ADOLESCENT GIRLS PROGRAM OFFICER

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, hardship, and 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 Ethiopia exists to alleviate suffering and poverty by helping people build secure, productive, and sustainable livelihoods. Since 2004, we have worked in rural, peri-urban, and urban areas in five regional states - Somali, Oromia, Afar, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples, Amhara, and the capital city of Addis Ababa. Our mission is to foster populations that are financially stable, healthy, nourished, educated, and informed, within a context where natural resources are accessed, shared, and utilized sustainably, so people can lead productive livelihoods. Driven by local needs, our programs provide individuals, agencies, and businesses with the tools and support they need to transform their lives, businesses, and communities.

Our partners include government, academic institutions, development and private sector actors, civil societies, and participating public. We strive to strengthen all of these institutions in the hopes that one day they will become self-reliant. We engage in both development and humanitarian work and seek to integrate approaches, programs, and geographies as much as possible. We employ a systems-strengthening approach to improve human and social capital; and to link, strengthen, and expand systems critical to improving household incomes and resilience at the individual, community, and systems level. We use multiple approaches that; integrate components geographically and programmatically; are cross-cutting and it participates youth, women, and the disabled; are collaborative; and use adaptive management to achieve tangible, scalable, coherent, and consistent positive results. We will continue to deliver and adapt our systems-strengthening approach; to improve skills and increase employment and entrepreneurship, particularly for youth and women; to improve incomes, savings, health, and nutrition; and to ensure the sustainability of the natural resource environments critical to extensive livestock production systems. When humanitarian crises occur, we will continue to employ our systems thinking to provide and encourage others to provide life-saving responses that also protect development gains. Within our office, we will work to secure funds critical to sustaining our core operations and to provide flexibility for exploring new opportunities.

General Position Summary

Adolescent girls program Officer plays a crucial role at Mercy Corps Ethiopia by implementing a strategic, curriculum-based intervention for adolescent girls and their male and female care givers. This position is responsible for ensuring the technical quality and integration of these and addressing related concerns through direct service and referrals.  Adolescent girls program officer plays a key role in Mercy Corps Ethiopia by providing a separate privational intervention for adolescent girls. The position holder will ensure these activities technical quality and integration across humanitarian programs and identify and address related concerns through direct service and referral.  The Adolescent girls program officer will contribute to providing curriculum-based life skill sessions for adolescent girls, capacity-building training, lead organizational and staff transformation on protection related concerns, and represent Mercy Corps in relevant coordination forums and platforms.  Adolescent girls program Officer will also provide to capacity-building training, facilitate curriculum-based Psychosocial support, and discussions and skill building sessions in the Women Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS) for Adolescent girls and their care givers. Additionally, they will lead the organizational and staff transformation on protection and represent Mercy Corps in relevant coordination forums and platforms at the field office level.  The position holder will participate in assessments and concept note writing. They are also responsible for developing effective and timely budget and activity reports. They also develop work plans, managing procurement plans that include prompt initiation of Purchase Requests (PR), overseeing procurement processes, and ensuring timely delivery to the target participants. If necessary, the position holder may travel to other field offices to provide support in similar and related protection roles.

Position Description:  Adolescent girls program officer

Location - Abala (Afar Region) and Gode (Somali region)

Position Status Full-time

Salary Level

Current Team Member

Safeguarding Risk Level: 3

 Essential Job Responsibilities
Strategy & Vision

• - Collaborate and engage proactively with all Mercy Corps team members to ensure the effective protection mainstreaming, social integrity, and VAWG/CRSV concerns across all humanitarian programs.
• - Work alongside relevant government and non-governmental actors to effectively address protection, VAWG, and social norm issues, informing project designs and activities.

