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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 has been meeting the needs of conflict-affected communities inside Syria since 2012. Mercy Corps Syria’s Country Team is based in Amman that ensures consistent, technical and quality driven programming by Mercy Corps and partners in Syria. Mercy Corps implements a range of activities aimed at supporting positive coping strategies by addressing the basic needs of vulnerable families while strengthening opportunities to generate income and increasing access to livelihoods and promoting social cohesion objectives.
General Position Summary
Mercy Corps committed to gender equality, and social inclusion, protection and safeguarding, and Mercy Corps Syria is in the process of mainstreaming these approaches across our teams and programs. We are looking for a dynamic and committed individual who will be able to build on this investment and contribute to ensuring that all our work is sensitive and transformative and takes place in an inclusive way that challenges discriminatory practices and adheres to the principle of Do No Harm. We believe to achieve this in our programming, such must also be reflective of our culture and represented in our workplace. The Technical Advisor will therefore engage with and lead on aspects of GESI, Protection and Safeguarding both internally for team members, and externally for the programs that we deliver.
The Gender & Social Inclusion, Protection and Safeguarding Technical Advisor will be a member of both the Human Resources and Program Quality teams reporting primarily to the Program Performance and Quality Director with matrixed management and dotted line responsibility on safeguarding integration to the Human Resources Director.
This is a complex role which will be responsible for further aligning and embedding these cognate areas within the organisation. The post holder will be responsible for implementing the protection and inclusion strategy and approaches and ensure mainstreaming in these key areas is comprehensively embraced by teams including in programme design processes, in delivery and in learning. The post holder will champion GESI, Protection and Safeguarding across all our work and also be responsible for capacity building for MC staff and partners, relationship building with key interlocutors both internal and external, and help to hold the organisation accountable for its GESI, Protection and Safeguarding work across Syria. Within the Syria team the post-holder will work most closely with colleagues in programmes, the programme performance and quality teams, grants team, safeguarding team and human resources. S/he will be responsible for the development of research, assessments as well as directional think pieces that will help to improve our policies and practices as well as input, ownership and/or oversight of GPSI workstreams and projects.
Essential Job Responsibilities
The GPSI Technical Advisor will lead on implementing MC’s strategic and systematic direction for work in gender and social inclusion, protection, safeguarding, and inclusion, ensuring that the organisation meets industry standards and beyond. Core duties of the role will include support and coordination with all teams and staff to:
a. Provide guidance in designing, planning and implementing a strategic approach in interventions including the development of indicators, and further detailed work with the programme performance and quality unit on all aspects of monitoring, evaluation and learning.
b. Design and deliver training packages and tools that support the development and review of GPSI work and ensure best practice on assessments, program implementation, research, and evaluations and the subsequent learning.
c. Continue driving GPSI mainstreaming across MC Syria including working with focal points, champions, conducting internal audits of programme mitigations and on-going challenges and internal advocacy that promotes a culture, and programme delivery, free of harassment.
d. Ensure alignment with and adherence to key organisational work such as the global gender minimum standards initiative and standard indicators.
e. Work closely with teams to ensure that our work safeguards and protects our participants, our activities do no harm and promotes equality and transformation. This includes close coordination with MC’s CARM systems and use of tools such as PSEA Observation Checklist, and external messaging for interlocutors, partners and participants.
f. Apply critical analysis skills across hubs and functions to ensure Mercy Corps is living up to its GESI,P/S commitments
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT & QUALITY
a. Train and coach field teams and partners on integrating GESI and Protection interventions in line with MC Syria’s strategy.
b. Lead in new funding opportunities including as a technical design lead, or providing timely inputs on GESI, protection and safeguarding into multi-sector design of concept notes and proposals (i.e theory of change, log frames and narratives) in coordination with Program Managers and proposal teams.
c. Work closely with MEL to analyse, consolidate, and communicate trends from program and MEL data on GESI and protection to ensure learning.
