Program Officer - Learning and Leadership - Kenya

Location: Amman, Abuja, or Nairobi or other locations where Mercy Corps has current operations will be considered

Position Status: Full Time, Exempt, Temporary, Internal Only

Duration: 3 months

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. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

Department & Team

The Learning & Leadership Team exists to enable our people and global organization to lead effectively, think strategically, engage collaboratively, and learn continuously. It supports talent development at all levels of the organization and ensures that Mercy Corps leaders and team members have access to the resources they need to develop so that we are a world-class, cutting edge, humanitarian organization, creating transformational change in the world. We seek to provide team members with the development opportunities to thrive in their roles today and build their skills to support their professional development.

The Position

The STA for a Program Officer - Learning and Leadership will be an integral member of the Learning & Leadership team. The program officer will step in mid-way through our leadership program implementation period. Their primary responsibility will be to oversee the implementation of this year’s Women in Leadership (WiL) Program. The Women in Leadership program is running two cohorts simultaneously this year – one in English and one in French. The Program Officer will supervise two interns, each responsible for assisting with one of the WiL cohorts. The Program Officer will also provide targeted support for coordination across our learning programs, as needed.

The Women in Leadership (WiL) program is designed to meet the professional development needs of females in Mercy Corps, with the goal of creating a pipeline of female leaders who can fill leadership positions in their country programs. This virtual learning program utilizes live webinars and peer learning activities to deliver management and leadership modules aimed at building the capacity of female team members.

Essential Responsibilities

Project Management

• Manage the Women in Leadership Program implementation, monitoring, and program evaluation for the two 2023 cohorts.
• Collaborate with instructional partners, participants, and key stakeholders throughout the program.
• Oversee all logistical and administrative components of the programs with support from the Program Officer, Learning & Leadership Development.
• Support curriculum development and delivery on every level, including procuring, managing, and sharing learning materials from content providers.
• Provide ongoing support to participants focused on access, engagement, and wellbeing. Serve as the primary point of contact for all participants, responding quickly and with compassion, as needs arise.
• Manage all learning platforms and communications.
• Ensure effective monitoring and evaluation and that lessons learned are integrated back into the program.
• Provide program follow-up support to alums from last year.

Learning and Development Engagement

• Fundraising: Support resource development efforts by collaborating on proposal development and donor stewardship, as needed.
• Program Budget Management: Manage the WiL budget and contribute as needed to broader Learning and Development budget discussions.
• Communications and Collaboration: Ensure effective and creative communication of leadership and learning opportunities within the agency making use of existing platforms. Coordinate and collaborate with other learning initiatives within the agency to enable integration and avoid duplication.

Supervisory Responsibility

Supervises the two Women in Leadership Interns.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Director of Learning & Leadership Development

Works Directly With: Program Officer, Learning and Leadership; Senior Advisor, Talent Management, Learning and Leadership; leadership program participants and their supervisors; field-based partners.

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

• BA, MA or comparable experience in relevant field – learning background preferred
• 5 years relevant professional experience including outstanding project management experience
• Knowledge and experience in training and professional & leadership development opportunities preferred
• Strong communication and story-telling skills, ability to facilitate collaboration between different teams
• Demonstrated capacity to utilize analytics and technology and manage learning platforms in order to support learning and development programs
• Ability to communicate and problem-solve effectively across diverse cultures and geographies with sensitivity
• 2-4 years' experience working in a global environment strongly preferred
• Fluent French and English speaking and writing skills is highly preferred

Success Factors

The successful Program Officer supporting WiL will have the ability to jump right into a project that is underway and pick up the reins and move it forward. They will have a passion for learning and leadership development and will enjoy working in team environments and enjoy cross-team collaboration. They will see themselves in service of the leaders for whom the program is designed. They are pro-active in developing productive professional relationships with a broad spectrum of stakeholders within the organization and with our partners providing learning content.  They will possess the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously, while remaining focused on the quality of relationships. They will be able to work effectively and collaboratively, as a member of a highly visible team, whose performance is key to the enduring success of Mercy Corps, while being flexible, resilient, always possessing sound judgment, and maintaining a good sense of humor.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position can be in any Mercy Corps Location, with a preference for Nigeria, Jordan, or Kenya. Should international travel be required, Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs, and Mercy Corps’ policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

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. 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.