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 / TEAM

Mercy Corps has worked in Liberia since 2002, initially responding to the humanitarian impacts of the country’s civil conflicts and subsequently evolving its programming to address the changing needs and priorities of Liberian communities. Over the past two decades, Mercy Corps has implemented a diverse portfolio of programs focused on food security, agricultural livelihoods, nutrition, financial inclusion, youth economic empowerment, renewable energy, water and sanitation, and community resilience, supporting sustainable development and improved opportunities across the country.

The USDA McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program in Liberia is a five-year, $35 million initiative implemented by Mercy Corps to improve literacy, school attendance, nutrition, and food security among primary school children in four counties: Grand Bassa, Rivercess, River Gee, and Grand Gedeh. The program will reach approximately 50,000 students in 234 public primary schools through the provision of nutritious daily school meals, strengthened early grade reading instruction, and integrated school health and nutrition interventions. In addition to reducing short-term hunger and improving educational outcomes, the program seeks to increase the Government of Liberia’s capacity to manage and sustain school feeding and literacy systems beyond the life of the award.

The program combines direct school meal provision with system-strengthening activities that support literacy, health and nutrition, school infrastructure, community engagement, and government leadership. Key interventions include strengthening teacher training and instructional support systems, improving WASH and food safety practices, promoting school gardens and local procurement, building the capacity of school and community management structures, and supporting national and sub-national government institutions to plan, finance, monitor, and sustain school feeding and early grade reading programs. The program is designed around a gradual transition strategy that shifts responsibility for implementation and oversight from Mercy Corps to the Government of Liberia, schools, and communities, ensuring long-term sustainability and local ownership of both education and school feeding outcomes.

The Position

The Communications Coordinator will support the development of a communication strategy for the ASCEND program including providing support to the development of IEC materials, factsheets, articles, videos and other messaging required for various interventions implemented on the program. Throughout the lifecycle of the program, s/he will be responsible for:

• Cross-cutting programmatic information management within the framework of the
• Ensure information is shared and used for continuous improvement of ongoing interventions. S/he will have responsibility for leading the development of high-quality reports and success stories for dissemination and documentation.
• Manage the relevant information dissemination platforms.
• Organize media engagements.

Essential Responsibilities

STRATEGY & VISION

• Work closely with the Program Team in the development of a communications and visibility plan for the program, and efficient documentation and implementation of relevant activities in adherence to Mercy Corps global standards and USDA requirements.
• Contribute to country team-building efforts and communications support.
• Develop and organize activities to secure resources for programs and engage stakeholders to provide support.

COMMUNICATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING

• Support ASCEND’s visibility, communications & learning initiatives, ensuring that program communications activities meet donor communications and visibility guidelines.
• Travel to the field locations to collect well captured images, success stories, and other communications content to highlight programs successes, staff well-being, or any other topic as the need arises.
• Help teams plan and conduct effective dissemination of project materials to different
• Establish a close working relationship with relevant media practitioners and maintain a database of key contacts.
• Help identify team members’ capacity building needs and the implementation of communications capacity-building and learning activities.
• Facilitate sessions in communications capacity-building trainings for program team members and partner staff.
• Support the planning and coordination of communications trainings, workshops and other events, as the need arises.
• Maintain standards and best practices for all communications and learning processes, updating the program shared drive, including contributions to the online Communications and Learning library.
• Develop and share content on Mercy Corps Global internal platforms (Workplace pages, The Hub and The Globe) and frequent updates to the country office communications for dissemination to external communications platforms.
• Actively participate in meetings and processes to promote effective communication practices for the program and in support of the country portfolio.
• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations, including security procedures and policies.

Supervisory Responsibility

N/A

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Chief of Party

Works Directly With: Programs Staff, Country, Regional & HQ Communications Staff, HR, Operations, Finance (all offices).

Knowledge and Experience

• Postgraduate degree in communication, journalism, media studies or any related field with 4 years’ experience or Bachelor’s degree with 7 years’ experience.
• Communication work experience in international development required; ideal candidate will have both theoretical and practical background in
• Knowledge of program development, implementation, and reporting
• Experience in facilitation and building team capacity to deliver high-quality
• Vast experience in producing films, documentaries, drama skits and other appropriate communications and learning materials.
• Excellent verbal and written communication
• Excellent computer skills, including experience with any communication and visual presentation software.
• Knowledge of Photography, Videography and Infographics is
• Experience interfacing with media, corporations, and key stakeholders highly desired
• Fluency in written and verbal English

Success Factors

The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours. 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.

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 beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of our field projects.
• 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.

Child Safeguarding Policies and Practices

• Comply with the requirements of Mercy Corps Protection Policy to ensure maximum protection for children

Finance & Compliance Management

• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to financial transactions and programming.

Influence & Representation

• Identify, build, and manage collaborative partnerships with consortium partners, Program contractors, donors, local governments, and other stakeholders.

Security

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

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristics protected under applicable law.

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. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or by 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.

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 (integrityhotline@mercycorps.org).

Please click here to apply: COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR – NATIONAL | Mercy Corps Liberia