STA - Program Officer Evidence & Learning - Global Programs and Support Department - Remote
Description
Location: Open to any Mercy Corps office location
Position Status: Full-time, Exempt, Regular
Time Frame: This is a 3-month short-term assignment, estimated to last from November 2024 to January 2025.
Salary Level: HQ4 - Based on local benchmarking and internal compensation review.
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.
Program / Department Summary
The Program Function at Mercy Corps supports its mission and works with program impact, innovation, and influence teams. The Program Function is composed of headquarters and regional departments guided by Mercy Corps global strategy, the Pathway to Possibility. It works in close partnership with all other agency departments to deliver the highest quality programming and impactful results. The Program Team works to deliver increased accountability, alignment, and fair and transparent resource allocation, while acting with its Core Behaviors of collaboration, curiosity, inclusion, and integrity at the forefront.
The Evidence & Learning Unit sits within the Global Programs and Support Department and leads Mercy Corps’ efforts to use data, evidence, and analytics to improve programs, scale what works, and influence others. The Unit is composed of teams focused on Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL), Research and Learning, Crisis Analysis, and Evidence Use, and works closely with regional, country, and program-level counterparts, other global program support Units, and a range of evidence-related partnerships. The Unit coordinates the organization’s strategic “Evidence Driven Commitment.”
The Position
The Program Officer – Evidence & Learning (hereinafter “Program Officer”) supports, contributes to the design of, and implements effective, coordinated, and organized business processes in support of the Evidence & Learning (E&L) Unit’s operations, seeking to continuously improve the quality, efficiency, and user-friendliness of these processes. The Program Officer provides project coordination and management support, as well as project and team member backstopping for projects and processes managed by other E&L teams. The Program Officer provides regular guidance to the E&L Administrative Coordinator, helping to set priorities for and ensure smooth and responsive E&L administration according to well-defined processes and standard operating procedures.
Essential Job Responsibilities
OPERATIONAL SUPPORT & PROCESS IMPROVEMENT (25%)
- Continuously look for and implement ways to improve the Unit’s centralized business and administrative support processes in the most efficient, effective, and equitable ways possible.
- Participate in the management and administration of a Jira Support Request Tool (SRT) for the Unit’s functions. Develop SRT guidance & training for team members and serve as focal point for any questions, issues, or feedback.
- Monitor the intake of all Unit support requests and ensure timely follow up with requesters. Maintain a dashboard to visualize support data and analyze trends and implications for Unit leadership.
- Design and guide the administration of the Unit’s document sharing, collaborative workspace, and communication platforms – for example SharePoint, Teams, etc. Train team members on the use of these platforms and develop guidance materials as needed.
- Contribute to organization-wide information sharing platforms (for example the DiG, knowledge management sites, etc.) that are used to curate and share evidence and knowledge.
- Provide production, graphic design, editing support for Unit written products, including both written products led by E&L teams and documents such as proposals that are led by other teams.
- Support fundraising tracking for the Global Crisis Analysis team (GCA) and Research & Learning Team (RLT) by (1) monitoring a few websites each week for new and relevant funding opportunities, (2) maintaining the associated internal fundraising tracker, and (3) meeting with the Unit’s fundraising tracking working group on a regular basis.
- Support the Unit’s adherence to Mercy Corps internal policies, procedures, and standards.
- Guide the Administrative Coordinator’s administration of webinars, community of practice platforms, and other information sharing and collaboration for a guide design efforts for these platforms.
- Seek and implement ways to make the Unit’s work increasingly accessible to, and shared with, a broad, multi-cultural internal audience
PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION (75%)
- Coordinate, contribute to, or reinforce Unit projects as required, providing project coordination, management, and stakeholder communication support as needed.
- Manage and coordinate the procurement and administration processes for any master services agreements (MSAs) or pre-qualified pools (PQPs) managed by the Unit. Maintain guidance documentation helping team members to understand and access these mechanisms.
- Coordinate communications related to the Evidence- Driven Commitment and its workstreams.
- Coordinate the processes surrounding the Global Dashboard Directory SharePoint site. Maintain the Global Dashboard Directory site, its associated guidance documentation, and submission form.
