Liaison Officer with Partners Vacancy-Job Ref: JKNEMC/0403/202471

Liaison Officer with Partners Vacancy-Job Ref: JKNEMC/0403/202471
Niamey (Niger)
JOB DESCRIPTION

Mercy Corps is an international humanitarian and development NGO whose mission is to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build safe, productive communities around the world. Mercy Corps has been operational in Niger since September 2005 and in Burkina Faso since 2016. It works in partnership with the Government and the Nigerien and Burkinabè communities to contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of the country.

Mercy Corps has been present in the Sahel since 2005, with ongoing programs in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria. In these countries, we focus on a multitude of sectors based on local priorities and needs: food security, livelihoods, governance, conflict mitigation and humanitarian response. We aim to stimulate economic opportunities, catalyze inclusive and accountable governance systems, break the cycle of food and water insecurity and address immediate needs, while unlocking the potential to build for the future. Our work contributes to resilience to shocks and stresses and enables individuals, households and communities to achieve long-term, inclusive and equitable development. Mercy Corps’ vision for change encourages the private sector, government and civil society to work together to create meaningful and lasting change.

For its “Sahel Collaboration & Communication (USAID SCC)” program funded by USAID, Mercy Corps is providing a Partner Liaison Officer position . The Sahel Collaboration & Communication program encourages collaboration, learning and adaptation (CLA) for resilience for collective impact between USAID, implementing partners, government institutions and research institutes. This program also strengthens local capacities for learning and adaptation, and USAID SCC improves RCLA among all stakeholders to improve development results and help USAID better communicate those results.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Under the hierarchical supervision of the Resilience Senior Advisor, the Partner Liaison Officer is a member of the USAID SCC team in Niger and will work with the USAID SCC program team, with the primary (USAID IPs) and secondary partners of implementation of projects funded by USAID as well as national institutions in charge of resilience to ensure and maintain regular contacts and the development of partnership relationships necessary for the implementation of collaboration, collective learning and adaptation in USAID project intervention areas.

She will provide support for the organization of collaborative frameworks supporting these partnerships as well as the material and technical organization of events hosted by USAID SCC in close collaboration with the Program team. It will provide all the necessary support for the functioning of working groups/collaboration frameworks, for the development/updating of joint action plans (CAP) and will ensure regular monitoring of their implementation with the Partners. It will be based in Niamey.

She will be responsible in particular for creating synergies between USAID IPs, national partner institutions and facilitating project ownership by implementation stakeholders in Niger.

Perform any other task assigned by the hierarchical supervisor.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

FACILITATE NETWORKING, JOINT PLANNING AND FUNCTIONING OF RCLA COLLABORATION FRAMEWORKS

Facilitate and facilitate liaison and collaboration between primary and secondary partners of USAID SCC in general, particularly with USAID IPs, state institutions, research institutions,
Support technical support and monitoring of collaboration frameworks led by USAID SCC (WG DO, RCLA collaboration meetings, thematic round tables, etc.) with an emphasis on contacts with partners and preparation of events,
Facilitate the identification of nodes or new opportunities for collaboration as well as the development and/or updating of PACs within USAID IPs and partners.
Identify and develop opportunities for collaboration with various groups of actors from civil society, youth/women’s groups, secondary partner collectives/associations of USAID IPs.
Ensure regular updating of the USAID SCC primary and secondary partner database
Develop and maintain a biannual/quarterly calendar of RCLA collaboration events facilitated by USAID SCC to improve strategic planning and coordination with USAID IPs, USAID and State institutions.
Support the organization of high-level annual or thematic RCLA events bringing together national resilience institutions, USAID, PTFs, USAID IPs to promote collective learning, adaptation, adoption in national strategies or scaling up best practices and promising initiatives identified through collaboration.

ENSURE MONITORING OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND CONTINUOUS UPDATE OF THE PAC DEVELOPED AS PART OF THE RCLA COLLABORATION BY USAID IPs

Promote, support the organization of RCLA collaboration mechanisms/meetings between USAID IPs, national resilience institutions and other USAID SCC stakeholders for monitoring, evaluation of the implementation of CAMPs.
Conduct periodic analyzes of the local social, economic, political framework and priorities, national strategy, approaches and identify the potential impact on collaboration between USAID IPs and the implementation of CAPs.
Collect feedback from resilience institutions regarding collaboration with USAID IPs, USAID SCC with a view to improving the visibility of USAID interventions and the quality of the partnership.
Inform its hierarchy of the information needs of state supervisory institutions and, where appropriate, collect data in order to document its needs for information received from state supervisory authorities;
Work with partners, in particular the leads of the various working groups, to monitor the implementation of the CAPs in accordance with the commitments made during their development.

ENSURING REPORTING AND COLLECTIVE LEARNING ON RCLA COLLABORATION

Ensure regular updating of trackers Who does What? Or ? through the RCLA collaboration frameworks led by USAID SCC;
Support the identification of good practices and promising resilience initiatives that emerge from RCLA collaboration frameworks led by USAID SCC;
Update on the Drive of the documentation relating to the structuring, support and monitoring of collaboration frameworks led by USAID SCC eDB6e12 u7Jj1
Provide timely information, notably through flash briefings or reports on developments in the social-economic-political context and trends, adaptations to national resilience strategies to regularly inform the implementation of CAPs.
Ensure reporting on RCLA collaboration events facilitated by USAID SCC
Contribute to the capture and documentation of lessons learned/good practices/promising practices/successful adaptations from RCLA collaboration within USAID IPs and primary and secondary partners.
Contribute to the production of quarterly project reports, learning notes and human interest stories focused on RCLA collaboration for collective impact on resilience.
Ensure the maintenance of documents (collaboration framework meeting reports, PAC, TORs, socio-political context analysis notes, quarterly agendas, PAC monitoring report, etc.) relating to the collaboration frameworks led by USAID SCC, the partners and their implementation up to date on the internal drive.

REPRESENTATION and TRAINING

Conduct yourself in a professional manner that lends credibility to Mercy Corps and is not detrimental to its humanitarian mission;
Represent Mercy Corps, in accordance with the recommendations of the supervisor, to national institutions and partner IPs;
Maintain good relationships with technical services, and IPs and their structures operating in the project intervention area, by keeping informed of ongoing and planned activities, specific intervention problems and partnership opportunities;
Direct Supervisory Responsibility: N/A

Works directly with: The Senior Resilience Advisor and indirectly with other members of the project in order to collaborate closely for the success of the activities.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Have a minimum university degree of Bac +3 in international or social relations or affairs, or any other equivalent diplomas;
Have professional experience of at least 3 years with NGOs intervening in the areas of emergency and/or development;
Have at least 2 years’ experience in Liaison with government and local and/or international partners;
Have in-depth knowledge and skills in Microsoft Office applications
Knowledge of protocol, government structures and politics of Niger;
Be comfortable facilitating working group meetings, communications, workshops with government officials, USAID, CSOs and USAID partners
Have a good knowledge of the dynamics of RISEII in Niger and the main factors and areas

Have good command of IT tools (Google, Word, Excel, Access, etc.);
Have good writing, design, analysis and synthesis and report writing skills;
Knowledge of English is an asset.

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