PRIVATE SECTOR ENGAGEMENT & INVESTMENT SPECIALIST | JIJIGA

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 has been operating in Ethiopia since 2004. In partnership with civil society organizations, academic institutions, private sector, and the government, Mercy Corps Ethiopia has reached more than five million Ethiopians with interventions to save lives and build secure livelihoods. Our programs emphasize market-driven solutions, reinforce social bonds, and help communities build resilience to the impacts of climate change. Currently in six regional states – Afar, Amhara, Gambella, Oromia, Somali, and South Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR), and in Dire Dawa Administration and the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa – Mercy Corps Ethiopia is driven by the mission to contribute the emergence of a peaceful, resilient, and prosperous Ethiopia which is inclusive of youth and women. Our strategic directions focus in promoting inclusive and dynamic markets; promoting peace and social cohesion through strengthening formal/informal governance structures and citizen engagement; improved natural resource governance; and integrated humanitarian response.

Position Title: PRIVATE SECTOR ENGAGEMENT & INVESTMENT SPECIALIST

Duty Station: Warder/Galkayo (80%) Jijiga(20%), Somali Region

Open Position: 1

Safeguarding Risk Level: Medium

About Regional Livestock Program (RLP)

Mercy Corps has a significant depth of experience throughout the Horn of Africa, including an operational presence in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Somaliland. Within the Horn of Africa, Mercy Corps’ strategic focus is on dryland communities and programming in these areas include governance, social cohesion, market systems development, climate change adaptation interventions, among others. Through our work across a diversity of program activities, Mercy Corps supports the establishment and cultivation of resilient livelihoods.

The Regional Livestock Programme (RLP) is a collaborative effort led by implementing partners Helvetas, IGAD, and Mercy Corps. Its aim is to address the challenges that render smallholder and medium-scale market actors uncompetitive and highly susceptible to economic and environmental shocks. The program is designed based on the insights gained from the experience of implementing partners and a year-long analysis of regional livestock trade dynamics and livestock market systems in the pastoralist and agro-pastoralist ASAL regions of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.

RLP Phase I's overall objective is to enable pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in target trade corridors to have more climate-resilient, inclusive, and sustainable livelihoods. The emphasis is on increasing production and productivity of poor agro-pastoralist and pastoralist households, with a particular focus on peri-urban and rural women engaged in the livestock sector and youth. The program also aims to enhance domestic markets and trade while leveraging opportunities for regional integration, competitiveness, and cross-border collaboration along the targeted trade corridors. w, and for the future.

General Position Summary

The PSE and Investment Specialist, working under the supervision of Galkayo Corridor Coordinator and Ethiopia RLP Program Manager (PM), will provide all rounded support on the private sector engagement and investment intervention in the corridor. He/She will be responsible for leading and engaging private sector actors (Animal health, Feed/fodder, live animal trade, access to finance providers, agribusinesses and enterprises) in Galkakayo corridor. He/She will be responsible for assessing the existing capacity and incentives of livestock-related business enterprises in the target corridor. He will provide training and technical support as needed to build their management capacities. Under the guidance of the investment manager & RLP deputy director. The specialist will conduct assessments and research regarding service delivery, product appropriateness, institutional arrangements, markets for financial services, accessibility of services and new opportunities and models, among other responsibilities, across the financial sector in the project area. 

He/She will be the primary relationship holder with all private sector partners within the corridor and co-lead the establishment of Corridor Working Groups & co-develop Corridor Upgrading and Investment Plans with the guidance of Galkayo coordinator and RLP Technical lead.  He/She will also identify or facilitate the formation of relevant industry associations that increase voice and participation by livestock relevant MSMEs. He/She will also coordinate with RLP Program Managers, Corridor coordinator, Officers to organize training events, identify learnings and successes for documentation and sharing MSD/PSE best practices, support development or adaptation of tools and guidance documents, identify and support markets-related research activities, lead stakeholder and technical knowledge sharing events, and liaising with relevant stakeholder networks, and local partners/institutions. 

Essential Job Responsibilities

STRATEGY AND VISION

• Co-develop and implement Galkayo Trade Corridor development strategy, providing guidance and support as necessary to other team members in implementing the RLP’s strategy for leveraging private sector involvement within the corridor.
• Provide strategic leadership and direction on the Corridor’s strategy to improve private sector development.
• Drive the creation of partnerships between private sector actors, including attracting and incentivizing the public and private sector to invest in RLP initiatives and interventions.
• Coordinate with the Livestock corridor coordinator, RLP Deputy Director/Technical Lead, Women’s Economic Empowerment Advisor and Private sector engagement and Investment manager to design and lead access to finance and market interventions that reach or benefit target populations.
• Coordinate with Galkayo & Togwajale Trade Corridor Coordinators to expand B2B networks and create opportunities for joint learning.
• Facilitate research relevant to private sector-facing challenges, and trends to identify opportunities for interventions that grow the private sector in the livestock value chain.
• Liaise with the Results Measurement (RM) team on the development of appropriately tailored research tools and methods for the collection and collation of relevant intervention information from the field.