- Advise and support the E&L Administrative Coordinator, ensuring that this team member is administering or contributing to effective central Unit support processes.
- Work with the Administrative Coordinator to develop guidance, tools, templates, process flows and other information as needed.
- Ensure that E&L has clearly defined and well-functioning processes in the areas of Communications; Meetings, Trainings, and Events; translations; and operational Administrative Support. Lead planning in these areas as needed to determine a consistent and well-functioning approach.
PROJECT SUPPORT
Actively support and contribute to Evidence & Learning Unit’s projects, including:
Evidence in Action Competition: An annual competition designed to incentivize a culture of learning by celebrating examples of how our teams are contributing to the achievement of our Evidence Driven Commitment.
Deliverables:
- Organize submissions for review.
- Coordinate communications to announce finalists
- Coordinate and contribute to supporting finalists with packaging their narrative submissions into posters and brief presentations
- Disseminate finalists’ posters and presentation recordings via Workplace
- Support the coordination of a presentation to the Board for the winning submission
Evidence Digest: A communications/knowledge management product focused on synthesizing and curating a collection of new evidence products that have been produced within the organization over the past six months.
Deliverables:
- Support the Evidence Use team with vetting and curating the list of evidence products to be included in the Evidence Digest
- Coordinate translation of documents and Digest “features” as needed
- Produce the first draft of the Digest “features”
- Produce the first draft of the full Digest within a prepared template, and make adjustments to the template as needed
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.
Supervisory Responsibility
The Program Officer – Evidence & Learning has no supervisory responsibilities.
Accountability
Reports Directly To: VP, Evidence & Learning
Works Directly With: All Evidence & Learning team members, and representatives from departments and units coordinating with E&L.
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 Qualifications & Transferable Skills
- Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) and 2+ years of professional experience in general project management and coordination with demonstrated interest in relevant processes that support leadership & learning initiatives.
- At least 2 years of demonstrated experience with business process administration.
- Ability to communicate and problem-solve effectively across diverse cultures and geographies.
- Demonstrated ability to maintain confidential information.
- Experience with Microsoft 365 and demonstrated skills in database management and record keeping is preferred.
- Ability to complete tasks with high quality outputs, meets deadlines and works well under pressure while building relationships with team members and stakeholders
- Proven ability to design and lead change management projects to conclusion.
- Proficiency with a range of software, including data management, analysis and visualization.
- Experience successfully guiding, coaching, orienting and/or training colleagues to adapt and use new or updated business processes and/or systems.
Success Factors
The successful candidate is a problem solver, who is adept in successfully dealing with issues of complexity. They are a skilled communicator, able to develop strong relationships with stakeholders. They will be skilled at approaching issues and breaking down solutions into clear, actionable action steps. They will be able to work effectively and collaboratively, as a member of a highly visible team, whose performance is key to the enduring success of Mercy Corps. They will have the ability to manage or support a wide variety of projects and maintain a focus on continuous improvement. They will have a passion for continuous growth initiatives, as well as systems and analytics. Strong interpersonal skills in order to work independently and collaboratively across teams and with a myriad of stakeholders.
Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions
The position is based in any Mercy Corps’ United States or European office location, depending on work authorization. The Program Officer must be able to accommodate a flexible schedule for early morning and late-night calls where necessary to coordinate across our global team.
Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/short term assignment to 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.
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 and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. By applying for this role an applicant confirms that they have not previously violated an employer’s sexual misconduct, sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding or trafficking policy. 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 e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.
As an applicant, if you witness or experience any form of sexual misconduct during the recruitment process, please report this to Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline ([email protected]).
Covid-19 Vaccine Policy for US-Based Employees
Mercy Corps has determined that, in an effort to protect the health, safety, and well-being of all Mercy Corps employees working in the United States, all U.S.-based employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, regardless of prior COVID-19 infection status. This policy is necessary to ensure not only the safety of our workforce, but the ongoing functionality of the organization.
This policy will be revised as needed to comply with federal, state, and local requirements, and to respond to changing guidance from public health authorities.
For new employees this requirement goes into effect within 10 business days of employment. Team members that travel are expected to comply with host-country requirements, including vaccinations. Failure to comply may impact your employment. Proof of vaccination or exemption must be provided.