Director at Mercy Corps

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps seeks to implement a multi-year, 12 million GBP program funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). Building Resilience in Civil Society (BRICS II) will engage local and national government, local civil society organizations and communities to mitigate the drivers, enablers and narratives of violent extremism in East Africa through support to policy initiatives, community engagement, and support to national civil society organizations in order to prevent the recruitment of vulnerable individuals by violent extremist organizations. The program will work primarily in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Uganda, through strategies adapted to the context and opportunities in each country to advance research, legislation and field implementation of activities.

General Position Summary

The Director of Policy and Advocacy will be responsible for leading policy influencing initiatives across the 5 target countries. S/he will conduct a deep political and policy analysis for each country to understand the policy framework relevant to P/CVE and related issues, identify potential policy changes that could support a more holistic and comprehensive approach to P/CVE, and will support policy makers with resources and technical guidance to support the policy process. S/he will engage closely with policy-makers across the 5 target countries at different levels to support policy and legislative reforms, and will build the capacity of civil society actors within the target countries to undertake advocacy and policy engagement. S/he will drive the policy and advocacy strategy for the programs, linking policy initiatives to the overall strategic framework and theory of change of the program. The Director of Policy and Advocacy will be a key member of the program management team, and will work with other technical sector leads to ensure that community-level interventions, government policies, and research are delivered in a complementary and mutually-reinforcing way to achieve maximum impact.

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY AND VISION

• Lead development of the program's policy and advocacy strategy by leading a deep political and policy assessment of each target country and identifying key legislative and policy interventions that could strengthen the government's capacity to prevent and respond to VE at the local and national level.
• Contribute to shaping the project's research and influencing agenda, working with the Research Lead to integrate and advance research, learning and advocacy in order to deepen the contextual understanding of VE drivers in the target countries and effective strategies to prevent the recruitment of vulnerable individuals into violent extremist organizations.
• Stay abreast of the policy and political environment and emerging challenges, and be ready to engage with policymakers in each context to represent the program's recommendations on how to tackle evolving dynamics. Ensure that team members in the region are on message with our vision and position.

POLICY AND REPRESENTATION WORK

• Provide leadership and strategic vision to the policy team including work plan development, partnership selection and management, and stakeholder engagement around policy and advocacy issues.

• Represent the program in advancing policy issues related to CVE and violence mitigation and prevention including by building strategic partnerships, holding influencing meetings with government and other stakeholders, and by presenting policy and research at external events.

• Build a network in each of the target countries and establish and maintain strategic relationships with relevant local and international stakeholders, to continually inform, challenge, and improve Mercy Corps' advocacy, strategy, and program development.

• Engage stakeholders at the community level to inform advocacy action planning, ensuring that program strategies and policy advocacy are driven by and aligned with community priorities.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

• Lead in the structuring of partner roles and responsibilities for policy and advocacy work, oversee their activities and provide continuous technical support and capacity building as required.
• Build a network of local organizations to engage on policy initiatives at the sub-national and County level.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

• Track global policy developments affecting VE in the East/Horn of Africa Region, including policies of regional states, donor policies and UN policy.
• Work with the field teams and global P&A team to plan and produce effective, thoughtful and timely written products that advance policy perspectives important to our mission.

TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING

• Enhance the project team's capacity on policy and advocacy by designing and leading technical training sessions for Mercy Corps staff and local partners and providing ongoing coaching and mentoring.
• Promote active learning and adaptive management, and contribute to agency-level networks and working groups, through documentation and knowledge sharing around best practices and lessons learned in CVE programming.

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.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Team Lead

Works Directly With: Advocacy partners, Research Coordinator, MEL Manager, Finance and Sub-Grants Manager, local and national government officials, local civil society organizations, implementing partners and communities.

Knowledge and Experience

• Master's degree in Peace Building and Conflict Resolution or related discipline.
• At least 5 years experience working on countering violent extremism programming, conflict mitigation and resolution, and/or violence reduction and prevention programs.
• Demonstrated experience working to influence local and national government policies to promote peace-building and development outcomes.
• Solutions-oriented individual, with strong strategic thinking capabilities.
• Demonstrated effectiveness managing a diverse team of staff, consortium partners and local implementing partners, building a cohesive and results-oriented team to deliver on complex programming result.
• Experience working with a diverse range of community members to discuss sensitive and delicate topics in a conflict-sensitive manner.
• Excellent writing and reporting skills.
• Excellent verbal and inter-personal communications skills.
• Demonstrated sensitivity, skill, and experience working within different cultural settings and navigating public affairs and communications on sensitive issues.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will have strong policy influencing skills as demonstrated by the ability to analyze complex issues and work with a diverse group of policy makers to craft policy solutions to achieve program objectives related to security, violence preventions and vulnerable groups. S/he will demonstrate strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills and be committed to the values and mission of Mercy Corps. S/he will take initiative and contribute to team efforts, as well as demonstrate an ability to communicate, assume leadership, and make solid decisions while working remotely from country leadership.

• Master's degree in Peace Building and Conflict Resolution or related discipline.
• At least 5 years experience working on countering violent extremism programming, conflict mitigation and resolution, and/or violence reduction and prevention programs.
• Demonstrated experience working to influence local and national government policies to promote peace-building and development outcomes.
• Solutions-oriented individual, with strong strategic thinking capabilities.
• Demonstrated effectiveness managing a diverse team of staff, consortium partners and local implementing partners, building a cohesive and results-oriented team to deliver on complex programming result.
• Experience working with a diverse range of community members to discuss sensitive and delicate topics in a conflict-sensitive manner.
• Excellent writing and reporting skills.
• Excellent verbal and inter-personal communications skills.
• Demonstrated sensitivity, skill, and experience working within different cultural settings and navigating public affairs and communications on sensitive issues.