Location: Kathmandu with frequent field visits
Position Status: Full-time, Regular
Salary Level: M1

General Position Summary

The Policy and Advocacy Specialist is responsible for leading policy analysis; identifying windows of influence to improve policies on flood resilience and disaster risk reduction/climate change adaptation at the national/subnational levels; formulating advocacy strategies to influence such policies; and spearheading research that contributes to evidence for advocacy and policy improvement. The position has both the flexibility and rigour for a proactive individual who feels comfortable scoping, designing, and leading work on policy, strategy, and research. 

S/he will collaborate with Mercy Corps field-teams, Flood Resilience Alliance partners at the country level (Practical Action and IFRC), as well as interact with government, UN, and private sector representatives. S/he will work with closely with Mercy Corps’ Regional Program and Advocacy Manager based in Jakarta, and Head of the program based in Washington D.C. S/he will also work closely with the Managing Risk through Economic Development (MRED) Nepal team, as the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance program is one of Mercy Corps’ flagship resilience portfolios. 

As gender and social inclusion (GESI) and governance cross-cutting components of all Mercy Corps program(s), Policy and Advocacy Specialist is required to own these components and ensure GESI sensitivity and integration and governance practices are integrated into his/her work area

Essential Job Responsibilities

The specific duties and responsibilities of the Policy and Advocacy Specialist include, but are not limited to, the following: 

Program Management

Strategy and Vision 

• Identify partners’ capacity building needs e.g. personal development and organizational needs, essential for implementation of projects

Program Management 

• Develop and lead Mercy Corps Nepal’s policy and advocacy related to flood resilience, DRR and climate change adaptation at the national level, and lead field-based advocacy and communications work in close collaboration with the global team
• Lead the continued iteration and development of an advocacy strategy for the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance in Nepal, in coordination with IFRC and Practical Action
• Manage all aspects of the flood resilience program in Nepal, including ensuring compliance with Mercy Corps and donor policies, and that budget and resources are appropriately allocated for agreed upon activities 
• Develop advocacy tactics and implement them as needed, such as workshop organization, assistance with field research on resilience and support for community programs
• Identify key research initiatives in support of the advocacy agenda, and design and implement research and studies in the field and develop and share strong cases to influence governments and donors to improve investment for flood resilience 
• Highlight and share relevant developments in Nepal with global team and present at international events when necessary 
• Ensure proper integration of GESI aspects into sector-specific program planning and implementation

Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluations 

• Monitor expenditures against budget, and suggest modifications as necessary 
• Set targets, work plans and schedules and ensure they are agreed upon by all stakeholders
• Write and deliver quality, quarterly program reports
• Work with existing Mercy Corps and Alliance work so that national and local government allocate DRR and development budget towards implementation of strong flood reduction measures
• Lead the development of advocacy plans and implementation for Mercy Corps and Practical Action program sites to what would help the beneficiaries advocate at municipal level to incorporate flood resilience into government seven steps planning process
• Track national and regional policy developments affecting flood resilience, and articulate necessary components in the advocacy strategy of the Alliance
• Lead planning and production of effective, thoughtful and timely written products that advance policy perspectives in forms of brief and reports
• Present Mercy Corps’ and Zurich work with relevant INGO and government networks to display thought leadership and influence policies and programs related to flood resilience, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation
• Monitor and evaluate the impact of advocacy and communication work

Others 

• 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. 
• Mercy Corps as a humanitarian agency is expected to response 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 in such situations. 
• Other duties as assigned by the direct Supervisor and or the Country Director 

Finance & Compliance Management

• Ensure all internal control procedures are adhered to and that necessary measures are put in place to ensure high standards of accountability and compliance. 
• Work closely with finance/compliance to mitigate fraud, conflict of interest and legal ramifications of Mercy Corps activities. 
• Support and orient on MC Code of Ethics and uphold Mercy Corps’ Zero tolerance of corruption policy. 

Team Management

• Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence. 
• Promote accountability, communicate expectations and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews 

Influence & Representation

• Build and maintain close links with Flood Resilience Alliance partners at the country level. 
• Ensure regular and on-going coordination with key government, non-governmental, donor, private sector and multi-later stakeholders related to the flood resilience agenda. 
• Regularly convey information to Mercy Corps’ Flood Resilience Alliance team as well as the Policy and Advocacy (P&A) team. 
• Network in the country to establish and maintain strategic relations with relevant local and international stakeholders, to continually inform, challenge, and improve Mercy Corps’ advocacy, strategy, and program development. 
• Coordinate and closely work MRED and other Mercy Corps programs in support of a common flood resilience agenda; represent these program to government and other external stakeholders as needed. 
• Provide representation, at the discretion of the Head of the Flood Resilience Alliance, with relevant local and international governmental and non-governmental actors in the region. 

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. 

Organizational Learning

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves. 

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. 

Supervisory Responsibility: N/A 

Accountability 

• Reports Directly to: MRED Program Manager and Zurich Alliance Regional Program and Advocacy Manager 
• Works Directly with: MRED Program and Zurich Alliance 2 partners in Nepal 

Knowledge and Experience 

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant field. Graduate degree is preferred. 
• 5-7 years of experience successfully working with, overseeing and managing advocacy and policy campaigns and initiatives in an NGO or legislative context, including past experience working with humanitarian issues and complex emergencies. 
• Good knowledge of Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, and Resilience is highly desirable. 
• Excellent ability to conduct policy and stakeholder analysis through rigorous document reviews and network development, and articulate recommendations for policy for advocacy. 
• Ability to scope, design, and lead research relevant for advocacy, such as watershed landscape analysis and program impact evaluation. 
• Demonstrated knowledge on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation is highly desirable. 
• Ability to summarize and persuasively communicate complex information in written and verbal form to different audiences, including past experience leading the production of external written policy products. 
• Strong organizational skills and ability to effectively handle multiple tasks, work under pressure and meet tight deadlines. 
• Team player that can coordinate and facilitate tasks for program outcomes both internally and externally, with stakeholders including Alliance partners, national/sub-national/local governments, community groups, INGOs, NGOs, donors, UN, and others
• English proficiency (quality writing skills a plus) 
• Demonstrated proficiency with the MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required
• Ability to work effectively with an ethnically diverse team in a sensitive environment

Success Factors 

A successful Policy & Advocacy Specialist will be able to manage and mobilize project resources for effective and efficient implementation of the project activities to achieved the results and influence public, private and civil society organization to replicate and scale-up project best practices and learnings related to market-driven solutions to risk reduction and integration of market-development and financial service approaches into the DRR methods and tools utilized in the program. S/he should have the ability to travel frequently to remote areas and the capacity to develop training package and tools as required in the project districts. 

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.