Market System Development Specialist

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 SPECIALIST -DEO

Duty Station: Dire Dawa ( Sitti zone-Somali):

Open Position:  1

Duration: – One Year

The Position

The Market Systems development specialist will be responsible for leading implementation of the market system related activities of the Diversified Economic Opportunity Component (Component 2) including supporting the execution of the Crisis Modifier 2 response activities under component 2. 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

·Leads the implementation of high impactful activities to support diversification of economic opportunities to facilitate employment opportunities for youth, women and job seekers pastoral and agro-pastoral locations

·Develops intervention, activity concept notes and overall implementation plans for carrying out activities that strengthen good linkages between market actors such as technical skills training providers, Business development/Mentoring service providers, Banks, MFIs, and VSLA’s, last mile business solutions, Women Cottage Enterprises, Agricultural Processors, Solar Energy service providers, inputs suppliers, producers, traders, aggregators, value adders, cooperatives, Agri Businesses, to strengthen their reach in serving pastoral and agro-pastoral communities

·  Together with other team members, he/she will support the expansion of Financial Service providers (Banks, MFIs) and networks of mobile banking agents into remote pastoral and agro-pastoral locations identifying and training mobile banking agents

· Lead regular implementation of district and kebele level field activities to assess progress and provide formal and informal feedback.

· Coordinates and organizes market assessment validation and activities planning workshop, which will involve all key stakeholders.

· Generates more understanding on market actors’ actions, behaviors, dynamics, functions, opportunities and constraints by conducting continues market system analysis and develop approaches, modalities to support the establishment and expansion of the private business institutions in high potential markets for small scale businesses, Agriculture, livestock and financial services, in target refugees and host communities.

·  Support 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 and contribute to employment opportunity/job creation and support establishment and/or expansion of the high potential medium and small scale private business enterprises in technology,  maintenance services, processing/manufacturing industries, cottage industry, solar energy, non and off farm agricultural activities and other related under RiPA component areas;

·  Develops key monitoring and measuring indicators, milestones, and plans in close collaboration with supervisor and M&E team, and solely responsible for monitoring and reporting all output, outcome and impact indicators for respective market system(s).

·  Ensures the program captures and responds to up-to-date information about market developments within respective market systems and global best practices for Markets Systems Development.

· Builds and maintains close relationships with key government partners across the project implementation areas and other cities and towns at all levels.

·  Develops quarterly and final report providing summary of activities and recommendations and shares with his/her supervisor and other team members and stakeholders.

·  Works closely with the program team and partners ensuring we adhere to humanitarian principles, Mercy Corps’ gender policies, Do No Harm principles and beneficiary accountability standards.

·  Integrates community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities.

·  Fulfill Mercy Corps Program Management Minimum Standards based on the organization-wide guide.

· Participate in a market assessment validation and activities planning workshop, which will involve all key stakeholders.

· Recognizes opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where project teams work together, exchange information, coordinate activities and develop team spirit in project management.

·  Works closely with project management other team members to contribute to a vision and strategy development and in applying market systems development approaches to refugee and host community contexts

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.