Humanitarian Crisis Analysis Team Lead – Maiduguri, Nigeria

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.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps Nigeria implements a variety of programs with the vision of a Nigeria in which all people are empowered, engaged, resilient and secure. Programme work covers the following sectors: economic development, livelihoods/food security, adolescent girls & boys’ empowerment, financial resilience, conflict mitigation and humanitarian response. Common themes include community engagement, inclusive development, gender, and working in partnership with local government, the private sector and civil society actors.

Nigeria is a complex, sophisticated society – and the crisis in its north-east has many dimensions. Mercy Corps is committed to the goal of better understanding crisis contexts in order to deliver better impact for the people and communities we serve.

Mercy Corps’ Crisis Analytics teams aggregate and analyze data to improve decision making and access in complex crises. The teams support our programming in Syria, Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo and other locations. The teams directly contribute to data-driven decision making by layering information from primary sources, open sources and responders’ programmatic data, where it is analysed by subject matter experts and data scientists. This analysis is grounded in Mercy Corps’ status as an operational NGO, keeping products constructive and relevant.

Typical products and services range from informal briefings to weekly products, contributions to risk assessments, in-depth assessment of the political economy of a defined geography, deep-dives on specific thematics, etc., ranging in themes from conflict to market systems to governance, in line with programmatic needs.

General Position Summary

The Team Leader has responsibility for the effective functioning of the Team as a support function to the Nigeria country programme. The Team Leader is responsible for day to day management of workflows, alignment of products & services with country programme priorities, quality control of products, and developing a process of continuous improvement within the team.

The Team Leader provides an advisory role to senior leadership, and leads external representation (for peer organisations, donors, partners, etc.) of the team’s findings. The Team Leader will be expected to cultivate appropriate networks to improve data collection and impactful dissemination.

This position can be based in either Abuja or Maiduguri, with respective changes to the benefits package. The majority of the team is currently based in Maiduguri, however the MC leadership team, donor representatives and many partners are based in Abuja. In addition, there are ambitions to expand the focus further across Nigeria. It is currently firmly on north-east Nigeria. If based in Abuja, significant intra-country travel is expected.

The Team Leader will have responsibility for a growing team, currently four funded positions. To help the team grow, the Team Leader will need to have sufficient understanding of relevant skills- analysis, primary data collection, fieldwork in complex contexts, mapping/GIS, utilisation of quantitative data sets and tailoring the presentation of findings to different audiences.

The Team Leader will have strong experience as an analyst, able to translate audience needs into data collection tasks and subsequent production of products. The Team Leader will provide inputs as required to improve the team’s analysis, and produce their own analysis.

The Team Leader will engage with counterparts from Mercy Corps’ other Crisis Analysis teams, and the global Crisis Analysis team, as part of a community of practice.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Systems and Management

• Manage the growth and strategy of the Crisis Analysis Team, in close collaboration with the Country Director, ensuring alignment with the current and future needs of the Nigeria country programme.
• Support the systematic use of analysis in programmatic decision making within Mercy Corps Nigeria
• Manage workflow and workload of team to maximise impactful output
• Ensure the professional development of team members
• Proactively engage with the Global Crisis Analysis team and counterparts in other countries

Programming and Operations

• Lead the production of time-sensitive, data-driven analytical products to support programmatic decision making in Nigeria
• Ensure the Crisis Analysis team’s outputs meet the unique needs of its target audiences, and meet Mercy Corps’ minimum standards for Crisis Analysis work.
• Have final responsibility for quality control of products
• Contribute to proposal writing and business development with the broader country team
• Develop and maintain an in-depth understanding of Mercy Corps’ programming
• Build and maintain relevant networks that improve the quality of products
• Maintain contextual awareness frequent (>50%) trips to field locations
• Present findings to internal and external parties
• As directed, participate in Senior Management Team discussions to provide analytic insights and risk assessments where necessary.
• Proactively seek opportunities to introduce new methodologies and technologies where they add value

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.

Supervisory Responsibility

Analyst x2, Information and Reporting Officer, Information Assistant

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Country Director (Abuja).

Works Directly With: Country Director, Deputy Country Director (Abuja), Program Management (Nigeria); Security Manager (Abuja); Senior Director of Humanitarian Analysis (global); Senior Advisor – Crisis Analytics (global); Regional Humanitarian Advisor and Regional Security Advisor (WCNA).

Knowledge and Experience

Required

• Master’s degree in a relevant field; or equivalent professional experience
• Demonstrated experience in information collation and analysis
• Demonstrate experience of team management
• Understanding of humanitarian principles and the humanitarian system at national and international levels
• 3 years’ field-based experience in complex and insecure settings, and preferably a conflict environment
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain networks of information sources across different sectors, groups and locations
• Excellent written English, and experience concisely conveying complex information for decision makers
• Willingness to work and travel in difficult and insecure environments

Preferred

• Experience working within the intelligence cycle
• Knowledge and understanding of the Nigerian context
• Knowledge of regional languages
• Experience working within the development/humanitarian sector

Success factors
This is a pilot initiative – so the successful job holder will need entrepreneurial drive to develop and establish humanitarian analysis as a critical part of Mercy Corps’ Nigeria program and an essential component of its global commitment. The Team Lead will need to balance a committed team approach, consistent with Mercy Corps’ values, and the ability to work and deliver on his/her own initiative. She/he will need sharp investigative and analytical skills and be able to quickly digest complex information and produce concise insights pertinent to the humanitarian situation.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in the capital city – Abuja. The location is accompanied and generally secure. Housing, health care, water, electricity and consumer goods are all reasonably accessible and there are good international and domestic travel options from Abuja Airport. Air travel is necessary to get to some field locations. Mobile phones services are widely available. Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices with some inconsistencies in the most remote sites. There is a wide variety of schools with different education philosophies and curriculum (British, American, French, and German to name a few). This position requires about 40% travel by road and air to field offices. Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on short term assignments. 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.