MARKET SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER – Mercy Corps 135 views

Job Description

About Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. Mercy Corps supports communities – and the most marginalized within them – to emerge from crisis in the face of climate change and build towards a more inclusive and resilient future.

Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps has been operating in Zimbabwe since 2002 focusing its interventions on a multi-sectoral market systems development portfolio mobilizing communities to promote small-scale agriculture and revive local economies. MC Zimbabwe seeks to support at-risk communities in Zimbabwe – with a specific focus on young people, women, and other marginalized groups – to move towards sustainable development through building resilience and strong inclusive systems in the face of climatic and economic shocks and stresses. Market driven approaches are at the heart of Mercy Corps’ programming. Mercy Corps facilitates the development of systems that increase incomes and improve access to goods, with services, and employment opportunities, while reducing the risks and effects of shocks and stresses.

Duties and Responsibilities

General Position Summary
Mercy Corps Zimbabwe is implementing a 4-year Market Systems Development (MSD) program focused on urban/peri-urban and associated rural and urban linkages. The program seeks to improve incomes, working conditions and resilience to shocks and stresses for women through sustainable livelihoods, with a particular emphasis on the potential embedded in microenterprises and informal markets. The MSD Officer will lead the design and implementation of interventions in the priority selected sectors using MSD principles and approaches under the technical leadership of MSD Regional coordinator/s across the program operational provinces. Zimbabwe is well positioned to grow its MSD portfolio, presenting exciting potential for the position holder’s leadership role to grow in influence and impact.

Essential Responsibilities
PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
● Use MSD approaches to assess and analyse data to develop a good understanding of market opportunities in the informal sector for women.
● Develop a good understanding of facilitation-based interventions in the market sector that support it, including demonstrating a good understanding of market opportunities for smallholder farmers focusing on women and youth.
● Leverage technical expertise in informal market systems to develop and implement a comprehensive intervention strategy in close collaboration with relevant colleagues, including other portfolio managers, members of the monitoring and evaluation team and the management team
● Develop and modify contingency plans, business plans, work plans, budgets and other documents necessary for the management of interventions, as required
● Manage the implementation of interventions and ensure that they are effective in relation to expected outputs, results and impacts
● Engage various market players, develop partnerships, carry out partnership activities and act as a professional and credible spokesperson for the program.
● Provide capacity building support to relevant partners and market participants (e.g. input suppliers, financial institutions, traders, processors) to improve their business performance and the functioning of their market systems
● Conduct ongoing analysis of the markets and market systems affected by interventions, including documenting and analysing observations and results, and drawing relevant conclusions to inform future intervention strategies

TEAM MANAGEMENT
● Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
● Provide management support and coaching to relevant team members in skills, particularly MSD technical skills including facilitation, partnership management, intervention monitoring and adaptive management
● Provide guidance to team members and colleagues on the development and management of interventions using an MSD approach
● Work in close collaboration and coordination with other sector Interventions leads and MEL team to ensure cross sectoral integration and lessons are shared to adaptively manage intervention design.

MONITORING, EVALUATION AND LEARNING
● Conduct ongoing analysis of the markets and market systems affected by interventions, including documenting and analysing observations and results, and drawing relevant conclusions to inform future intervention strategies.
● Provide advisory support to the management team to identify and launch new interventions that can be scaled up based on existing interventions and research.
● Monitoring the progress of the assigned intervention(s) and delivery against the results chain(s), including updates to the intervention management model
● Manage results chains, including providing key information on programme results, lessons learned and trajectory correction strategies; modify the result chains, in a timely manner, if necessary.
● Prepare regular updates on the status of interventions, including a) verbal updates at weekly meetings, b) progress checks against the results chain and response guides updated monthly, and c) quarterly written progress reports
● Work with the MEL team to ensure the finalization of the region-specific MEL plan and any relevant procedures with clear designation of roles and responsibilities between the region Program and MEL teams.
● Ensure that robust monitoring and evaluation, quality data collection and analysis, and review systems are in place, adhered to and used as a decision-making tool, in coordination with MEL Officer.
● Capture learning from interventions, and feed these into wider learning agendas for the programme, country and agency.
● Ensure appropriate attention to program learning and integration of lessons learned.

REPORTING
• Monitoring the progress of the assigned intervention(s) and delivery against the results chain(s), including updates to the intervention management model
• Manage results chains, including providing key information on programme results, lessons learned and trajectory correction strategies; modify the result chains, in a timely manner, if necessary.
• Prepare regular updates and timely reports on the status of interventions, including a) verbal updates at weekly meetings, b) progress checks against the results chain and response guides updated monthly, and c) quarterly written progress reports
• Prepare timely reports for internal progress monitoring as well as contribute to donor reporting on the respective sectoral intervention areas of

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION
• Consistently demonstrate flexibility, resilience, and ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances.
• Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.

SECURITY
• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.

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 Corps as well as themselves.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO BENEFICIARIES
• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging target participants as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of our field activities.
• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC’s policies, procedures, and values always and in all in-country venues.

SAFEGUARDING RESPONSIBILITIES
• Actively learns about safeguarding and integrates it into their work, including safeguarding risks and mitigations related to their area of work.
• Practices the values of Mercy Corps including respecting the dignity and well-being of participants and fellow team members.
• Encourages openness and communication in their team; encourages team members to submit reports if they have any concerns using reporting mechanisms e.g., Integrity Hotline and other options.

Qualifications and Experience

Knowledge and Experience
• Bachelor’s degree in international development, Social Sciences or any Business or Marketing related field.
• At least 3 years of professional experience, including proven experience in relevant in agricultural markets in a market facilitation role.
• Experience in gender and youth empowerment programming.
• Solid experience in team management and the ability to supervise and mentor actors in the value chain.
• Good experience of the private sector and ability to apply these principles: creativity, energy and non-traditional thinking skills on development
• Experience in setting up, developing and managing private sector or market development programmes.
• Proven experience in market systems analysis and research and ability to read market trends and design proactive interventions to enable smallholder farmers and MSMEs to seize market opportunities.
• Proven experience in collaborating and cooperating with stakeholders for the collective achievement of common-purpose results and activities.
• Excellent computer skills (minimum of MS word, excel and power point)
• Good report writing, negotiation and presentation skills
• Flexibility to adapt program interventions to changing market circumstances and changing team needs