Market System Development Officer

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 long term impact.

The program

Mercy Corps has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004, working in rural, peri-urban and urban areas in five regional states – Somali, Oromia, Afar, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples, Amhara – and the capital city of Addis Ababa. We engage in both development and humanitarian work, and seek to integrate approaches, programs and geographies as much as possible.  Our partners include government, academic institutions, development and private sector actors, civil societies and communities. Resilience in Pastoral Areas (RIPA) program is a five-year USAID-funded initiative that aims to improve the resilience capacities of households, markets, and governance institutions across 22 woredas in the Somali, Afar and Oromia regions. RIPA includes a Crisis Modifier component that allows us to pivot our approach and respond to humanitarian needs in ways that support, not undermine, long-term development and resilience objectives. In relation to this, Mercy Corps is planning to implement a $10 million Crisis Modifier in response to the drought and Global Food Crisis impacting Ethiopia.

Position Title: MARKET SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT OFFICER -DEO/LIVESTOCK CROP

Duty Station: Dire Dawa ( Sitti zone-Somali)

Open Position:  1

Duration: – One Year

The Position

The Market Systems development officer will be responsible for leading implementation of the market system related activities of the Diversified Economic Opportunity Component (Component 2) and Livestock and crop component (component 3). He/she will be responsible to facilitate the project ranging from undertaking assessment validation, activities selection, intervention design and planning implementation of activities to providing recommendations to scaling up and rolling out activities across the project sites.  He/she will contribute analytical thinking and innovative approaches and will support integration and harmony of approaches across all Mercy Corps Ethiopia market-driven programming.

Essential Responsibilities

Project implementation

· Participate in the planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluation and reporting MSD activities within the cluster;

·Provided technical support in the area of responsibilities for MSD activities to ensure the planned activists are implemented timely and with required deliverable quality;

·Work closely with field team on the identification of the innovate ways/opportunities to support Market systems development activities and facilities the innovate ideas to ideas in to action through creating the enabling environment for exchange of information within the MSD team and actors;

·Facilitate and coordinates markets systems assessment, organizing validation workshops and stakeholder platforms/events in in collaboration with MSD specialists and Coordinators across the cluster.

· Facilitate capacity building efforts for market actors (i.e. private, public) on the MSD approaches, identification of the market system opportunities/constraints through conducting continues system analysis, develop approaches/modalities to support the establishment and/or expansion of the high potential Micro, small and medium scale private business enterprises in markets areas focused on agro-processing, last mile service delivery, solar energy products, financial services, non-agricultural/off farm activities and other related under RiPA component areas·

Facilities the development of short-term strategies and its implementation linkages creation between market actors (i.e. inputs suppliers, producers, traders, processors, cooperatives, financial service providers like Banks, MFIs, RuSACCOs and VSL’s) to improve outreaches in the target community;

·Facilitates the implementation of the impactful activities by market actors to create job opportunities for youth and women in the RiPA target areas.

·Participate in regular field visits to assess the activities implementation progress, give technical advises/mentor and provide feedback(s) for further improvement.

·Closely work with supervisor and M&E team during the development of monitoring tools/measuring indicators, milestones development, and monitoring/ reporting of output and outcome in his/her area assigned.

· Ensures the program properly captures, documented and updated relevant information in the livestock/Crop production and Diversified Economic Opportunity components of RiPA.

·In collaboration with cluster MSD team, work to build and maintain close relationships with key government partners and local implementers.

· Represent Mercy Corps professionally in cluster areas to bring credit and to maintain its humanitarian and development mission.

·Compile and submit regular updates/reports (weekly, monthly, and quarterly); and

· Other duties as assigned.

· Build effective relationships with program teams implementing production, marketing, diversified economic opportunities, based on mutual trust, collaboration, urgency and curiosity;

·Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback formally and informally;

·Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence;

Works Directly With: C2/C3 Team Lead, Regional Coordinators, Senior Market Systems Development Advisor, C1, C3& C4 Team Leads, CLA Lead, Regional Coordinators, MSD Coordinators, CARE RiPA Team and other support departments including People and Culture, Finance and Operations teams.

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.

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.

GEDSI (GENDER, EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION)

• Understand and aware GDI related priorities of the country office and contribute for the

realization of priorities (continually work to understand and be aware of the gender diversity and inclusion priorities of the country office and contribute in the execution)

• Promote gender equal and inclusive workplace culture in a day-to-day interaction with a team member, partners and program participants.

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.

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. 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 elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.