Position Title: Community Mobilizer

No of Contractors: 3 (1 in each community)

Project Location(s): Lakpazee, Wood Camp, and Shoe Factory (Applicants must be residents of the community)

Timelines: October 1, 2024 – March 31, 2025 (Anticipated level of effort is 16 days monthly)

Submission Deadline: September 20, 2024

Background:

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.

Mercy Corps has been partnering with communities in Liberia since 2002, with over 20 years of experience engaging communities themselves and local organizations, including community-based organizations, community-based enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, and government ministries, among others. In Mercy Corps’ EU-funded Supporting Effective Advocacy in Liberia program, 24 civil society and community-based organizations were engaged to improve their internal control systems and carry out community and nationwide advocacy efforts on a variety of topics, including behavior change.

Mercy Corps continues to position itself as a key and credible partner with many donors, government authorities, and civil society partners, enhancing our ability to empower people to survive through crises, build better lives, and transform their communities for good. Well-versed in global practices and abreast of sector-specific trends, they represent Mercy Corps with donors and other strategic partners and inform and influence both internal approaches and global understanding on how to bring a transformative approach to some of the most intractable humanitarian and development challenges of our time.

Purpose / Project Description:

The Urban Fabric Initiative (UFI) is a 2-year Agence Française de Développement (ADF)-funded pilot project designed to develop/upgrade small-scale public spaces in three communities in Greater Monrovia. The UFI is a key component of the Monrovia Integrated Development Project (MIDP), which offers Mercy Corps a unique opportunity to leverage both global and local expertise in community-based urban development. This initiative aims to facilitate quick wins, ensuring the MIDP gets off to a strong start across the targeted communities of Lakpazee, Woodcamp, and Shoe Factory. The UFI seeks to achieve the overall objective of improved access, utilization, and management of public spaces resilient to the effects of climate change.

Contractor Objectives:

The Community mobilizer will be responsible for the overall management of the project at the community level. He/she will build relationships between Mercy Corps and the community. The mobilizer will be responsible for getting the community involved in the project and serve as a conduit between the community and Mercy Corps to foster communication, coordination, and support all project activities. The incumbent of this position will work closely with the UFI project assistant to attain the project’s strategic objectives.

Contractor Activities:

Targeting:

• Facilitate the establishment of a Community Management Team (CMT) and work efficiently with the CMT to monitor the procedures involved in Co-design, Co-construction, management, and use of public spaces.
• Organize Community meetings/sessions in close communication with the UFI project assistant.
• Ensure registration and verification of participants in project activities and provide accurate records consistent with the UFI.
• In conjunction with the Mercy Corps team and local authorities, strengthen local structures in line with the needs of UFI.
• Workcloselywith the Mercy Corps team to develop work plans and execute them on time.

Community Mobilization:

• Lead, manage, and monitor community mobilization and participate in the different program activities;
• Sensitize and create awareness among the local community and community leaders about the program;
• Mobilizes the target community’s community leaders, stakeholders, CBOs, and special interest groups about modality, community responsibilities, and activities.
• Promotes and participates in Co-design sessions with the community and takes down key notes of the process.
• Builds and maintains effective relationships with team, Community, and external partners and supporters.

Record Keeping and Reporting:

• Records and keeps all the necessary documents (Participants list, meetings notes, etc);
• Identify lessons learned from the day-to-day activities and prepare them for communication, dissemination, and documentation purposes;
• Prepares periodic/monthly reports on project activities in the community;
• Work with the Project infrastructure contractor to ensure that the community is involved in constructing public spaces and monitor every activity implemented at the community level.
• Promote environmental compliance and develop and encourage new and innovative solutions

Soft Skills:

• Values diversity sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to.
• Willing to take disciplined risks.

Contractor Deliverables:

The Consultant will:

The Consultant is expected to work with the Team to develop the following specific annexes:

1. Monthly approved work plan and schedule
2. Monthly activity report highlighting completion of tasks within the approved work plan.
3. Approved daily work attendance sheets

Timeframe / Schedule:

The position is expected to last six months, with a possible extension, from October 1, 2024, to March 30, 2025. The contractor is expected to work for at most 20 days monthly.

NOTE: Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. Mercy Corps reserves the right to contract as many Consultants as necessary to implement this project or none at all.

The Contractor will report to:

The UFI Project Assistant

The Contractor will work closely with:

UFI Team Leader, MC CARM and Safeguarding Team, Community Leadership, Community Management Teams.

Required Experience & Skills:

• Bachelor’s Degree in social sciences, sociology, or business management (or related field)with knowledge and experience in working with the community.

• At least two years of experience in community mobilization, stakeholder engagement, and training facilitation.

• Experience in conflict resolution and managing complex situations is an advantage.
• Strong organizational and communication skills
• Excellent oral and writtencommunicationskills
• Prior experience working for/with INGOs is a plus.

Submission:

The application package should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and a copy of all academic and professional certificates. A full application package should be emailed only in a portable document folder (PDF) to lr-tenders@mercycorps.org, with the subject: Application for UFI Project Community Mobilizer—Community Name on September 27, 2024, at 4:00 pm. Only residents of three project communities (Lakpazee, Wood Camp, and Shoe Factory) are encouraged to apply. FEMALE candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

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
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 team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our stakeholders and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging 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.