Location: Africa, UK, Middle East, open to other Mercy Corps locations.
Work Location: Remote, onsite or hybrid – Open to negotiation
Position Status: Full-time, Exempt, Regular
Salary: Based on local benchmark depending on the location of hire.
About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong.
We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have a long-term impact.
About Programs at Mercy Corps
The Technical Resources and Quality (TRaQ) Unit has nine technical and cross-cutting thematic teams, Climate and Water Security, Economic Opportunity, Food Security, Peace and Governance, Global Resilience, Social Inclusion, Cash, Infrastructure, Training and Program Standards. This position will be part of the Youth Employment team, which sits within the Economic Opportunities team.
The Youth Employment team has established goals and strategies that will guide the Senior Advisor’s work.
The TRaQ Unit is an integral part of the Program Department that supports country-led work to deliver impact, leads agency thinking in key technical and program management areas, and ensures quality programing while maintaining agency visibility with key audiences. TRaQ’s goal is to equip our global programs with the most effective technical solutions and quality program management tools to tackle the world’s toughest challenges, while simultaneously building our global reputation and technical resources.
The broader Programs Department is composed of headquarters and regional departments which are guided by Mercy Corps global strategy: Pathway to Possibility.
It is composed of regional and country teams which implement our programs, as well as headquarter teams which provide support to programs, to deliver the highest quality programming and impactful results. The Programs Department is a key steward of Mercy Corps’ strategic commitments – Climate Smart, Locally Led, Evidence Driven, Innovative and Creative, and Safe, Diverse and Inclusive – and the integration of these commitments into programming. Our Core Behaviors of collaboration, curiosity, inclusion, and integrity are at the forefront of all our work.
The Position
The Youth Employment team supports programming that facilitates more work, better work, or better access to work for young people, women and other marginalized people.
This enables individuals, businesses and markets to become more resilient to conflict and climate related shocks and stresses. The Youth Employment team focuses on three major workstreams – Market System Development for Employment (MSD4E), Jobtech, and green jobs.
The Senior Advisor has both an internal and external facing role. Internally, the Senior Advisor provides technical support to Mercy Corps program working on employment. Support includes supporting the design and development of programs, assessing and enhancing program quality including through providing technical advisory support directly to programs, writing proposals and concept notes, providing training, supporting research and learning, and supporting program, country and region teams with their strategies as these relate to Youth Employment.
Externally, the Senior Advisor’s role involves maintaining current knowledge on industry best practices, disseminating information, evidence and learning to external partners, representing Mercy Corps at key events, and building a network of key relationships with external partners. The Senior Advisor will also build the capacity of their peers and the organization in the course of their role.
This role will have particular responsibility for supporting and growing our Jobtech work, including supporting Jobtech programming to apply a Market Systems Development approach.
This involves serving as the custodian and focal point for Mercy Corps’ Jobtech Approach – providing technical support and guidance on digital youth employment solutions, promoting our Jobtech work to donors, building relationships with key actors in the Jobtech sector, and keeping the approach up to date with the latest developments in the digital technology space including gig work, digital work, artificial intelligence, and Web3, among other technologies. The Senior Advisor will also support our broader youth employment programming where needed.
Essential Responsibilities
STRATEGY
PROGRAM DESIGN AND PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM QUALITY
LEARNING AND IMPACT
INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION
PERSONAL LEADERSHIP
SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES
Supervisory Responsibility
Accountability
Reports Directly To: Director of Youth Employment
Works Directly With: All other TraQ teams, HQ, Regional and Program teams, and external partners
Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders
Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work.
We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills
This position requires strong writing skills, including experience in producing and publishing influential articles and blogs.
Please include a link to at least one sample on your resume so we can learn more about your work.
A Cover Letter is required; please ensure you include it with your application.
Success Factors
The Senior Advisor will have significant experience adjusting technical theories to real world complexities; program management/implementation experience is a strong plus.
The person must have exceptionally strong relationship skills – including an ability to build strong partnerships with program teams working in challenging contexts, demonstrating empathy and being willing and able to challenge. The individual should have the proven ability to influence donors, partners, and peer organizations toward innovative programs and best practices. The Senior Advisor must take a lead role in building and maintaining external relationships as well as demonstrating the drive and initiative to contribute to internal team efforts, including responding to program support requests and providing technical support on program design.
The Senior Advisor will have a proven ability to take initiative, work proactively, lead workstreams, and deliver reliably.
At Mercy Corps, we value team members who embrace curiosity, act with integrity, and foster an environment of inclusion and collaboration. Our successful team members work effectively in evolving and dynamic environments, prioritize clear communication, and build collaborative relationships across departments. They interact with all global team members with an inclusive approach and excel at multitasking, meeting deadlines, and processing information to support our changing program activities.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position can be based in any country where Mercy Corps has an office.
Time zones that overlap significantly with countries in Africa and the Middle East are preferred, though other locations will be considered. The typical travel load is approximately 25%, but this varies from quarter-to-quarter and could be higher depending on support needs to country programs. This may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. The role is envisioned to be remote, but if the candidate is based within commuting distance of a Mercy Corps office and prefers hybrid or onsite working arrangements, this can be negotiated.
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.
Ongoing Learning
In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development
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 & 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. By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. 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 e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([email protected]).
Covid-19 Vaccine Policy for US-Based Employees
Mercy Corps has determined that, in an effort to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all Mercy Corps employees working in the United States, all U.S.-based employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection status.
This policy is necessary to ensure not only the safety of our workforce, but the ongoing functionality of the organization.
This policy will be revised as needed to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, and to respond to changing guidance from public health authorities.
For new employees this requirement goes into effect within 10 business days of employment. Team members that travel are expected to comply with host-country requirements, including vaccinations. Failure to comply may impact your employment.
Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.