d. Ensure adherence to global and Syria best practice in all project design and implementation.
e. Lead the rollout of the whole of Syria workstream on mainstreaming GESI and Protection including technical support to hubs.
f. Review inputs, for example from Program Managers for reporting.
g. Conduct supervision and monitoring visits to project and sites on a regular basis
h. Support staff to proactively identify programme risks and implement realistic and practical mitigations
i. Support a consistent capacity building approach to implementing partners
j. Assess, review and strengthen partner agencies capacity and systems in the areas of GESI and Protection when needed
REPRESENTATION AND COORDINATION
a. Proactively network among key actors, and lead on MCS representation to groups such as the CAAFAG Task Force.
b. Coordinate amongst Hub staff to develop and document a network of national actors as potential partners for MC’s work in Syria, with focus on the contextual differences between the hubs
c. Support in MC policy development and revisions providing input from Syria program on GESI.
SAFEGUARDING SPECIALIST WORK
a. Drive safeguarding mainstreaming across hubs and ensure consistency in Mercy Corps’ approach – this includes overseeing safeguarding prevention work, supporting a team of focal points and champions, oversight and development of safeguarding materials, identifying risks and opportunities.
b. Receive disclosures from staff and community members; practice empathy and non-judgement and ensure confidentiality at all times.
c. Engage with investigations when asked and discuss lessons learned on a quarterly basis.
d. Coordinate with support departments to ensure safeguarding prevention continues to be mainstreamed with those functions, whilst supporting the evaluation and co-identifying opportunities for development of practices.
e. Discuss and review lessons learned with the Safeguarding Focal Points and Safeguarding Investigator (for the MENA region) on a quarterly basis (frequency as required) and report and present as appropriate to the leadership in the country and globally.
f. Complete annual country office safeguarding risk assessment in collaboration with HR, CD and DCD
g. Apply critical analysis skills across hubs and functions to ensure Mercy Corps is living up to its safeguarding commitments, identify risks and help to build solutions
ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
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 Corp as well as themselves.
Supervisory Responsibility
Reports Directly To: Director of Program Accountability and Quality (PaQ) with dotted line to HR Director
Engage with: Global Safeguarding Team, Global Senior Protection Advisor and Regional GESI Advisor
Technically Supervise: GESI & Protection Mainstreaming Coordinators and Safeguarding Focal Points
Works Directly With: All departments across all hubs; most closely with HR and program teams
Knowledge and Experience
- Fluency in written and spoken Arabic; good knowledge of spoken and written English.
- Willingness to travel up to 50% of the time and work in hard-to-reach areas
- At a minimum, a Bachelors in international development, social work, women’s studies, gender or a comparable area of study.
- Knowledgeable about protection (especially children affected by armed confilct), gender and social inclusion, protection mainstreaming, safeguarding, child safeguarding or similar areas such as PSEAH or sexual misconduct. Detailed understanding of the humanitarian aid sector and knowledge of humanitarian principles, rights-based approaches, safeguarding/PSEA, and interagency standards on gender, disability and protection.
- Five years of experience in international settings and in increasingly complex environments and senior positions.
- Experience working with displaced populations in complex contexts and conflict/post conflict environments.
- Experience facilitating training and workshops.
- Experience in networking and humanitarian and development coordination.
- Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation, and coaching.
- Excellent interpersonal skills with a demonstrated ability to develop positive relationships with local and remote team members at multiple levels in the organization. Experience in working collaboratively and/or advocating with other sectors and teams.
- Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive situations diplomatically and in a confidential manner.
- Strong influencing and advocacy skills for internal and external audiences with the confidence to challenge in an informed and approachable way.
- Strategic and organized, with the ability to adapt as the context and priorities change.
- Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.
- Strong writing skills, including experience writing proposals and donor reports and managing complex information.
- Developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in Amman, Jordan and it requires up to 50% travel across Mercy Corps Syria locations, including North East Syria and other countries in the region.
Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting. 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.
Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.
