Mercy Corps
Gender Inclusion & Social Change Officer –
Turkana (Lokichar)
Job Category: Programming
Requisition Number: GENDE002967
Full-Time
Location: Lodwar, KE-43
1186800100, KEN
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.
The Program / Department
/ Team
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 five-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.
The Position Summary
The Gender Inclusion & Social Change officer will be
responsible for implementing the gender and social dimensions’ interventions of
malnutrition, food security and resilience.
S/he will ensure effective and efficient roll out of planned
gender/social change activities through day to day coordination at the county
level.
Under the overall guidance of the Gender, Youth and Social Lead
S/he will support the implementation of gender transformative approaches as
captured in the gender strategy.
Through research and learning activities, that are designed and
executed in close collaboration with county government, civil society, private
sector, and communities themselves, there is an inherent need to understand the
opportunities and challenges that are unique to women, youth and adolescents in
Turkana so that programming can be adapted.
The Gender Inclusion & Social Change Officer will support
and action our understanding of the complex causality of persistent acute
malnutrition as it relates to the varied needs of women, men, girls, and boys
in Turkana County.
To ensure the gender and social dimensions of food security and
resilience are effectively addressed across all activities and components, the
Gender Inclusion & Social Change Officer will work with the team and
coordinate closely with partners to fulfill gender and social change goals of
the program.
Essential Job
Responsibilities
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
· Supports the Gender,
Youth and Social Dynamics lead in contextually translating the vision for
Nawiri’s approach when it comes to the integration of gender, youth and social
dynamics.
· Support the development,
integration and mainstreaming of Nawiri’s Gender Strategy with a view to
strengthen gender responsiveness and gender transformational approaches in all
programmatic interventions, with a nutrition lens.
· Ensure high quality and
timeliness on deliverables against intended objectives and targets.
· Ensure broad-based
county co-creation mechanism towards the development of a contextually relevant
Structural and Social Behavior change strategy to guide effective integration
in key sectors such as nutrition, health, water systems, and governance –
throughout the program’s cycle.
· Contribute to and
support the development of detailed implementation plans of gender and social
change interventions.
· Support field research,
learning and implementation of adolescent and youth interventions ensuring the
adoption of mechanisms and approaches that enhance agency and leadership of
adolescents and youth with a view to challenge intergenerational cycles of
poverty and persistent acute malnutrition.
· Provide oversight to the
gender/social change program components at the county level, including
undertaking field visits to oversee implementation and generate field visit
reports.
· Support in the
monitoring of project activities to ensure they are inclusive and support
reflection and adaptation to improve inclusion as required.
· Work with the M&L
team to ensure effective gender differentiated data is both captured and
documented.
· Identify and support
documentation of best practices, and use them to profile the impact of local
level Gender /social change approaches, and promote lesson sharing.
· Contribute to capacity
strengthening initiatives in gender integration for the program staff and
partner organizations.
· Represent the project to
internal and external partners including the county government and other
project partners and key stakeholders on relevant Gender/ social change
information
· Other duties, as
required.
TEAM MANAGEMENT
· Create and maintain a
work environment where mutual respect among team members prevails and where the
pursuit of individual and collective excellence is valued.
· Supervise assistants and
short term consultants and enumerators in various field activities in gender,
youth, social dynamics scope to deliver on time and quality, from time to time.
· Promote individual
accountability and commitment by clearly and regularly communicating and
providing constructive feedback.
· Support field level
collaborative efforts and Learning to drive overall effectiveness and coherence
of program operational strategies.
· Work collaboratively
with all consortium partner staff in delivering a cohesive, integrated, gender
and youth responsive program.
· Effectively communicate
the program’s best practices and learning to the County and development
stakeholders
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
· Contribute field
technical and operational expertise that feeds into a dynamic community of
practice of Nawiri, identifying and sharing best practices across all Nawiri
areas and work streams.
· 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
PARTICIPANTS
· 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.
· 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
N/A
Accountability
· Reports Directly to: Gender, Youth & Social Dynamic Lead
with day to day operational management reporting to the Field Director.
· Works Directly with: Nawiri County Team, Nawiri Technical
Staff and County Government and county stakeholders.
Minimum qualifications
& Transferrable skills
· Education: Degree in Social
Sciences, Gender and development studies or other relevant discipline.
· At least a minimum of
three years of experience in designing, implementing gender integration
interventions, including a focus on youth and adolescents
· Training in gender and
youth responsive interventions.
· Demonstrated in-depth
understanding and application of technical principles and concepts in gender
integration that ensure proper cross-sectoral/integrated approach.
· Familiarity with
principles and approaches in gender transformative approaches and understanding
of programs addressing persistent acute malnutrition
· Demonstrated
coordination, teamwork and planning skills with proven ability to function
effectively programs/projects in both the public and NGO sectors.
Success Factors
The ideal candidate will have a strong curiosity for
understanding and working effectively within the complex cultural, political,
security and social environment of the County.
S/He will be an excellent communicator and be able to work in
ambiguous situations.
S/He must be able to demonstrate a commitment to promoting a
culture of critical inquiry and learning while exercising tolerance and
flexibility.
The successful candidate will ensure the gender and social
dimensions of food security and resilience are effectively addressed across all
activities and components in the county through teamwork and collaboration.
Living Conditions /
Environmental Conditions
The position is based in USAID Nawiri’s sub-county office in
Lokichar, Turkana County, Kenya, with over 50% travel to program locations.
A rural location with access to basic living conditions.
The location is characterized by dry weather conditions for most
months in a year.
Ongoing 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 and 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. 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 elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis
CLICK HERE to apply online.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.
Mercy Corps does not charge any fees at any stage of the
recruitment process.
Deadline: 04th Nov 2022
