NGO Jobs in Nairobi, Kenya - 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.

Mercy Corps is looking for committed and dynamic individual to take up the following position:
Position: Violence Reduction and Institutional Reform Technical Advisor
Location: Nairobi County
This position is contingent upon receipt of funding and donor approval.
Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps began working in Kenya in 2008 to address the societal wounds following the 2007 post-election violence.
Since that time, Mercy Corps has built a robust and diverse portfolio in Kenya that is working to address structural causes of poverty and injustice and to strengthen systems that enable men, women and children to access opportunities, participate in and contribute to peaceful democratic processes, and thrive in the face of ecological and social change.
To do this, we deliver integrated programming to strengthen market and governance systems, address the root causes of conflict, and equip vulnerable populations- in particular youth, women, adolescents and marginalized social groups- with the skills, opportunities and resources they need to be healthy, productive and to drive the development of their communities.
We work closely with the private sector, civil society and governance structures at local and national levels to facilitate change and ensure that opportunities are inclusive of all Kenyans.
Mercy Corps seeks to implement a 5-year, 20 million GBP program funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) entitled Reducing Insecurity (and Violent Extremism) in the Northern and Coastal Regions of Kenya (RE-INVENT). RE-INVENT aims to enhance Kenyan capacity and capability at the national, county and local levels to address five types of inter-related violence: inter-communal conflict, weak community-police relations, violence against women and girls (VAWG), violent extremism and election related violence.
It will support the continued advancement of police reforms to improve the management, oversight and accountability of the police force.
General Position Summary: The Violence Reduction and Institutional Reform Technical Advisor will provide overall leadership and technical guidance to the program on violence reduction strategies cutting across the five types of violence mentioned above.
S/he will engage with stakeholders at the national, county and community level to design and implement reforms aimed at strengthening community security, building relationships between police and communities, and tackling the root causes of violence and conflict in Kenya.
The Technical Advisor will be a key member of the program management team, and will work with senior management 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
·         Provide strategic direction and vision to guide the program implementation strategy and technical approach in order to address the five inter-related forms of violence. mentioned above.
·         Gather/analyze data and complete assessments to determine program needs and priorities in order to achieve the program’s intended outcomes.
·         Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions and resources to achieve objectives and contribute to the overall program strategy development.
·         Support the development of a partner engagement strategy by identifying key technical approaches and activities to be implemented by partner organizations at the community level.
·         Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
Program Quality
·         Participate as an active, integrated member of the team providing technical support to the overall program across all intervention areas and sectors.
·         Support effective violence reduction programming interventions, using integrated approaches and applying systems thinking to address root causes of violence in Kenyan communities.
·         Help maintain standards of program delivery that apply agency priorities and comply with relevant regulations and requirements.
·         Help the team gather, refine, and disseminate tools such as training presentations and manuals, teaching notes, best practices and lessons learned, program examples, and monitoring and evaluation tools.
·         Support program staff and partners to understand and implement best practices for peacebuilding/conflict mitigation programming and to incorporate best practices throughout the program cycle.
Influence & Representation
·         Engage with national, county and community stakeholders to advance policy reforms related to police reform, intercommunal violence reduction, violence against women and girls, violent extremism and election related violence.
Training and Capacity Building
·         Enhance the project teams’ capacity by designing and leading technical training sessions for project team staff and local partners and providing ongoing coaching and mentoring.
·         Work with regional focal points and partner staff to identify key county and community stakeholders and build their capacity to address local conflict issues.
·         Promote learning and knowledge management through documentation and knowledge sharing around best practices and lessons learned.
·         Lead conflict sensitivity training for program staff and local partners and continuously review the program activities to ensure application of do no harm approaches.
·         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 violence reduction 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: Regional Coordinators in Turkana, Wajir and Mombasa counties
Accountability
Reports Directly to: Mercy Corps’ Country Director
Works Directly with: Chief of Party, 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.
·         Extensive experience working on conflict mitigation and resolution, violence reduction and prevention programs, countering violent extremism, police reform, elections violence programming, both at the community level and the policy level etc.
·         Demonstrated strong theoretical and applied knowledge in the above-mentioned fields.
·         Demonstrated effectiveness designing technical approaches in the fields of conflict mitigation and violence reduction.
·         Experience coaching and working with a diverse team of staff, consortium partners and local implementing partners, building skills and capacity to deliver on complex programming results.
·         Solutions-oriented individual, with strong strategic thinking capabilities.
·         Experience with policy engagement and influencing in fields related to violence reduction and conflict mitigation, with a range of stakeholders including public institutions, county government, and local government.
·         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 technical skills in the area of violence reduction, and demonstrated ability to apply theoretical knowledge to the development of programmatic strategies and interventions, using integrated approaches and applying systems thinking.
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.

