USAID Project Learning and Information Officer Jobs – Mercy Corps

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Organisation: Mercy Corps
Project Name: USAID Growth Health and Governance (GHG) Project
Duty Station: Uganda

About US:
Mercy
Corps is an international non-profit organization which implements
high-quality, analytical development programmes in very difficult places. Mercy
Corps has been operating in Uganda since 2006. It has and continues to
implement programs in Acholi and Karamoja sub regions. Mercy Corps is taking a
community-led, market driven approach to address poverty and food insecurity
needs through interventions that get to the root causes and contributing
factors of economic vulnerability. Donors include the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID), the European Commission (EC), United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC).

About USAID GHG Program:
Mercy
Corps implements a market-development focused 5-year USAID/Food for
Peace-funded program working in the northern half of Karamoja, and are in
search of Health Facility Support Officers for Abim District with support to
Kaabong District. The project, called Growth Health and Governance (GHG)
2012-2017, aims to support the immediate needs of program beneficiaries while
promoting long-term development by spurring systemic improvements in key
economic sectors of northern Karamoja. 
Mercy Corps plans to expand its GHG livestock activities to identify and
pilot key interventions that have the potential to improve the productivity and
competitiveness of Karamoja’s livestock producers – including cattle for meat
and dairy, goats and sheep.

Job Summary: The Learning and Information Officer (LIO) will provide
support to Mercy Corps staff in using a facilitative approach, building data
gathering and analytical tools, maintaining a set of data on results and
behavior change, and conduct research into specific areas of data need. The
Learning and Information Officer will ask staff tough questions on their
approach, forcing them to consider whether or not their approaches maximize
leverage and lead to behavior changes that catalyze systemic changes that grow
and last beyond the project’s direct intervention. The incumbent will also hold
staff accountable for gathering data and keep a system where it is easily
accessible when needed. The jobholder will also develop and support processes
for integrating that information into program design (and re-design). S/he will
work with teams to identify critical knowledge gaps and carry out targeted
research on those areas, engaging external assistance, when necessary.

The
project’s activities work almost exclusively through permanent private sector,
government and local CSO actors, seeking to crowd in provision rather than
displace or replicate local actors with donor-funded services. Facilitation
projects will include, but are not limited to, increasing access to tillage
services, improving access to beneficial and life-saving health products,
improving traditional authority-official authority collaboration, developing
agent input and aggregator networks, improving the service offerings and
profitable provision of community animal health services, commercializing
access to fuel efficient stoves, increasing availability of solar products and
improved accessibility to local handpump repair and spare parts.

One
of three success factors will be the degree to which the LIO promotes and
captures learning across the project, institutionalizing activity reviews,
identifying and evaluating preconceptions and promoting a culture of
inquisitiveness. The second will be that person’s ability to manage a large
quantity of data and deliver timely analysis to staff and to management. The
third success factor will be the degree to which that person provides insight
to teams through rigorous and efficient research in critical need-to-know
areas, identified by program staff but researched with close support from the
LIO.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: 
1. Market Facilitation
Support:
  • Mentor and coach program staff in use of
    market facilitation techniques;
  • Find, organize and share market facilitation
    resources with program staff;
  • Challenge program staff to think critically
    about strategy decisions and reflect on what they are observing.
2. Monitoring and
Evaluation:
  • Create a dynamic program environment that
    promotes inquiry;
  • Develop tools to simplify data gathering and
    reporting and ensure teams gather and report necessary data, including
    maintaining Podio entries for mapping progress with partners;
  • Provide support to program staff in
    monitoring and evaluating the progress and impact of work including
    setting and measuring benchmarks along results chains;
  • Responsible for the development and maintain
    a central database to track all IPTT-required project information, and
    provide to Chief of Party, on request
  • Prepare data analyses to be used in quarterly
    strategic reviews, annual reports, and a midterm evaluation.
3. Research:
  • Carry out research projects on specific
    subjects critical to team success and recommend hiring of external
    support, where necessary;
  • Where needed, support external evaluations by
    research partner Feinstein International Center and other organizations;
4. Communication and
Publication:
  • Significantly contribute data, analysis and
    write-ups to regular organizational publications and reports;
  • Work in liaison with the Monitoring,
    Evaluation, Learning and Communication Manager to develop publishable
    communication material about GHG;
  • Author occasional papers for wider
    distribution;
5. Other:
  • Conduct himself/herself both professionally
    and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to Mercy Corps and to
    not jeopardize its humanitarian mission;
  • Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience: 
  • The ideal candidate should preferably hold a Bachelor’s
    degree in any discipline (Economics, Development Studies, Statistics )
  • A minimum of three years of related
    professional experience
  • Demonstrable quantitative skills, including
    familiarity with database management and analysis
  • Excellent writing and analytical skills
  • Demonstrated skills in networking, assessing
    information needs and developing appropriate tools
  • Excellent reporting, communication and
    representation skills
  • Knowledge of Uganda’s economy and business
    environment, particularly in the context of rural development and
    Karamoja.
  • A sense of humor on par with one’s level of
    curiosity.
How to Apply:
All
suitably qualified and interested candidates should send their E-mail
applications including a cover letter clearly stating the salary requirements,
updated CV (with three professional referees), and copies of academic
qualifications/certificates addressed to the Senior HR and Legal Manager, Mercy Corps Uganda to: ug-mcjobs@mercycorps.org 

Deadline:  15th December 2016

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