MARKET SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT SPECIALISTS– EKN

Position Status: Contingent 

PROGRAM/DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

Mercy Corps is one of the four partners in a seven-year program, entitled Expanded Livelihoods Improvement for Women and Youth (Expanded LI-WAY) Project is prepared to expand the current LI-WAY program. The expanded LI-WAY program will be financed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) in Ethiopia. EKN is interested in creating jobs and improving the incomes of poor women and youth in Addis Ababa through expanding the current LI-WAY program. The program utilizes a market Systems Development approach to contribute to sustainable poverty reduction and social stability in Addis Ababa. LI-WAY will work to mobilize, catalyze and enable market-based solutions to create jobs and increase income for women and youth.  The consortium, led by SNV, additionally comprises Techno serve and Save the Children. The program aims to improve market functions, support-service effectiveness, and the business environment. Mercy Corps will lead all activities related to Labor Market system development.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Market Systems Development Specialist will be responsible to facilitate the implementation of intervention/s primarily across all Labor Sector activities and in close relation with Growth, Microenterprise, Skills and other potential Market systems among private and public sector partners across all sub cities of Addis Ababa.

The Market System Development Specialist will work closely with Mercy Corps Program Team leader, EKN Coordinator, MSD Advisors and Market Systems Development and monitoring, learning and knowledge management advisor/s primarily with in Mercy Corps and across consortium partners. She/he will engage in implementation of live interventions and an ongoing deep sector analysis to identify intervention ideas and provide inputs, data and information to design new intervention activities.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

The Market Systems Development Specialist is responsible for overseeing the implementation of ongoing and new priority intervention areas primarily in Labor Market systems and ensuring cross sectoral integration with other sectors led by other consortium partners.

Key job functions include the following: –

·       Develop deep understanding and mastery of ‘Economic & Markets Development facilitation’ including coaching, relationship building, communicating, and entrepreneurialism/business understanding and innovating

·       Follow up and update intervention implementation progress against work plans

·       Monitor, follow up and update progress of public and private implementing partner’s work plans against achievement and report against key monitoring and result measurement plans

Essential job Functions includes: –

·       Facilitate implementation of employment and labor market information opportunities amongst women and youth in Addis Ababa.  Facilitate activities to connect women and youth to start and/or continue employment/entrepreneurship opportunities by facilitating linkage with employers’, relevant stakeholders and other system actors.

·       Work closely across consortium partner team members to conduct assessment across selected sectors/market systems and with a special focus on employment related but not limited to job matching, childcare and other priority functions in Addis Ababa, including understanding constraints related to unemployment, technology to enhance employment and related functions and identify potential private and public sector firms for partnership

·       Plan and organize timely implementation of intervention concept note among public and private sector partners in close coordination with Intervention lead advisors

·       Manage relationship with partners in conducting capacity assessment, track performance, ensure activities are in line to address systemic problem, identify potential intervention areas for expansion and scale up

·       Support in monitoring, evaluation, learning, research and communication activities across the labor sector interventions primarily and in cross sectoral intervention activities

·       Organize lesson learning workshops and other events and proper documentation for future programmatic actions

·       Compile and update LI-WAY filing system, and other related documentation

·       Continuously ensure integration of activities of wage employment within the labor market and with other sectors for LI-WAY.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

·       Good understanding of Markets Systems Development (aka Making Markets Work for the poor-M4P) approach and facilitation including coaching, relationship building, communicating, open and willing to work on new initiatives.

·       Familiar with all aspects of the relevant market systems including key actors, job matching service providers, information service providers, employers of different scale, micro-finance institutions (MFIs), banks, Insurance’s providers, inputs suppliers, producers, traders, intermediary and terminal markets governance frameworks (formal and informal); and all support markets and functions;

·       Bachelor’s degree in economics, business administration, agribusiness, or other related field, or commensurate private sector or field experience is required

·       Minimum of 3 years’ experience in private sector or working with other agencies in market systems facilitation, livelihood programs, rural development, agribusiness or financial services

·       Excellent communication, organizational and prioritization skills and the ability to multi-task and support and/or fill multiple positions at one time.

·       Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work both independently and cooperatively with team members.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

·       Fluent in English and Amharic

·       Business minded, entrepreneurial, adaptive, curious, great problem-solving skills and results oriented.

·       Excellent communication skills, facilitation, and networking skills with a wide range of private, partner, Government and NGO-sector actors

·       Computer literate especially in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)