Mercy Corps, an International Humanitarian Organisation, is looking for a suitable candidate to fill a very strategic position within our Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises (ENGINE) Program. We are looking for motivated individuals, members of targeted community ready and willing to work in a dynamic team to fill the position below:

Position: EMD Advisor

Summary

• The Economic and Market Development (EMD) Advisor is responsible for leading and supervising the economic development components of the program, including ensuring that economic aspects of conflict are adequately assessed, designing and supervising implementation of community-led economic and natural resource projects, and supporting business-led efforts to raise awareness of the economic costs of conflict and advocates for stability-enhancing policy change.
• S/he provides technical leadership in the design and implementation of economic development activities using a market-led approach integrated with peacebuilding.
• The EMD Advisor is responsible for ensuring that all economic projects are viable in terms of market realities, through conducting market assessments, and is also responsible for ensuring the quality of all infrastructure and other types of economic projects.
• The EMD Advisor is also responsible for ensuring that all economic development and natural resource management projects are implemented in a conflict-sensitive manner and are helping to benefit both communities.
• The EMD Advisor is responsible for ensuring that all projects adhere to Mercy Corps standards in terms of both quality and process.

Essential Job Function
Program Implementation:

• Support communities through the design, planning, and implementation of economic and natural resource initiatives, including facilitating community discussions around market opportunities and livelihoods;
• Engage local business partners and local experts in providing capacity building and guidance to community members;
• Supervise construction companies and other vendors to ensure high-quality, timely, and culturally appropriate work in all project sites;
• Supervise expert consultants tasked with providing oversight, such as engineers, to ensure high-quality and diligent performance;
• Supervise training and capacity building workshops to ensure high-quality implementation of all joint activities;
• Organize and supervise substantive clinics on economic and natural resource topics of relevance to communities in the Middle Belt;
• Design and conduct market assessments to explore the economic viability of upcoming projects;
• Conduct regular monitoring visits to all project sites to ensure quality and appropriate implementation of projects by communities in conflict, and provide regular reports to Mercy Corps Nigeria management on progress of all projects; and
• Identify key business leaders in program areas and build and manage relationships with relevant business and policy leaders, in order to advance CONCUR research and advocacy goals.

Strategic Vision and Leadership
Critical to this role is adherence to the principles of a pro-poor market development framework and Mercy Corps Vision for Change and Strategic Framework. In particular the EMD Advisor will:

• Provide technical leadership, guidance and development of good practice to interventions related to integrated economic development. Participate in development of relevant theories of change in the cross sector of economic development and peacebuilding in Nigeria;
• Identify, document, and communicate the ideas, trends, and emerging capacities in Nigeria that fall in the intersection of integrated economic development and peacebuilding and the interests of partners in this space;
• Create a roadmap for communities in conflict to manage joint economic projects that will benefit current and future programming across Mercy Corps, including creating guidance for management committees to oversee the projects in a locally-owned, sustainable manner; and
• Ensure that women and youth are adequately represented in all project activities and that our economic and market development approach is both gender- and conflict-sensitive at all times.
• Provide critical review and oversight to all process related to implementation of the economic and market development projects, and provide recommendations to Mercy Corps Nigeria leadership to ensure our programs are flexible and responsive to community needs.

Representation & Partnership Development:

• Collaboratively identify and nurture strategic partnerships with appropriate private sector actors;
• Participate in relevant fora in Nigeria related to the economic development/ peacebuilding space; and
• Identify and nurture strategic partnerships with peer agencies, bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations and the private sector;
• Track strategies and programs of relevant economic development programs in Nigeria, particularly those with an integrated focus on peacebuilding.

Training/ Mentoring:

• Provide technical assistance and mentoring of field-based program teams and partner staff on best practice principles, disciplines, and methodologies related to economic and market development; and
• Assist with development of training materials and deliver training to teams during field visits.

Organizational Learning:

• As part of Mercy Corps' agency-wide Organizational Learning Initiative, all team members are responsible for spending 5% of their work time in formal and/or non-formal professional learning activities.

Accountability to Beneficiaries:

• 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.

Supervisory Responsibility: Interns

Accountability:

• Reports Directly to: Director of Conflict Management Programs, Mercy Corps Nigeria
• Works Directly with: Deputy Program Manager, Program Officers, Monitoring and Evaluation staff, Mercy Corps Nigeria Operations, Finance, and other program departments in Abuja and Jos.

Required Skills and Experience

• Experience interacting with the private sector
• Familiarity with the Nigerian Middle Belt context
• Demonstrated ability to work respectfully and constructively with local partners.
• Commitment to the principles of participatory team management and participatory, community-oriented development.
• Effective verbal and written communication, multi-tasking, organizational skills.
• MA/S or equivalent in Social Science, Management, Business, or International Development.
• Formal training and/or experience in a Markets for the Poor or market led development
• 3-5 years’ experience managing development economic programs in a development setting is required.
• Experience in economic development and/or enterprise development required
• Fluency in written and spoken English and Hausa
• Experience working in integrated economic development and peacebuilding interventions highly preferred.
• Experience working with pastoralists and on youth programs is valued
• Experience in highly volatile security situations and a commitment to team safety.

Success Factors:

• The successful Economic and Market Development Advisor will have the ability to multi-task, set priorities, and work under tight deadlines within a complex team.
• S/he will demonstrate strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills and be committed to the values and mission of Mercy Corps.
• S/he will be extremely critical and thoughtful in approaching our work and will constantly look for ways to improve implementation.
• S/he will take initiative and contribute to team efforts, as well as demonstrate an ability to communicate, assume leadership, and make solid decisions while working remotely from country leadership.

Living /Environmental Conditions:

• This position will likely be based in Abuja with up to 50% travel, primarily to locations within the Middle Belt states, where security is at times high-risk.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and Mercy Corps' policies, procedures, and values at all times.