
• Experience of working with budgets.
• Experience of monitoring and evaluating community projects.

Success Factors:

• A strong team player, with good communication and diplomatic skills.
• Proven ability to work independently as part of a regional team and with international professionals.
• Excellent analytical and information management skills.
• Good organizational skills and ability to work under stress and in austere contexts of remote locations.
• Flexible and creative in planning and problem solving.
• Attention to detail, ability to follow procedures and meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Proven excellence maintaining professional internal and external relationships.
• Willingness and ability to live comfortably in Turkana and travel throughout the County.