Position: Youth Officer
Location: Turkana County
Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps has been operating in Kenya since 2008, focusing its interventions around four objectives:
1) Peace and Conflict Management;

2) Livelihood/Market Systems;
3) Governance (particularly at the county level); and
4) Youth Employment/Employability (including the social and economic development of adolescents).
The four objectives serve to increase community resilience to drought and other shocks and stresses, and to decrease fragility with a particular focus on Kenya’s Arid Lands. Mercy Corps’ vision for change requires the private sector, government and civil society to work together to create meaningful and sustainable change.
Under the Omo Delta Project – Expanding the Rangeland to achieve Growth and Transformation, Mercy Corps in collaboration with five other partners: VSF G – lead agency, VITA (RTI) Ltd, EPaRDA, CIFA and TUPADO seeks to address the drivers of instability, irregular migration and displacement so as to expand and maximize opportunities for communities living in the rangelands along the Kenya – Ethiopia border by increasing wealth of young people in particular and especially young women; accelerating national and cross-border trade and collaboration; and increasing stability to promote growth and project gains.
General Position Summary: The Youth Officer will support the development and delivery of a comprehensive youth internship, mentorship, apprenticeship and career counseling programs under the leadership of the Program Manager.
S/he will develop relationships with potential employers, screen and orient youth and employers to ensure successful matches and provide oversight of activities and communication related to all career development activities.
The Youth Officer will also support in the design and implementation of interventions that assist youth to access opportunities and platforms for internships, apprenticeships, job search activities including labour market and career information.
In addition, s/he will lead in the implementation of strategies and activities that promote youth engagement, particularly focusing on youth and women, and marginalized populations in order to access relevant employability trainings, markets, finances, jobs and other employment services.
Essential Job Functions:
Program Implementation:
·         Provide career counseling, assessment, administration and interpretation, building the capacity of implementing partners to deliver the career development support services;
·         Coordinate the internship and apprenticeship programs including the initial assessment, placement and monitoring and oversight of youth internships, apprenticeship, career, and labour market information needs.
·         Develop and facilitate trainings on internship programs, skills development programs for informal sector productivity, and other ways of skills building for poor and vulnerable youth working closely with country offices;
·         Coordinate with Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions and other service providers under Omo delta project to promote youth friendly trainings and assess opportunities for linkages.
·         Support in management and development of relationships with private sector for provision of internship, apprenticeship and career counseling and youth mentorship providers and agencies.
·         Promote coalition building and relationships to influence youth development and education policies, sectoral policies/strategies/programs, and promote workforce development and ecosystem approach to inclusive youth employment and economic productivity in Southern African countries;
·         Assess business opportunities for granting and mentorship.
·         Help to coordinate and participate in various events, activities and fairs on topics related to internships, apprenticeships, job placement as well as career counseling for youth
Collaboration and Networking
·         Maintain productive working relationships with sub-county and county leaders and local government departments as directed by the line manager;
·         Coordinate with counterpart agencies and organizations, especially EU-funded agencies, involved in markets systems and workforce development.
·         Identify opportunities for social innovation and enterprise that could be launched through catalytic investments from public and private sector initiatives;
·         Support events, exhibits, workshops that bring private and public sector entities together to collectively review and discuss technology developments and innovation and to examine private sector approaches to household and community challenges that can be incubated through public sector incentives;
Monitoring and Evaluation:
·         Gather and document natural resource management and market program activities.
·         Comply with M&E systems that will be established to measure program impact and desired results. Ensure data is collected and monitoring occurs regularly.
·         Analyze project implementation strategies to identify constraints to program success and provide timely recommendations.
·         Submit timely reports as requested by the Program Manager.
·         Support external evaluations and assessments.
Coordination and Representation:
·         Attend key events, committee meetings, fora, seminars, etc. as they relate to the program.
·         Support Omo Delta Project activities with consortium partners, local government and other implementers, as well as with other Mercy Corps programs.
Program Support Operations:
·         Ensure close communication with field teams and consortium members regarding program activities and plans, challenges and obstacles to timely and quality implementation.
·         Coordinate with program, finance, and administration staff for troubleshooting and problem solving.
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.
Accountability
Supervisory Responsibility: None
Reports Directly To: Program Manager
Works Directly With: Program Manager, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Market Systems Officer, GIRL Officer and REAP Officer
Knowledge and Experience:
·         A Bachelors Degree in degree in Social Work/Community Development preferably with specialization in economic policy management, labor dynamics and workforce or other related discipline.
·         A minimum of three (3) years professional experience in implementation of poverty reduction, workforce development and social inclusion operations.
·         Good knowledge and experience in socio-economic development policy, labour market issues, workforce productivity and gender equality, preferably in the design, development and implementation of projects/ programs.
·         Local dialects spoken in Northern Kenya are also a plus.
·         Ability to inspire, motivate, mentor and support people towards achieving their goals.
·         Ability to build relationships and work collaboratively with a range of partners.
·         Demonstrated flexibility, creativity and enthusiasm as well as a willingness to learn and to be continually adaptive within a dynamic and often self-directed working environment mandatory.
·         Ability to focus on day-to-day tasks at hand while also working towards longer-term objectives with an understanding that these will change continuously.
·         Willingness to spend significant time in the field and work closely with program target groups and consortium members.
·         Good knowledge of MS Office software such as PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and Access.
·         Experience of working with budgets.
·         Experience of monitoring and evaluating community projects.
Success Factors:
·         A strong team player, with good communication and diplomatic skills.
·         Proven ability to work independently as part of a regional team and with international professionals.
·         Excellent analytical and information management skills.
·         Good organizational skills and ability to work under stress and in austere contexts of remote locations.
·         Flexible and creative in planning and problem solving.
·         Attention to detail, ability to follow procedures and meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.
·         Proven excellence maintaining professional internal and external relationships.
·         Willingness and ability to live comfortably in Turkana and travel throughout the County.
Application Procedure:
Interested candidates who meet the above required qualifications and experience should submit a Cover Letter and detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three professional references (including a recent supervisor) to ke-hrkenya@mercycorps.org on or before 17th September, 2018.
The email subject line must clearly show the job title and location they are applying for.
Applications without an appropriate subject heading will be automatically disqualified.
Please do not attach any certificates.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
NB: We do not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process