INTERVENTION MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE Galkayo CORRIDOR Coordinator

• In collaboration with Investment manager, technical lead, LT Corridor Coordinator and other RLP corridor team formulate strategies to develop private sector actors within the Galkayo Corridor and seek opportunities to work as per the RLP sector strategy. Support development of intervention strategies and implementation procedures in a participatory manner with key stakeholders.
• Assist Trade Corridor Coordinator & RLP manager the development of operational plans and budgets, ensuring sequencing, layering and integration of interventions on both sides of national borders.
• Facilitate the creation of partnerships between private sector actors, including attracting and incentivizing the public and private sector to invest in RLP initiatives and interventions.
• Coordinate with the RLP trade corridor coordinator, field team, RLP Deputy Director, Women’s EE Advisor and Investment Manager to design and lead access to finance and market interventions that reach or benefit target populations.
• Help identify private sector failures and pressure points to render a given market more functional and efficient, in a manner that will benefit the program targets.
• Assist in updating and supervising results measurement aspects of the intervention activities
• Develop products and campaigns to promote private sector-led investments in RLP interventions.
• Assist the sub-awards and grant teams in developing relevant agreements, MoUs, ToRs and any other administrative requirements for the interventions.
• Identify opportunities for cross-border learning and conduct regular field visits in collaboration with Somalia team to ensure proper implementation of activities.
• Remain up to date of developments relevant to livestock value chain sectors/markets/commodity in the respective corridor in both sides of the corridor (Ethiopia and Somalia).
• Contribute refinement and adaptation of intervention strategies in light of participant and stakeholder requests and changing needs and opportunities, within Galkayo corridor.

POLICY AND REPRESENTATION WORK

• Coordinate with local partners and stakeholders to develop and implement a Corridor influence and advocacy agenda, engaging with local and national institutions, as well as private sector actors, to drive livestock market systems discussions, development, and implementation.
• Manage and update stakeholder management plan.

SECURITY MANAGEMENT

• Work closely with the country team’s security focal point to develop and maintain systems that promote the safety and security of all team members.
• Ensure that programs are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security context.
• Regularly report field security focal person for any incidents using incident reporting procedures and templates

MONITORING & EVALUATION (M&E) AND REPORTING

• Work closely with the programme MEL team members to ensure that RLP teams working within the Corridor feed into M&E systems and processes and that data is collected, analyzed, and used to inform ongoing adaptation of programme strategies and delivery approaches.
• Work with country-level Program managers to assess and analyze impact and adaptively manage the programme to meet results.

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 AND PARTNERS

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and partners 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.

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.

Supervisory Responsibility

• Not applicable

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Galkayo Trade Corridor Coodinator & Ethiopia Program Manager for the Regional Livestock Programme

Works Directly with: Trade corridor Coordinator, Investment manager, PSEI Specialist, Deputy director, MEL/MRM team members, RLP Compliance & Finance team members.

Knowledge and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Agri-business, economics, agro-economics, is preferred or another related field.
• A minimum of 3 years of experience implementing entrepreneurship, private sector engagement, market systems development, or investment/incubation interventions. Experience required with either banks, microfinance institutions, or private business.
• Demonstrated experience working, partnering with, and brokering PPPs or B2B partnerships with private businesses of diverse sizes including national and multi-national firms. Experience with business planning and analysis is a plus.
• Report writing; ability to analyze institutions and needs, training skills, ability to identify problems are required.
• Experience coordinating multiple activities, working with cross country teams, developing synergies and creating opportunities for collaboration.
• The position requires a candidate with excellent communication skills, a relationship builder, and dynamic innovator. Experience or contextual knowledge of working in the border areas and understanding cross border local political economics between Ethiopia and Somalia is preferred.
• Demonstrated proficiency with the MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) required.
• Persuasive written and oral communication in English, including report writing; competency in a relevant local language beneficial.
• Qualified female candidate is highly recommended to apply
• Experience of working in Somali region is preferred.

Success Factors

The PSEI Specialist will have exceptional business engagement and partnership skills, as well as the ability to strengthen the capacity of private sector. In addition to technical agribusiness expertise, He/She will also have proven experience with cross-cultural teams, capacity building of partner institutions and of individual staff, with strong mentoring skills. Multi-tasking, prioritizing, problem solving and simultaneous attention to detail and strategic vision are essential.  He/She will be conversant in a diversity of cross-cutting technical themes, including market system development/private sector engagement, governance, climate change, social cohesion and women empowerment, among others. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written / verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position will be based in Jigjiga (20%), and Warder/Galkayo corridor (80%). Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values always and in all in-country venues.

Ongoing Learning

This project will be adaptive based on learning and evidence emerging from program interventions and research.

Additionally, in support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

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

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

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 is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC and have signed on to the Interagency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.

All qualified individuals are invited to apply for the advertised position. All applications, including a CV, three references, and all applicable official papers, must be sent electronically.

Only candidates that are short-listed will be acknowledged and called for interviews.

“Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer promoting gender, equity and    diversity. Qualified female and young candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We are committed to empower women and youth.”

DEADLINE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: May 12 / 4:00 PM