Mercy Corps in Ethiopia operates in Water and Sanitation, Economic Development, Livelihoods, Capacity Building, Emergency Response, Health and Nutrition, and similar sectors in the regions of SNNPR, Somali, Oromia, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. Mercy Corps has been operational in Ethiopia since 2004, delivering strategic, long-term approaches to address the challenges of hunger, poverty and climate change. With a well-established reputation in the areas of market systems development, inter-community relationship sensitivity, and emergency (nutrition) response, Mercy Corps studies the Ethiopian market to promote diverse livelihoods; evaluates urban issues, including climate resistance and economic opportunities; supports communities and local partners to develop plans for natural resource uses and sustainability; and, through all this, builds resilience.
Mercy Corps is a consortium member for a program, Innovative Approaches to Building Resilience for Vulnerable Populations in Ethiopia, funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and led by the World Food Programme (WFP) in Somali Region. The program comprises four components; within this consortium, Mercy Corps’ role is in the third and fourth components which involve strengthening market systems in Somali Region: for pastoralists in Shabelle Zone and for refugees and host communities in Dollo Ado.
This position relates specifically to Component 3, Climate Risk Solutions. In this component, Mercy Corps is expected to strengthen the livestock marketing sector in select woredas in Shabelle Zone, enabling climate insurance beneficiaries to access products to protect their core breeding animals. Additionally, Mercy Corps will lead in promoting participatory early warning and disaster risk management. This component will be implemented in three woredas near Gode in Somali Region.
A Climate Services Officer is required to manage the third component of the program in promoting participatory early warning and disaster risk management. This position requires someone who understands the role of culture and local communities in managing climate-based information and has deep experience in facilitating participatory early warning forums develop plans to strengthen the community’s resilience against drought.
· Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
· Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to countrywide strategy development.
· Develop and organize activities to secure resources for programs and convince stakeholders to provide support.
· Conduct initial assessments to determine local climate information communication and decision-making structures.
· Conduct limate vulnerability and capacity assessment to understand vulnerability in communities, identify potential hazards and identify need for climate information.
· Develop deep understanding of the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) approaches established by Mercy Corps, in particular focusing on importance of utilizing communal structures for climate information forecasting advisory development and dissemination dissemination and decision-making.
· Support identification and systematic inclusion of key DRM stakeholders at local and regional level in all relevant activities and processes.
· Develop and implement strategy for Just PSP Participatory Scenario Planning forum which would include traditional and scientific climate information and enable communities to pre-empt and prepare for drought.
· Integrate strategy with overall market systems strategy for the program in the area
· Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate.
· Ensure program implementation is on time, target and budget, using effective M&E systems to reach desired impacts.
· Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards.
· Identify, build and manage collaborative partnerships with NMA leaders, partners, local governments and other stakeholders.
· Communicate effectively to ensure overall project targets and programmatic obligations are met.
· 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.
· 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.
Describe three to five specific expectations in terms of qualifications, education or skills that are requirements for this position.
· BSc in DRM Resource Management, Environmental Engineering or other related field or equivalent combination of education and work experience; desired: Master's Degree in DRM Natural Resource Management, Environmental Engineering or other related field
· With at least 5 years of practical experience in climate change adaptation projects and community early warning systems
· Experience in conducting CVCA and implementing community based adaptation programs through participatory scenario planning approaches Scenario Planning, specific experience in Somali Region is a benefit
· Fluency in Somali is required
The successful candidate is adaptive, innovative and has an anthropological mindset; s/he is able to work independently while striving to integrate activities to fulfill larger program goals.