READVERTISEMENT: Senior Livestock Advisor - Technical Support Unit

***Previous applicants need not re apply*

About Mercy Corps**

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.

Mercy Corps & Department Summary

Mercy Corps alleviates poverty, suffering, and oppression and works to build secure, productive, and just communities in over 40 countries around the world. Our Program Department supports field-led work that delivers measurable impact. Mercy Corps’ Technical Support Unit (TSU) is a key part of the Program Department. TSU subject-matter experts help set agency strategy and provide consultation – from assessment and design through project implementation and results measurement – to field offices worldwide, in some of the world’s toughest places. TSU team members lead research, foster organizational learning, represent Mercy Corps to external audiences, and develop partnerships. The TSU is also integral to global business development and revenue. Mercy Corps livestock programming spans across the globe but is significantly concentrated in Africa. Mercy Corps works in 17 countries across Africa, all of which are facing momentous humanitarian crises and/or significant development challenges. We see tremendous opportunities to deliver transformative programming that can drive agricultural and market development across Africa. Our current agricultural portfolio in Africa includes 38 programs across the continent, ranging from emergency interventions to rangeland management, market systems development and digital agriculture services, and a growing portfolio of climate resilient agriculture programs.

The Position

Mercy Corps is seeking an experienced and field-tested Senior Livestock Advisor to support and grow our capacity to design, deliver and learn from a portfolio of high quality and impactful livestock programs and activities The Senior Livestock Advisor will provide strategic, evidence-based technical support on livestock systems to country teams in multiple contexts, with a specific focus on Africa. S/He will provide a strong focus on enabling programs to integrate climate-smart and market-driven approaches into humanitarian, development and complex crisis settings with an aim to ultimately strengthen individual, household and community resilience.

The Senior Livestock Advisor will provide technical leadership and support to the design and implementation of Mercy Corps’ current and future livestock activities especially in Africa. Working in close collaboration with the Agriculture Director and Regional Program Directors, s/he will lead the refinement and integration of the regional livestock strategy into country strategies. Working closely with Country Directors and Program Directors, s/he will play a key role in pursuit of new program opportunities aligned with Mercy Corps’ focus on resilient livestock systems (camel, cattle, goat, sheep and poultry) with a specific focus on climate-smart production and markets systems associated with pastoralist communities and the arid and semi-arid regions.  The key responsibilities of this position is to (1) provide technical backstopping to Mercy Corps livestock programs and activities (2) support growth of Mercy Corps’ work within the livestock sector (3) strengthen Mercy Corps’ learning and development of  innovative solutions and (4) maintain and expand Mercy Corps’ relations and partnerships with regional public and private stakeholders in the livestock sector.

Essential Job Responsibilities

PROGRAM AND PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT

• Support and sometimes lead the development of new programs relating to resilience, food security and economic development specifically in the livestock sector.
• Design contextually-appropriate technical approaches and specific interventions, particularly climate smart approaches, to support inclusive market systems, which benefit smallholder producers as well as other value chain actors in the system.
• Identify innovative, evidence-based approaches to livestock market development, with prioritization of live animals, meat and milk, and potential scaling up strategies.
• Conduct sector assessments using qualitative and quantitative techniques to inform program and activity design.
• Identify and cultivate relationships with local/national/regional public and private change agents and lead firms for stronger and more sustainable programming.

PROGRAM QUALITY

• Support Mercy Corps’ livestock programs and activities in close collaboration with the program managers and program-based technical leads by delivering short-term support for improvements and or providing technical assistance on program implementation.
• Strengthen capacity of program technical staff such as but not limited to:
  • Conduct training, including training of trainers, in livestock production and marketing techniques and approaches as needed and/or requested by country teams;
  • Carry out and train program teams in financial modeling of on and off-farm livestock-based livelihood and commercial opportunities;
  • Support program teams to identify economic opportunities and barriers to women and youth engagement in on and off farm business opportunities.
• Partner with peer Mercy Corps’ regional and global technical (youth, gender, resilience, market systems, environment, financial inclusion etc.,) advisors to drive integrated programming.

