Senior Knowledge Management Advisor – Resilience and Food Security

This 6-month, part-time position will be based in Washington, DC

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.

The Program / Department / Team

Mercy Corps is committed to generating and using evidence to understand and improve our impact, and to enhance the humanitarian and development community’s ability to address the world’s most complex challenges. This position will be split between two teams: Research and Learning and the Technical Support Unit.

The Research and Learning team enhances Mercy Corps’ ability to deliver high-impact programming, learn from that programming, and influence major debates and decisions affecting our work by supporting the generation and use of high-quality evidence. Mercy Corps has firmly established a reputation as an industry leader in the field of resilience, including resilience measurement and research.

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.

The Position

This position supports the Resilience Evaluation, Analysis and Learning (REAL) award, the USAID-Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA)-funded Strengthening Capacity In Agriculture, Livelihoods and Environment (SCALE) award, and the Food Security and Resilience TSU. The USAID funded REAL award is a five-year consortium-led follow-on Associate Award led by Save the Children partnered with Mercy Corps and TANGO International. It was established to respond to growing demand among USAID Missions, host governments, implementing organizations, and other key stakeholders for rigorous, yet practical, monitoring, evaluation, strategic analysis, and capacity building support. As part of the REAL consortium, Mercy Corps has worked closely with USAID to provide rigorous analysis, relevant knowledge, and applicable guidance on best practices for resilience measurement, program design, and implementation. For more information on REAL, see this brief.

SCALE is a five year Associated Award funded by USAID/BHA through the Technical and Operational Performance Support (TOPS) program led by Save the Children US. SCALE is designed to further improve the impact, sustainability, and scalability of BHA’s programming in agriculture, natural resource management, and alternative (off-farm and non-farm) livelihoods in emergency and non-emergency settings. Specifically, the program focuses on sustainable and climate sensitive approaches that foster resilient agricultural systems, and enhance income opportunities within or outside agricultural systems. This program is managed through Mercy Corps’ Agriculture TSU and is in its fourth year. More information on SCALE available here.

Essential Responsibilities

Knowledge Management and Capacity-Building

• Curate and coordinate Mercy Corps’ existing knowledge and learning in resilience, based on identified learning needs and learning strategies; this includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Lead on updating Mercy Corps’ external Resilience webpage to reflect the four core / priority pillars and based on Mercy Corps’ most recent resilience thinking. This will involve working with the Global Resilience Director, identification of publications to organize per theme and how to feature them, leading the drafting of descriptive content drawing on expertise in resilience learning, and work with Mercy Corps’ Resource Development team to provide an overall refreshed external presence

• Lead on updating Mercy Corps’ internal Resilience curated resources collection page. Review Mercy Corps’ resilience resources collection on the Digital Library and update to ensure it is effectively organized and tagged to produce an enhanced experience for resilience practitioners at Mercy Corps. Work directly with the Resilience Team and consultants to link key documents to “Guidance Gateways” that synthesize links to content organized by the Resilience Theory to Practice Initiative

• Design and implement improvements to Mercy Corps’ knowledge management and learning platforms that facilitate internal and external knowledge dissemination and uptake, aligning with broader agency platforms and processes; this includes, but is not limited to the following:

• Design and manage implementation of two Mercy Corps internal learning forums, including a discrete event and a strategic learning series of several events and discussion fora / mini-workshops. The events will highlight findings and lessons learned related to recent evidence produced from programs building resilience in crisis contexts, including drawing from thought pieces and evidence from REAL such as NE Nigeria REAL Case Study and Niger Social Cohesion Brief. They will also invite and guide input and reflection from Mercy Corps’ resilience programming and technical leaders. Following the events, the consultant will document and synthesize in a report the recommendations and lessons for improving resilience practice and policy.

• Coordinate and lead the management of two external events drawing from REAL evidence with USAID and implementing partner organizations on shock-responsive programming and one other topic to be determined by the REAL and Resilience Teams (5 days).

• Lead key knowledge sharing and learning activities for SCALE, including the following:

• Provide high-quality writing, editing and formatting support for SCALE resources, reports and communication products aimed at multiple audiences, helping to ensure clarity and accuracy of technical messages

• Co-create and facilitate in-person and online events, webinars and roundtables, including high-profile external conferences and events with donor audiences

• Design and advise on implementer engagement strategies, including reviewingSCALE-developed e-learning courses from an instructional design/adult education perspective, advising on strategies to increase user functionality, metrics for measuring learning (e.g. knowledge checks), and ways to enhance capacity strengthening.

• Develop strategies to enhance dissemination and uptake of deliverables, advising on effective communication approaches and relying upon user analytics to inform adaptations in SCALE’s outreach approach

• Equip new SCALE team members and implementing partners with the skills necessary to take on greater communications-related responsibilities, including building facilitation, presentation and writing skills.

Project Management

• Provide program management support functions for REAL award by supporting end of program documentation for REAL1.0 by contributing to lessons learned documentation, completing Program File, and inputting into final narrative report, as well as culmination events and start-up activities for the REAL follow-on award

Influence and Representation

• Serve as a key agency external focal point on resilience knowledge and learning
• Actively pursue strategic partnerships to advance Mercy Corps’ knowledge management and learning agenda, creating linkages between SCALE, Mercy Corps’ and partners’ platforms
• Provide senior representation of Mercy Corps’ resilience work in major knowledge partnerships and learning initiatives (GRP, Learning Awards)

Supervisory Responsibility

Consultants as needed

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Director, Research and Learning for Resilience

Works Directly With: REAL consortium partners & USAID stakeholders, Sr. Director for Food Security and Resilience, and the Global Resilience Director, SCALE Program Director, SCALE Senior Specialist – Program Quality and Capacity Strengthening, SCALE Operations Officer, TSU staff, and other SCALE staff

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

• M.A, M.S., M.Sc., or equivalent in an international development or related field required

• 5 to 7 years of experience providing increasingly proficient technical support in the relevant field of expertise that includes:

• Demonstrating strong theoretical and applied knowledge of the field of expertise.

• Awareness of implementers active in the areas of resilience programming and food security

• Support to change management, knowledge management and organizational learning, adaptive management or other related field

• Practical field experience, typically over the course of 2 years, that includes:

• A combination of successful temporary duration field assignments (under two weeks), longer-term field assignments (two or more weeks), and/or living in a field location for an extended period to work in a country or field office.

• Managing and implementing successful programs in the field.

• Delivering capacity building curriculum or other processes

• Exemplary oral and written communication skills, with proven experience developing resources and supporting remote and in-person events for donor-funded international programs

• Experience and familiarity with the existing food security, agriculture, natural resource management, and alternative livelihood activities within Mercy Corps and among USAID partners preferred

• Familiarity with USAID bureaus such as BHA (formerly Food for Peace and OFDA) , Center for Resilience, and/or Analysis and Learning Division

• Experience/Familiarity in USAID BHA Food Security programs is preferred.

• Fluency in English is required; knowledge of French, desired

Success Factors

The Sr Knowledge Management Advisor will bring flexibility, creativity, and enthusiasm to every project they undertake. The individual must have 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. The individual must learn quickly how to provide technical data and support in the most efficient and effective form possible for each unique field team and environment. All Mercy Corps positions require 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 based in any Mercy Corps locations and it requires up to 30% travel to support country programs, which may include travel to insecure locations where freedom of movement is limited and areas where amenities are limited. Housing for this role is in individual housing and staff will have access to good medical services and the living situation is of a high standard.

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.