Description
Positive Youth Development (PYD) Lead - Cross-Sectoral Youth Activity, Bamako, Mali
Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible. In disaster, in hardship, and in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action โ helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within. Now, and for the future.
Program / Department Summary
Mercy Corps has been working in Mali since 2012 supporting Malian women and men - including adolescents and youth - to cope with food insecurity and conflict-induced shocks and stresses, restore peace and stability, and address humanitarian and development structural challenges. Throughout our work, Mercy Corps seeks to support strong, inclusive, and resilient communities by i.) providing conflict-sensitive humanitarian assistance, ii.) addressing the root causes of conflict through improved and holistic conflict prevention and management mechanisms and iii.) promoting sustainable economic development through market systems strengthening and employment opportunities for women, men, and young people. Mercy Corpsโ work addresses issues related to natural resource management and climate change adaptation within Mali and across the borders with neighboring Central Sahel countries, Niger and Burkina Faso. With a current portfolio of approximately 30M USD funded by FCDO, USAID/BHA, Sweden, the European Union, and private foundations, over the past 18 months, Mercy Corps reached over 100,000 persons in Mopti, Segou, Koulikouro, Kayes, Sikasso, Koutiala.
Mercy Corps is seeking a Positive Youth Development (PYD) Lead to lead implementation of the anticipated USAID-funded five-year Cross-Sectoral Youth Activity in Mali. This Activity will elevate and support vulnerable and marginalized 15 - 29-year-old Malian youth so that they have access to assets, agency, and support networks in order to be educated, healthy, and productive citizens while building their resilience to recurrent crises. The Positive Youth Development (PYD) approach will serve as the foundation of the program, ensuring that the program starts with young peopleโs needs, aspirations, and challenges to identify successful, contextually relevant models. Models will consider scalable soft skills, educational opportunities, workforce development opportunities, and safe pathways for sexual and reproductive health, as well as consider contributing shocks and stressors to support resilient futures. The Activity should enable youth to become educated and productive citizens while improving their employability, and integrating positive information and communication technology practices while instilling a sense of responsibility to their community. Based in Bamako, the PYD Lead will oversee the implementation of activities and ensure that objectives are met on time and within budget.
General Position Summary
The PYD Lead will work in concert with the Chief of the Party (COP) who is responsible for providing overall leadership, management, and strategic vision of the program. This includes overseeing technical areas that include youth-inclusive approaches, development of youth livelihoods and employment pathways, access to and support for basic education, implementation and awareness of Positive Youth Development (PYD), market-oriented skill development, youth-focused private sector engagement, youth engagement, and cascading leadership models, and adolescent reproductive health.
Essential Job Responsibilities
Program Management, Implementation & Technical Leadership
โ Provide technical leadership and capacity development around positive youth development frameworks and approaches and gender and social inclusion
โ Provide technical leadership around youth-responsive and youth-focused interventions across core technical areas such as basic education, workforce development, reproductive health, and youth entrepreneurship.
โ Work with the COP to create a coherent overall strategy for the program, providing leadership, mentoring, quality control, and coordination to strengthen program outcomes.
โ Support the COP in the establishment of a program and consortium structure that favors integration across all activities and implementing partners and ensures youth voice and inclusion.
โ Ensure that crosscutting aspects of the program such as adaptive management, gender equality and social inclusion, positive youth development, and resilience are included and well integrated into the program strategy and implementation model.
โ Ensure that program implementation is responsive to communities and elevates the voice and role of young people and is consistent with Mercy Corpsโ relevant program guidelines, principles, values, and quality standards.
โ Ensure that program implementation is inclusive and is designed to include at-risk and marginalized young people taking into consideration age, sex, life stage, and other critical intersectionalities as defined by the context.
โ Liaise with Mercy Corpsโ support departments (finance, operations, HR/Admin, etc.) for operational and program support.
โ In coordination with the program MEL staff, monitor the implementation of activities through regular field visits and assessments to ensure program quality and impact.
โ Work with team, consortium members, and MEL staff to ensure gender and social inclusion, elevating the role and voice of young people in monitoring and evaluation of program design and implementation.
Team Management
โ Ensure program teams are trained and understand positive youth development and gender and social inclusion principles and how these approaches are integrated across technical sector outcomes.
โ Hire and support team members around their professional development, with a particular focus on GESI and youth inclusion.
โ Oversee program implementation team, ensuring that all staff and consortium members are following work plans, activities are on schedule, and project deliverables are completed as planned and are elevating and working with young people.
โ Develop and oversee the implementation of a capacity-building strategy for team members that promotes a culture of learning through systematic analysis and reflection of program data and lessons learned that elevate and prioritize the voice and experience of program participants (particularly youth).
โ Promote accountability, communicate expectations, and provide constructive feedback via regular performance reviews with a focus on professional development.
Internal and External Coordination
โ Contribute to program visibility and advocacy work by assisting in the dissemination of program research and learning information. Represent Mercy Corps in forums with the broader humanitarian and development community.
โ Advocate and work with programs and teams and partners to elevate the role and voice of young people at different advocacy events and forums.
โ Actively collaborate with regional and global counterparts to identify and promote best practices.
Security
โ Work closely with the Mali security focal points to develop and maintain systems that promote the safety and security of all team members.
โ Ensure that activities are designed and implemented with a clear analysis and understanding of security.
Supervisory Responsibility
Overall responsibility for the program implementation team.
Accountability
Reports directly To: Chief of Party
Works directly With Technical Advisors, field teams, MEL staff, consortium partners, local government, USAID and other stakeholders, Mercy Corps finance, operations, administration, and human resources staff.
Knowledge and Experience
โ MA/S or equivalent experience in education, social or political science, international development, or other fields relevant to youth development programming. Applicants with other academic track records who bring a strong track record of work in youth development programming may also be considered;
โ At least 7 years of relevant management, program coordination, and technical experience working with programs of similar scope and scale, at least two of which have been involved working in fragile or post-conflict states;
โ Strong understanding of conflict-sensitive program mainstreaming, and gender or protection mainstreaming would be an advantage.
โ Strong M&E skills with extensive field experience in developing practical, useful, and timely monitoring systems, both at the program and country level, which promote the use of data for adaptive management and learning.
โ Experience working in a consortium of international NGOs;
โ Demonstrated technical knowledge in more than one of the following: positive youth development focusing on education, livelihoods workforce development, and youth entrepreneurship.
โ Demonstrated ability to collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders and to liaise with donors and HQ;
โ Fluency in written and spoken French and English; Knowledge of some local languages is a plus (Bambara, Songrai, Peuhl