Job Description

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 present in Zimbabwe since 2002, leading innovative programming focusing on evidence-based solutions that have lasting impact and build resilience. Resilience building is an agency priority and involves using a systems-based approach that builds on proven solutions, accesses new ideas and information, and integrates multiple sectors and partnerships to strengthen food and water security, economic opportunities, and climate change adaptation. Zimbabwe continues to experience recurrent environmental and economic shocks that affect the wellbeing of its communities and undermine development investments. Mercy Corps puts resilience at the core of its strategy to contribute to the wellbeing of Zimbabweans by building communities’ capacities and strengthening systems and institutions.

Mercy Corps is a consortium member of Amalima Loko, the USAID-BHA funded Resilient Food Security Activity (RFSA) in the Matabeleland North province of western Zimbabwe. Mercy Corps provides overall technical oversight and leadership on gender integration and youth inclusion as well as resilience as a guiding principle and approach to reach the program’s overall goal: Improve Food Security Through Increased Food Access and Sustainable Watershed Management. The Gender Youth and Social Dynamics Lead is a senior position responsible for setting the technical vision for gender integration and youth inclusion in the program. He/she works closely with consortium partners to translate the program’s gender and youth strategy into a work plan and directly manages the GYSD Coordinators to ensure quality implementation of key activities.

General Position Summary
The Gender, Youth and Social Dynamics (GYSD) Lead spearheads the implementation of the Gender and Youth strategy to ensure the program addresses the varied needs of women, men, girls, and boys, and that staff are sensitive to gender, youth and social dynamics. The Gender, Youth and Social Dynamics Lead will ensure that the social dimensions of food security and community resilience are effectively addressed across all activities and components. S/he will manage staff and coordinate closely with partners to integrate gender and empower youth as critical strategies for realizing program outcomes.

Diversity, Equity, and 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.

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.

Ethics and Integrity
All Mercy Corps staff are expected to behave ethically and demonstrate the highest integrity in their professional and personal life. Mercy Corps has zero tolerance to any form of fraud, corruption, abuse, harassment, or exploitation. Any breach of our policies or misconduct will lead to disciplinary action that may lead to termination.

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 based on 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.

Duties and Responsibilities

Essential Job Responsibilities

TECHNICAL
● Leads continuous assessment of the social dynamics and power structures related to food security and nutrition in the target communities. Ensure meaningful participation and consultation with young people, women and other marginalized groups that are often excluded.
● Collaborate with the MEAL Lead to design assessment tools, train partners and enumerators on analysis tools, manage data collection and lead data analysis.
● Conduct workshops with RFSA team and partners to share findings and key lessons learnt and integrate the findings into the program’s final work plan and milestones.
● Updates the Gender and Youth Strategy as a living document, capturing the newly emerging norms and leads the development of gender and youth targeted and inclusive actions to take to address those norms.
● Works with RFSA team to ensure the Gender and Youth strategy includes learning questions around effective practices towards changing social dynamics and documents success stories and key lessons learnt for internal and external sharing.
● Works with the RFSA team to engage young people and women across program opportunities and leads advocacy initiatives to ensure that women and youth take up leadership roles in community governance structures and supports RFSA staff to coach and mentor them to enhance their leadership skills.
● Support the RFSA team, including partners, on gender and youth integration including through capacity sharing and training as well as through engaging in regular reflection exercises to adapt and/or expand activities and approaches.
● Support the integration of gender into the program’s M&E to ensure that gender is reflected in output, outcome and impact level indicators and that sex and age disaggregated data is regularly collected and reflected upon to inform adaptations.
● Contribute to research conducted in the program to ensure gender and youth dynamics are represented.
● Conduct regular community consultations to ensure programming remains gender and age sensitive and on-track. Ensure youth are empowered and lead many of these consultations themselves and identify other ways in which youth, especially young women, lead in the implementation or management of activities.
● Collect and share learnings and best practices on gender and youth integration.
● Represent the program’s Gender and Youth strategy with external stakeholders, during workshops, conferences and annual learning events.

TEAM AND MANAGEMENT
● Hire, orient, and directly manage staff on day-to-day gender and youth activities and develop capacity of this team.
● Work closely with the Human Resources team to ensure gender and inclusion accountability is incorporated into the position descriptions of all program team members.
● Ensure that program and country staff understand and adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Integration Minimum Standards.
● Ensure that Community Accountability and Reporting Mechanisms (CARM), Safeguarding Protocol and Processes and Child protection policies are adhered to and reported on to DFSA management team.

Qualifications and Experience

Knowledge and Experience
● Demonstrated technical experience leading gender and youth integration into complex food security programming, ideally within a consortium context.
● Seven years of experience working at the community level is required.
● A bachelor’s degree in a relevant academic area such as a social science discipline.
● Experience in Zimbabwe and an in-depth understanding of gender, age, and other locally significant socio-cultural factors in the context of food security programming.
● Demonstrated capacity to lead the collection, analysis, and utilization of information from a broad range of sources, as well as in adapting to on-going analyses to ensure program intervention effectiveness and accountability to community priorities.
● Skills in participatory learning and action and facilitating collaborative problem solving and demonstrated capacity to facilitate youth-led processes.
● Demonstrated ability to foster commitment and build capacity among program staff and in-country actors to ensure gender and youth integration and empowerment.
● Ability to work adaptively, think in systems and solve complex problems.
● Ability to escalate issues related to gender and youth integration to senior leadership and in team discussions.
● Previous staff management and mentoring experience of similar size teams required.
● Persuasive and clear written and oral communication in English, including writing.
● Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members.

How to Apply

How to Apply
Mercy Corps is committed and accountable to the community members we work with and the beneficiaries we serve. As part of this commitment, Mercy Corps has zero tolerance to violations of the Code of Conduct (Sexual Abuse of Beneficiaries and Community Members (PSEA) Policy, Anti-Trafficking Policy, Child Safeguarding Policy, Mercy Corps Ethics Complaint and Whistle-blower Policy, Sexual Misconduct in the Workplace Policy, Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Policy, Conflict of Interest Policy and Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Policy).

Applicants are required to download and sign the MC Candidate Declaration Form (copy and paste this link to your web browser) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RmlrQfcgAa7S5d5WkcUUHoKTNXXOPD74/edit and submit together with CV and Cover letter to Mercy Corps Human Resources at [email protected] by COB 24 January 2024. Please note that CV and Cover should be on one document.

Applications should be clearly marked with the position applied for in the email subject line.

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity organization and encourages both female and male candidates to apply. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Applicants will be considered on a rolling basis and shortlisting will proceed as applications are received.