Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT (40%)

• Partner with program teams to define strategic and thematic areas for storytelling objectives, develop tailored systems to collect and produce high-impact stories, and integrate products to the broader country communications strategy and vision.

• Lead the strategic documentation, collection, and production of high-quality stories and lessons focusing on key results and lessons learned.

• Design and implement capacity strengthening and facilitation materials for story collection and development, supporting programs’ ability to consistently and effectively communicate their program vision with key audiences. Provide ongoing mentorship to teams to improve story collection and production. The communications manager also provides guidance to program teams on recommended strategies to build a foundation for strong storytelling and documentation.

• Enhance the communications approach of key flagship programs of Mercy Corps Ethiopia to help them develop plans to elevate their stories, evidence and influence externally and internally.

LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT (30%)

• With support from the Program Performance and Quality Director, the communications manager will activate and operationalize a portfolio-level learning center and systems for institutionalizing learning and evidence culture, and use of them for program adaptation, enhance program quality, and contribute to influencing.

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

• Collaborate with program technical teams to connect story collection to monitoring and evaluation, learning and evidence pieces to produce highly substantiated learning and evidence products for knowledge curation.

• Support program teams in mapping existing data systems and compelling evidence pieces to answer high-level (strategic theme-based) learning questions and advance the organization’s evidence and learning agenda.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS (20%)

• Ensure 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

• 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, and developing messages and materials for program activities.

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

ADVOCACY AND INFLUENCE (10%)

• Work with the senior management and establish a system for the collection and systemic organization of evidence for advocacy and influence based on agency themes country development and humanitarian priorities and context.

• Lead the gathering and packaging of impactful stories and lessons to show the relevance and impacts of Mercy Corps program approaches of working on system-level results through market system development, resilience building, and partnership-based model programming.

• Support the country team in identifying, building, and managing collaborative partnerships with peer agencies, government partners, and donor agencies to realize organizational mission and vision.

• Work with media and communication outlets to facilitate strategic dissemination of impactful stories, lessons and new evidence. 

ORGANIZATION 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 – Mercy Corps expects 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.

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Program Performance and Quality Director

Work closely with: Country Director, Director of Programs, PAQ Unit, Program team leads, Regional Field office Program Coordinators/Managers, Communications personnel for programs, Africa Regional Comms Team, Partner agencies, Federal ministries, Local government, Donor agencies, and support departments (Finance, People and Culture and Operations).

Required Experience, Skills & Competencies

• MA/S in Communications and Journalism, Foreign Language and Literature, Social Science, International development or similar fields preferred.

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

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in communications and learning on development and humanitarian response programming.

• Demonstrated experience working with diverse team, culture and context.

• Exceptional skills in technical communications such as synthesizing technical information into readers friendly, clear and impactful piece of story or report. 

• Experience in market systems development, and resilience programming is an advantage.

• High degree of computer literacy; graphic design tools, photography/videography, 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.

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, with 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 Adobe suites.

Living /Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Addis Ababa, however, will require between 30% and 40% to travel annually, sometimes to hardship locations across the regions.  Care is taken to give the incumbent enough time in advance to prepare for their absence and allow them sufficient time between assignments.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside 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.

Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.

Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.

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 a 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.