Location: Kathmandu with frequent travel to program field offices
Position Status: Full-time, Regular
Salary Level: M1

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps is expected to begin a new program to enhance food and nutrition security, reduce future humanitarian caseload and improve the resilience of communities to recurrent shocks in the Karnali Province in Nepal, on or around October 1, 2020. The program will be a Multi-Year Emergency Food Security Activity funded by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Affairs, and implemented in 6 districts (Mugu, Jumla, Kalikot, Surkhet, Achham, and Dailekh, with cluster hubs in Surkhet and Jumla) in the Karnali River Basin area. The new program, called “Building Hope Along the Karnali River Basin (Bhakari)”, is somewhat built upon many of the successes of the Nepal team’s previous Food for Peace program which ended in January 2020, the PAHAL program, but with some new districts and a much heavier emphasis on emergency response. It includes program components of agriculture and market systems, disaster risk reduction, water for productive use, natural resources management, and a large emphasis on a gender and social inclusion approach, all with a highly integrated multi-sectoral approach.

General Position Summary

The Knowledge Management Specialist will lead knowledge management and learning activities of the Bhakari program. S/he will work directly under the MEL Director and work in close coordination with the Chief of Party (CoP), Deputy CoP, Regional Resilience Director and the program’s sector specific component leads. S/he will support MEL Director to implement Bhakari’s learning strategy. The position requires a high quality writing skills which can be used to write/review to finalize consistent high quality reports and manuals that are developed as learning products. He/she will work with Bhakari team in the development of best practices, case studies, lessons learned, success stories and other documentation.

As gender and social inclusion (GESI), safeguarding, governance and environmental sensitivity are cross-cutting and core components of the all MC programs, the Knowledge management & Learning Specialist is required to own these components and ensure these components are integrated into his/her work area.

Essential Job Responsibilities

The specific duties and responsibilities of the Knowledge Management and Learning Specialist include, but are not limited to, the following:

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative viewpoints are welcomed.
• Set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to program strategy development.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

• Lead implementation of Bhakari Knowledge management and Learning activities.
• Work closely with Bhakari Senior Team, Regional Resilience Director and others to identify Bhakari learning agenda and ensure follow up
• Document technologies and methodologies applied through different components like participatory vulnerability assessments, resilience pathways, multi-use water system and other risk reducing measures.
• Identify and document learning opportunities and innovative approaches utilized within the program.
• Lead knowledge management and learning workshops at all levels to ensure partners’ buy-in into the program’s “systems approach” and their compliance. Capture lessons learned from the collaborative learning and adaptive sessions, at the district, cluster and central level.
• Build the capacity of all relevant team members to develop, review, and maintain an excellent KML system, including regular reflection and analysis of program monitoring data and production of evidence-based recommendations and reports.
• Create knowledge management portal for the Bhakari Program.

COMMUNICATION AND DOCUMENTATION

• Finalize Bhakari Branding and Marking strategy following USAID’s guidelines and ensure follow up.
• Lead the development and dissemination of communication and learning products to showcase project successes and results.
• Act as a focal person to develop, take approval and disseminate multiple new visibility and learning products (such as success stories, case stories, photo story/exposure blog, videos, thematic one-pagers, infographics, key results learning pieces, marketing pieces in coordination with Bhakari team, Mercy Corps team and USAID/Nepal.
• Compile different sections and finalize reports such as quarterly and annual results report following USAID guidelines and ensuring high quality
• Provide support in the development of a manuals, guidelines and training packages

ACCOUNTABILITY TO BENEFICIARIES

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.
• Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

FINANCE & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

• Ensure adherence to program management minimum standards in carrying out his/her duties, advising and supporting other staff in the same as required
•  Ensure all interventions adhere to Mercy Corps’ Gender Policy, Do No Harm principles, and beneficiary accountability standards
• Ensure compliance with donor and Mercy Corps regulations related to emergency programming.

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.

OTHERS

• Ensure proper integration of safeguarding and GESI aspects into MEL planning and implementation.
• Mercy Corps as a humanitarian agency is expected to respond as and when crisis and humanitarian situation engulfs. As an MC employee all staff are expected to be part of humanitarian and emergency response in addition to their regular roles and responsibilities.
• Conduct himself/herself both professionally and personally in such a manner as to bring credit to MercyCorps and not to jeopardize its humanitarian mission.
• Other duties as assigned by Supervisor and or Country Director.

Supervisory Responsibility: None

Accountability

Reports Directly to: Bhakari MEL Director
Works Directly with: Bhakari MEL team, Technical Program Managers at center, cluster and district level, SBCC Manager and Mercy Corps team

Knowledge and Experience

• Minimum Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Mass Communication, Social Sciences, International Development or related field is required
• At least five years of relevant field or management experience of complex, multi-dimensional programming
• Relevant knowledge management experience as follows:
  a. At least three years of work experience in designing and implementing knowledge management and learning activities
  b. Experience in survey and research design, both quantitative & qualitative
  c. Demonstrated skill in training and knowledge management capacity development of field staff
  d. Demonstrated skill in coordinating information needs across technical sectors
  e. Experience of translating evidence into action.
• Demonstrated experience and ability to professionally and appropriately represent the organization and negotiate with a diverse range of government officials, local organizations, donors and other groups for outcomes in the best interest of program implementation
• Effective verbal & written communication, multi-tasking and prioritization skills. Fluency in written and spoken English and Nepali required
• Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to follow procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members is required
• Effective writing and organizational skills for report development, complete analyses and make presentations.
• Previous experience working on USAID funded programs strongly preferred

Success Factors

The successful Knowledge Management and Learning Specialist will be conscientious, with an ability to make excellent judgment. S/he will display an entrepreneurial spirit that is both creative and flexible. S/he will combine strong communication skills, creativity, initiative, participatory leadership and tactful decisiveness to assist in the development and implementation of Bhakari knowledge management strategy. S/he will have proven experience and confidence, and humility, to work effectively with a large variety of people who will be diverse culturally, economically and in social status. S/he must be sensitive to political and cultural nuance and able to consistently apply excellent judgment to a variety of demanding and fast-changing situations. The Specialist will have the ability to foster solid working relationships with USAID, host Government, beneficiary communities, and partner organizations. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

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

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact. We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

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 prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. 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 and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct e-learning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.