LEARNING AND IMPACT

• Promote adoption and integration of Mercy Corps’ global livestock learning agenda within programs in the region.
• Facilitate outcome analysis and internal program reflection on program progress and results to drive real-time learning and adaptive management.
• Capture lessons learnt including collection and dissemination of knowledge products (technical briefs, training tools, case studies) to stimulate internal and external knowledge exchange.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Maintain and expand Mercy Corps’ relations and strategic partnerships especially in Africa and specific to the livestock industry including working with them to identify upgrading opportunities, public-private partnerships and other opportunities that support an industry-wide vision.
• Disseminate outcomes, impacts and learnings from MC’s work in the region through conference presentations, blogs, webinars and articles.

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

Supervisory Responsibility

The position may supervise interns and/or volunteers on special assignments from time to time.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: TSU/Agriculture Systems Director, TSU
Works Directly With: Technical Director - Africa, Agriculture Systems Technical Support Unit, other Economic Growth Technical Support Units, Other Technical Support Units such as Environment and Resilience**,** Regional Technical Support Unit, Regional Director, Deputy Regional Directors, Country Directors and Directors of Programs, and Program Directors/Managers implementing agriculture systems’ focused or multi-sector programs.

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.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Bachelor’s degree required with either an advanced degree in animal science, animal health, agribusiness, agriculture economics, or significant comparable field experience.
• Minimum of 5 years as a technical lead for livestock within a complex or integrated program, with experience in the arid and semi-arid regions of Africa.
• 5 to 7 years of experience providing technical support in livestock development that includes:
  • Leading livestock market and value chain assessments;
  • Designing and implementing public-private partnership that increased private sector investment within livestock (meat, milk, eggs, live animals, animal health and nutrition inputs, etc) markets;
  • Leading participatory rangeland development and planning processes OR developing climate-resilient animal feeding plans for smallholder agro-pastoralists and pastoralists;
  • Developing curricula and leading training activities;
  • Designing and implementing outcome assessments including data analysis, interpretation and response.
  • Experience carrying out this work in multiple countries and regions within Africa.
• Demonstrated experience in sector analysis and design of new programs or activities.
• Demonstrated experience writing high quality proposals and other external documents.
• Demonstrated applied knowledge of livestock systems, including the role of livestock/dairy in household resilience, particularly in vulnerable communities.
• Demonstrated applied knowledge in climate change opportunities and challenges, regional climate change scenarios and experience implemented climate-smart approaches.
• Demonstrated experience with major donors such as USAID, FCDO, the EC and relevant foundations and corporations.
• Demonstrated strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop collaborative relationships.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments, is required.
• Fluency (written and verbal) in English is required; working knowledge (verbal) of French is preferred.

Success Factors

The Senior Livestock Advisor will demonstrate a winning track record in livestock program development, and bring flexibility, creativity, and enthusiasm to every project they undertake. With significant experience of livestock programming in Africa, the individual will have a deep understanding of livestock issues in the region, and the ability to design practical, actionable solutions. The individual must have exceptional writing skills and the ability to multitask, set priorities, pay attention to detail, and work under tight deadlines within complex team environments. The advisor must take an active role in building and maintaining external relationships as well as demonstrating the drive and initiative to contribute to internal team efforts, and a keen interest in supporting and developing country technical talent. The individual must learn quickly how to provide technical data and support in the most efficient and effective form possible for each unique team and environment. This position requires strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills, and a level of emotional intelligence proficiency that quickly builds and maintains productive relationships across teams. Being aware and sensitive to international development issues and diverse cultures is critical.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is preferably based in Africa Mercy Corps locations, or the UK/Europe Mercy Corps locations and it requires up to 40% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited.

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.

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.