Job details
Description
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
Program / Department Summary
With funding from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), Mercy Corps’ Nawiri Program is leading a consortium of Kenyan and international partners on a Eight-year journey to sustainably reduce persistent acute malnutrition in Turkana and Samburu Counties of Kenya.
Through a phased approach that emphasizes evidence gap analysis, as well as partnership, learning, and co-creation, the program takes a robust county-centered design with government leadership, active engagement from communities, the private sector, and civil society. Mercy Corps’ consortium brings together the global leadership, research capacity, technical expertise, and implementation experience necessary to partner with local institutions to test, adapt, and scale evidence-based solutions. Together we will sustainably reduce persistent acute malnutrition for vulnerable populations in Turkana and Samburu Counties.
General Position Summary
The Livelihoods and Food Security officer (LFSO) will be a member of the USAID Nawiri Resilient Livelihoods Team and directly responsible for implementing nutrition-sensitive resilient livelihood interventions at sub-county (all wards) level.
These include Climate Smart Agriculture (irrigated crop and livestock) production, market systems linkages, private sector and financial inclusion support, enabling market systems to last mile communities to support ultra-poor, strengthening diversified efforts for improved Household Economies.
The officer works alongside other officers in layering interventions for collective impact at household and community level. Specifically,
The officer will be supporting livestock and small-scale irrigated crop and fodder production for diversified household access to nutrient-dense foods, private sector engagement, households economic strengthening that aims at increasing sustained access to incomes (financial inclusion), Climate smart agriculture approaches and improved ecological practices that support Natural resources management. The officer will work closely with relevant county officials, CSOs and private sector players involved in livelihoods and food security & nutrition within their areas of operation.
Essential Job Responsibilities
Program Management
- Coordinate with the different levels of County Government to mobilize actions and ensure effective communication channels.
- Coordinate with community leadership to facilitate activity integration and targeting of participants.
- Lead implementation of livestock, crops interventions including coordination with target communities and partners at the sub-office level.
- Directly oversee crop and fodder production through irrigation in selected irrigation schemes
- Collaborate with Nawiri health and nutrition staff to integrate messaging into crop and livestock production training curriculum.
- Design and lead TOT training sessions to Community Mobilizers / Champions in collaboration with Government counterparts.
- Liaise with other project teams and staff at the sub office level to ensure that all Nawiri interventions are well-coordinated and prioritized
- Coordinate with Markets and Alternative Livelihoods team members to identify private sector partners or opportunities for new enterprises that improve farmer access to input and output markets.
- Coordinate with public and private service providers (animal health, crop husbandry, etc.) to reach Nawiri participants at the Sub-office level.
- Support County livelihoods coordinator in the review and development of work plans and necessary reports.
- Collaborate with the M&E team to support monitoring and evaluation on effectiveness and impact of livelihoods activities at the Sub-office level and make recommendations for improvements.
Community and Sub – County engagement
- Mobilize sub-county, ward level and village meetings with relevant stakeholders.
- Support the facilitation of planning meetings and workshops with government, NGO, private sector, and community partners to revise and customize implementation plans.
- Conduct community mobilization and engagement meetings with ward and community-level leaders to implement USAID Nawiri livelihoods activities
- Support community visioning process for resilient livelihoods
- Support with collaborative partnership with other development partners and identify potential opportunities for linkage
Influence & representation
- Collaborate with Consortium partners, sub grantees, local government, and other implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs working at the sub-office level.
- Facilitate planning meetings and workshops with government, NGO, private sector, and community partners to revise plans and promote partner acceptance/buy-in at the sub-office level
- 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
Safeguarding
- Actively learns about 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
Others
- Promote and adhere to the principle and objectives of the project and Mercy Corps.
- Participate in other USAID Nawiri livelihoods program activities (NRM, Alternative livelihoods, Financial Inclusion)
- Any other duties as may be assigned.
Accountability to Beneficiaries
- Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specificallyto 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
Supervision of assistant livelihoods officers
Accountability
Reports directly to: County Resilient Livelihoods Coordinator
Works directly with: Climate Smart Advisor, alternative livelihoods and inclusive markets advisor, County & sub office M&E officers, BOMA Nawiri project officers, and save the children household economic officers.
Knowledge and Experience:
- Degree in agricultural related field or Diploma with over 3 years’ experience
- A minimum of 2 years’ experience directly implementing agriculture / livestock interventions at the field level in Kenya ASALs.
- Demonstrable familiarity with Kenya’s ASAL, agriculture crop and livestock, resilient livelihoods, and natural resources sectors.
- Proficient analytical skills that demonstrate an understanding of the current concepts, priorities, and issues in program monitoring, data collection, and evaluation.
- Team player who takes initiative and is a problem-solver.
- Effective verbal and written communication, multitasking and organizational skills.
- Ability to manage priorities independently
- Understanding of the Turkana Local context including the local language is an asset
Success Factors
A technical person who understands the tightly interconnected relationship between natural resources management, agriculture-based (crops & livestock) livelihoods, seasonality, risk and resilience in the arid and semi-arid lands. The successful candidate will have in depth contextual understanding of pastoral, agro-pastoral and in Turkana fishing context and can translate evidence and insights that drive malnutrition and is able to co-create solutions with local stakeholders, communities and households. The officer should be an excellent community mobilizer with strong facilitation skills in local language/dialects.
Living Conditions/Environmental Conditions
This position is based at the USAID Nawiri Lodwar sub-office in Turkana County. Housing for this role is in individual / own housing arrangement and staff will have access to good medical services cover.
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.
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 are better able to 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.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have 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, color, 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 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.
By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. 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 to adhere to 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.As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([email protected]).
