Job Vacancies at Mercy Corps Nigeria

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.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Senior Program Officer – Nutrition & Food Assistance

Location: Gwoza, Borno
Employment Type: Full-time, Regular

Program / Department Summary

With the insurgency affecting North East Nigeria and displacing millions of people, Mercy Corps is to implement a multi-sector response that covers Nutrition, Food assistance, Agriculture, WASH, Shelter and Protection to support the conflict-affected population.
The nutrition response supports both nutrition-sensitive and specific interventions that contribute to the prevention, detection and management of malnutrition.
These include: a). Promotion of Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition (via support groups, one-to-one counselling and community-wide SBC for IYCF); b). Provision of supplemental Nutrition Assistance i.e. distribution of Fresh Food Vouchers, backyard gardening and poultry production aiming at improving dietary diversity among targeted households; c). Nutrition surveillance activities i.e. community nutrition screening, nutrition surveys and assessments aiming at monitoring the nutrition situation of targeted vulnerable individuals; d).
Management of children with uncomplicated Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) through established Outpatient Therapeutic Program (OTP) services, as well as support referral and follow-up of SAM patients with medical complications to Stabilization Centers (SCs) and children with Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) to Targeted Supplementary Feeding Program (TSFP).

General Position Summary

The Senior Program Officer – Nutrition and Food Assistance provides field-level managerial and technical oversight to the day-to-day implementation, coordination, supervision and provision of technical support including capacity building to the program team, He/She will work closely both with management and support staff (including finance, operation, MEL, CARM, Protection and program) in Gwoza and Maiduguri to ensure the day to day activities are implemented according to schedule, budget and required quality.

Essential Job Responsibilities
Strategy & Vision:

Collaborate with other team members for effective integration between other services like Nutrition and health services
Collaborate with Local authorities and other partners to harmonize different efforts for better impact and sustainability.
Able to learn and update his/ her information or knowledge to adapt to the changing situation and context.

Program Management:

Manage the food and nutrition activities implemented in assigned LGA and ensure that staff are effectively engaged in their tasks.
Supervise day to day field level implementation of food and nutrition activities i.e. management of uncomplicated SAM cases through established OTP services, Nutrition surveillance activities i.e. community nutrition screening, nutrition surveys and assessments and IYCF promotion and support, Food Vouchers redemption i.e dry, fresh and fleshy food redemption.
Ensure that beneficiaries are effectively targeted according to established vulnerability criteria.
Raise procurement requests to initiate procurement process following MC policy and periodically evaluate and update project procurement and supply needs.
Draft monthly financial forecast and quarterly financial need forecast in line with the detailed project activity plan/Monthly activity plans and send it to Program Manager
Consolidate and submit quality food and nutrition and related activity reports (including success stories and lessons learned reports).
Closely collaborate with other sector teams at the field level to ensure an integrated Food and Nutrition approach internally with MC sectors and externally with complementary activities implemented by other nutrition actors.
Discuss and follow up on any technical problems related to food and nutrition programming and brainstorm solutions.
Conduct and facilitate regular food redemption and Post Distribution Monitoring.
Ensure sound monitoring and joint supervision of program activities in close collaboration with other programs.
Actively participate in area-level nutrition, food security and Health sector meetings.
Serve as technical focal person for all field-level engagements.

Team Management:

Track project teams’ daily attendance and validate monthly attendance for supervisees.
Communicate with HR for necessary staff meetings, performance reviews, appraisals
Work with the team to develop a detailed project implementation plan and orient the project teams on their roles and responsibilities
Identify specific technical gaps in project implementation teams and in liaison with the Technical Advisor organize internal training for them.
Organize LGA-level weekly nutrition team meetings and provide feedback on improvements, gaps and standardization of the service provision and reporting

Finance & Compliance Management:

Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.

Influence & Representation:

Train and support community nutrition Monitors and make sure they transmit/convey messages clearly to the community.
Creates and maintain relationships with local health and other authorities to link services with the existing health structure smoothly,
Upholds the image and values of Mercy Corps at all times,

Security:

Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
Proactively ensure that team members 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.
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.

Supervisory Responsibility:

Food Assistance and Nutrition Officer, Clinical Officer, Nutrition Counselor, & Pharmacist Assistant.

Accountability:

Reports Directly to: Field manager, with dotted line to the Food/Nutrition Coordinator.
Works Directly with: The senior program officer will work closely with the Program Manager, CASH team, MEL team, and operations staff (including finance and operations).

Knowledge and Experience

Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition, Food Security, Agriculture or other related fields, a relevant master’s Degree is a plus.
Minimum (4) years experience in nutrition and/or food security and livelihood programming, policy or research, with at least two (2) years experience in a resource-challenged setting.
Substantial hands-on experience in social and Behaviour change programming and or CMAM programming is required.
Familiarity with the intervention areas
Knowledge of nutrition assessments and surveys is a plus.
Microsoft Office Skills (Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word).
Excellent analytical, written and oral communication skills.
Willing and able to be based within remote areas, where services are limited.
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work as part of a team, including cross-cultural teams.
Fluency in Hausa, Kanuri and English.

Success Factors

The successful candidate will be capable of multi-tasking, rapid decision-making, have initiative, drive and a lot of energy, as well as high emotional intelligence, constructive mentoring skills and proven experience with capacity building.
S/he will be committed to long-term program sustainability and the delivery of high-impact activities at the community level.
Successful Mercy Corps team members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and challenging environments, and make effective written and verbal communication a priority.

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, colour, 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 the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary-General and IASCand have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.
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 adhere to the 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.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Job Title: Clinical Officer

Location: Dikwa, Borno
Employment Type: Full-time, Regular