Inclusion Coordinator at Mercy Corps Nigeria Full Time

Job Title: Inclusion Coordinator

Requisition Number: INCLU004004
Location: Gombe
Employment Type: Full-time
Job Category: Programming

Program / Department Summary

• Mercy Corps Nigeria was established in 2012 to respond primarily to growing humanitarian needs in the Northeast. With a strong and growing team of over 200 staff, Mercy Corps is currently serving over 600,000 beneficiaries across the country with programming in Lagos in the South; Kaduna, Benue, Nasarawa and Plateau in the Middle Belt; Kano, Yobe and Borno in the North.
• Programs include girls’ education and financial inclusion, community peacebuilding, market-based livelihoods and a multi-sector humanitarian response that has a strong emphasis on WASH, Shelter, Cash and Protection. With the vision of a Nigeria in which all people are empowered, engaged, resilient and secure, Mercy Corps Nigeria focuses on the root causes of conflict, governance, humanitarian response, and market systems development.
• Working with a diverse funding base that includes the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UK Department for International Development (DFID), United Nations (UN), European Commission (EC), and several foundations, Mercy Corps empowers people to recover from crisis, build better lives and transform their communities for good. In 2019, Mercy Corps was awarded a five-year, $30 million USAID-funded Rural Resilience Activity in Nigeria’s northeastern states.
• The purpose of the Rural Resilience Activity is to sustainably move people out of chronic vulnerability and poverty. The Rural Resilience activity will enable individuals and communities to engage in strong and sustainable market systems rather than continuing to rely on humanitarian assistance and faltering with each new shock.
• The Rural Resilience Activity is a five-year, $49 million USAID-funded Program in Nigeria’s northeast. The purpose of the Rural Resilience Activity is to sustainably move people out of chronic vulnerability and poverty.
• The Rural Resilience Activity will enable individuals and communities to engage in strong and sustainable market systems rather than continuing to rely on humanitarian assistance and faltering with each new shock.
• To achieve this purpose, the Activity will have four components and four cross-cutting elements:
  • Component 1: Provide up-to-date evidence for selecting market systems, livelihoods and employment opportunities that contribute to inclusive and resilient growth and improved nutrition.
  • Component 2: Stimulate market systems growth and diverse economic opportunities (Pull activities).
  • Component 3: Build capacity to take advantage of market systems opportunities (Push activities).
  • Component 4: Sequencing, layering, integrating (SLI), and collaborative learning to improve activity effectiveness, sustainability, and scale.
  • Component 5: Supporting Market Resilience to COVID-19 Shocks.

General Position Summary

• The Inclusion Coordinator will work closely under the supervision of the Deputy Chief of Party to design and deliver high-quality, innovative nutrition and inclusion intervention in RRA.
• S/he will ensure timely and effective program delivery, coordination and technical coherence and support, monitoring, evaluation and accountability.
• The Inclusion Coordinator will focus on priority outcomes and client responsiveness and represent RRA to major stakeholders, relevant government authorities and other program partners.
• S/he will ensure that the Nutrition Interventions will be implemented per international protocols, guidelines, and best practices.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• The Inclusion coordinator will provide strategic guidance and management for tracking output and outcome-level Inclusion results through program studies, intervention development, capacity building and planning.
• S/he must establish and manage relationships with potential partners and stakeholders. This role will also work with the MRM and Programme teams, developing and implementing a marketing and communications strategy across various reactive and strategically planned opportunities in print, media, events, and online.
• S/he will liaise with the CoP, DCoP, Senior GEDSI Advisor, Communications Manager, and MRM Manager to identify and design key communications materials and disseminate them to identified audiences.
• S/he will be responsible for ensuring strong linkages between the Activity interventions and the Results Measurement team of the program. This position is based in Gombe but requires frequent travel to the other states of the Northeast.

