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.

This program is implemented in Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kericho and Molo/Nakuru counties of Rift Valley Province.

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:

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

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)