Program Management

Set direction for and steward program approach and methods for resilience storytelling, ensuring they are data-driven and promote community and local practitioner assets, voices and perspectives in line with Mercy Corps’ core values around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Lead the development of detailed technical guidance, didactic materials and tools to improve the use of resilience storytelling in HRA program.

Develop and manage implementation of a strategic pipeline of high-impact resilience stories, results and learning documentation opportunities, and regularly identify and nurture new opportunities into the pipeline.

Program Quality and Implementation

Partner with program teams to define resilience storytelling objectives, develop tailored systems to collect and produce high-impact resilience stories and integrate systems within broader program learning and adaptive management mechanisms (focus: resilient food security and nexus portfolios in the HRA Program).  Provide ongoing mentorship to teams to improve story collection and production.

Collaborate with program technical and MEL/CLA focal points to connect story collection to M&E, Learning, Reflection and Adaptation systems and processes, including by designing and leading facilitated learning sessions.

Lead collection and production of high-quality resilience stories and strategic documentation efforts (e.g., case studies, learning briefs) to capture key resilience results and lessons learned.

Facilitate program teams’ linkage with additional resilience storytelling and documentation resources and consultants and guide/support their production of resilience communication products.

Lead or facilitate the development of communication strategies that support a strategic approach to program communication with an emphasis on highlighting resilience capacities, advocating for resilience programming, and evidencing Mercy Corps approach to resilience

Work with media and communication outlets to facilitate strategic dissemination of resilience stories and documentation.

Design and implement capacity strengthening and facilitation materials for resilience story collection and development, supporting programs’ ability to consistently and effectively communicate their resilience vision with key audiences.

Counsel program teams on recommended strategies to build a foundation for strong resilience storytelling and documentation.

Provide strategic and tactical support to resilience portfolio/backbone programs to enhance quality of their resilience communication and learning components.

Enhance flagship HRA’s strategic communications approach for resilience and support them to develop plans to elevate their stories, evidence and influence externally and internally.

Knowledge Management

Manage HRA’s developing communication and learning plans and systems for engagement, leading implementation of activities, and implementing methods to track overall satisfaction, engagement and quality.

Support implementation of occasional resilience and learning events, including developing operational plans, helping develop content, and facilitating participation in different events.

Internal and External Communications

Provide leadership in updating and implementation of a Mercy Corps Ethiopia and donor Communication Strategy and Plans

Adherence to Mercy Corps and donor branding and marketing standards, maintaining quality across materials, events, and other media.

Oversee the development of publications, materials, and other products from design to writing, editing, branding and distribution

Work with the country PaQ team in the production of quarterly newsletter and donor reports.

Manage special events and relationships that include facilitating government, corporate, donor, and other high level official visits to project sites and head office.

Build the capacity of all relevant team members in communications, including Donor regulations and technical abilities such as photography, videography, developing messages and materials for program activities.

Mercy Corps institutional linkage: directly work with Mercy Corps communication specialist to ensure Mercy Corps Ethiopia communications materials are linked to MC Ethiopia, donor and MC Global communications initiatives.

Information Management, Dissemination, and Feedback

In coordination with technical teams and CLA Lead, put together monthly updates from the region and other reports as required, especially summarizing monthly lessons learned and disseminating these with partners.

Provides weekly updates to CLA Lead in Addis Ababa to share with partners and stakeholders.

Assists technical teams in developing, implementing and analyzing sub-activity evaluations and to alert technical teams of results provided by the online information system.

Organizes feedback sessions and other platforms at regional level with partners, program participants and stakeholders (private and public sectors), and, with the assistance of the team lead and CLA Lead, ensures responses are provided timely.

Collects and documents case studies, success stories and shares with internal and external audiences.

Ensures regular and timely reporting from program staff and implementing partners by monitoring receipts of monthly, quarterly and annual activity progress reports and following up with the project staff and implementing partners on non-reporting basis.

Influence and Compliance Management

Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to humanitarian and Crisis Response programming.

Draft and/or review scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants, including review for technical efficacy and contract budget.

Influence and Representation

Identify, build, and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, sub-grantees, donors, local governments, and other stakeholders.

Communicate effectively to ensure overall program targets and donor obligations are met.

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 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 programs.

Knowledge and Experience

• BA/BSc or equivalent, preferable in Communications and Journalism, Foreign Language and Literature, Social Science, International development or MA/S in similar other relevant fields preferred.

• 8 years of professional experience in a relevant field for international development programs; USAID or another donor, or NGO preferred.

• A minimum of 4 years of experience in communications and learning on development and humanitarian response programming.

• Experience with Graphic Design, Infographics, or other geographic information systems preferred but not required.

• Ability to prepare clear and concise reports.

• High degree of computer literacy; graphic design tools, Excel and Word skills are essential.

• Ability to manage and meet deadlines.

• Ability to work independently on multi-task load.

• Excellent communication, presentation and organizational skills.

• Fluency in written and oral English and Amharic languages. Must be able to read and interpret documents and communicate with others as necessary to perform job duties effectively.

• Basic graphic design skills and able to perform job specific experience augmented with software skills.

• Good photography, videography and editing skills

Success Factors

• • Excellent communication, facilitation, partnerships and networking skills with a wide range of private, partner and NGO-sector actors.

  • Business minded, entrepreneurial, adaptive, curious, great problem-solving skills, unafraid to ask questions, and results motivated.

  • Tolerant and flexible individual able to work in difficult and stressful environments and follow procedures.

  • Computer proficiency especially in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and other graphic design tools such as illustrator.