Specific Responsibilities

• Support the Senior GEDSI Advisor in developing and operationalizing the Gender and Social Inclusion strategy, which will guide the integration of Gender and Social Inclusion concepts and approaches into all RRA and partners’ activities, including technical implementation, monitoring, operations, policies, and procedures.
• Collaborate with the Senior GEDSI Advisor, technical teams, MEL, and other personnel on Gender and Social Inclusion strategy implementation and monitoring.
• Lead or assist in designing and implementing Gender and Social Inclusion analyses, impact assessments, and other learning studies.
• Review and provide input to project work plans, with attention to Gender and Social Inclusion dimensions of technical activities and operations.
• Assess the strength of the approach to gender mainstreaming across the project cycle.
• Implement and manage the gender action plan, exercise quality assurance, and advise management on corrective interventions.
• Social capital development
• Gender and social inclusion strategy developed, including the approaches to be employed in implementing the RRA activities, monitoring and evaluation, and the guiding policies and procedures of the component.
• Collaborate with the MEL Manager to develop and implement tools to monitor the Pathway to Possibility at the Activity level.
• Collaborate with the Sr GEDSI Advisor to develop guidelines and tools for the collection and reporting/dissemination of data relating to Gender and Social capital inclusion outcomes at the project level.
• Ensure that lessons learned are integrated in planning and implementation across the projects.
• Engender all the project activities by collaboratively working with the project teams and the other project participants, including the smallholder farmers and the project partners.
• Ensure that Gender and social inclusion assessment reports are developed capturing the processes, challenges, and lessons learned.
• Ensure that regular data quality assessment on gender and social inclusion is conducted.
• Provide leadership in implementing, incorporating, and strengthening RRA Interventions and events, including Social Capital approaches in Groups, Cooperatives, and hubs across the projects.

Intervention Management:

• Accountable for the implementation of Social Inclusion strategies and Gender approaches.
• Responsible and accountable for gender and youth performance indicators within RRA.
• Ensure that Gender and Social Inclusion initiatives approaches are properly implemented as per required standards.
• Analyze and package Gender and Social inclusion disaggregated project progress reports from country offices before submission to the DCoP.
• Translate and contextualize the Gender and Social Capital Minimum Requirements for Projects.
• Developing, reviewing, and updating training modules/manuals, and related training materials. Facilitate project implementers to set up various training modules and train them in their use; provide follow-up services to these training programs.

Stakeholder Management:

• Represent the program in selected markets, displaying courtesy, tact, consideration, and discretion in all interactions with partners, other program members, and the public.
• Understand how the political economy impacts rural markets and how changes in the functioning of markets may impact the political economy.
• Maintain contacts with key stakeholders to increase synergies.
• Participate in facilitating and managing the work of the program’s partners/co-facilitators/service providers and ensure “value for money” for the tasks given.
• Supervise/facilitate the identification and development of networks among key stakeholders, identifying common interests between the networks and RRA.
• Assist in establishing contacts with national and regional institutions, stakeholders, and participants that would contribute to successfully implementing market activities.

Security:

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies determined by country and program leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and know policies.
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and not jeopardize its mission.

Knowledge and Experience

• A Bachelor’s Degree or Master’s degree in social sciences.
• 4 years of relevant work experience in a related field.
• The ability to work within a fast-paced and dynamic environment
• Excellent communications skills
• A passion for the international development sector
• Exceptional analytical and writing skills
• A strategic and creative thinker with proven experience in working on diverse and wide-ranging communication strategies, including all forms of media.
• Excellent oral, written and computer skills.
• Fluency in English; fluency in Hausa is required.

Organisational 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 participants and international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in designing, monitoring, and evaluating our field projects.

Representation and Advocacy:

• In coordination with the other technical leads, develop and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders in Nigeria, including local communities, donors, government actors, UN agencies, international and local NGOs, and other relevant actors. Ensure RRA’s active representation and participation in the relevant clusters/sectors coordination. Develop strategic partnerships with local organizations. In coordination with the DCoP and other technical leads, assist in organizing donor visits by supporting staff in the smooth design and running of field visits.
• Supervisory Responsibility: She/He will technically oversee the Save the Children implementation in the Rural Resilience Activity.
• Reports Directly To: Deputy Chief of Party
• Works Directly with: Senior GEDSI Advisor, Comms Manager, Managers, MEL team, Reporting & Communications Officers, DCoP, Finance, and Operations teams. Coordinates with HQ Program Performance team and the Technical Support Unit.

Success Factors:

• A successful candidate will have a demonstrated ability to lead and communicate effectively with team members of varied work styles and cultures, follow procedures, and meet deadlines with flexibility and creativity in planning and problem-solving.
• S/he will have a proven ability to learn quickly, multi-task, prioritize, take the initiative, be accountable for results, understand the larger picture while remaining focused on the details, problem-solving, work within a complex and sensitive setting, and follow laws and security protocols.
• The most successful Mercy Corps team members are strongly committed to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments, and prioritize effective written and verbal communication.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

• 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 can better 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.
• 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.

Application Closing Date
18th August, 2023.

Note

• Applicants should have their CVs and Cover Letters in one document addressing the position requirements.
• Female candidates who are qualified are strongly encouraged to apply.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

• Mercy Corps is an equal-opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have a sustained global impact.
• 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, colour, 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:

• 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 the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary-General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency 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 adhere to the 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.