Program Officer

Mercy Corps, An International Humanitarian Organization is looking for a suitable candidate to fill a very strategic position within our Conflict Management team in Borno State. We are looking for a motivated individual, who is enthusiastic about the work we do and is looking to work within a dynamic team.

Mercy Corps is recruiting to fill the position of:


Job Title: Program Officer - YOU-SB
Location: Maiduguri, Nigeria (With frequent travels to other project locations in Borno State)
Start Date: 1 August 2016 (8 months).
Project Description

• With funding from the Department for International Development (DFID), Mercy Corps will implement the “Youth Stabilization Initiative for Borno (YOU-SB)”, which seeks to address the grievances and unequal economic opportunities that leave youth vulnerable to recruitment and radicalization by violent extremist groups.
• YOU-SB will support civil society, government actors, community and religious leaders, and youth to increase community resilience to prevent the spread of violent extremism in Borno State.
• By facilitating dialogue and collaboration among the stakeholders to prevent violence, the program’s goals are aligned with the objectives outlined by UK DfID 2014-2016 Operational Strategy, which aims to support progress in Northern Nigeria in order to promote regional stability in the Sahel.
• The proposed program will focus on both “push” and “pull” factors that drive youth to participate in violence, including governance grievances, unequal economic opportunities and vulnerability to extremist messaging.
• YOU-SB puts emphasis on evidence generation and program learning, and the key program components have the potential for smart, significant scale-up beyond the life of this initial eight-month program.

General Position Summary

• The Program Officer will support the implementation of activities related to capacity building of local leaders and key government stakeholders in Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) and de-radicalization of youth, and the facilitation of events related to CVE initiatives.
• The Program Officer will also provide support to all other activities related to the You-SB program and will ensure smooth, timely, and compliant implementation.
• The Program Officer will liaise frequently with community members and represent Mercy Corps at meetings and forums.

Essential Job Functions
Program Implementation:

• Ensure effective implementation of the You-SB program, including meeting deliverables on time, within budget, and according to MC and DFID standards.
• Ensure that You-SB is responsive in strengthening local capacities to implement evidence-based, community- led projects that address the drivers of instability in the region.
• Conduct frequent field visits to all project sites in the three Local Government Areas (LGAs) (Maiduguri, Damboa, and Biu).
• Support technical aspects of the program by assisting with the development of activities/agendas/curriculum related to CVE.
• Facilitate and co-facilitate community meetings, events, and trainings as required.
• Liaise with partner organizations, government officials, and potential resource persons as needed.

Personal Leadership:

• Demonstrate flexibility, resilience, and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure.
• Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.
• Demonstrate an awareness of his/her own strengths and development needs.

Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) and Reporting:

• Facilitate the achievement of performance-based targets and outcomes and lead efforts to design effective, proactive, and iterative M&E systems following DfID’s logical framework.
• Produce draft reports and updates on all aspects of the DfID program in a timely and efficient manner.
• Support M&E staff to implement relevant surveys, needs assessments, data and information collection for on-going monitoring.
• Coordinate closely with other personnel to ensure all objectives of the proposal and activities are met.

Representation:

• Represent Mercy Corps at government, donor, NGO, and other relevant events in the field, in close coordination as assigned. 

Program Support Operations:

• Supervise and coordinate the activities of the program assistant based in Abuja, with program, finance, operations, and administration staff to ensure effective systems are in place to support field activities including logistics (transport, warehousing and asset management), procurement, security, administration, and human resources.

Organizational Learning:

• As part of Mercy Corps’ agency-wide Organizational Learning Initiative, all team members are responsible for spending 5% of their work time in formal and/or non-formal professional learning activities.

Accountability:

• To be accountable for ensuring all allocated project plans, risk plans and project documentation and files are accurate and up to date.
• Also Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts towards 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.

Supervisory Responsibility: Direct supervision of: N/A. Reports directly to: Deputy Project Manager
Works directly with: All field team members

Knowledge and Experience

• Master's degree or equivalent in Education, Management, International Development or other relevant field;
• A minimum of 2 to 4 years of experience, with experience working in rural communities in North-East Nigeria strongly preferred;
• Strong written and oral communication skills in English and Hausa required. Kanuri (or other major local language) language skills strongly preferred.
• Experience operating large, complex programs in an insecure environment is required.
• Experience working in programs related to stabilization, conflict mitigation, and CVE
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Strong management skills, with good understanding of relevant cross-cultural issues in a high security environment. 
• Experience working in a multi-organizational team (international and national partners) is a plus.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
• Experience working with International NGOs and donors like the UN, development organizations, country-level ministries and government officials, e.g. Ministry of Youth or Ministry of Women Affairs.

Success Factors:

• The successful Program Officer will combine exceptional management skills and technical skills with a focus on innovative interventions to bring communities together.
• An ideal candidate will be conversant with the challenges inherent in CVE work and will be a self-starter who has led grassroots development efforts.
• S/he will have an outstanding ability to support innovative and complex programs within the current and future program structure of Mercy Corps in the region.
• Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential

Living Conditions/Environmental Conditions:

• The PO will be based in Maiduguri, Borno state. The PO will travel frequently to program locations, where security may be particularly difficult at times.
• Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting.
• 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.