Vacancy Announcement
Program Officer – WU Research –
Eldoret
Program / Department
Summary:
Mercy Corps is implementing
the Rift Valley Local Empowerment for Peace (LEAP) program and is expanding the
program to have a youth financial education research program funded by Western
Union.
The primary objective of
LEAP is to strengthen the ability of local actors to address root causes of
post-election violence and to promote peace and reconciliation at the community
level while that of financial literacy program is to assess the effect of
financial education on income, saving and spending patterns of youth self help
groups and its members that benefited from LEAP Cash for Work (C4W) and income
generating activities (IGAs) grants.
Mercy Corps is also
implementing another USAID youth led and youth managed program called Yes Youth
Can, covering six regions in Kenya; Western, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Central,
Nairobi and Coast.
The program aims at
empowering Kenyan youth (18-35yrs) to be agents of positive change alongside
strengthening their social and economic opportunities.
General Position Summary:
General Position Summary:
The Program Officer, WU
Research will be based in Eldoret with frequent travel to Kericho, Nakuru,
Molo, Nandi, Keiyo, Uasin Gishu and surrounding areas.
This position will ensure
efficient and effective implementation of financial literacy training sessions
to selected youth groups as well as monitoring of control groups.
The position will also
assist with building a reliable database from data collected through
questionnaires and financial diaries.
With the help of the
Manager WU Research Program, a workable plan will be developed to collect field
data, carry out data cleaning, aggregation, analysis and report writing
(internal and external).
Similarly, this position
will be required to collect and compile information about the program and
successes for dissemination to program beneficiaries, stakeholders, the
government, CSOs and donors as per the instructions of the country
Director.
Essential Job Functions
- Carry out
assessments of youth and youth groups’ economic situations before and
after financial literacy trainings within the affected communities and
make recommendations for actions that are consistent with program
objectives.
- Train
program TOTs and local partners on financial literacy, logical framework,
data management, data analysis and results-oriented programming, basic
surveying and sampling techniques, monitoring and evaluation methods and
principles and report writing techniques and requirements for Mercy Corps
and Western Union.
- Implement
and improve existing monitoring and assessment tools for the involved
youth groups to ensure the appropriateness of the program and to gauge its
impact, including a system of recording and presenting relevant data.
- Together
with the M&E Specialist and WU research Manager assess, and conduct
final survey/assessment to measure the financial education outcomes
- Provide
reporting including contributions to regular conflicts reports, as well as
more general situation reports.
- Prepare
other documentation and write success stories for internal Mercy Corps use
and external requirements as may be required.
- Travel to
the field to monitor and evaluate project sites, work with beneficiary
groups, and organize and conduct assessments as necessary.
- Conduct
himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to
bring credit to Mercy Corps and to not jeopardize its humanitarian
mission.
- Other duties
as assigned
Supervisory Roles: Intern
Reports Directly To: M&E Specialist and Manager WU Research Program
Works Directly With: Program Coordinators, Program Officers, logistics, finance and procurement
Reports Directly To: M&E Specialist and Manager WU Research Program
Works Directly With: Program Coordinators, Program Officers, logistics, finance and procurement
Knowledge and Experience:
- Bachelor’s
degree in Economics, Agricultural economics, Research methods, Statistical
computing or related social research field.
- 2 – 3 years
experience or more in youth empowerment or research programs
- Experience
should include conducting assessments and survey/research designs, program
design, selecting indicators, implementing monitoring plans, data
collection, data analysis, reporting and documentation of success stories.
- At least one
year experience in rural enterprise development targeting the youth
- Strong
knowledge of Excel and basic statistics is required; demonstrated skill in
statistical analysis, SPSS, MS Access and other databases formats strongly
desired.
- Experience
with randomized control trials (RCTs) methodology an added advantage.
- Strong English
writing skills required
- Work
experience in post-conflict zone
- Ability to
work effectively as part of team in a cross-cultural and politically
sensitive setting.
Success Factors
- Must
demonstrate interest in quantitative and qualitative research data handling
- Strong
inter-personal, cultural and problem solving skills.
- Excellent
communication and team-building techniques
- Ability to
thrive in a fast-paced, multi-tasking environment
- Demonstrated
strong understanding of cultural and social environment in the Rift Valley
- Willingness
and ability to work effectively with a wide variety of people
- Ability to
work as part of a team and coordinate with other project personnel
- Strong
computer and organizational skills
- Attention to
detail with strong analytical skills
- Willing to
work under pressure
- Proactive,
creative, problem-solver
Interested candidates who meet the above required qualifications
and experience Should submit on or before 8th July,2012 a cover letter,
detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) listing three professional references (including
a recent supervisor) to hrkenya@ke.mercycorps.org
Applicants must clearly
indicate on the email subject; “Application for the position of “Program
Officer – WU Research”.
Applications without this
subject heading will be disqualified.
Please do not attach any
certificates.
(ONLY Qualified
short-listed candidates will be contacted)
