Mercy Corps is a global humanitarian aid agency engaged in transitional environments that have experienced some sort of shock: natural disaster, economic collapse, or conflict.
Program / Department Summary:
With funding from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), Mercy Corps’ Nawiri Program is leading a consortium of Kenyan and international partners on a five year journey to sustainably reduce persistent acute malnutrition in Turkana and Samburu Counties of Kenya.
Through a phased approach that emphasizes evidence gap analysis, as well as partnership, learning, and co-creation, the program takes a robust county-centered design with government leadership, active engagement from communities, the private sector, and civil society.
Mercy Corps’ consortium brings together the global leadership, research capacity, technical expertise, and implementation experience necessary to partner with local institutions to test, adapt, and scale evidence-based solutions. Together we will sustainably reduce persistent acute malnutrition for vulnerable populations in Turkana and Samburu counties.
General Position Summary:
The Nawiri SSBC for Nutrition Resilience Advisor will provide strategic leadership in the design, development, and execution of a coherent SSBC for Nutrition Resilience Strategy that crosscuts all areas of the project.
During the first phase of Nawiri, s/he will ensure the program’s research and learning agenda is designed and routinely iterated to build a robust evidence base for informing strategic investments for driving social, structural, and behavioral change.
This will include championing a determined search for interventions that address social and structural determinants of persistent acute malnutrition that are both amenable to change and scalable, with particular attention to identifying opportunities for testing modifications to existing interventions or platforms.
Working across all program areas, and in close collaboration with the Learning and Research Teams, s/he will support the Nawiri team to routinely analyze emergent findings of research and learning activities through a systems lens with focus on implications for risks and opportunities related to SSBC.
Essential Job Functions
Vision and Strategy
- Support the Deputy Chief of Party (DCoP) by providing vision and strategy to the program approach and how SBCC integrates into the overall technical direction and implementation.
- Forge strong, institutional linkages and maintain a productive working relationship with USAID, Government of Kenya, the CRS consortium, PREG Partners, and other relevant partners in economic and market-related activities.
- Assist in defining and analyzing Nawiri practices and priorities across all partners; identifying opportunities for integration and synergies within other sectors such as nutrition, health, water systems, and governance.
- Collaborate with different program components including research, implementation, Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) and learning to drive overall effectiveness and coherence of program strategy from inception to scale up.
Technical Leadership
- In close collaboration with all Nawiri stakeholders, lead in the design, development, execution and iteration of a risk-informed SSBC strategy for improving nutrition resilience that is evidence-based, tailored to local realities, and responsive to risk and opportunities.
- Provide SSBC technical leadership for Nawiri consortium members and county partners, including frequent travel to Samburu and Turkana to provide on-site capacity building and technical assistance.
- Support in the design community-level interventions that target caretakers of children, household and community decision makers, farmers, and community members at large to increase demand for nutritious, diverse, and safe diets.
- Ensure that SBC materials are pre-tested, proven effective, and used efficiently.
- Work with the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager to measure and document progress and impact of SBC activities.
Program Support and Implementation
- Provide leadership and oversight in the development of risk-informed and shock-responsive SSBC tools, materials, and communication channels.
- Provide strategic, technical guidance and direction to the program, ensuring alignment with latest technical information, evidence and approaches in the SSBC field;
- Oversee programmatic and technical aspects related to SSBC activities ensuring SSBC efforts are evidence-based and coordinated, and in line with the Nawiri goal and principles.
- Transfer capacity of SSBC frameworks and approaches within the consortium and across the larger community of practice.
Team Management and Communication
- Work closely with the Systems Strengthening and Institutionalization Lead and team to cultivate county leaders’ commitments to policies and programs that support nutrition resilience and promote changes in social and structural conditions that contribute to persistent acute malnutrition.
- Work closely with the Strategic Learning Lead to drive the learning agenda within Nawiri and other partners in Turkana and Samburu, and the wider community of practice
program reports, work plans and budgets as appropriate. - In accordance with the Deputy Chief of Party, take on representation role on specific coordination forums. Communicate effectively to ensure the program is accurately represented.
- Any other task, as identified in consultation with supervisor
Security
- Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to promote and maintain systems that promote the safety and security of all team members. Ensure that gender specific needs and interests of program staff in relation to safety and security are identified and responded to appropriately.
Supervisory Responsibility:
- No direct supervisory responsibility. The SSBC Advisor directly supports Nawiri-based behavioral change staff. Technical oversight of field based activities is undertaken by Nawiri staff and partners.
Accountability
- Reports Directly To: Deputy Chief of Party
- Works Directly With: Strategic Learning Lead, Research Design Lead, Institutional Strengthening Lead, M&E team, partner agencies, local government, USAID and support departments
Knowledge and Experience
- A Master’s degree in Behavioral or Social Sciences, Public Health, Social Psychology, Communications, Marketing, Health Communication, Behavioral Economics, or other relevant behavioral/social science field or Bachelor’s degree with at least 7-10 years of additional relevant experience.
- At least 7-10 years of demonstrated experience in designing and implementing SSBC activities, preferably in northern Kenya. Demonstrated success in generating and executing innovative and effective social, structural and behavior change solutions.
- Experience applying a range of SBC approaches, including social marketing and nudges, or a willingness to learn to apply a range of new and innovative SBC approaches.
- Knowledge and understanding of local cultural practices, social networks, and gender and age dynamics in northern Kenya
- Systems thinker with strong analytical skills; flexible and creative in planning and problem solving
- Ability and willingness to travel to the field (Samburu and Turkana) at least 50% of the time.
- Professional fluency in English; Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Demonstrates patience, diplomacy, tenacity, compassion, determination and a sense of humor
- Excellent written and persuasive oral communication skills in English required.
- Ability to travel for field missions for 30-50% level of effort as needed.
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