Since 1979, we have helped people grappling with the toughest hardships survive – and then thrive. That’s the heart of our approach: We help communities turn crisis into opportunity. Throughout our history, Mercy Corps has demonstrated innovation, timeliness and the ability to adapt quickly to changing realities.
- Job Type Full Time
- Qualification BA/BSc/HND
- Experience 5 – 7 years
- Location Abuja
- Job Field NGO/Non-Profit , Project Management
General Position Summary
The Strategic Learning Specialist (SLS) will create and maintain a culture of learning across the portfolio in collaboration with the country and program MEL teams and the Technical Support Unit comprising sectoral leads. The SLS will engage internal and external stakeholders in gathering and analyzing results and lessons emerging from the intervention areas to further inform the adaptation, sequencing, and effectiveness of Mercy Corp interventions and the broader sectors in which we work.
The SLS will generate knowledge from the ground to further the country-level learning agenda, strengthen program efficiency and effectiveness, and drive influence with peers, donors, and government. Additionally, the role will be the key focal point for mapping, articulating, and developing a centralized resource that tracks MCN research objectives and priorities across the country portfolio and ensures research uptake, and builds the capacity of program staff in learning
Essential Job Responsibilities
RESEARCH AND LEARNING
- Track the programmatic learning agendas, linking them to portfolio-level goals to ensure alignment of resources across the portfolio to drive forward the country strategy, acting as the PAQ focal point for learning.
- Map and consolidate the database of ongoing research initiatives across the country portfolio.
- Track new research and learning opportunities and where relevant, contribute to research/learning-related elements of proposals.
- Support the Program Leads and MEL teams to ensure the quality, timeliness, and utility of all research processes and products.
- Collaborate with program leads, MEL units, and communication team to strengthen the dissemination of research, including identifying key internal and external audiences, country / regional fora, key events, conferences, and speaking events and driving forward engagements.
- Coordinate with Program Leads and MEL teams to ensure integration and alignment of research fieldwork into program MEL activities and timelines.
- Document, and make available in useful form, evidence and analytic results from studies and evaluation reports, meeting notes, decisions made, and follow-ups from learning engagements.
- As needed, act as a liaison between HQ research teams and MCN program teams to coordinate in-country research activities.
- Provide training and capacity building on research and learning to staff and stakeholders.
- Bringing knowledge and best practice from outside around new research and learning.
- Creating and/or strengthening in country communities of practice around key outcomes for Mercy Corps.
PROGRAM QUALITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
- Support programs to conduct Quarterly Review and reflection meetings in close collaboration with program leads, ensure learning from those reflections is shared beyond the program and well articulated for external audiences where relevant.
- Work with the community accountability and reporting mechanisms (CARM) to ensure findings from feedback are being integrated into program strategies.
TEAM BUILDING AND INTEGRATION
- Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve
excellence. - Driving a learning culture in the organization.
- Actively contribute and collaborate with programs, sectors, and regional and global counterparts to promote the use of learning best practices.
- Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options, and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION
- Represent Mercy Corps at national and state-level coordination forums as required.
- Where relevant, develop agenda and talking points for contribution at national and state-level coordination forums.
- Represent Mercy Corps with local stakeholders and authorities as required.
- Represent Mercy Corps at internal coordination forums as required.
SECURITY
- Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
- Proactively ensure that you 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 projects.
Knowledge and Experience
- BA/S degree or equivalent in relevant field; advanced degrees preferred.
- 5 to 7 years of field experience in international relief or development programs
- Experience developing and implementing learning agendas and other learning activities including capacity building of staff.
- Strong written and oral cross-cultural communication skills, with experience in developing a range of communication tools (briefs, webinars, etc.)
- Proven ability to work with diverse teams across multiple locations.
- Ability to clearly articulate complex ideas to diverse audiences
- Familiarity with research methodologies and approaches.
- Successful and proven negotiation, communication, and organization skills
- Familiarity with various tech platforms for dissemination of learning (zoom, teams, etc.)
- Excellent oral and written English skills.
- Knowledge of resilience, livelihoods, conflict, and/or protection programming is a plus.
