NGO Jobs in Kenya - Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global relief and development agency saving and improving lives in the world’s toughest places.

 In more than 40 countries, we partner with local people to put bold ideas into action, help them overcome adversity and build stronger communities. 

We help communities survive and move beyond emergencies. When natural disasters strike, economies collapse or conflict flares, Mercy Corps is there. 

Working with communities, we leverage local logic to help people transform their lives to grow more food, earn higher incomes and ultimately advocate for their needs. 

We see global challenges as an invitation to pioneer innovative, sustainable solutions. 

Mercy Corps is looking for committed and dynamic individual to take up the following position.
 
Position: Monitoring and Evaluation Officer – Kenya Election Violence Prevention and 
Response Program (KEVP)
 
Location: Kisumu County (With Frequent Travel to Nakuru, And Nandi Counties)
 
Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps implements high-quality, analytical development work in very difficult places. 

We have been operating in Kenya since 2008 and are presently implementing development programs across the Central, Rift Valley, North Western and Northern Eastern regions of Kenya.
 
The Kenya Election Violence Prevention and Response Program (KEVP) will work to mitigate the risk of escalation of election-related violence in the lead up to, during, and immediately following the Kenyan elections scheduled for August 2017. 

KEVP will shore up ongoing efforts of Kenyan civil society organizations, including student organizations, youth Bunges (parliaments) and the local private sector, religious groups, as well as current USG partners in Kisumu, Nakuru, Nandi, and when need arises, Nairobi, to ensure that youth and communities are able to remain resilient to political manipulation and ensure a peaceful election. 

KEVP will work with these key stakeholders to create communications materials such as film to be used in workshop trainings and for public screenings. 

The program will establish and strengthen existing local networks, including the 2013 Champions for Peace networks in Kisumu and Nakuru, establish county level Early Warning Early Response (EWER) Hubs, and link them to Uwiano platform, leverage different players and networks to preempt political manipulation by providing administrative and logistical support to enable them to monitor risks, and develop actionable plans for prevention and response.
 
General Position Summary: Reporting to the Chief of party, this position is a key part of Mercy Corps’ Program quality assurance, accountability, documentation and learning team. 

The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer will support the Kenya Election Violence Prevention program (KEVP) in planning and execution of monitoring and evaluation activities, ensuring quality in accordance with accepted standards, providing essential feedback for learning, accountability and decision making.

S/he will be responsible for providing internal capacity building for program staff on monitoring and evaluation activities as well as review and development of necessary tools that feed into needs of Mercy Corps and donor reporting requirements.

Essential Job Functions:
  • Generate and implement monitoring and evaluation tools;
  • Play a key role in the development of intervention designs, sector strategies and M&E frameworks;
  • Coordinate assessments, evaluations and monitoring surveys in areas of operation. This will entail development of Scopes of Work, development of survey tools, trainings and management of data collectors, report write and facilitating results discussion;
  • Regularly document and share all learnings from program implements;
  • Maintain an up to date database that reflects progress (including disaggregated beneficiary counts) and donor indicators;
  • Build the capacity of all relevant team members to develop and maintain an excellent M&E system, and facilitate periodic reflection and analysis of program monitoring information that feeds into programming and learning;
  • Participate in on-going M&E training and support for all Mercy Corps programs;
  • Visit sites and partners to collect supplementary data, stories and conduct qualitative research both independently and in teams;
  • Maintain professional relationships with local government officials, private sector partners, NGOs, other development organizations, and civil society organizations;
  • Maintain an active advisory role with each program team member to help guide them towards robust and relevant data collection;
  • Actively participate in all implementation activities, providing advice and feedback for quality results at any point;
  • Work with the Chief of Party, the Deputy Chief of Party and Program Manager and other staffs to ensure that activities are implemented on plan and progress towards targets is not compromised;
  • Establish and maintain strong working relationships with partners and government departments;
  • Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to credit Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its mission.
  • Other duties as assigned.
Supervisory Responsibility: None
 
Accountability
 
Reports Directly To: Chief of Party
 
Works Directly With: All Program staff in Kisumu, Nakuru, Nandi and Nairobi
 
Knowledge and Experience:
  • Must hold at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, Demography, Statistics, Business Administration or relevant field;
  • At least 3 years of program monitoring and evaluation experience;
  • Should understand concepts and demonstrate skills in monitoring and evaluation, project cycle, results chain and frameworks, participatory monitoring;
  • Demonstrated experience and skill in information analysis and writing comprehensive and high quality reports;
  • Should be able to design and implement surveys, have knowledge of commonly used probability and purposive sampling techniques;
  • Excellent writing and analytical skills;
  • Should have knowledge of quantitative and qualitative data collection, reporting techniques. S/he should understand and be able to apply basic measures of central tendency and spread;
  • In addition to Microsoft Excel, the incumbent should demonstrate fluency in use of at least one data management software including MS Access, SPSS, STATA;
  • Must be fluent both spoken and written English.
Success Factors:
 
The successful candidate will have the following characteristics:
  • Ability and curiosity to work comfortably and effectively in the cultural diverse settings of Kisumu, Nakuru and Nandi Counties.
  • Proven ability to work independently and cooperatively with team members
  • Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures and meet deadlines
  • Excellent analytical and information management skills.
  • Proven ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be accountable for results.

Position: Area Manager – Kenya Election Violence Prevention and Response Program (KEVP)
 

Location: Kisumu County

Program / Department Summary: Mercy Corps implements high-quality, analytical development work in very difficult places.

We have been operating in Kenya since 2008 and are presently implementing development programs across the Central, Rift Valley, North Western and Northern Eastern regions of Kenya.

