Social Accountability and Civic Engagement Officer - 4 (Wamba, Baragoi, Lokitaung & Lokichar)

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.

Program / Department Summary

With funding from USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), Mercy Corps’ Nawiri Program is leading a consortium of Kenyan and international partners on an eight-year journey to sustainably reduce persistent acute malnutrition in Turkana and Samburu counties of Kenya. Through a phased approach that emphasizes evidence - based interventions, as well as partnership, learning, and co-creation, the program has applied a robust contextually - informed design with government leadership, active engagement from communities, the private sector, and civil society. USAID Nawiri Mercy Corps’ consortium brings together the global leadership, research capacity, technical expertise, and implementation experience necessary to partner with local institutions to test, adapt, and scale evidence-based solutions. Together we will sustainably reduce persistent acute malnutrition for vulnerable populations in Turkana and Turkana counties.

General Position Summary

The Social Accountability and Civic Engagement Officer is responsible for contributing to the development and implementation of the community engagement program strategy for community members and their platforms such as village councils, ward development planning committees, civil society and local stakeholders. This will also include engagement and management of civil society organizations (CSOs) and managing the scope of work. The officer will implement integrated community engagement across multiple program components, which will include the continuous assessment and capacity building support of CSOs and community structures, including mentorship, over a long-term period of engagement with a view to enhancing community-driven nutrition resilient interventions. The main objective of this role is to support community platforms, civil society and citizens to better identify problems related to nutrition services and undertake actions to address these problems directly; build collaborations between citizens and government to ensure that the priorities and feedback of beneficiaries are helping government officials plan, resource and provide better services; and analyze accountability ecosystems to help citizens, civil society partners and governments better understand how to make positive change happen with regards to sustainably reducing persistent acute malnutrition in politically complex environments.

ESSENTIAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT & COORDINATION

• Coordinate the USAID Nawiri’s program community outreach and civil society strengthening efforts and ensure that all activities and deliverables are of high quality, on schedule, and reach program’s objectives and targets.

• Contribute to the development, implementation and continuous review of USAID Nawiri’s Community Integrated Action Planning (CIAP) strategy in Turkana and Samburu County.

• Inform design review of project interventions to engage and build agency of the public including adolescent, youth and vulnerable populations, the mass media, and civil society organizations in nutrition advocacy such as public education, oversight, and participation in decision-making processes, among others.

• Provide technical input to and oversight of the CSO and civil society engagement including development of the technical requirements and proposal evaluation.

• Develop and maintain strong relationships and cooperation with relevant counterparts, beneficiaries, and stakeholders and seek to engage them in USAID Nawiri’s interventions.

• Provide technical support to the partners and field teams for the program’s budget management; and work with the grants team to ensure all program activities are implemented in compliance with Mercy Corps’ and donor requirements.

• In coordination with the MEL team, monitor the implementation of activities through regular field visits and assessments to ensure program quality and impact. Document lessons learned and shared with management and team members.

• Contribute and assist in the preparation of technical reports and deliverables and other reports/deliverables, as requested.

SAFEGUARDING

• Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.

• Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.

• Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.

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 PARTICIPANTS 

• 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.

OTHER:

Conduct themselves professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and do not jeopardize its humanitarian mission. Other duties as assigned.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Stakeholder Engagement and Social Accountability Manager

Works Directly With: Turkana and Samburu Field Director and technical teams.

Knowledge and Experience

• Degree in Social Sciences, Development and Climate & Environment Studies or other relevant fields.

• A minimum of 3-5 years of relevant professional experience in civic engagement and social accountability work at the county or local levels.

• Strong facilitation and consensus-building skills.

• Competent in building networks, strong problem-solving skills, and ability to influence with effective listening, persuasion, negotiation, and other techniques.

• Excellent and persuasive oral and written communication skills, including report writing, in English and other language(s), and fluency in Kiswahili.

• Previous work experience in Northern Kenya is desirable.

• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.

• Requires knowledge of the county planning and budgeting process.

Success Factors

The Social Accountability & Civic Engagement Officer is a great team player with replicable experiences in citizen engagement and participation from the lower governance levels to inform policies, prioritization, budget allocation and programs roll out. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority. The officer will also be experienced in building cohesion, understanding integration, modeling a learning mindset, and willing to learn, listen, adapt, and improve. The Officer will be familiar with the contextual challenges affecting local governance planning processes across sectors and various levels. They will have expertise conducting participatory learning and action and be a good planner and facilitator. They will manage relationships with different stakeholders. Emphasis will be placed on coordination with other actors implementing in the areas of intervention including the county government. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving, simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The positions are based in the following locations: Turkana (Lokitang and Lokichar) and Samburu (Wamba and Baragoi) Housing for this role is in individual housing and staff will have access to good medical services and the living situation is of a high standard.

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 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 based on 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 always adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values. 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 (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).