USAID PEACE III Project Learning and Communications Specialist Careers – Mercy Corps

Job Title:          Learning and Communications Specialist
Organization: Mercy Corps
Project Name: USAID PEACE
III Project
Duty Station: Uganda
About Us:
Mercy Corps is an International non-profit organization that has been
operating in Uganda since 2006 and works to catalyze change makers within the
Ugandan private sector, civil society and government to create economically
dynamic, healthy and secure communities. Our works focus on building resilience
and enable economic growth, improve opportunities to attain better health and
nutrition, and improved governance and conflict management. We implement
programs in the northern districts of Pader, Kitgum, Agago, Lamwo, Kaabong,
Abim and Kotido with funding from USAID, USDA, Walmart Foundation, SDC, DFID as
well as other private donations.
About USAID PEACE III Project:
PEACE III, a 5 year USAID funded Program, implemented by Pact Kenya and
Mercy Corps is designed to strengthen cross border Conflict Management in the
Horn of Africa. It aims at strengthening horizontal and vertical linkages
within and between local, national, and regional conflict management
actors—working with and through local implementing partners to build the
capacity of community peace leaders and organizations. PEACE III operates in 5
countries namely Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan in what is
known as Karamoja and Somali Clusters. In Uganda, PEACE III is implemented in
Karamoja region with an operational office in Moroto.
Job Summary: The Learning
and Communications Specialist is a key position in Program quality assurance,
accountability, documentation and learning. The position will support program
design, implementation and utilization of information collected at different
stages. Under the direction of the Program Director for the Karamoja Cluster
(Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia), the position holder will be
responsible for documentation, learning and communication. The incumbent will
be responsible for documenting and cataloging stories/quotes for project
descriptions and qualitative data use that feed into needs of Mercy Corps, its
partners and donor reporting requirements.
Key Duties and
Responsibilities: 
Thought Leadership and Influence:
·        
Focus on key learnings in: conflict management,
peacebuilding through formal and informal structures; private sector engagement;
social impact; and other areas of interest to PEACE III project.
·        
Supplement program learning agendas by
developing compelling thought leadership pieces, sharing of lessons learned,
new innovations and best practices/case studies, both for external and internal
use.
·        
Capture and write up stories from the field to
articulate conflict and market system development and/or related sectors in
action and ‘how’ and ‘why’ of project interactions with peace building and
governance actors that can be shared internally and externally.
·        
Actively engage and collaborate with a range of
partners and stakeholders to stimulate joint inquiry, analysis and reflection
that lead to shared learning and collective action.
Learning and Knowledge Management:
·        
Offer support in developing revamped internal
document management systems and information flows, including the Mercy Corps’
shared document drive and others that aligns with the implementing partner’s
information management.
·        
Develop and manage streamlined knowledge
management system to efficiently manage the wealth of information produced by
PEACE III partners and relevant external stakeholders and ensure the strategic
use of this information to catalyze learning and evidence-based decision-making
across the agency
·        
Offer support in data collection, analysis,
organization and presentation;
·        
Actively participate in assessments, evaluations
and monitoring surveys. This will entail trainings and management of data
collectors, report writing and facilitating results discussion.
·        
Visit sites and partners to collect
supplementary data and conduct qualitative research both independently and in
teams.
·        
Establish database for partners working with the
program and work closely with the program team to monitor progress.
·        
Maintain an active advisory role with each
program team, train and help guide them towards robust and relevant data
collection.
·        
Support the implementation of the Institutional
strengthening plans with the PEACE III partners.
Communication:
·        
Take lead in the implementation of PEACE III
communication strategy;
·        
Provide oversight to program publications and
visual outputs such as presentations so they are of high quality and are
disseminated appropriately
·        
Take high quality outcome communicating program
photographs.
·        
Blogging and or compiling other written releases
or reports as required.
·        
Take lead in the documentation of case studies,
success stories, lessons learnt and other qualitative information for periodic
communication.
·        
Design and update program communication
materials and develop compelling thought leadership pieces, new innovations and
best practices, and similar communication products tailored for a specific
audience.
·        
Carry out documenting and recording beneficiary
interviews and sharing all learnings from the program.
·        
Work closely with program team members to
develop and maintain an excellent communication, and facilitate periodic
reflection and analysis of program monitoring information that feeds into
programming and learning.
Qualifications, Skills and
Experience: 
·        
The ideal candidate for the Mercy Corps Learning
and Communications Specialist job opportunity should a bachelor’s degree in
Mass Communications, Information Science, Economics, or any relevant field
·        
A minimum of four years of program management
and communications experience
·        
Excellent writing and analytical skills
·        
Previous experience with Peace building and
conflict management program
·        
Broad knowledge of quantitative and qualitative
data collection, reporting techniques.
·        
Excellent skills in Microsoft Office, adobe
publisher or similar publishing software.
·        
Fluent in both spoken and written English.
·        
Knowledge of Karamoja cluster is an added
advantage.
How to Apply:
All prospective Ugandans who wish to join Mercy Corps are encouraged to
send their applications via email including a cover letter clearly stating your
salary requirements, CV (with 3 referees), and copies of academic
qualifications/certificates to ug-mcjobs@mercycorps.org addressed to the Senior
HR and Legal Manager, Kampala Head Office on 4th Floor Embassy Plaza, Plot
1188-1190 Ggaba Road.
Deadline: 4th
November, 2016
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