Ethiopia: Youth Program Manager - Ethiopia - Ethiopia

This position is contingent upon funding. Ethiopian citizens/nationals are highly encouraged to apply.

PROGRAM/ DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

Mercy Corps will submit as an implementing partner under Catholic Relief Services for a USAID Food For Peace-funded Development Food Assistant Project (DFAP) for Ethiopia, which intends to improve food access and incomes through agriculture and other livelihoods initiatives; enhance natural resource and environment management; combat under nutrition, especially for children under two and pregnant and lactating women; and mitigate disaster impact through early warning and community preparedness activities. The DFAP is intended to build resilience in populations vulnerable to chronic hunger and repeated hunger crises, and to reduce their future need for ongoing or emergency food assistance. The program is planned to initiate October 2016 and run for five years.

GENERAL POSITION SUMMARY:

Mercy Corps seeks a Senior Youth Manager for a five-year Food For Peace (FFP) Development Assistance Program (DFAP II). This position will be based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Manager will work in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services Deputy Chief of Party to seamlessly integrate youth programming principles, standards, and methodologies throughout the technical areas of the project. The manager will oversee the following aspects: capacity and barrier assessments, capacity development intervention design and deployment, monitoring, evaluation, adaptive learning, and facilitating linkages with public and private sectors.

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategy and Vision

• Apply youth analysis to program activities and design.


• Ensures the program captures evidence from youth activities, and uses this to shape new action.


• Strengthen youth role in government and private sectors.


• Identify and establish partnerships and linkages between government and private sectors.


• Disseminate learning and sharing on youth issues.

Program Management

• Lead sectorally-focused youth mainstreaming trainings for all team members


• Implement DFAP’s youth integration strategies and adapting and improving strategies as needed


• Coordinate youth activities with other DFAP leads and officers during regular planning and coordination sessions


• Implement activities designed to promote greater access, inclusion and empowerment for youth at community and household levels


• On the basis of Mercy Corps Transferable Skills programming, adapt tools and materials for use in diverse multi-sectoral youth-oriented applications.


• Build knowledge and technical capacity of in-country staff and implementing partners to implement and monitor youth skills programming.


• Provide ongoing technical guidance and support to in-country staff and implementing partners in youth integration and empowerment.


• Contribute to developing indicators, milestones and plans, and lead reporting on all indicators for youth integration, and program progress.


• Support MEAL team to include youth perspective in research, mid-term and endline evaluations and mainstream sex and age disaggregated and youth-sensitive indicators into the overall MEAL framework.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.


• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

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 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: 4 Youth Program Assistants

ACCOUNTABILITY:

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Country Director

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Mercy Corps team members supporting youth data collection, CRS MEAL team, other implementing partners

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

• Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Community Development, Gender Studies or other relevant technical discipline.


• 5 years of experience in youth programing including youth equity and empowerment, and inclusive social systems strengthening; at least three years in field postings


• Demonstrated leadership, management, and training capabilities.


• Strong skills in planning and organization, partnership and collaboration.


• Experience in working in large scale complex programs, in challenging environments, with strong emphasis on poor and vulnerable populations, pastoralist cultures, and agriculture.


• Knowledge of USAID and USG grant regulations, procedures and reporting requirements is preferred.


• Experience in the region is required; previous experience in Ethiopia is preferred.


• Advanced professional proficiency in English and Amharic is required. Proficiency in Oromifa is a bonus.


• Travel within the project areas is required.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

The successful candidate will have exceptional verbal and written communication skills and strong training and facilitation experience and skills. The candidate will be comfortable working in a dynamic environment, have the ability to work collaboratively with partners and have a strong network of youth experts to draw upon as needed.

LIVING CONDITIONS/ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:

The position is based in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia and it requires up to 30 % travel to project sites within Ethiopia.

Dire Dawa is a medium sized city located in eastern Ethiopia. Dire Dawa has comfortable housing and lodging options and a wide selection of restaurants. Security in Dire Dawa is stable, but can change quickly. While electricity is available throughout the city, it has frequent breaks. Medical facilities in Dire Dawa are very basic, as are schools.

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.

Apply Here

PI94293908