Part-time Temporary Senior Specialist – Peace & Technology (Open to Amman, Jordan)

Part-time (.5 FTE) / Temporary (8 months) / Exempt / Washington DC, Nairobi, Amman

PLEASE NOTE: Current unrestricted authorization to work in the location of hire is required.

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 Technical Support Unit

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

The Peace and Technology Specialist is a newly created, part-time position at Mercy Corps that seeks to advance our work addressing the weaponization of social media as well as promoting digital peacebuilding. This work builds off our research, assessments, and programming in recent years resulting from a partnership between the Peace and Conflict TSU and the Technology for Development (T4D) team. Mercy Corps recognizes that social media and digital tools are increasingly contributing to offline conflict dynamics in the complex humanitarian crises and development contexts where we operate. We also see massive untapped potential to use technology to advance peace outcomes both in online and offline spaces. The advent of COVID-19, and its effects of pushing more people to be physically isolated and engaging online, has both heightened and made more visible the need to expand our work in peace and tech. This position will drive forward key areas of our peace and tech strategy, including creating technical guidance for teams, pursuing new programming opportunities, and facilitating conversations and work across the peacebuilding and tech spaces to advance a shared vision for addressing online harms and promoting digital peace.

Mercy Corps’ peace and conflict work supports locally-led interventions and processes to transform conflict drivers at the society level, increase social cohesion and conflict management capacity at the community level, and promote inclusive decision-making at the individual level to bring about a reduction in violence and long-term peace. We believe that good governance and local ownership lie at the heart of all sustainable peace outcomes. Mercy Corps’ programming in the peacebuilding sector includes youth violence prevention, social cohesion; dispute resolution, mediation, and conflict management; preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE); climate security; peace and technology; advancing peace in complex crises; and gender, peace and security.

Mercy Corps’ Technology for Development (T4D) team collaborates with Mercy Corps teams to unlock new possibilities and reach more people through the power of technology. We think beyond today’s context, exploring how we can use current and emerging technology to shrink the global digital divide and help people in vulnerable communities adapt to and overcome evolving challenges. Our mission and purpose is to drive sustainable program impact through responsible application of existing and emerging digital technologies. Ultimately, we drive Mercy Corps to scale the use of digital technologies to broaden our reach, and delivery positive impact more efficiently. Digital Communities is an innovative approach supporting programs to use digital means for information services, community cohesion, civil engagement, and connectivity. The initiative leads on Signpost, a program through which humanitarian organizations provide vital information for refugees, migrants and asylum seekers combining a mobile web application, social media, translation services and legal aid information. Additionally, the team advises on program adaptations and innovative approaches to augment community cohesion and civil engagement work.

Essential Responsibilities

PROGRAM AND TECHNICAL QUALITY

● Develop technical guidance for programs seeking to address social media impacts on conflict, including updating conflict analysis and assessment tools

● Develop technical guidance for advancing digital peace outcomes, including guidance on digital social cohesion and evaluation tools for measuring success in peace and tech initiatives

● Build capacity with Mercy Corps staff to better design and implement programs at the intersection of peace and technology.

PROGRAM AND PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT

● Conduct a landscape review of opportunities for funding interventions and research that address digital harm and promote digital peace

● Write and review proposals and concept notes for funding from donors including foundations, corporations, and US, European, and UN agencies.

STRATEGY, LEARNING, AND IMPACT

● Develop a set of processes and models for implementing programming to frame Mercy Corps’ approach to digital peacebuilding

● Support strategy development for peace and tech, in coordination with the Peace and Conflict team and T4D team

● Develop a deep understanding of the shared incentives and values that will entice partners to connect and work across sectors, both internally and within field projects.

INFLUENCE AND REPRESENTATION

● Convene working groups among implementers and donors to discuss best practice, models, and recommendations for addressing the weaponization of social media

● With support from Peace and Conflict and Tech for Dev teams, produce a publishable set of recommendations for implementers and donors to address the weaponization of social media

● Represent Mercy Corps at academic events, conferences, media forums, and other events; contribute to thought leadership peace and tech

● Represent Mercy Corps to and liaise with technology company leaders

● Identify and nurture strategic partnerships with other organizations and institutions.

Supervisory Responsibility

None

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Peace and Conflict and Technology for Development teams

Works Directly With: Other TSU teams, Global Program Teams

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, Masters preferred in conflict/security studies, technology for development, international relations, politics, sociology, history, human geography, or other related social sciences or humanities degrees.
● Five to seven years of experience providing technical support or program leadership in peacebuilding, peace tech, media, development, or related field that includes some of the following:

• Demonstrating theoretical and applied peacebuilding knowledge.
• Producing and publishing influential articles and blogs.
• Writing and analysis for proposal development.

● Minimum familiarity with technologies applicable to peace and development outcomes.
● Ideally one to three years of experience living in a fragile or conflict affected state, working with national or international civil society, the private sector, or government towards a socioeconomic development or peacebuilding project.
● Willingness and ability to travel to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations, including traveling to insecure environments.
● Familiarity with major donors such as USAID, FCDO, the EC and relevant foundations and corporations is a plus.
● Excellent written and spoken English: ability to write winning proposals clear technical guidance and policy briefs, and to represent Mercy Corps at events. Fluency in any of the following languages preferred: Arabic, French, Spanish, or Swahili.

Success Factors

The Peace and Tech Specialist will bring flexibility, creativity, and enthusiasm to every project they undertake. This person will have a passion for peace and tech, specifically in pushing forward our understanding of the impact of technology on conflict and the potential to harness technology for peace outcomes. The individual must have the ability to multi-task, set priorities, pay attention to detail, and work under tight deadlines within complex team environments. The specialist 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. All TSU 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 preferred location for this position is Washington DC and open to Nairobi or Amman (may consider other Mercy Corps locations) – with some regular availability during Eastern Time Zone business hours. The position requires travel at least 30% time to the field where living conditions may be exceptionally rugged or be in volatile environments where security protocols will need to be followed. Team members must be ready to deploy to field environments on short notice in response to any emergency or crisis. When in the field the team member must able to work in remote settings, over weekends and/or evening as required by the schedule, and in settings with limited infrastructure, food options, and living conditions.

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.