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. Mercy Corps Liberia began operations in 2002 in response to the humanitarian crisis brought about by the two Liberian civil wars that ended in 2003. Mercy Corps’ interventions have evolved based on the context and needs of the Liberian people. With funding from the European Commission, French Development Agency, Irish Aid, the Embassy of Sweden and US Department of Agriculture, among others, Mercy Corps Liberia focuses on Food Security, Peace and Good Governance and Economic Opportunity. Mercy Corps Liberia works closely with the Government of Liberia (especially the Ministries of Youth and Sports, Health, Labor, and Education), the private sector, civil society, international, and local NGOs to implement its programs from its Head Office in Monrovia and two sub-offices in Buchanan and River Cess. Mercy Corps is one of the foremost development actors in Liberia implementing strategic and systems driven programming in youth employment and entrepreneurship, market systems development, and good governance.
Program / Department Summary
USAID has awarded Mercy Corps a grant to implement the Incentivize Learning Activity (ILA). ILA is a five-year program, July 2023 – June 2028. The goal of this program is to increase enrollment and attendance for vulnerable and underserved school-aged children while contributing to improved learning outcomes and addressing the food insecurity that had become more acute in Liberia as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The activity will achieve this by incentivizing school enrollment and reducing absenteeism via the provision of school meals, targeted financial incentives, community and parental engagement, and social and behavior change communication.
General Position Summary
Mercy Corps is looking for a creative individual for the Incentivize Learning Activity who has the experience and competencies to work as Nutrition Advisor. The Nutrition Advisor will be responsible to support the food security and nutrition component on setting up community-based nutrition and health intervention and provide overall leadership, in strategizing the nutrition intervention. The Nutritionist will supervise key technical staff and ensure accountability to Mercy Corps policies and donor rules and regulation.
S/he will assist the Program Manager, DCOP and COP with representation before donors, relevant government entities, partners, other implementers and external stakeholders. The Nutrition Advisor will closely coordinate with other Mercy Corps projects implemented in Liberia. This position requires field trips to project sites.
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ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
Leadership and Strategy
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Participate in strategic planning for the Incentivize Learning Activity; ensure linkages into overall ILA/Liberia programming.
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Assist with presentation and proposal development in the nutrition and food security in coordination with the Country Office and HQ support teams.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
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Responsible for the delivery of Nutrition related project components in-line with the overall ILA deliverables, project technical narrative and quarterly reports and annual work plans and targets.
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Develop workplan/scope of work and contribute to report writing.
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Supervising technical components of the project including all nutrition related training, food basket monitoring process, community level nutrition training and surveillance and technical support. This will include the mentoring and training of project staff, community volunteers and health facility staff as need identified.
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Liaise with district health teams and nutrition stakeholders for smooth implementation of the nutrition related project components.
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Keeping teams up to date with new innovations in the delivery of nutrition programmes, negotiating with stakeholders’ adjustments to program plans or new interventions as necessary.
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Work with the MEL team and support on leading baseline/operation research/surveys as necessary, including developing ToR’s, working with the consultants and ensuring the report findings are disseminated and adopted in the program.
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Manage the compilation of nutrition related data, and lead on all nutrition related reporting.
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Represent Mercy Corps at Nutrition related meetings/events, related technical working groups.
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Ensure gender, capacity building and protection is mainstreamed into all project activities.
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Take the lead on the development of project implementation and awareness raising strategies, ensuring their compliance with national nutrition protocols and donor according to requirements.
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Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and partners and consistent with Mercy Corps’ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, quality standards and strategic plan.
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Integrate community approaches, gender sensitivity and capacity building into all activities as appropriate.
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Bring to note any emerging humanitarian requirement in the areas of operation to the Program Manager, DCOP, COP and Country management.
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Adhere to all Mercy Corps area of operations and transport/ logistics information related to programming.
Team Management
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Supervise, hire and orient new team members as necessary.
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Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
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Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews.
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Provide technical and on-job training to team members and project stakeholders.
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Provide team members with information, tools and other resources to improve performance and reach objectives.
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Contribute to country team-building efforts, help team members identify problem-solving options and ensure the integration of all team members into relevant decision-making processes.
Finance & Compliance Management
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Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.
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Proactively review and track budget under this section
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Draft and/or review scope of work to hire and manage any technical consultants, including review for technical efficacy and contract budget.
Security
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Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
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Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.
Representation:
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Maintain internal and external relationships to ensure program success including contacts with government office and country program offices, international and local NGOs working in the nutrition sector, related to food security programming, beneficiaries and the general public.
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Identify, coordinate and partner with local and international partners.
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Coordinate closely with the Health and Nutrition Clusters and other Clusters as required.
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 towards 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.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: N/A
ACCOUNTABILITY:
REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Deputy Chief of Party
WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Mercy Corps program staff as well as those in support functions – Finance, Administration & Logistics team members also works with the Country Director and other program staff.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
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Master’s degree in nutrition desirable. Five years of experience in the nutrition field with minimum 2 years working on applied nutrition issues including household level consumption, nutrition related behavior change etc.
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3 years’ experience in program/team management.
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Experience in managing and building capacity of diverse teams and project stakeholders.
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Familiarity in working on nutrition in development contexts.
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Familiarity with nutrition global cluster trends and recommendations.
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Strong written and oral communication skills in English, including report development, writing and editing.
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Demonstrated knowledge and experience managing nutrition and health programs compliant with USAID regulations will be an asset.
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Proven program leadership, management, project planning, organizational, interpersonal, communication, and security management skills.
SUCCESS FACTORS:
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Ability to communicate, team building, take direction, assume leadership, and make rational decisions.
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Diplomacy skills in managing a team with different backgrounds, abilities, and technical knowledge.
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Ability to train and facilitate dialogue among a diverse group of individuals with various skill sets and differing work styles.
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Excellent organizational, logistical, coordination and strong interpersonal skills.
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High motivation, initiative, and adaptability.
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Ability to live and work successfully in remote, insecure, and challenging settings with limited resources.
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Even temperament and good sense of humor.

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