Jobs at:
Mercy Corps

Vacancy title:
Adolescent Girls Specialist

Deadline of this Job:
29th September, 2016

Duty Station:
Uganda

Job details:
Project Name: PEPFAR Safe Work, Life Skills and Market Connections to Decrease HIV Risk for Young Women (SKY) Project

Reports to: Senior Program Manager

About Mercy Corps:
Mercy Corps is an International NGO that exists to alleviate poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. Mercy Corps has been fully registered in Uganda as an operational NGO. Currently Mercy Corps has an office in Kampala and is implementing Food Security programs which comprise of Water and Sanitation, Livelihood and Agriculture and Conflict Mitigation Management Program in North and North Eastern Uganda. 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 PEPFAR DREAMS Project:
Mercy Corps was recently awarded funding for a 2-year PEPFAR DREAMS program, Cultivating Safe Work, Life Skills and Market Connections to Decrease HIV Risk for Young Women (SKY) seeking to address the growing rate of HIV/AIDS among young women (ages 19 -24) who engage in transactional sex in the Gulu, Lira and Oyam Districts. SKY will reduce 4,500 young women’s reliance on transactional sex by providing them the skills, confidence and connections needed to achieve steady employment.

Job Summary: The Adolescent Girls Specialist will be responsible for providing insight and technical support in the design, implementation and monitoring of program activities, will play a key role in relationship building with community stakeholders and will be responsible for ensuring educational and livelihoods focused activities are attuned with girls’ needs and realities. This role is vital in ensuring the SKY program successfully provides young women-centered, locally relevant activities resulting in increased livelihood development, young women’s empowerment and improved food security for the three regions.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Technical Capacity:

• Work directly with the Senior Program Managers, Program Officers and CBO partners to ensure all outreach and activities are sensitive to the needs, challenges and constraints placed on girls in each community
• Strengthen the capacity of local staff and CBOs through technical support, ongoing training, and conduct regular meetings with staff and CBOs to monitor the progress of activities and address any challenges.
• Offer technical support on gender integration in various market facilitation activities within the urban centers geared towards vocational training, micro-franchise opportunities and entrepreneurism. Provide general capacity building for young women in urbanizing contexts in the areas of business, life skills and health.

Activity Design:

• Work closely with each District’s Program Officer to identify and strategically engage key gatekeepers in each community, which will contribute to the success of activities
• Offer technical support and guidance on key program activities – young women’s recruitment/training, educational subsidies, business start-up/expansion, market facilitation and community sensitization
• Actively participate actively in the design of the livelihoods and education focused activities to ensure young women are actively engaged in program activities
• Provide technical advice on how to recruit and establish a young women centered safe space program in each District
• Offer support in community mapping activities to locate safe spaces for program activities, referral pathways for health and other resources, market/business opportunities in each community
• Establish current awareness of the importance of gender-sensitive programming among target participant groups including traditional leaders, government officials, health workers and youth group participants.

Monitoring & Evaluation:

• Develop systems to help recruit, track and retain young women in training and livelihoods activities
• Assess program components for gaps and additional needs, including outlining potential recommendations for improvement
• Maximize program participation and retention by conducting ongoing monitoring and evaluation activities
• Draft reports on activities and contribute to regular donor reports
• Work in close collaboration with the Mercy Corps technical support units, set up gender-focused elements of the SKY monitoring system and work closely with M&E team to ensure sex and age disaggregated data is collected and that gender analysis is applied.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The ideal candidate for the Mercy Corps Adolescent Girls Specialist job opportunity should a Bachelor’s degree in relevant subject, Master's Degree preferred
• At least four years’ experience working with adolescent young women, including facilitating trainings and livelihood focused activities targeting adolescent young women
• Broad knowledge and understanding of gender inequality, and issues surrounding violence against young women;
• Strong understanding of gender dynamics in pastoralist communities
• Previous exposure and experience working in the sectors of sexual and gender based violence, harmful traditional practices, the role of women in community-led processes, especially around livelihoods and education
• Previous experience designing and adapting programmatic tools to address gender issues or to promote positive gender outcomes
• Experience conducting research and analysis on gender issues, including leading focus groups or research on sensitive issues

Job application procedure
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.