The Kenya Election Violence Prevention and Response Program (KEVP) will work to mitigate the risk of escalation of election-related violence in the lead up to, during, and immediately following the Kenyan elections scheduled for August 2017.

 KEVP will shore up ongoing efforts of Kenyan civil society organizations, including student organizations, youth Bunges (parliaments) and the local private sector, religious groups, as well as current USG partners in Kisumu, Nakuru, Nandi, and when need arises, Nairobi, to ensure that youth and communities are able to remain resilient to political manipulation and ensure a peaceful election.

KEVP will work with these key stakeholders to create communications materials such as film to be used in workshop trainings and for public screenings.

The program will establish and strengthen existing local networks, including the 2013 Champions for Peace networks in Kisumu and Nakuru, establish county level Early Warning Early Response (EWER) Hubs, and link them to Uwiano platform, leverage different players and networks to preempt political manipulation by providing administrative and logistical support to enable them to monitor risks, and develop actionable plans for prevention and response.

General Position Summary: Under the direction of the Deputy Chief of Party, the Area Manager will be responsible for the overall planning and implementation of KEVP activities in the Kisumu and Nandi Counties in Western Kenya.

The Area Manager will directly manage the program staff based in Kisumu and take overall responsibility for the day to day running of the Kisumu office and work with the Deputy Chief of Party in Nakuru to ensure activities are implemented according to schedule, budget and required quality.

Essential Job Functions:
  • Manage all activities related to the KEVP in Kisumu and Nandi as agreed with the Program with Chief of Party (COP) and the Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP), and in accordance with approved proposal, budget and timelines;
  • Coordinate and share information with the COP/DCOP to ensure overall program targets and donor obligations are being achieved;
  • Visit project sites regularly to provide appropriate technical assistance, monitor and oversee activities;
  • Ensure full application of participatory methodologies like Participatory Learning and Action and Appreciative Inquiry in facilitation of community dialogue meetings, and trainings and workshops;
  • Support the Project staff to establish a system to monitor and evaluate program activities and impact on an ongoing basis. Ensure that program monitoring is being done on a regular basis and that adequate monitoring reports are prepared;
  • Act as the main liaison with relevant County government and IEBC officials and institutions, stakeholders and community members relevant to KEVP Program;
  • Participate in peace, election and conflict-related coordination meetings and professionally represent Mercy Corps in these meetings;
  • Support the development of partnerships with national and international NGOs, CBOs and other agencies involved in election conflict management initiatives and other Mercy Corps activities.
  • Regularly meet with the COP/DCOP to discuss program achievements, especially when they deviate from the original plan;
  • Participate in KEVP Team meetings as required;
  • Work with the DCOP to organize and facilitate field visits for donors and Mercy Corps staff;
  • In collaboration with the DCOP, monitor security developments and report to Mercy Corps Senior Management as per the Mercy Corps Kenya security procedures and protocols;
  • Jointly prepare donor reports with the COP and other staff to capture program impact.
  • Provide direct and ongoing supervision and managerial support to KEVP staff in the Kisumu office to ensure effective implementation of program activities in both Kisumu and Nandi;
  • Oversee the development of program and staff work plans, and ensure regular one-to-one sessions and performance reviews to review progress and resolve any concerns or issues;
  • Support and facilitate KEVP team development, encouraging active participation of team members and supporting positive relationships between members.
  • Identify training needs and opportunities for KEVP staff to ensure that they have adequate resources to complete program objectives, and to enable learning and growth;
  • Ensure that program staff have the necessary facilities and office equipment for the smooth functioning of the program;
  • Maintain close cooperation with the Finance and Administration departments and other staff to ensure that the program is in full compliance with all the established operational, administrative and financial procedures;
  • 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.
  • Other duties as assigned.
Supervisory Responsibility: Program Officers and Program Assistant

Accountability
 
Reports Directly To: Deputy Chief of Party

Works Directly With: Chief of Party, Local implementing partners, Program partners, Government, IEBC, NGOs and CBOs in Kisumu and Nandi, HR and Finance teams

Knowledge and Experience:
  • Bachelor’s degree in conflict management/peace building, social sciences or other relevant field. A Master’s degree is an added advantage;
  • Minimum of five years’ relevant professional experience managing conflict management or other capacity building related projects preferably within NGOS;
  • Experience in managing teams and facilitating planning and program development processes;
  • Experience in both community level programming and government focused capacity building;
  • Experience working in conflict environments is preferred;
  • Experience working in the Western and Rift Valley regions, with strong contextual knowledge of the cultures therein;
  • Excellent verbal communication, negotiating, organization and prioritization skills;
  • Excellent quantitative skills and financial management knowledge is preferred;
  • Leadership skills, and proven experience in developing effective teams;
  • Strong organizational and managerial skills;
  • Demonstrated problem solving skills;
  • Demonstrated experience in coaching, conducting workshops and community meeting facilitation;
  • Excellent written communication skills with demonstrated ability to develop and write quarterly reports independently;
  • Experience in building and maintaining strong/productive relations with implementing and strategic partner agencies is preferred. This includes coordinating with government authorities and counterparts;
  • Excellent computer skills, including all Microsoft applications;
  • Demonstrated skills to successfully communicate and initiate and maintain positive relationships with beneficiary’s community
Success Factors:
  • Demonstrated cultural sensitivity and appropriate flexibility;
  • Ability to effectively communicate with Mercy Corps target populations and partners;
  • Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to meet deadlines, and work independently and cooperatively with team members;
  • Willingness to travel frequently to remote locations;
  • Ability to quickly learn and implement new information/concepts.
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 Tuesday 20th September, 2016 by 4.00pm.

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.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.