Program Management

• Engage in assessments and contribute to the intervention strategy based on valuable feedback received from adolescent girls in the program.
• Adhere strictly to VAWG/CRSV guiding principles when interacting with adolescent girls and their parents or caregivers.
• Provide formal and informal supervision and training to mentors to ensure the delivery of high-quality life skills sessions.
• Collaborate with implementing partners and community leaders to develop selection criteria for engaging adolescent girls in life skills curriculum sessions.
• Assist in adapting the Adolescent girls Curriculum to the local community context.
• Conduct capacity-building training related to Adolescent Girls Programming for mentors, community leaders, implementing partners, and parents or caregivers.
• Directly engage with adolescent girls and parents as needed and work with mentors to ensure program quality.
• Coordinate with Women Social Affairs to provide case management services for adolescent girls when necessary.
• Develop monthly and weekly activity plans for mentors.
• Monitor supply and logistical needs of the Adolescent Girls' safe space and on the life skill sessions.
• Enhance relationships with relevant VAWG/CRSV program stakeholders, community leaders, and parents or caregivers to promote communication and collaboration.
• Strengthen coordination by working closely with local actors, including schools, WSA, health, and legal entities.
• Participate in monitoring and evaluation activities, including assessments and surveys.

Team Management

• Provide technical guidance for field-level social workers and community volunteers including on-the-job training.
• Supports and liaises with all project teams and provides capacity building including training and coaching on protection mainstreaming, protection, and VAWG/CRSV, and other related on-the-job training and capacity building.
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback formally and informally.
• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.

Influence & Representation

• Make sure to coordinate with government, development, and humanitarian actors to promote participation, protection, risk mitigation, and prevention of VAWG/CRSV.
• Represent Mercy Corps in various platforms, networks, and coordination forums that focus on VAWG/CRSV, and protection.
• Always upholds the image and values of Mercy Corps

PROGRAM AND PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT

• Provide humanitarian teams with technical support, coaching, and capacity building to ensure high-quality, strong, and participatory programs.
• Conduct assessments by collecting data to determine community needs.
• Appropriately document community meeting minutes and GBVIMS data for further use in new initiatives.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

• The protection Specialist will have the responsibility of providing guiding and on job coaching for the VAWG/CRSV response officers.
• The protection specialist is responsible for providing technical support to all project teams to be able to properly cascade the protection related service like Psychosocial support, life skill session on the adolescent girls program, skill building, WGSS interventions and referrals, and protection mainstreaming concerns during day-to-day activity implementation; as well as responsible to providing capacity-building training.

SECURITY

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
• Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of policies.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, and other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in designing, monitoring, and evaluating our field projects.

§  Reports Directly To: Protection specialist

§  Technical Reporting line: Protection specialist

§ Closely work with Humanitarian Programs MEL Manager, protection advisor, Program manager, area program manager, etc.

Minimum Qualification and Transferable Skills

Knowledge and Experience

• BA degree in Sociology, Psychology, Social work, or other similar social science field of studies.
• Minimum four years’ work experience in protection, and VAWG/CRSV-related roles both in development and humanitarian settings.
• Demonstrated experience in different Adolescent girls program strategies, Girl shine and report writing,
• Demonstrated experience in qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis methods and Microsoft word and excel.
• Experience conducting training and mentorship for other team members and other partners.
• Must be fluent both local language and English.

 Success Factors:

The Protection Advisor will demonstrate experience-managing programs in the field, further enhancing their ability to adjust technical theories to meet real-world complexities. The individual should have the proven ability to influence donors, partners, and peer organizations. The role requires strong interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills and a level of emotional intelligence proficiency that quickly builds and maintains productive relationships across teams.

LIVING CONDITIONS / ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

The position is based in Afar, Zone 2, and in Somali, Gode, Ethiopia and it requires up to 85% travel to woreda and kebles. Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves professionally and respect local laws, customs, and Mercy Corps policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues. Fostering a safe and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps’ vision. Mercy Corps is merit based equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating a wide-ranging environment.

Ongoing Learning

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.

Merit based equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal-opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek solid backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can collectively become stronger and have a sustained global impact. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where merit based equal employment opportunities are available to all.

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 the 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 work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves professionally, respect local laws and customs, and 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 interested candidates are encouraged to apply for the position advertised.  All applications submitted to the Mercy Corps office include a CV, three references, and all relevant official documents. Applications will not be returned and will not be retained for future recruitment efforts.  To ensure fairness to all applicants’ inquiries is not permitted.

Only candidates that are shortlisted will be acknowledged and called for interviews.

                             DEADLINE FOR ALL APPLICATIONS: July 13, 2025